A plan drawn up by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, however, would convert much of that land into a mixed-use "urban village" as part of an effort to convert roughly 2,000 acres around the Shady Grove Metro station into a residential and commercial haven.

The County Council opened hearings on the Shady Grove Sector Plan last Thursday, attracting more than 100 people, including the mayors of Gaithersburg, Washington Grove and Rockville, as well as various advocacy groups and concerned citizens.

Most of the 39 registered speakers agreed with the plan in principle ­ that development around existing routes of mass transit is a good idea.

Others had reservations about specific elements of the plan, which proposes allowing up to 6,350 residential units and some 7,000 jobs.

Gaithersburg Mayor Sidney A. Katz, who voiced support for the planning board's effort so far, asked the County Council to look closely at impact of traffic congestion and school overcrowding on the surrounding communities.

Katz said a proposal by planners to move some industrial buildings was not enough.

"We believe that additional consideration should be given to relocating the solid waste transfer station," he said. "This... is simply not compatible with the residential uses envisioned for the Metro station area."

Washington Grove Mayor John Compton urged the council to consider the high residential density of the proposal, which could create nearly twice as much housing as the Lakelands, Kentlands and Quince Orchard combined.

"We believe there is reason to fear that the proposed residential build-out will create a non-functional community, paralyze the transportation hub and seriously damage the surrounding existing neighborhoods," he said.

Councilwoman Marilyn J. Praisner, (D-Dist. 4) of Calverton, asked whether the mayors of Rockville and Gaithersburg would promise to refrain from annexing county-owned portions of the land.

Neither Katz nor Rockville Mayor Larry Giammo could immediately commit, but Katz pointed out that the city's reach does not extend into the proposed area.

Praisner said she was concerned about annexation because "it is what has exacerbated our schools."

According to the sector plan, development at Shady Grove would require construction of four elementary schools and one high school.

The high school and one of the elementary schools would be built at Crown Farm, a 180-acre plot west of Interstate 270 near the Washingtonian Center.

The high school and elementary school need to be built regardless of the outcome at Shady Grove, says Joseph Lavorgna, director of planning and capital programs for county schools.

Six area high schools already have more than 2,000 students, he says, several of them running at or above maximum capacity.

"Now is the time we need to be conceiving, planning and acquiring" land for a new high school, he says. "By the time it gets built, we will have already needed it for years."

The Crown family continues to farm the land and has made no indication that they will sell, says Nancy Sturgeon of the county's community-based planning division, who is factoring the plot into next year's Gaithersburg Vicinity Master Plan.

"Hopefully, they'll change," she says. "We just don't have many large tracts land left."