Subject
title
Adoption of an Ordinance to grant Sectional Map Amendment Application MAP2024-00125 to designate 4 Courthouse Square within the Courthouse Square Historic District by rezoning the property from MXTD to MXTD-HD (Historic District).
end
Department
CPDS - Comprehensive Planning
Recommendation
Staff and the Historic District Commission recommend that the Mayor and Council adopt an ordinance to grant Sectional Map Amendment Application MAP2024-00125 to designate and add 4 Courthouse Square to the Courthouse Square Historic District by rezoning the property from MXTD to MXTD-HD (Historic District).
Discussion
The Farmer’s Banking and Trust Building, located at 4 Courthouse Square, was listed in the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Montgomery County Courthouse National Register Historic District in 1986. The Courthouse Square Historic District, a City of Rockville local historic district designated in 1979, includes the 1891 Red Brick Courthouse, the 1931 Grey Courthouse, and the 1938 Post Office. However, the subject building at 4 Courthouse Square was not included within the local historic district boundaries and is therefore not locally designated.
Historic District Commission Consideration
On January 18, 2024, Rockville’s HDC conducted an Evaluation of Significance to determine whether to recommend that the Mayor and Council designate the property for historic designation. After deliberation, the HDC voted 5-0 in favor of recommending a historic designation for this property. The HDC’s support for historic designation was based on its finding that the following four adopted criteria for historic designation were met:
Historic Significance
a) Represents the development, heritage, or cultural characteristics of the City.
The Farmers Banking and Trust Building represents almost a century of banking activity in Rockville. It provided capital to residents and businesses and assisted local government with projects and fiscal management. It is one of the few commercial buildings to survive Rockville’s urban renewal.
Architectural, Design, and Landscape Significance Criteria:
a) Embodies distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction.
Farmers Banking and Trust Building is the only remaining Art Deco structure in the City
of Rockville.
b) Represents a significant architectural, design, or landscape entity in the City.
As the last remaining Art Deco building in the City, the architecture of the building is a significant entity within the City of Rockville.
c) Represents an established visual feature of the neighborhood or City because of its physical
characteristics or landscape components.
The building is an established visual feature that has stood at this corner for nearly 100 years. It is the last remaining commercial building of what was once Rockville’s main business district. It is unique in its monumental architecture and design.
A Significance Statement from the HDC, a concise statement of the facts and circumstances upon which the HDC justified its reason for the reclassification of the property into the Historic District zone, is included in this report as Attachment A. Written public testimony submitted regarding the bank building is included in the HDC Staff Report (Attachment B).
Planning Commission Consideration
The Zoning Ordinance provides for the Planning Commission to make a recommendation regarding consistency of historic designation with the Comprehensive Plan to the Mayor and Council. At its meeting on March 13, 2024, the Planning Commission reviewed Sectional Map Amendment Application MAP2024-00125. The staff report for the Planning Commission is provided as Attachment C. The Planning Commission found 5-0 that the proposal is consistent with the Comprehensive Plan and with the purpose of the historic designation zone within the Zoning Ordinance. Their motion stipulated that a memo should be provided to the Mayor and Council detailing issues and discussion points during the Commission’s deliberation (Attachment D).
Mayor and Council Consideration
A Public Hearing was held by the Mayor and Council on this Map Amendment on May 20, 2024. Nine individuals testified on the matter: eight in support of designation, and one against the designation of the property. Those testifying in favor of designation referenced the building’s status as the last Art Deco building in Rockville; the building’s place on the National Register of Historic Places; the public interest in retaining the bank as expressed in past planning efforts; the history and sense of place evoked from the building; the building’s survival of the urban renewal efforts in Town Center in the late 1960s and early 1970s; and personal anecdotes about themselves or family members doing business in the building. Those testifying against designation referenced the lack of property owner consent to the nomination; the desire to preserve maximum flexibility for the future reuse of the property; and this designation setting a precedent as many other commercial buildings in Rockville are approaching the 50-year period of significance.
Beyond the oral testimony provided on May 20, several pieces of written testimony were submitted to the public record before it closed on June 3. A full list of all written testimony on the potential designation is provided as Attachment E.
M&T Bank representative, Howard Block, attended the January 18th HDC meeting but did not indicate the bank’s position on the nomination. Mr. Block has been since contacted by staff, each time MAP2024-00125 was scheduled for review by the Planning Commission or Mayor and Council. Most recently Mr. Block was contacted on September 11th to notify him about the September 30th Mayor and Council discussion. To this date, Mr. Block has not indicated a position on the designation.
The Mayor and Council discussed this Map Amendment at their meeting on June 10, 2024. Councilmember Jackson introduced the ordinance (Attachment F) to designate 4 Courthouse Square within the Courthouse Square Historic District by rezoning the property from MXTD to MXTD HD (Historic District). The Mayor and Council decided not to adopt the ordinance at that meeting, but to bring it back at a later meeting for additional discussion.
The role of the Mayor and Council is to reach a final decision as to whether to approve MAP Amendment 2024-00125 to change the zone for 4 Courthouse Square from MXTD to MXTD HD, which would place the property in the Courthouse Square Historic District. Key input for the Mayor and Council to consider includes:
1. The property has been found to meet the City’s criteria for designation;
2. The property has integrity as determined by the HDC;
3. The Map Amendment is in conformance with the Comprehensive Plan; and
4. The Map Amendment meets the intent of the Historic District overlay zone.
Mayor and Council History
The Mayor and Council held a public hearing on the Sectional Map Amendment on May 20, 2024, and a Discussion and Instruction on June 10, 2024. The ordinance was introduced at the June 10 meeting.
Public Notification and Engagement
The HDC Evaluation of Historic Significance was conducted on January 18, 2024, and meeting notices were provided two weeks in advance to adjacent property owners within 500 feet of the property. A sign was posted on the property two weeks in advance of the HDC meeting to provide notice of the application, and the HDC meeting agenda was posted on the City's website.
The Planning Commission reviewed the Sectional Map Amendment Application at the March 13, 2024, meeting. Meeting notices were provided two weeks in advance to adjacent property owners within 750 feet of the property, and the item was published on the City’s agenda website.
A public hearing was held on May 20, 2024, with notice being mailed to all property owners within 750 feet of the property as required by the Zoning Ordinance, and having the required advertisements published in The Washington Post on May 2, 2024, and May 9, 2024, in accordance with the state code.
Boards and Commissions Review
The HDC reviewed the Evaluation of Significance at its January 18, 2024 meeting and found that the application met four of the approved designation criteria.
The Planning Commission reviewed the Map Amendment application at its March 13, 2024 meeting, and found that the application was in compliance with the City’s Comprehensive Master Plan and with the purpose of the Historic District Overlay Zone.
Next Steps
An ordinance designating 4 Courthouse Square as a part of the Courthouse Square Historic District is provided as Attachment F. The Mayor and Council may take one of the following actions:
• Mayor and Council may adopt the proposed ordinance designating 4 Courthouse Square as part of the Courthouse Square Historic District;
• Mayor and Council may request that the adoption of the proposed ordinance to designate 4 Courthouse Square as part of the Courthouse Square Historic District takes place at a subsequent meeting; or
• Mayor and Council may direct staff to prepare a resolution denying the Sectional Map Amendment application.