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The public comment period on a proposal to allow card access through the Montgomery College fence at Princeton Place closed Friday, and about 35 residents weighed in, Assistant City Manager Jenny Kimble said.

It was unclear what the general opinion was on the proposal Tuesday afternoon, Kimble said.

The model is based on a system used at American University where residents of the neighboring community are given key cards that will electronically open two gates onto the campus.

City Manager Scott Ullery will review the comments and confer with Rockville campus Provost Judy E. Ackerman next week, she said.

The proposal is being considered for an access point between Montgomery College and Princeton Place, a residential cul-de-sac that was cut off from the school when college officials put up a 6-foot-tall fence to keep smokers from congregating on the street.

Residents of Princeton Place complained to the college after smokers, who were forced off campus by the school's no-tobacco policy, began congregating on the quiet neighborhood street.

The fence closed a four-decades-old access point that many residents from the surrounding neighborhoods were upset about losing. They lobbied the city and college to re-open the fence.

Several ideas fizzled before the current proposal, which would allow anyone with a card access to the college between 5 a.m. and 11 p.m.

The hours would mirror those allowed at a recently erected fence on the north side of campus that separates the Scarborough Square apartments from the college.

Residents strongly opposed the construction of that fence, but school officials said it was part of the security master plan and had been planned for years.

Plans for Judicial Center annex

to go before council Nov. 23

A meeting to review plans for the Judicial Center annex attracted just one person Monday night, but the plans are becoming more refined, county officials said.

Hamid Omidvar, chief of the Office of Planning and Development for the Department of General Services, said the building plans will be presented to the Rockville City Council on Nov. 23.

"After each phase of the project, we present it to the public," he said. "It's part of the city's review process as well."

If approved, the 6-story building would have a 28,000-square-foot footprint and slightly less than 200,000 total square feet. There would be one level of underground parking.

The original plan was for a building twice as tall, but the County Council said that was too large and halved the project.

The building will be located next to the Montgomery County Circuit Court building at the intersection of Maryland Avenue and West Jefferson Street in Rockville.

It is designed to meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver standards and will incorporate a mostly green roof, Omidvar said.

The U.S. Green Building Council hands out the LEED designations, which measure how well a building saves energy, conserves water, reduces greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental factors.

City Hall closed today

Rockville City Hall is closed today in observance of Veterans Day.

No money is required for city-owned parking meters or garages.

Twinbrook Community Recreation Center, Lincoln Park Community Center and Thomas Farm Community Center will be open regular hours.

The Rockville Senior Center will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. for drop-in activities. Lunch will not be served and there will be no transportation or programs.

For more information, call 240-314-5000 or visit www.rockvillemd.gov.