At its Monday, March 7, 2022 meeting, the Rockville Mayor and Council will discuss Twinbrook Commons, Tropical Storm Ida, and the proposed FY2023 budget. On the Consent Calendar (items approved without discussion) are multiple construction contracts for stormwater maintenance and repair for a total not to exceed $9 million over four years. The Mayor and Council will also receive reports from Human Services Advisory Commission and on a 37-question survey (good heavens, that’s too long) conducted by the Human Rights Commission on the impact of the pandemic and the community’s perception of discrimination and inclusion following the murder of George Floyd (the results seem unreliable: 24% of the respondents were from Fallsmead and 14% from Twinbrook—why do cities insist on conducting surveys??).

Twinbrook Commons is a proposed development with a 440-unit, 120-foot-tall multi-family residential building; 5,000-6,000 square feet of ground-floor retail; a “residential amenity”; a 437-space parking structure; and a bus loop on Chapman Avenue near the Twinbrook Metro Station. This development will change the current plans for a one-story non-residential building, a 13-story office building, and a six-to-nine-level parking structure. Secondly, the adequate public facilities approvals have expired, so they’ll need to be reviewed. Finally, existing plans encourage the creation of at least one public park in this area and none are provided in the proposed development. The staff report is a bit confusing so read it carefully: the size of ground-floor retail varies; there’s a suggestion that the number of parking spaces is significantly lower; and an existing building at the corner of Chapman and Thompson will be incorporated into the building but it’s unclear how this will be compatible. From the plans, it appears to be the typical corporate apartments wrapped around a parking structure surrounded by a bus loop (or is it a moat?). They’ll sell but…yawn..it’s also dull and boring. It wouldn’t have been approved near the Rockville Metro Station and yet in Twinbrook….

More details in the 215-page agenda packet are available at https://www.rockvillemd.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_03072022-6527.