Planning Commission Memo
MEETING DATE: April 23, 2025
REPORT DATE: April 16, 2025
RESPONSIBLE STAFF: Manisha Tewari
SUBJECT:
title
Annexation Petition ANX2023-00147, to Conduct a Public Hearing of the Preliminary Annexation Plan for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Agency (WMATA)-owned Shady Grove Metro Station Properties and a Portion of the CSX Transportation, Inc. Property; Close the Public Hearing Record; and to Approve and Transmit the Annexation Plan to the Mayor and Council of Rockville
end
BACKGROUND:
The annexation proposal, initiated by the Mayor and Council, is for the annexation of the Shady Grove Metro station property that will enlarge the corporate boundary by approximately 107.9 acres of land. The Mayor and Council introduced the resolution for the annexation at their meeting on October 23, 2023, thus initiating the process for annexation. As described in the annexation resolution (see Attachment 1), the total annexation area is approximately 107.9 acres.
If approved, the annexation area would be incorporated within the city’s corporate limits and be subject to the Charter, laws, ordinances, and regulations of the City of Rockville. Staff recommends Rockville’s Mixed-Use Transit District (MXTD) zoning for the property upon annexation.
The Planning Commission received a presentation on the Annexation and the Preliminary Annexation Plan at their meeting on February 26, 2025. The presentation and the related materials are available on the City’s website under the Planning Commission’s Agenda Center under the February 26, 2025, meeting at <https://www.rockvillemd.gov/112/Planning-Commission>
Analysis of the City and County Master Plans and zoning, the provision of community facilities and the City’s ability to provide the necessary services, and other discussion as required by the Local Government Article § 4-415 related to the subject petition is provided in the preliminary Annexation Plan (see Attachment 2), which is the topic of the public hearing.
DISCUSSION:
The Annexation Plan is required by the State of Maryland under Local Government Article, Section 4-415 of the Annotated Code of Maryland. The Plan must be prepared and adopted by the local government, in addition to the resolution to annex property. The Annexation Plan must demonstrate that the annexation area is consistent with the City’s Municipal Growth Element. Final adoption of the Annexation Plan is performed by the Mayor and Council. It should be noted that the approval of an annexation plan and the recommended zoning designation is not a binding approval of the annexation request.
The purpose of the public hearing is to review the proposed zoning as requested for the property and the Preliminary Annexation Plan. Within the Preliminary Annexation Plan, staff has evaluated the public service needs of the property and has determined the City has sufficient capacity to service the uses that are permitted in the MXTD Zone.
Providing Public Testimony on the Preliminary Annexation Plan
Receiving testimony is both required by Rockville’s Zoning Ordinance and welcomed by the Planning Commission and city staff. As indicated above, the Planning Commission released the Preliminary Annexation Plan at its meeting on February 26 and opened the record for receiving public testimony. The Planning Commission’s hearing was originally scheduled for March 26, which was canceled. The Planning Commission hearing is now scheduled for April 23. Testimony will be accepted in any or all the following ways:
• Testify at the public hearing on April 23, 2025, at 7:00 p.m. The Planning Commission is conducting hybrid meetings that allow for both in-person and virtual participation via Webex. Email jwasilak@rockvillemd.gov before 4:00 p.m. on April 23, 2025, to register and participate in person or virtually at the meeting. Spoken testimony is limited to three minutes for individuals, or five minutes, if representing a group.
• Email testimony to planning.commission@rockvillemd.gov. Please identify in the subject line that the testimony is for “ANX2023-00147.”
• Mail testimony to: City of Rockville Planning Commission, c/o Manisha Tewari, 111 Maryland Avenue, Rockville, MD 20850
Background information on the annexation and the Preliminary Annexation Plan, that is the primary topic for the public hearing, is available here <https://www.rockvillemd.gov/2527/15903-Somerville-Drive-Annexation-of-the>. The Preliminary Annexation Plan is also included as Attachment 2 to this staff report. The Local Government Article, Section 4-415 of the Annotated Code of Maryland, requires that the Annexation Plan must be adopted by the legislative body, or the Mayor and Council, of the Municipality.
PUBLIC OUTREACH:
For the Planning Commission public hearing, the Zoning Ordinance requires that the public hearing be advertised in a newspaper of general publication at least fifteen days before the Public Hearing, and that written notice be mailed in accordance with the provisions of Section 25.05.03.
The Planning Commission Public Hearing notice was originally published in the Washington Post newspaper on March 6, 2025 for the March 23rd public hearing, and then subsequently published on April 3, 2025 for the April 23 public hearing. Consistent with the Article 5, Section 25.05.03 provisions staff provided notification by mail and email to surrounding jurisdictions and other governmental agencies, including the Montgomery County Council, Montgomery County Planning Board, Montgomery County Public Schools, the City of Gaithersburg, and Maryland Department of Planning. Representatives of property owners (WMATA and CSX, Inc.) were also notified. Although not required, staff notified the adjacent property owners of the annexation. This notification included information on the Preliminary Annexation Plan, the time and dates of the public hearing, and the methods by which written testimony may be submitted. Attachment 3 provides information on the agencies and persons to whom the notifications were mailed, the Washington Post public hearing advertisement as published on April 3, 2025 and a sample notification.
Additional notifications were sent through the city’s Rockville Reports newsletter, Development Watch e-newsletter, and city-maintained email distribution lists to provide information on the Preliminary Annexation Plan, public hearing dates, methods to provide testimony, and to keep the public updated on the process. An email message was also sent to the King Farm Citizens Assembly.
Per Montgomery County Planning staff’s request, City staff presented the annexation proposal to members of the Westside and Derwood communities (that are outside the city limits and adjacent to the east side of the proposed annexation area) on April 2, 2025. Additionally, although not a City outreach effort, the MOCOSHOW newsletter published an article on April 1, 2025 on the proposed annexation that can be viewed here <https://mocoshow.com/2025/04/01/rockville-moves-forward-with-proposal-to-annex-107-9-acres-near-shady-grove-metro/>.
BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS:
The Mayor and Council introduced the resolution for annexation at their meeting on October 23, 2023 by approving a resolution to introduce the annexation (Attachment 1). The Planning Commission received a presentation on the annexation and the Preliminary Annexation Plan at their meeting on February 26, 2025, and set the public hearing date of March 26, 2026. That meeting was canceled and the public hearing was rescheduled for April 23, 2025.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the Planning Commission conduct the public hearing, close the public record, and make a recommendation of approval to the Mayor and Council on the Annexation Plan and its proposed MXTD zoning designation.
The Planning Commission received testimony related to the pedestrian safety at the WMATA property. The testimony noted that during icy and snowy events in winter, the parking lot is not adequately treated. WMATA, as the property owners, will continue to be responsible for maintaining roads within its property and also provide snow removal and other related services. The city can advocate more with WMATA to ensure that snow removal services, that are crucial for safety and accessibility are provided in a timely manner, so that they do not pose significant safety hazards to the public.
Staff received testimony from Mr. Steven VanGrack in support of the annexation. Both testimonies are included as Attachment 4 to this report.
NEXT STEPS:
For the Planning Commission’s information, the intended schedule for the annexation process is shown below. The key next steps for the Planning Commission would be the public hearing on the Preliminary Annexation Plan, at which the Commission will receive testimony, direct any changes to the plan that the Commission may so choose, and then potentially approve the plan subject to any directed changes.
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Actions (ANX2023-00147) |
Proposed Dates |
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Planning Commission holds public hearing. Planning Commission reviews public hearing testimony and approves the staff recommended Annexation Plan for transmittal to Mayor and Council. |
April 23, 2025 |
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Mayor and Council holds a Worksession with presentation from NextGen consultants on the Fiscal Impact Analysis. |
May 12, 2025 |
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Mayor and Council adopts Annexation Plan. Mayor and Council sets public hearing date. Mayor and Council revises the resolutions as introduced on October 23, 2023: 1) Annexation resolution (enlarge city boundaries) 2) Resolution to set public hearing date Mayor and Council adopts the resolution to set the public hearing date. |
June 9, 2025 |
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County Review of Zoning Consistency. |
June - July 2025 |
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Mayor and Council hold annexation public hearing. Mayor and Council adopt the annexation resolution. Mayor and Council introduce the Ordinance(s) to amend zoning map to include annexed property. Adoption of Ordinance(s) to amend the zoning map to include annexed property (if they waive the layover period) |
July 21, 2025 |
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Annexation effective 45 days after enactment of annexation resolution. |
September, 2025 |