Planning Commission Memo
MEETING DATE: July 10, 2024
REPORT DATE: June 27, 2024
RESPONSIBLE STAFF: Katie Gerbes, Comprehensive Planning Manager
SUBJECT:
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Public Hearing on the Draft Town Center Master Plan
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BACKGROUND:
The 2024 Town Center Master Plan (“Plan”) is an update of a document by the same name that was adopted by the Mayor and Council in 2001. The Plan builds on the visions, goals and policies noted in the Planning Area 1 Chapter of the Rockville 2040 Comprehensive Plan (“Comprehensive Plan”), recent studies and reports compiled on Town Center, and an extensive community outreach effort to create an updated vision for Town Center that meets the needs of Rockville’s residents, business community and the market. This Plan is an amendment to the Rockville 2040 Comprehensive Plan and supersedes the recommendations outlined within Planning Area 1 of the original Comprehensive Plan document, as published in August 2021.
The resounding themes found throughout the Plan are to create a flexible regulatory environment that allows Town Center to thrive by enabling by-right development and allowing the market to dictate the “highest and best” land uses over the next two decades. The Plan also prioritizes the development of additional residential housing units with a particular emphasis on affordable and attainable housing units. The final theme throughout the document is to turn Town Center into a vibrant local and regional destination by creating an environment where people can live, work, and play for years to come.
As required by state law, any amendments to the Comprehensive Plan must be reviewed by the Planning Commission before any final adoption is made by the Mayor and Council. State law also requires a public hearing to be held on the Plan before both the Planning Commission and Mayor and Council.
The first draft of the Plan was released to the public on April 26, 2024. Provided as an attachment to this staff report (Attachment A - Draft Town Center Master Plan) is an updated draft of the Plan that incorporates some minor edits and tweaks from the first draft. Additional information on the goals, policies and actions contained within the draft Plan can be found in the staff report from the Planning Commission’s June 26 meeting, accessible here <https://rockvillemd.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_06262024-7222>.
PUBLIC OUTREACH:
Extensive public outreach efforts have been underway for the Plan since April 2023. A summary of the project’s “outreach and engagement” phase is provided in the Community Engagement Report, published in October 2023.
Since the draft Plan was released in April, staff have been utilizing Rockville Reports, City social media channels, emails blasts and newsletters to inform the community about the opportunity to review and provide comments on the draft Plan. The City continues to collect feedback on the Plan through the project page at www.engagerockville.com/towncenter <http://www.engagerockville.com/towncenter>. Additionally, staff hosted two public meetings focused on Town Center. These meetings took place on June 18 and June 24. At these meetings, approximately 40 people learned more about the draft Plan and provided their commentary to staff.
Per the Maryland Land Use Article, which governs the process by which comprehensive plans and their amendments may be drafted and adopted, requires notice of the public hearing before the Planning Commission to be provided in a newspaper of record. Advertisement of the public hearing was provided in The Washington Post on June 27, 2024.
BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS:
The draft Plan was introduced to the Planning Commission on June 26, 2024. The Planning Commission has been briefed on the project two prior times: the project proposal was presented on February 8, 2023, and the Community Engagement Report was presented on October 11, 2023.
To date, staff have presented to the Rockville Bicycle Advisory Committee, the Rockville Pedestrian Advocacy Committee, the Transportation & Mobility Commission, and the Environmental Commission to solicit feedback from those bodies. Staff suspect those boards, commissions and tasks forces are likely to submit testimony to the Planning Commission with their thoughts on the draft Plan during the July 10 meeting.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommend that the Planning Commission hold a public hearing on July 10 to receive feedback from the community on the draft Plan.
NEXT STEPS:
A collaborative work session to go through any refinements to the Plan is scheduled for July 24, 2024. Ahead of this meeting, staff will provide the Planning Commission with a log of public comments received on the draft Plan to date, as well as any comments from the Maryland Department of Planning or any of Rockville’s adjoining jurisdictions.
Depending on the number of revisions to the Plan and the Planning Commission’s position on the document, approval of the Plan and transmission to the Mayor and Council is tentatively scheduled for September 11, 2024.