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Smokers on Montgomery College's Rockville campus will be able to light up within the college's fence, but not officially on college property, thanks to a loophole created four decades ago.

City officials agreed last week to allow the college to use a piece of land technically owned by the city, but enclosed by the college's fence for the past 40 years.

"It should be made very clear, the city is providing our land to help reach this solution," Mayor Susan R. Hoffmann said at Monday's City Council meeting. "It's the right thing to do in this case, but we certainly didn't have to do it. The city's being particularly generous in helping come to a solution to a problem that was not created by the city."

David Capp, vice president of facilities at the college, said college officials appreciated the city's action.

"They didn't have to do this and they are," Capp said. "They are helping us, so it's good, a good compromise."

The tobacco-free policy the college instituted in August can remain in place under the compromise. However, a fence that was built in response to smokers congregating off campus on the cul-de-sac at Princeton Place will remain closed until at least the end of the semester, Capp said.

Students and faculty who have smoked at Princeton Place before would be tempted to go back there if access were reopened, he said. Instead, the college will wait until a new crop of students arrives to decide what to do about Princeton Place.

"It's still very much in discussion," he said. "One of the things we need to solve is parking over there. It's more than just smoking. Maybe Princeton Place can be opened, but we'll see."

The new smoking area is approximately 20 feet by 40 feet, located approximately 100 yards south of the Princeton Place fence. It is located at the back of parking lot 9 and adjacent to the wooded Anderson Park, Capp said.

There are several metal storage containers on the site now, but they will be moved in the next two weeks, he said.

A landscaper has been contracted to develop a plan to include benches and picnic tables for the area, Capp said, and the smoking area should be open for use in four weeks.

Assistant City Manager Jenny Kimball said a sidewalk from Princeton Place to the campus will be rerouted away from the old access point and will open up onto a parking lot halfway between the cul-de-sac and the new smoking area.

"The idea is being shopped around to the community now," she said.

Some members of the community seem pleased for the compromise.

"It's terrific to know that we're going to be able to move forward on this … we have people who are disadvantaged that need to be able to move forward, but I think we're on the right track," Elyse Gussow, president of Plymouth Woods Inc., said at Monday's council meeting.

Mark Pierzchala, former president of the College Gardens Civic Association and candidate for Rockville City Council, said he thinks the solution is workable.

"It shows good faith by all parties involved," he said. "Working out the parking issues shouldn't take that long."

On March 5, the college constructed a 6-foot tall fence with no gate or access point in the same location that a shorter fence with an open access gate had stood for decades. The fence kept smokers from loitering on neighborhood streets, but some neighbors complained about the loss of the access point to the college.

Montgomery College President Brian K. Johnson last week issued a statement supporting the college's tobacco-free policy, which most residents point to as the source of their complaints, but said the policy had unforeseen consequences for nearby residents.

"I believe Montgomery College has a responsibility to our students and employees to create a healthy environment and encourage healthy behavior," Johnson said in the statement. "However, I recognize that the policy had an unintended impact on some neighbors, and I have instructed college administrators to work collaboratively with our neighbors to improve the implementation of the policy."

He addressed concerns from the community that the fence interfered with the college's evacuation routes.

"The new fence does not pose any danger and is consistent with current safety and evacuation plans for the Rockville Campus," he said.