The developer of a large affordable senior housing project in Rockville has withdrawn its request for public funding and will instead seek private funds.

Victory Housing Inc., the development arm of the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., said in a letter to the City Council last week that it is withdrawing its request for tax credit funding, which would require a letter of support from the council.

James A. Brown, president of Victory Housing, said in an e-mail that the project will now seek "private funding and whatever other resources we can find."

He is unsure if the change will slow down the project, he added.

Victory Court is a four-story, 86-unit, senior housing facility proposed for a lot bounded by Maryland Avenue and Fleet and Monroe Streets.

In its letter it cited 11 meetings it had with the community to discuss plans for the building's design.

Residents from the adjacent Courthouse Walk townhouses and surrounding areas have raised strong concerns about the height and density of the project.

Brian Shipley, who lives on South Washington Street near the development site, said despite the meetings, the developers did not listen to the community.

He said residents have been voicing concerns about the project for a year at every community meeting on the subject and through the city Planning Commission and the Board of Appeals, he said.

In January the Board of Appeals granted the project the special exception it needed to build on the site, but stipulated that the design for a gabled roof be changed to a flat roof.

That lowered the height of the building by 8 feet to an overall height of 39 feet.

Jim Wasilak, the city's chief of planning, pointed out that senior housing in a mixed use-transition zone, like the site in question, has no specific density requirements or limitations.

The Victory Court plans now have to return to the Planning Commission with a site plan before applying for a building permit and beginning construction.

Residents have also raised strong concerns that the development review process is "broken" and should be fixed.

Mayor Phyllis R. Marcuccio and Councilwoman Bridget D. Newton agreed that a review of the process is needed, using the embattled affordable housing development Beall's Grant II on North Washington Street and Victory Housing as examples.

Councilman John Britton asked the city attorney to brief the council on what the council could legally talk about regarding those two projects without stepping into other areas of city code and procedure.

Councilman Mark Pierzchala asked several opponents of the project to create a list of what they believe went wrong in the planning process to help when the City Council studies the process.

It is unclear when the Victory Court site plan will go before the Planning Commission again for approval.