Mayor and Council to Discuss Unsafe Streets in Rockville
At its Monday, January 22, 2024 meeting, the Rockville Mayor and Council will discuss police pension. On the Consent Calendar (items approved without discussion) are contracts for equipment or services related to building construction and repair ($140K); security enhancements to the water treatment plant ($136K), equipment and support for the Data Center ($1.9M); and playground maintenance and repair ($850K), among others. The Mayor and Council will also receive reports on Bus Rapid Transit on MD 355; Environment Commission; Vision Zero; Bikeway and Pedestrian Master Plan; Procurement; and the outreach program for minority, female, disabled, and veteran-owned businesses.
The Montgomery County Department of Transportation has been considering Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) throughout the county, including Viers Mill Road (MD 586) and the Rockville Pike (MD 355) in Rockville, to provide fast and reliable public transportation using dedicated lanes on the busiest streets (Agenda page 5+). In July 2019, the County Council stated they preferred two dedicated lanes in the median (one lane in each direction in the center of the street) for MD 355, however, design has become more complicated for the area near College Parkway. Furthermore, the project will affect Rockville’s Vision Zero, Bikeway, and Rockville Pike plans. To help pay for the project, the County has requested a $1 million contribution from Rockville’s portion of the Montgomery County Transportation Impact Tax.
In July 2020, the Mayor and Council adopted the Vision Zero Action Plan (page 28+). Vision Zero is a multidisciplinary traffic safety program with the overarching goal to wholly eliminate deaths and serious injuries that result from traffic crashes. This program is designed for all roadway users: motorists, pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit users. This program departs from past roadway safety programs by explicitly rejecting any traffic death or serious injury as acceptable and recognizing that people will often make mistakes while traveling, but mistakes should not result in death or serious injury. A recent study revealed six roads in Rockville as “High Injury Network” segments, which means there have been at least four fatal or serious injuries crashes: Rockville Pike (from Veirs Mill Road to Bouic Avenue); West Montgomery Avenue (from Research Blved to Mannakee Street); Norbeck Road (from First Street to Avery Road); Frederick Road (from Ridgemont Ave to Watkins Pond Blvd); Veirs Mill Road (from Rockville Pike to Twinbrook Parkway); and North Washington Street (from Hungerford to W. Jefferson St.). Unfortunately, most of these highways are controlled by the State of Maryland (N. Washington Street is the only City-maintained roadway among those listed). Time to contact your State Senator and Delegates to light a fire under the State Highway Administration!
The Mayor and Council are conducting hybrid meetings. If you wish to submit comments in writing for Community Forum or Public Hearings, please email the comments to MayorAndCouncil@RockvilleMD.gov by no later than 10:00 a.m. on the date of the meeting.
More details in the 455-page agenda packet are available at https://www.rockvillemd.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_01222024-7097.
Meanwhile, in the State of Maryland
The 90-day legislative session has begun! Taxes and cost shifts are on the table for the General Assembly session as Gov. Wes Moore (D) and lawmakers look to solve both a structural budget shortfall and massive cuts to transportation projects. In November, legislative budget analysts told the joint Spending Affordability Committee that the state faces a structural gap of $322 million in the coming legislative session. Projections show the gap continuing to grow in fiscal 2026 and 2027 to $376 million and $436 million respectively. More at MarylandMatters.org.
State Delegate Joe Vogel (District 17) is among the seven state lawmakers who are currently running for Congress in either the 3rd or 6th districts, with the primaries fast approaching on May 14.
The FBI arrested Carlos Ayala of Salisbury, a State Board of Elections member, for participating in the January 6 insurrection. He resigned from the Board of Elections on January 11. Ayala was appointed to the state Board of Elections last year by Gov. Wes Moore (D) following a recommendation by the Maryland Republican Party. Looks like they need to do a deeper background check before appointing people to public office.
Mayor and Council to Consider Increasing Lots of Fees; Can it Untangle 900 Rockville Pike?
At its Monday, May 8, 2023 meeting, the Rockville Mayor and Council will discuss amending master fees for community planning and development services. On the Consent Calendar (items approved without discussion) are the pension plan for 2023. The Mayor and Council will also receive reports on the Vision Zero Action Plan, Bikeway and Pedestrian Master Plans, development of 900 Rockville Pike, and the historic preservation work plan.
Fees for building permits, inspections, and licenses are proposed to increase 2.5% to keep up with inflation; include a 10% fee to offset the cost of technology; adopt a fee structure based on square footage or estimated construction cost; and assess a separate application fee. For example, a building permit for new residential construction or to repair fire damage will be $0.25 per square foot, including the basement, garage, and roof; a license for short-term rentals is $450; and a building permit for a swimming pool or to demolish a building of any size is $553.
Interestingly, the staff report admits that the actual cost of providing services is unknown and it is uncertain whether the revenues from fees are sufficient to cover their expenses (170). Secondly, new construction accounts for 35-40% of global greenhouse gas emissions and “virtually every green rating program (LEED, USGBC, IgCC) recognizes the value of adaptive reuse” (173). Nevertheless, the City is comfortable granting inexpensive demolition permits (where does all that building material go? into the county dump!). Instead, it should encourage adaptive reuse by significantly increasing the demolition permit fees on a square-foot basis.
J. Danshes LLC has filed an application to build a 4,400 square foot one-story retail building at 900 Rockville Pike (southeast corner of Rockville Pike and Edmonston Drive, one of the narrowest lots on the east side of the Pike due to the railroad tracks). In 2006, the City adopted a Mixed-Use Corridor District zone for this small lot, which allowed up to 12,754 square feet of retail space. Despite this new proposal being a much smaller building, it is now subject to several new city regulations that have been adopted over the years plus it needs to accommodate the proposed Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) route. As a result, this project has been in the pipeline since 2017 and is becoming an enigma wrapped in a puzzle—what would you do with this property when you’re faced with the following situation:
“To create the right-of-way land area dictated by the public agencies, the Applicant must dedicate 6,523 square feet of area (0.15 acres, 25.2% of existing lot area) to public use. Said dedication reduces the size of the site from 25,862 (0.59) acre to 19, 339 square feet (0.44 acre).” (257)
More details in the 329-page agenda packet are available at https://www.rockvillemd.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_05082023-6899.
Max for Rockville 