Subject
title
Ownership Plat Application 2026-107-PLT, for the creation of two Ownership Lots in the R-90 (Single Unit Detached Dwelling, Restricted Residential) Zone at 850 Nelson Street; Woodley Waves, LLC, Applicant
end
Department
CPDS - Development Review
Recommendation
Staff recommend approval of Ownership Plat Application 2026-107-PLT, based upon compliance with the Zoning Ordinance and subject to the conditions outlined within this staff report.
Case: Ownership Plat Application 2026-107-PLT
Location: 850 Nelson Street
Staff: Nelson Ortiz, Principal Planner
Community Planning and Development Services
nortiz@rockvillemd.gov
Applicant: Woodley Waves, LLC.
10001 Apple Ridge Rd.
Montgomery Village, MD 20886
Filing Date: July 22, 2025
Planning
Commission Date: November 12, 2025
Woodley Waves, LLC. (“Applicant”) has filed Ownership Plat application 2026-107-PLT to create two ownership lots on the existing record lot. Each ownership lot will serve one of the two co-located uses, a private educational institution and a non-accessory swimming pool, on the site. The proposed ownership plat will remain consistent with the approved special exceptions and site plan application as referenced in the ‘Previous Related Actions’ section below. The Applicant states that the separate ownership lots, within the existing record lot, will facilitate financing and investment for the construction of the replacement school separate from the funding and financing of the swimming pool improvements and operations.
The Zoning Ordinance defines an Ownership Plat as:
A plat legally recorded and filed among the land records of the County which designates land as separate lots for purposes of ownership identification only. An ownership plat is not a plat of subdivision.
The Planning Commission is the Approving Authority for Ownership Plats. Pursuant to Section 25.21.13, the Planning Commission may approve an ownership plat where more than one building or building component exists on a tract of land and where certain conditions exist, as specified in the ‘Findings’ section of this report.
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Location: |
850 Nelson Street (the “Property”) |
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Planning Area: Land Use Designation: |
Planning Area 5 - Woodley Gardens and College Gardens OSP - Open Space Private |
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Zoning District: |
R-90 (Single Unit Detached Dwelling, Restricted Residential) |
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Existing Use: |
Private Educational Institution and Non-Accessory Swimming Pool |
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Plat Area: |
140,515 square feet (3.23 acres) |
Surrounding Land Use and Zoning
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Location |
Zoning |
Planned Land Use |
Existing Use |
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North |
R-75 |
RD - Residential Detached |
Single-family detached |
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East |
R-90 |
RD - Residential Detached |
Single-family detached |
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South |
Park |
P - Public Park |
Park/Open Space |
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West |
Park |
P - Public Park |
Park/Open Space |
Aerial
The Property is located on the south side of Nelson Street between Azalea Drive to the west and Aster Boulevard to the east. The Property is 3.23 acres and is comprised of a single lot described as being Lot 6, Block D, of the Rockville Estates subdivision. Primary access is via two existing driveways along Nelson Street. The Property is currently improved with an existing one-story, club/pool house building, swimming pool and related features, and the foundation of the former school building demolished after a fire casualty. A 67-space surface parking lot is located on the eastern portion of the site. The Property has an expansive front lawn with a circular driveway and has various trees and plantings dispersed throughout. The Property is generally flat with a gentle slope throughout.
The Property is authorized for use as a Private Educational Institution and a Non-Accessory Swimming Pool. Both uses have been co-located on the site for decades through the Georgetown Hill School and Woodley Gardens Swimming Pool. With this ownership plat, the Applicant seeks to create separate ownership lots, Lot 6-A and Lot 6-B, from the existing record lot (Lot 6, Block D, Rockville Estates Subdivision) to facilitate separate financing for the two uses.
The Private Educational Institution and other shared site improvements will be located on proposed Ownership Lot 6-A, which will be 2.18 acres in size. The Non-Accessory Swimming Pool and other shared site improvements will be located on proposed Ownership Lot 6-B, which will be 1.04 acres in size. Access to both ownership lots will continue from Nelson Street via the existing circular driveway serving the property. The Applicant intends to record a Declaration of Covenants, Easements and Restrictions for shared utilities, access and parking facilities on the site.
Figure A. Proposed Ownership Plat
Zoning Ordinance Compliance
The proposal complies with the requirements for an Ownership Plat listed in Section 25.21.13 of the Zoning Ordinance. To be considered for an Ownership Plat, the subject property must consist of a record lot shown on a plat recorded among the Land Records of Montgomery County, Maryland, and have a Site Plan approved for the entire site.
The proposed ownership lots do not constitute a resubdivision of the original record lot, as it only achieves a division of the property for either financing or separate ownership, where resubdivision into a record lots is not feasible. The findings for creating ownership lots are evaluated in the ‘Findings’ section below.
Forest and Tree Preservation
An Ownership Plat does not constitute a subdivision and therefore is not subject to the Forest and Tree Preservation Ordinance (FTPO). However, the associated site plan must comply with the FTPO.
Adequate Public Facilities Standards (APFS)
A determination of Adequate Public Facilities was made with the associated site plan application. The ownership plat remains consistent with the site plan approval; therefore, the determination of adequate public facilities remains in effect.
• Special Exception S-54-62 was approved in the early 1960s and established a swim club on the Property.
• The Board of Appeals approved Special Exception S-197-73 on November 10, 1973, to operate a private educational institution (Day Nursery and Kindergarten) on the Property. The Property was zoned R-S (Residential Suburban).
• The Board of Appeals approved Special Exception S-1-75 on July 8, 1981, to expand building facilities and increase the number of children enrolled at an existing private educational institution on the subject site. The Property was zoned R-90 (Single Family detached, Restricted Residential).
• The Planning Commission approved Use Permit U-29-76 on March 31, 1976, to construct a 1,054 SF building addition for use as classrooms.
• The Board of Appeals approved Special Exception S-58-79 on March 3, 1979, to re-establish a private educational institution (day care and kindergarten) at the Property.
• The Board of Appeals approved Special Exception SPX98-00274 on March 6, 1999, to establish and operate Georgetown Hill School, a private educational institution. The maximum enrollment at the school was 76 children, with a maximum of 58 children allowed on site at any one time. The school’s hours of operation were limited to weekdays between 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
• The Board of Appeals approved Special Exception SPX2000-00296 on March 3, 2001, to modify condition of approval #2 imposed on SPX98-00274 to permit an increase in maximum enrollment from 76 children to 96 students and increase the maximum number of children allowed on site at any time from 58 children to 78 children. The Board of Appeals also approved construction of a new classroom addition onto the existing day care operation.
• The Planning Commission approved Use Permit USA1976-0029A on July 11, 2001, to construct a new classroom building addition to accommodate an increase in enrollment from 78 to 96 students.
• The Board of Appeals approved Special Exception SPX2005-00363 on July 8, 2006, to construct a new classroom building addition and increase the number of children from 96 to 123 students, with a maximum of 105 children allowed on site any one time.
• Use Permit Amendment USA1976-0029B was approved on July 2, 2007 by the Chief of Planning, to allow for the construction of a 2,300 SF addition.
• Special Exception Minor Modification SPX2014-00388 and Minor Site Plan Amendment STP2014-00207 were approved on May 14, 2014 by the Chief of Planning, to allow the construction of a one story, 741 SF addition and complete parking site improvements.
• Special Exception Major Modification SPX2024-00408 was approved by the Board of Appeals on May 15, 2024. The approval re-established and modified Georgetown Hill School operations and increased student enrollment to 198 students.
• Special Exception Minor Modification SPX2025-00409 was approved in October 2024 by the Chief of Zoning, to modify the existing pool house building and pool deck.
• On October 9, 2024, the Planning Commission approved Major Site Plan Amendment Application STP2024-00488 to implement Special Exception applications SPX2024-00408 and SPX2025-00409. The Planning Commission also approved nonconforming alteration approvals for impervious surface area in the front yard and vehicle parking requirements in accordance with Section 25.08.08 of the Zoning Code. Additionally, the Planning Commission granted a waiver of the parking facility buffering/screening requirements of the Landscaping, Screening, and Lighting Manual.
Public notification of the Ownership Plat was made as required by the Zoning Ordinance. At the time of this report, no public testimony or inquiries have been received regarding the Ownership Plat application.
The Georgetown Hill School and Woodley Waves Swimming Pool development project has been the subject of various neighborhood area meetings during the pre and post application phase, and public hearings before the Board of Appeals and Planning Commission.
Findings
Zoning Code Section 25.21.13.b, Conditions for approval, provides that “where more than one (1) building or building component exists, or is to be located, on a tract of land, the Planning Commission may approve an ownership plat if the Commission finds all of the following.”
1. The land is located in a zone other than the R-400, R-200, R-150, R-90, R-75, R-60, and R-40 Zones, except that an Ownership Plat is permitted in the previously mentioned zones if the property contains or is approved for a use other than single-unit detached residential.
The Property is located in the R-90 Zone; however, the Property is approved for use other than single-unit detached residential.
2. The Ownership Plat is reasonably necessary to accommodate the financing, phasing, or separate ownership of a building or group of buildings or building components on a recorded lot.
In this case, the purpose of creating these ownership lots is to accommodate separate financing and investment for the construction of the replacement Georgetown Hill School separate from the funding and financing of the Woodley Gardens Swimming Pool operations and improvements. It would not be feasible to resubdivide the property into record lots due to the existing improvements already present on the site and future improvements authorized on the site.
3. The subdivision into individual record lots for each building or building component is not feasible because:
(a) Setback, open space or lot size requirements or other development standards of the zone reasonably preclude such subdivision;
It is not feasible to establish record lots on this property without significantly impacting existing development. If subdivision of the Property was pursued, it would require that each lot meet all Zoning Ordinance and other development requirements including stormwater management, landscaping, and parking requirements; however, the benefit of the ownership plats is how it allows for these features to be provided within the record lot that will serve the entire property rather than the individual lots. It is far more practical to create ownership lots for the two separate uses rather than attempt to have the lots meet these development standards individually.
(b) Amenity features required in the zone or pursuant to an approved use permit or site plan for the tract are designed to serve the various buildings or building components, or other design features of the project are integrated among the buildings or components;
The open space and public use space will serve both ownership lots.
(c) Density calculations or bonus densities allowed in the zone and approved in a use permit or site plan are based on the area of the entire tract;
With their approval of Major Site Plan Amendment STP2024-00488, the Applicant was granted approval of nonconforming alterations for impervious surface area in the front yard and vehicle parking requirements. Specifically, the nonconforming alteration for impervious surface area in the front yard is based on the front yard area of the entire record lot.
(d) The creation of ownership lines or financing lines is intended principally to accommodate the separate ownership or financing rather than its formal subdivision.
In this case, resubdivision to accommodate the sale or financing of individual buildings on the property is not practical. As a result, an Ownership Plat affords the property owners the ability to separately finance. To ensure compliance with the Zoning Ordinance on the underlying record lot, the Ownership Plat process requires that the property remain governed by a single Use Permit or Site Plan. In this case, the Property is governed by certain applications as referenced in the ‘Previous Related Actions’ section above.
Conditions and Recommendation
Staff find that the proposed ownership plat meets the conditions for approval in Section 25.21.13.b and recommend approval of Ownership Plat Application 2026-107-PLT, subject to the following conditions:
Planning and Zoning
1. The Ownership Plat submission must include an original mylar plat and three mylar copies.
2. The Ownership Plat application shall be submitted in an appropriate electronic format as specified in Section 25.21.10.d of the City of Rockville Zoning Ordinance.
3. The Declaration of Covenants, Easements and Restrictions, reviewed and approved by the City Attorney's Office, must be recorded in the Montgomery County Land Records Office concurrently with the ownership plat and prior to issuance of any building permits for the project. Any subsequent amendments to provisions that pertain to the interests of the City or the public must be reviewed and approved by the City Attorney's Office.