Subject
title
Introduction and Possible Adoption of an Ordinance to approve the Town Center Master Plan as an amendment to the adopted 2021 Comprehensive Plan for the City of Rockville, pursuant to Section 3-101 of the Land Use Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland.
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Department
CPDS - Comprehensive Planning
Recommendation
Staff recommends that the Mayor and Council review, introduce, and adopt the attached draft ordinance to adopt the 2025 Town Center Master Plan as an amendment to the adopted 2021 Comprehensive Plan for the City of Rockville. If the Mayor and Council wish to proceed with the adoption of the ordinance at its January 27th meeting, the ordinance should first be introduced, and then a motion should be made to waive the layover period. If the motion to waive the layover period is approved by six affirmative votes, a motion to adopt the ordinance may then proceed.
Change in Law or Policy
The adoption of the updated Town Center Master Plan (See Attachment 1 - Draft Plan for Adoption Consideration 01.15.2025) will serve as an amendment to the Rockville 2040 Comprehensive Plan, replacing the existing Planning Area 1 chapter in its entirety.
Discussion
Background
The Mayor and Council have held three work sessions on the draft Town Center Master Plan - the first work session took place on December 9th; the second took place on December 16th; and the third and final work session took place on January 6th. Key discussions have revolved around base height allowances and the bonus height program, incentives for affordable housing, and reduction or elimination of minimum parking requirements. Motivation for including these items in the Plan comes from the vision of Town Center as an area with increased residential density to attract more residents and support local businesses.
The first work session included nine topic areas that staff sought direction from the Mayor and Council. The two subsequent work sessions involved more detailed discussion on five areas for which the Mayor and Council had asked additional questions and for more information to make a more informed decision. The December 16th work session focused on the housing unit goal, the creation of an additional character area along MD-355, building base heights, and the bonus height program. The January 6th work session focused on finalizing the boundaries of the “MD-355 Corridor” character area and recommended changes to parking requirements.
January 13 Meeting
On January 13, the Mayor and Council were scheduled to either adopt an ordinance to approve the Town Center Master Plan or adopt a resolution to receive the one-time, 60-day extension for the review and approval period, pursuant to Section 3-204 of the Land Use Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland. At the January 13 meeting, the Mayor and Council unanimously moved to adopt the resolution granting the extension, which adjusts the deadline for taking action to March 17, 2025.
At this meeting, the Mayor and Council discussed many elements of the Plan, providing additional feedback and flagging desire to see future updates on implementation of many of the recommended actions at future meetings.
At the meeting, staff identified 3 errata to be incorporated into the latest draft of the Plan: updating the planning process narrative (page 17) to include the December 9 public hearing and revised adoption date; updating Action 1.1.2 (page 43) to reflect that bonus heights in the MD-355 Corridor and Core character areas are set at 100 feet, while bonus height in the edge character area is 50 feet; and updating the implementation matrix (page 104) to reflect the modifications to Action 2.1.1. All these edits have been incorporated into the latest draft of the Plan (See Attachment 1 - Draft Plan for Adoption Consideration 01.15.2025).
Beyond the errata identified during the January 13th meeting and noted above, additional changes made to the Plan following the January 13th meeting include:
• Action 2.1.1 (page 44) has been revised to strengthen the language that the elimination of off-street parking requirements does not impact accessible parking requirements or loading requirements.
• The parking section of the Transportation chapter (page 54) has been updated to note that there should be coordination between public and private parking providers to enhance the user experience and that the city should conduct outreach and provide education to the public about parking facilities.
• Table 12 (page 98) has been updated to show the latest numbers in the “Seats Until Moratorium Threshold” column and rows added for Ritchie Park and Twinbrook Elementary Schools. Though Town Center residents are not zoned to attend these schools, they have been added to the table at the request of the Mayor and Council since these schools fall within the Richard Montgomery cluster. Accordingly, the label for Table 12 has been modified from “Town Center Schools - Capacity Threshold and Students Generated” to “Richard Montgomery Cluster - Capacity Threshold and Students Generated.”
• Several typos and clerical edits have been made throughout the document as identified during a detailed quality assurance review.
There was also a request during the January 13th meeting to see a comparison of the project and recommended actions within the existing Planning Area 1 chapter of the Rockville 2040 Comprehensive Plan and how they compare to the recommended actions in the draft Town Center Master Plan. That comparison is provided as Attachment 3 - Comparison of TCMP Actions to Rockville 2040 Actions".
Staff did receive comments at the January 13th meeting to “flag” the Plan’s action to provide for transitions between the Edge Character area and the adjacent properties. Staff did commit to review and receive direction on this at a future Mayor and Council meeting for the Zoning Ordinance Rewrite project.
Changes During Mayor and Council Review
The Mayor and Council’s review and discussion of the Plan has resulted in several key changes from the Planning Commission draft, mostly regarding zoning and land use. The major changes made during Mayor and Council review are summarized in the list below:
1. The net new housing unit goal has been increased from 2,000 units to 3,000 units.
2. A new character area has been added to the Planning Area, called the 355-Corridor, with a base height limit of 235 feet. This character area generally includes properties within a ½ mile radius of the Rockville Metro station and with frontage on MD-355.
3. The base height limit for the edge character area has increased from 75 feet to 85 feet.
4. Qualifications for the bonus height program have been revised to include only affordable housing, specifically 20% or more moderately priced dwelling units or other deed restricted affordable housing. The Planning Commission approved draft allowed additional moderately priced dwelling units and/or additional green space improved with climate resiliency features to qualify for bonus height.
5. Bonus height has been revised to 100 additional feet of permitted height for properties within the MD-355 corridor and core character area, and 50 additional feet for properties with the edge character area.
6. Minimum off street parking requirements have been eliminated within ½ mile of the Rockville Metro Station and within ¼ mile of any future BRT stations. The Planning Commission approved draft called for the elimination of minimum off-street parking requirements throughout the entire planning area. Property owners will be required to submit a “parking plan” along with their other development review documents when developing in Town Center. In this document, property owners must outline the number of parking spaces they will provide as a part of a development, as well provide a statement of justification explaining how the proposed amount of parking and/or nearby available parking will meet demand from the development’s users.
7. Action 5.1.1, referring to the location of the Rockville Metro Station BRT stop, has been modified to reflect the latest engineering and design drawings on station location.
8. A new action, Action 9.2.6, has been added calling for a public park along the future extension of Maryland Avenue.
9. Several small clerical edits have been made throughout the plan to correct typos, clarify language and update unit/ridership counts.
Plan Adoption
If the Mayor and Council chooses, it will be introducing and adopting an ordinance that in turn adopts the Town Center Master Plan, which will replace the existing Planning Area 1 chapter of the Comprehensive Plan in its entirety (See Attachment 2 - Ordinance to Adopt the Town Center Master Plan). Given that the Mayor and Council requested a 60-day extension at the January 13 meeting, the new deadline to take action on the Plan is March 17, 2025.
Implementation
The Plan sets policies and recommendations that will be implemented by multiple mechanisms. The Zoning Ordinance Rewrite project, currently underway, will implement many of the zoning recommendations set forth in the Plan. The implementation chapter of the Plan contains a matrix which details the roles, responsibilities, and timelines for the recommended actions within the Plan.
Mayor and Council History
The Mayor and Council approved a project charter for an update to the Town Center Master Plan in January 2023. Since the project was initiated, staff has provided periodic updates on the project via email. The Mayor and Council hosted the first public hearing on the Plan on October 28, 2024, and second public hearing on December 9. The work sessions took place on December 9th, December 16, and January 6. On January 13, 2025, the Mayor and Council adopted a resolution to extend the review period by 60 days, pursuant to Section 3-204 of the Land Use Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland.
Public Notification and Engagement
Extensive public outreach efforts have been underway for the Plan since April 2023. The project’s “outreach and engagement” phase took place between April and September 2023. During this period, staff estimates that approximately 1,000 individuals provided feedback. A full analysis of feedback received during the outreach and engagement period, as well as descriptions of each engagement methodology, can be found in the Community Engagement Report, available on the Engage Rockville website.
Since the draft Plan was released in April, staff has utilized Rockville Reports, City social media channels, email 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>.
Staff hosted two public meetings focused exclusively on Town Center that took place on June 18th and June 24th. All of these meetings were added to the City calendar, publicized using the city’s typical communication avenues, and open to the public.
Throughout the Planning Commission process, 31 individuals or organizations provided written comment to the Commission with their thoughts on the draft Plan. The Mayor and Council hosted two public hearings on the Plan, one on October 28 and the other on December 9. A full digest of public commentary on the Plan, as of January 15th, is provided as Attachment 4 - Digest of Public Commentary - 01.15.25. This includes formally submitted testimony to the Planning Commission and Mayor and Council, as well as email correspondence to CPDS staff.
The Engage Rockville project page continues to be updated with progress on the Plan. Most recently, the Engage Rockville page was updated on January 16th to provide a summary of the January 13 Mayor and Council meeting, notify the community of the proposed adoption on January 27, and provide the latest draft of the Plan for public review. An email newsletter summarizing the aforementioned items was also sent to all project subscribers on January 16th.
Boards and Commissions Review
The draft Plan has been reviewed by many different boards and commissions since it was released at the end of April 2024. Between May and September, the Plan was presented to the Rockville Pedestrian Advocacy Committee, Transportation & Mobility Commission, Rockville Bicycle Advisory Committee, Environmental Commission, and Planning Commission. The Transportation and Mobility Commission and Environmental Committee provided feedback on the draft Plan in the form of written letters.
The draft Plan has been through a thorough review process before the Planning Commission. The Planning Commission reviewed and discussed the Plan on five dates between June and September 2024. On September 25th, the Planning Commission passed a resolution to approve the draft Plan and transmit it to the Mayor and Council, initiating the Mayor and Council’s formal review process.
Next Steps
If the Mayor and Council adopts the attached ordinance to adopt the 2025 Town Center Master Plan, the City website will be updated to reflect the adopted Plan. Implementation of the zoning related elements of the Plan will be addressed through the ongoing Zoning Ordinance Rewrite project.