At a recent Community Forum, Rockville residents spoke out about rising rents, neglected apartments, and fears of being pushed out of the city they call home. Their stories were powerful—and familiar. For many, housing costs are rising faster than wages, and longtime residents are finding it harder to stay in Rockville.

What’s encouraging is that the City is listening and acting, despite what renters are claiming. Behind the scenes, Rockville has been working on two major initiatives:

1. A complete rewrite of the city’s zoning ordinance to allow more housing in key areas.
2. A growing toolkit of housing affordability strategies, many of which are already in motion.

These efforts reflect a larger truth: there’s no single solution to Rockville’s housing challenges. Instead, the city is starting to take a systems approach, linking land use, renter protections, affordability programs, and partnerships into a broader vision. Affordable housing was not a priority of previous Mayors and candidates who ran on this issue were not elected (e.g., Mayor Newton opposed the acquisition of Fireside Apartments by Rockville Housing Enterprises at the March 19, 2019 meeting). Here’s what you need to know:

Zoning Reform: Making Room for More Homes

Rockville’s zoning rewrite, which we’ve previously summarized here, is a once-in-a-generation update. The city’s March and May staff reports lay out ambitious goals to:

• Encourage more mixed-use development in Downtown and Twinbrook.
• Allow a wider range of housing types, from townhouses to accessory units.
• Simplify permitting, reduce parking minimums, and promote walkable neighborhoods.

The goal is to increase housing supply and support diverse, connected communities. But zoning reform is a long game. Even with these changes, it may take years before new, affordable housing comes online.

Pairing Zoning with Housing Affordability Tools

The good news is that Rockville isn’t relying on zoning alone. According to the May 5, 2025 Mayor and Council meeting, the City is actively developing housing strategies to: