Big House Backlash in Rockville?

Rockville residents are concerned about huge new houses being plopped into neighborhoods with relatively small homes—a phenomenon known as mansionization. 

"One thing that's very clear is that size matters," Rockville Mayor Phyllis Marcuccio said. "Size has been the issue you can see. Nobody can argue that these houses aren't a size problem as much as they're an architectural problem. First we need to deal with the size."

Last week, the mayor and members of the City Council were open to exploring ways to prevent mansionization, but they couldn't agree on how to prevent it. Would laws impinge on the rights of property owners? What about the existing property owners—the ones who live next door to the mini-mansion? Is it even possible to legislate taste?

There's also a bigger problem: Love them or hate them, these "mansionized" homes don't break any laws.

"The issue here really is these houses that have been built are perfectly legal as far as zoning is concerned," said Deanne Mellander, a zoning administrator in the city's planning department, who gave a presentation during the Mayor and Council's Aug. 5 meeting.

The homes pose quality of life issues, Councilwoman Bridget Donnell Newton said.

Newton gave an example of an older home that relied on solar power—until a mega-home was built next door, casting a whole lot of shade on the solar panels.

The city's existing laws could go farther if they were used in conjunction with the city's Master Plan—in the case of her example, the home next to the smaller one that used solar panels might not have been allowed, Newton said.

The current law doesn't go far enough, especially in older neighborhoods that don't have home owners associations, Newton said. 

Marcuccio agreed. 

"I think we have to look at it from the point of view from the whole city having [a homeowners association] attitude," Marcuccio said. "I don't' suggest everyone in the city has to pay a fee … We have an obligation to all the other homeowners—eclectic as they may be—not just to the folks who want to build a bigger house."

Councilman Mark Pierzchala said he was more in favor of placing tougher size restrictions on homes, rather than focusing on architectural details, which he said were "judgmental" outside of historic districts. 

When the city revised its zoning code in 2009, not all residents were in favor of placing more restrictions, Pierzchala said. 

Not everyone wants to live in neighborhoods with homeowners associations, he said, adding that some families move into older communities with the intention of expanding—though they may not necessarily intend to build mini mansions.

"This is a high-cost city," Pierzchala said. "You get a new family, and that's what they can afford. They're coming in with the assumption that that they can expand reasonably. They don't want to go through a lot of process—does the neighborhood think my plan is OK or not? I think we have to keep those people in mind."

Councilmen Tom Moore and John Hall Jr. were not at the Aug. 5 meeting. 

The Mayor and Council are on break and aren't expected to meet again until Sept. 9. City officials said they'll likely pick up the discussion of mansionization in the fall.

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Speak Out: Do you think the Mayor and Council should change city policies to address "mansionziation"? If there were changes, would the city be acting like an HOA? Is that a bad thing? Tell us in the comments.