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Record of Proceedings

Rockville City Council Meeting - September 2, 2026

Meeting Portal — Wednesday, September 2, 2026
BodyRockville, Maryland
SessionMeeting Portal
DateWednesday, September 2, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 10:56

Original source
Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.

Speaker 1

0:44

Doris, do you have control?

0:47

Not giving me controls.

1:00

Doris, do you have controls?

1:02

Can you hear

Unassigned speaker

1:03

me?

Speaker 1

1:09

Thank you, Barack.

Speaker 2

1:11

All right.

1:12

There is the agenda for tonight's meeting.

1:16

Could be pretty quick.

1:17

We have a few board and commission appointments.

1:23

And we have on the consent agenda.

1:27

We have purchase order for some fleet equipment.

Unassigned speaker

1:33

We

Speaker 2

1:33

have the ACFER and AFRE, which is in wonderful shape.

Unassigned speaker

1:37

And

Speaker 2

1:37

we have an MOU between the City of Rockville and the Montgomery County Board of Elections.

1:42

Any questions about anything on consent?

1:45

Mayor Ashton.

Speaker 1

1:47

Thank you

Speaker 3

1:48

for the agenda.

1:50

Just a quick note, as a heads up.

1:53

I just wanted to suggest that we uh for the popular report do a couple of quick highlights community.

Speaker 2

2:02

Yep.

2:02

Happy to do that.

2:03

And Mayor, you just want to ask me to.

2:05

Oh, I'm sorry.

2:06

I apologize.

2:10

You're kind of coming in and out, Mayor.

Speaker 3

2:14

I think you may have lost me.

2:15

Can you hear me okay now?

Speaker 2

2:16

Now we now we can.

2:17

Yep.

Speaker 3

2:17

Okay, yeah.

2:18

Just to high just to uh for transparency, just to share a couple of quick highlights on the on the popular report.

2:24

Uh we used to do a highlights presentation, but I understand we're trying to make sure our meetings are short, but I just thought very, very high level highlights on on how we're doing financially for the community would be helpful.

Unassigned speaker

2:35

You

Speaker 2

2:35

bet, Mayor.

2:36

And you're talking just just before you vote, you're not pulling it.

2:39

You're just gonna say, can you give a couple highlights before you vote?

2:42

Is that correct?

Speaker 3

2:43

That's correct.

2:44

And I don't know if you could um just show the screen so people can see what the report looks like.

2:49

The whole report was was developed because the other reports are more technical, and this is supposed to help the community understand our finances easy.

2:56

So just to be able to see and hear very briefly what it is and where to go see it.

Speaker 2

3:00

You have mayor.

3:01

Happy to do that.

3:02

Any other questions on consent?

Unassigned speaker

3:07

All

Speaker 2

3:07

righty, and then we have adoption of the forest and tree preservation code.

3:11

I think it's in really good shape.

3:13

Um we have plenty of time if you guys have questions.

3:16

Not that I'm encouraging you to, but happy to get into the detail the team will be ready for that.

3:21

And then we have uh mock agenda old new business.

3:24

Anything else for tonight.

3:29

All right, fantastic.

3:32

Let's take a look at February 2nd.

3:34

Yep, it's not till February 2nd.

3:36

Remember, we have the the trip to Annapolis, and then we also have the holiday in

Unassigned speaker

3:39

there.

Speaker 2

3:40

So we have proclamations and recognitions.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Zoning Ordinance Rewrite█████████████████████████████████████████████60%
Procedural███████████████████25%
Public Transportation███████████15%
Summary of Proceedings

Rockville City Council Meeting - September 2, 2026

The Rockville City Council convened on September 2, 2026, to address the consent agenda, discuss upcoming major initiatives, and finalize the six-month work plan. Key topics included the adoption of the forest and tree preservation code and green building code, the timeline for the zoning ordinance rewrite, and preparations for the budget cycle. Mayor Ashton and council members provided input on scheduling and priorities.

Consent Calendar

  • Purchase order for fleet equipment.
  • ACFER and AFRE financial reports (both reported in good shape).
  • Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the City of Rockville and the Montgomery County Board of Elections.
  • No items were pulled; the consent calendar was adopted as presented.

Discussion Items

  • Popular Report Highlights: Mayor Ashton requested that before voting on the consent calendar, staff present a few quick highlights from the popular financial report for community transparency. The presiding officer agreed to accommodate this request.
  • Forest and Tree Preservation Code Adoption: The council acknowledged that the proposed code is in good shape and available for detailed questions as needed.
  • Green Building Code Adoption: Scheduled as an action item, the green building code was presented as a key component of the Climate Action Plan, with public engagement completed.
  • Six-Month Work Plan Review: The council reviewed the upcoming meeting schedule, including:
    • February 2: Proclamations and recognitions (African American History Month, Art Month, Rare Disease Day) and adoption of the green building code.
    • February 9: READY mid-year report (staff will confirm readiness).
    • February 23: Landlord-tenant code (expected to be a heavy discussion).
    • March 2: Vision Zero special presentation; first zoning ordinance rewrite (ZOR) work session to review Planning and Zoning Commission recommendations.
    • March 23: Second ZOR work session and deeper budget discussions.
    • The council noted that balancing both ZOR and budget simultaneously may lead to long meetings (approximately three hours or more).
  • Zoning Ordinance Rewrite (ZOR) Process: Councilmember Van Greg inquired about the accuracy of work session and hearing dates. Staff expressed confidence in the budget dates but acknowledged that the ZOR timeline depends on the council's depth of review. Lingering issues from previous ZOR discussions will be addressed in future sessions. A detailed calendar of topics for each ZOR work session will be provided to help track progress and ensure thorough review before the June deadline.
  • External Presentation Request: The Council of Governments requested to present an update on DMV Moves, focusing on MTA and WMATA transit plans. Staff recommended scheduling this as a special presentation sooner rather than later.

Key Outcomes

  • Staff will present highlights of the popular financial report at the council's next meeting before the consent calendar vote.
  • The council will hold two dedicated ZOR work sessions (March 2 and March 23) in addition to the first cursory review of the Planning and Zoning Commission's recommendations. A detailed work session calendar will be prepared.
  • The six-month meeting schedule was finalized with adjustments to avoid overlapping heavy topics (e.g., moving the council update from March 2 to March 23).
  • Council directed staff to reach out to READY to confirm their availability for the February 9 mid-year report presentation.
  • The council acknowledged the request from the Council of Governments for a special presentation on DMV Moves and agreed to consider scheduling it with staff recommendation.
  • Mayor Ashton emphasized the importance of not rushing the ZOR process to ensure adequate time for thorough review by the June deadline.

Meeting Transcript

Doris, do you have control? Not giving me controls. Doris, do you have controls? Can you hear me? Thank you, Barack. All right. There is the agenda for tonight's meeting. Could be pretty quick. We have a few board and commission appointments. And we have on the consent agenda. We have purchase order for some fleet equipment. We have the ACFER and AFRE, which is in wonderful shape. And we have an MOU between the City of Rockville and the Montgomery County Board of Elections. Any questions about anything on consent? Mayor Ashton. Thank you for the agenda. Just a quick note, as a heads up. I just wanted to suggest that we uh for the popular report do a couple of quick highlights community. Yep. Happy to do that. And Mayor, you just want to ask me to. Oh, I'm sorry. I apologize. You're kind of coming in and out, Mayor. I think you may have lost me. Can you hear me okay now? Now we now we can. Yep. Okay, yeah. Just to high just to uh for transparency, just to share a couple of quick highlights on the on the popular report. Uh we used to do a highlights presentation, but I understand we're trying to make sure our meetings are short, but I just thought very, very high level highlights on on how we're doing financially for the community would be helpful. You bet, Mayor. And you're talking just just before you vote, you're not pulling it. You're just gonna say, can you give a couple highlights before you vote? Is that correct? That's correct. And I don't know if you could um just show the screen so people can see what the report looks like. The whole report was was developed because the other reports are more technical, and this is supposed to help the community understand our finances easy. So just to be able to see and hear very briefly what it is and where to go see it. You have mayor. Happy to do that. Any other questions on consent? All righty, and then we have adoption of the forest and tree preservation code. I think it's in really good shape.

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