City and County Councils to Meet
Glenview Mansion and annexation of the Reed Brothers site are also on the agenda.
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The Rockville City Council is scheduled to meet with the Montgomery County Council as part of a full agenda for the Rockville council’s agenda for its weekly meeting at 7 tonight at City Hall.
The meeting with the County Council is expected to include discussions of:
- Construction projects to alleviate crowding in Richard Montgomery cluster schools.
- Tax duplication reimbursement to the city by the county. The reimbursement covers services that the municipal government provides that would be provided by the county. Most significant for Rockville is reimbursement for road maintenance.
- Restoration, by the Maryland General Assembly, of highway user revenue. Municipalities use the revenue for road maintenance and small road improvement projects.
- Statewide stormwater management legislation, including the city’s stormwater utility fee.
- Parking at Rockville Memorial Library.
- County development along the city’s borders.
- Collaboration with Montgomery College.
- County curfew legislation.
- Joint meetings between the city and county councils on a regular basis.
The council’s consent agenda includes a proposal to award a $396,000 contract for streetlight maintenance to Lighting Maintenance, Inc. of Linthicum.
The council also will discuss historic district designation for Glenview Mansion at Rockville Civic Center Park. Staff is recommending that the council approve a map amendment ordinance. The ordinance would be introduced Oct. 17 for a vote on Oct. 24.
The agenda also includes three items regarding the annexation of the Reed Brothers site at 15955 Frederick Road. Silverwood/Shady Grove LLC is seeking to build a six-story 417-unit multifamily building with ground floor retail on the 4.3-acre property. The site is in the Gaithersburg High School cluster and is close to the Shady Grove Metro station.
The council would vote on adoption of a map amendment approving the annexation on Oct. 24. If approved, the annexation would take effect Nov. 24.
The meeting will be broadcast live on Rockville 11.
In This article
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Rockville City Hall
111 Maryland Ave, Rockville, MD -
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Rockville Memorial Library
21 Maryland Ave, Rockville, MD -
Montgomery College
51 Mannakee St, Rockville, MD -
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Glenview Mansion at Rockville Civic Center Park
603 Edmonston Dr, Rockville, MD
Jeff Hawkins
2:03 pm on Monday, October 10, 2011
Speaking as an alumnus of the former Hungerford ES and Park Street ES prior to that, it would be wonderful to see Hungerford ES re-open.
On a different subject, my God.....a 6 story 417 family building where Reed Bros.
Dodge is. What a horrible place to live? I could use some more colorful terms for that area, but common sense tells me not to use them.
Peter Mork
4:03 pm on Monday, October 10, 2011
Well, I can't imagine obtaining support for building a 6-story building (residential or otherwise) in most neighborhoods. Adjacent to the Metro seems like a better location than most.
joe
2:34 pm on Monday, October 10, 2011
Jeff, seems about the only folks who think it's a good idea are the developers, attorneys for the developers and councilmen Gajewski, Britton and Pierzchala. Just because the land is situated near the Metro doesn't make it smart growth.
Jeff Hawkins
2:46 pm on Monday, October 10, 2011
Joe,
Oh, I'm quite sure it must have it's supporters and they will all trumpet their reasons for supporting it and they may even sound somewhat logical to the mildly interested. I'm just guessing here though, but I would venture to say it all has something to do with "potential revenue" and nothing more, a relative form of greed really and they all have $$ signs in their eyes. I agree with you Joe..............smart growth it's not!
Theresa Defino
4:18 pm on Monday, October 10, 2011
That is a false statement. The Montgomery County Commission voted 6-3 to approve the annexation and subsequent rezoning. There is a long history to this project and many documents on the city's website available for those who care to fully educate themselves about this and speak truthfully on the topic.
Theresa Defino
4:24 pm on Monday, October 10, 2011
I am referring to Joe Jordan's comment.
joe
4:40 pm on Monday, October 10, 2011
Theresa, you are right. In addition, the County Executive is against the project, is seeking to overturn the decision, and a spokewoman from his office gave detailed testimony to the Mayor and Council.
Sean R. Sedam
4:32 pm on Monday, October 10, 2011
The second half of this article mentions the "smart growth" argument referenced by Joe. The bottom mentions the council vote referenced by Theresa: http://rockville.patch.com/articles/county-council-backs-annexation-of-reed-brothers-property-and-changes-to-police-bargaining
Theresa Defino
5:15 pm on Monday, October 10, 2011
And, planners from other cities--not developers--were also for it. The minutes from the Sept. 26 public hearing are not up so I can't name them but the meeting can be viewed online. The point is it simply inaccurate to say this is three councilmen and developers against everyone else on this issue. It is far more nuanced and has been discussed in depth already.
All the documents are also here.
http://rockmail.rockvillemd.gov:80/clerk/egenda.nsf/d5c6a20307650f4a852572f9004d38b8/813ba77ebb69ab738525790b005d9e71!OpenDocument
Piotr Gajewski
6:18 pm on Monday, October 10, 2011
Of course, being left out of the discussion here are the folks who will ultimately reside in these apartments. They are for the project. They will vote with their feet (and their wallets) by moving here (I say “here,” because I live just a few blocks away).
And if indeed no one wants to live here, then we will have one broke developer.
Sounds like a win/win: either we get some badly needed housing or a bankrupt developer who will never again do any harm.
Jeff Hawkins
8:46 am on Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Piotr,
Who are "they" that will reside there and are "for the project". I'm guessing living right on the edge of Rt. 355 and looking out your window at the lovely CarMax parking lot on one side and the industrial strip mall on the other side and throw in the soothing sounds of the freight trains, passenger trains and Metro trains humming along in your backyard.
A truly great place to raise a family? This is being done for one reason only.......and that reason is "money", money for the city, money for the county, money for the developer. The people who will live there are nothing more than pawns in a game and will end up living in a horrible environment. My concern would be for the folks.
Peter Mork
9:50 am on Tuesday, October 11, 2011
There's an unavoidable dilemma that you've identified, Jeff. If people want to live near Metro stations then they will be living next to trains. There's no way around it. Some of us may find that an unacceptable cost, but other people value more highly their ability to travel sans car. So, the "they" in question are people who want the convenience of living right next to a Metro station and are willing to accept the fact that this means trains next door. I've lived near downtown, adjacent to a strip mall, and in the suburbs. Downtown wouldn't have been great for raising a family, but the other two locations were fantastic. Walking to public transit and the grocery store was a definite plus. I moved to a suburb location knowing that I was giving up certain amenities in favor of more space. But, I don't want to assume that my choices are correct for everyone.
Sean Carr
9:45 am on Tuesday, October 11, 2011
The Reed Brothers project may get built. And within 5-10 years, the county will be under intense political pressure to close or move the dump. Expensive and extensive litigation will follow.
Peter Mork
9:52 am on Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Certainly a potential risk. I hope that by then, the Mayor & Council will have built a better relationship with the county, and have moved away from a confrontational approach.
Jeff Hawkins
10:21 am on Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Peter,
I agree, there can be wonderful city/downtown type of residences with all of life's conveniences at your doorstep. I'm just saying that the area in question is "let's put this nicely" is lacking. I'm not sure if you are familiar with the location or not? Other than it being a Metro stop, I can't think of one attribute that location might have? Here is another nicety............have you ever been "downwind" from the Refuse/Dump on a hot August afternoon? I fully understand what you are saying, it's just this is NOT the right location....................in my forever humble opinion :)
Piotr Gajewski
1:40 pm on Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Jeff,
You humbly keep insulting my neighborhood. ;-)
There are properties in King Farm that are closer to the transfer station than the property in question. And indeed, King Farm was planned (with those properties close to the transfer station) after the transfer station was already in place! No one, as far as I know, made a fuss then. And those of us who live here in King Farm (and I live just a few blocks away from the proposed site) value living here, and frankly, our property values are some of the most stable in Rockville.
Please also note that other properties right around the property in question, some significantly closer to the smelliest parts of the transfer station, are planned for Montgomery County housing. There is a lot of misinformation being disseminated about this issue: always too bad when that happens.
Jeff Hawkins
2:21 pm on Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Piotr,
I apologize. I don't mean to insult your neighborhood. King Farm is a fine area, although to be honest I miss the open spaces when it was a farm. I would NOT consider the Reed Bros. site to be on a par with King Farm.
On YOUR side of the road there are no business except for King Buick up by Shady Grove. I suppose beauty or smell lies with the beholder. I know development is inevitable and every nook & cranny will eventually have people shoehorned into a plot of land. It's not always the right thing to do though. As a long time resident who still remembers the beauty of this area, it's hard to watch the continual destruction of a once beautiful area.
Lastly, the notion that it's OK because other areas are planned for this does not make it right. I feel sorry for anyone who will buy or rent property that is anywhere near the transfer station, unless you wanna grow a third arm or glow in the dark.
Temperance Blalock
2:13 pm on Tuesday, October 11, 2011
There's a small mall strip right next to the transfer station that's full of restaurants and places to buy food. If being near the transfer station is so dangerous, why has no one in 20+ years attempted to close those restaurants so that citizens will not consume the toxic byproducts that drift over from the trash?
Jeff Hawkins
2:58 pm on Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Temperance,
Good question? I believe there might be one restaurant there on the corner that's been a number different restaurants over the years. There is a Midas Muffler shop and a car parts store, and maybe a couple more parts stores. It's NOT "full" of restaurants and places to buy food.
The strip mall was built prior to the transfer station and has NEVER been considered a food destination except when there was a Shakey's Pizza on the end, it went out of business after the transfer station was built and has been at least 5 o 6 different restaurants since. So go buy whatever is being sold there now, maybe have a picnic out back near the dumpster that is filled with rats and surrounded by broken down cars and catch the breeze from the transfer station next door, it must be OK......the County or City says so..............enjoy that burger......