More News

Residents of Woodley Gardens attended Monday night's council meeting in droves to oppose what they thought was a decision to rezone their neighborhood shopping center on Nelson Street.

They cited traffic congestion issues and no desire for more density.

"Right now, our businesses in our shopping center benefit us," said Diane Young, a Woodley Gardens resident.

However, council members responded that while they had not yet voted on the issue, they support designating the shopping center as mixed-use commercial (MXC), which would allow for the same height and density that now exists, but with differing setbacks. It would also allow for a mix of uses beyond commercial.

The Residents of Rockville Zoning Ordinance Review (RORZOR) committee and the Planning Commission had recommended that the shopping center be designated as mixed-use neighborhood commercial (MXNC), which would have added slightly more density.

"That to me is a dead issue," Councilman John B. Britton said Monday. "MXNC was already decided among my colleagues that that was not going to work."

Mayor Susan R. Hoffmann said that compared to the shopping center's current zone, MXC is "almost identical."

Woodley Gardens Civic Association President Jim Reschovsky previously told the council that the group prefers the MXC zone for the shopping center.

"Mr. Reschovsky represented your view well," Hoffmann told the audience. "When it did, it certainly sealed the deal for me and I'm not surprised that the community prefers to keep the character of the shopping center."

Woodley Gardens resident Drew Powell said he is still unsatisfied with MXC because of the setback differences, lack of resident and tenant notification, and the council's response.

"In the face of overwhelming opposition, Hoffmann and Britton chose to distort their own record and I was stunned by that," Powell, a mayoral candidate who ran against Hoffmann in November, said Tuesday.

Hoffmann responded Tuesday that that is not true and that just because she and Britton were on the RORZOR committee does not mean they agreed with the majority.

"So to say that, to use that negative word, to say we distorted our record, distorts the truth," Hoffmann said Tuesday.

Britton points to the council's most recent worksessions over the summer when he said the council reached a consensus on the issue.

"That's the record that should be the issue," Britton said.

Council chooses boundary for ‘Rockville Heights'

The City Council on Monday decided on a boundary line that would designate five homes on Fleet Street as historic, but would exclude their rear yards, three garages and some trees.

The council was split on whether to include the yards, garages and trees in the yet to be approved historic district.

Councilman Piotr Gajewski argued that he is concerned about the property owner's rights and that the city would have a say on what the property owner could do with his land.

"When you talk about zoning and historic preservation, we seem to forget about property rights," Gajewski said.

Any changes made to a historic district would be subject to review by the city's Historic District Commission.

The dissenting votes came from Councilman John B. Britton and Councilwoman Phyllis R. Marcuccio.

Britton said he wanted to see the entire recorded plat included in the designation.

"I'm curious that we're approaching this in the cheapest and easiest manner for a development not at all vetted publicly," Britton said.

Victory Housing, partnering with property owner Montgomery County, wants to develop a low- to moderate-income senior housing project near the property. Victory Housing informally presented a concept plan to the council, planning and historic preservation staff, and neighboring residents. It plans to file an application after the new zoning ordinance is adopted and the moratorium is lifted, according to city staff.

Zoning discussion continues Thursday

The Rockville City Council will continue its discussion of the citywide zoning ordinance revision during a worksession Thursday.

The council will review the changes made by the planning staff during the August recess, including less stringent rules intended to curb so-called "mansionization," improved tenant notification and added environmental provisions, among others.

Some council members expressed interest in extending the public comment period, which they are expected to discuss Thursday.

The council will discuss the ordinance again during its Sept. 22 meeting and is scheduled to adopt it Oct. 6.

The moratorium on all new development in the city is still set to expire Sept. 30. Council members said they would discuss revisiting that issue on Thursday as well.

City attorney

committee formed

The City Council voted Monday to create a sub-committee to interview and recommend an executive search firm to hire a new city attorney.

The sub-committee, comprised of Councilwomen Anne M. Robbins and Phyllis R. Marcuccio, will interview CPS Human Resource Services and Slavin Management Consultants, the two least expensive of the three firms suggested by city staff.

The council first instructed city staff to begin the process to create an in-house city attorney office at the beginning of the year, an issue many candidates brought up during the most recent campaign.

While council members initially cited the possibility of lower costs associated with an in-house city attorney, they have since shifted gears.

‘‘It may not save a dime and may in fact be more costly," Hoffmann said in a previous council meeting. ‘‘It needs to be on the radar screen that that's not the only reason we're doing this."

Some council members have expressed interest in having an in-house attorney who would "better serve the city."