Mayor and Council - Regular Meeting

Today is 04/13/2026. We have a full house in the chamber and an overflow, and we're happy to see everyone today. We'll begin with the pledge of allegiance. Okay, so I do want to note that we have a special day today. We're going to focus on some proclamations and recognitions. And I'm going to ask my colleagues to join me at the podium.

Good evening, everyone. I'm, council member Zola Shah, and it is my honor to read Financial Literacy Month. Whereas the month of April is recognized as national financial literacy month, a time to recognize the importance of financial education and empower individuals and families to make informed and effective financial decisions. And now, therefore, the mayor and council of the city of Rockville do hereby proclaim April 2026 as financial literacy month and urge all residents to take advantage of available financial education resources, engage in activities that build financial knowledge and skills, and make informed decisions that support their long term financial well-being. Madam mayor, I move the proclamation.

Thank you. Do we have a second? Council member Miles seconds. All those in favor, please raise your hand and say aye. Aye. Aye. You. Council member.

And I believe we have Lydia Vale here to accept the proclamation.

Oh.

All of you. Thank you.

Good evening, everyone. We're really grateful to be accepting this evening's proclamation for National Financial Literacy Month, as well as on behalf of the relaunched Bank on Rockville Coalition. We have representatives here this evening from the Latino Economic Development Center. Center. Thank you. From LEDC, from Truist Bank, and from Career Catchers. And we also have the support of folks from other agencies like Community Action Agency within our Department of Housing and Community Development. So we are very delighted to be bringing these supports and services to Rockville residents to support financial empowerment pathways to employment, living wage careers, housing, and more. So thank you so much for the proclamation and to our partners for being here this evening.

So,

Mayor Ashton has encouraged me to share more about Bank on Rockville. Anyone is interested, we will be hosting programs later on this summer, opportunities to participate in financial empowerment workshops, homeownership counseling, and through our partners, we will also be extending events and opportunities for people to be learning how to connect with banking resources that support access to banking for folks who are underbanked and unbanked. So, again, please look for those invitations as events and activities become posted and dates get shared.

Okay. Looks like this is

all Literacy Month. Okay. Alright. Next up is the proclamation in honor of Fair Housing Month. This is a month that this mayor and council, from day one, Fair Housing and all the housing issues in the city were a strategic priority and continued to be.

We have some phenomenal, nonprofit partners, entities, city staff. There are a lot of people that make fair housing month, possible. You're gonna learn a lot more about some young people that are making it interesting and engaging but we'll start off first with the proclamation in honor of Fair Housing Month. Whereas the month of April marks the anniversary of the passage of the Federal Fair Housing Act of 1968, which prohibits discrimination in housing based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, and disability. Now, therefore, the mayor and council of the city of Rockville, Maryland do hereby proclaim their support for the Children's Bill of I'm sorry.

That's a little bit of an error.

Now, therefore, the mayor and council of

the city of Rockville do hereby proclaim April 2026 as fair housing month and urge all residents to join in this commitment to eliminate housing discrimination, support equal housing opportunity, and recognize that our community is stronger when it is fair, open, and inclusive. Madam Mayor, I move the proclamation.

Councilor Graveshaw seconds. All those in favor, please raise your hand. A moment. Alright.

We have some folks here to accept this. I'll look around. Excellent. Thank you, Ryan. All these wonderful people, whoever would like to say a few words, you are more than welcome to hear. Hi.

My name is Sarah Sonnett, and I'm very happy to be here tonight. On behalf of Main Street, I wanna thank you so much for this meaningful recognition. Fair housing is more than just a policy. It is a pathway to dignity, to stability, and to opportunity. Main Street is both home and community.

It offers a safe springboard to the future, recognizing individual strengths and providing opportunities to build upon those strengths. My family knows this firsthand as my son, Sam, has lived at Main Street since the building opened five years ago. We are we are all expected to make our way as we reach adulthood. For some of us, though, a little extra support is needed to help us build the confidence that we need to move forward. Finding that support in community reduces loneliness and bolsters whatever we need to go on to become more independent individuals.

And given economic reality, affordability in housing takes on increasing importance. Sam's experience at Main Street has been transformative. He has a place where he feels safe and truly independent. He has built routines, friendships, and a sense of confidence that every parent hopes their child will one day have. He has experienced kindness and understanding, and he is learning to pay it forward. We are deeply grateful to Main Street and to the city of Rockville for recognizing how vital inclusive affordable housing is for the individuals and families in our own community. Thank you very much.

Hi, my name is Stephanie Rudman and I'm with Montgomery Housing Partnership, MHP. We are an affordable housing nonprofit, provider that works mainly in Montgomery County and the some in Prince George's County and in DC. But here, we own over 3,000 units in Montgomery County, and we have two big buildings in the city of Rockville. Most recently, we purchased Bethany House, which is two fifty units of very low income housing by the Twinbrook Metro. We also own a property called Beales Grant, is just north of Town Center.

And we strive to provide housing for all types of people. And we want to thank the city of Rockville and Rockville Housing Enterprises and the staff here who have been incredibly supportive and helpful with us as we've transitioned this building to new ownership and new management. Not only do we provide the bricks and sticks, but we also have a lot of services we provide to our residents. So we have children's programs, we have preschool programs, after school programs. We provide health care services, educational services, and we also work in the communities that we have, buildings.

So we'll work with neighborhood associations, with, kids in the community, and, we're just working to make, you know, all of our our buildings and our communities better. So thank you.

Thank you. You heard about, Fair Housing Month, and I wanna thank the Department of Housing and Community Development for all their work to build on our programs, and thank you to the nonprofit partners. I know you heard from some of them this evening, and it's very special that they are not only providing housing, but the important wraparound services to help uplift people and to make sure that they're taken care of in a whole sense holistically, from health to other support services to activities to engage. That is so important to the quality of life and to helping people progress. So, we're also going to be noting that, in addition to the nonprofit providers and the work that the city is doing, we have some incredible work that's been done for Fair Housing Month.

The Department of Housing Community Development, on behalf of the city, has initiated an annual Fair Housing Student Art Competition and we are going to recognize some of the youth who have been selected as winners. So, my colleagues and I are going to share some of the names with you and let's give them a huge round of applause. Okay. First we have Alana Chan. Alana won first place for Fair Housing for All post the conference.

Thank you very much. Next, we have Maydelle Lopez. Maydelle won second place for the Fair Housing for All poster contest. Thank you. And third place winner is Nyla Buta.

Do we have Nyla here? Congratulations. Alright. And then I'll just read what it says, just so you have a sense of what we're honoring. So the mayor and council city of Rockville, Maryland certificate of recognition, and this is in recognition of these youths outstanding artistic achievements in the twenty twenty six Fair Housing Poster Contest. Thank you for sharing your talent and your creative vision on the theme Fair Housing for All, carrying forward doctor Martin Luther King's dream to promote equal housing opportunities and diversity in our community. So, again. And we have a few more names. Is Councilmember Fulton on the line?

Mayor, I don't think so.

Okay. Alright. We'll cover that one now. Alright. So, I'll just do these. Do you have anyone to share? Okay. Alright. So we have Atalia Beju. Last name, Vianu.

Beautiful. Alright. Next, Jocelyn Connolly. Next we have Ruben Feinstein. Okay. Not here. Alright. And I also want to acknowledge the coordinator who is Katie Dwyer

Alright. Alright.

It's okay. Alright. So it's my honor to present this certificate of recognition to Oliver McKeever. The community congratulates him, Julius West Middle School eighth grader, Oliver McKeever, for his acceptance into the February, SATB Gospel Choir. So Oliver, come on up.

Thank you so much. And we also recognize miss Cynthia Diehl, who's the choir coach for Oliver. Thank you so much.

Good evening. It's so great to see everybody here on this beautiful spring day. I have the honor of reading, the Montgomery County Black History Knowledge Bowl, team members. And let me just, make sure I have this correct here. This is a team from Julius West Middle School. I think I see the principal here as well. This is the second year in a row that Julius West has won this. So I wanna, I'm proud to have the honor of recognizing the team members. Just making sure I have them all here. There we go.

So the first one I have is Sloane Mahaffy. Mahaffy. I I apologize if I mispronounced your name. Congratulations. Beautiful. Thanks for for the correction. The next student I would like to recognize is Ava Rogers. Is Ava here?

Congratulations.

And then want to also recognize Ben Vivins. And then I believe we have the coach here is is missus Christina Templin here. Awesome.

And thank you, parents.

Next, I have the honor of recognizing, the Montgomery County Public Schools National History Day competition. And the the certificate goes to Solana Sternfield. And also the coach, coach miss Rachel Cermannini. Congratulations.

Alright back to me. The next proclamation is one that, I do hold very near and dear to my heart. We had a celebration, in honor of this day recently, and that is Arbor Day. And Arbor Day is a wonderful day that we can all kind of take a step back and recognize the many wonderful ways that trees are just quietly there providing shade and they're providing a way to protect against climate change. They're protecting our community and the more we can do for our trees, the more we can do for our community.

And it is a great honor. Sit the city of Rockville has been named Tree City USA for thirty seven years. So we are we are very thrilled and I I do love me a tree. So, I'm very excited to be able to present this. Whereas in 1872, the Nebraska Board of Agriculture set aside a special day called Arbor Day for the planting of trees in response to a state proclamation urging settlers and homesteaders in that prairie state to plant trees that would provide shade, shelter, fruit, fuel, and beauty for residents of the large list treeless largely treeless plains.

Now, therefore, the mayor and council of the city of Rockville, Maryland do hereby proclaim 04/10/2026 as Arbor Day, and we urge the Rockville community to encourage all efforts to care for our trees and woodlands and support our city's community forestry program. Madam Mayor, I move the proclamation. Aye. And accepting it is our wonderful forestry staff, Paula Perez.

Good to see you again. Yes. You too.

Well, as always, I'd like to thank the madam mayor and council members, for the continued commitment for caring for the trees, throughout the city of Rockville. This June marks the completion of our first, full five year cycle of our tree street tree pruning program and ensuring that our 30,000 plus street trees are inspected by an arborist and receiving maintenance, at least once every five years really demonstrates the city's strong dedication to both, public safety and long term health of our urban forest. So thank you all. And as you know, we celebrated our America two fifty Arbor Day event last Friday at Millennium Garden Park, and the weather could not have been better. And the sixth grade students from Julius West Middle School really enjoyed, planting our, our our commemorative tree, the white oak.

And the white oak is not only our national tree, but it is, the Maryland state tree. So it's a fitting and symbolic choice for this, milestone celebration. So

thank you.

I have the honor of reading our National Public Health Week. This proclamation means a lot to me as a former federal public health employee. Whereas the week of April 6 through the twelfth twenty twenty six is the thirty first anniversary of National Public Health Week, and this year's theme is ready, set, action. And now, therefore, the mayor and council of the city of Rock Ville, Maryland do hereby proclaim the week of April 6 through the twelfth twenty twenty six as National Public Health Week in Rockville, Maryland, and call upon residents of Rockville to observe this week by helping our family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, and leaders to better understand the value of public health and supporting great opportunities to adopt preventative lifestyle habits year round. And I believe Doctor.

Jackson Vivian is here, my former coworker at NIH.

Good to see you.

So I'm very happy to accept this proclamation this week as a physician, as a scientist. Yes, I work at the National Institutes of Health. I care for patients who have various illnesses and diseases. And I'm just grateful to be able to accept this proclamation in recognition of all the people of this great city but throughout Montgomery County to really, as she stated, Izola, to state that the readiness and preparedness for our health. So just making sure that we take deep breaths as we go through life and throughout our day.

And a lot of times, we're going, going, going, going, going. We're not observant of just taking a breath and just taking it second by second. So just small things like that to have you internalize and recognize where you are and in the present really helped for you to center yourself, but then to also be able to help your your fellow friends and strangers and neighbors. So just an importance of that. So thank you very much.

Councilman councilmember Shaw, you wanna proclaim it?

Madam Mayor, I move the proclamation.

One way to honor Public Health Week is to make sure you schedule your checkups. And there are clinics in the City of Rockville as well as across the county that offer free and low cost care. So, please schedule your checkups. We want to see you all alive and happy. Okay.

So, I want to make sure that this is a very solemn proclamation, but it's an important one, and I wanted to co present it with my colleague, councilmember Van Grak. We are remembering Yom Hoshoah. It's a moment to pause and remember these 6,000,000 Jews along Jewish people along with millions of others who were murdered during the history's darkest chapters. It's a day not only of mourning, but a reflection and responsibility. And so we wanna say a few words if councilman Brangrach would.

And I would also encourage you, you cannot forget the past. You also cannot forget your humanity in the present. And there's a there's some great movies about this horrible, horrible genocide that occurred, and I think it's incumbent on all of us to look at those movies to reflect in on history and to remember and to to make sure we never have a repeat again and speak out when we see inhumanity in our country and across the globe. Councilman Van Grak. Thanks.

As someone who's has numerous family members who were killed in the holocaust, I am truly honored to live in a city that recognizes, such a tragedy and remembers that this is something that we must ensure never happens again. And given the rise of antisemitism in our world and anti and Islamophobia in this world, it is important for us to not only recognize what happened in the past, but to act within the present. And it's, last year, I recited a poem by Martin Niemoller, which I'll recite again because it's important to remember. And he said, first, they came for the communists. And I was not a communist, so I did not speak out.

And they came for the socialists, and I was not a socialist, so I did not speak out. And they came for the trade unionist, and I was not a trade unionist, so I did not speak out. And they came for the Jews, and I was not a Jew, so I did not speak out. And then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak out. Whereas Yom Hashoah, the day of remembrance, is a day set aside for the Jewish people to remember the Holocaust and is Israel's official commemoration of the 6,000,000 Jews murdered during the Holocaust.

And now, therefore, the mayor and council of the city of Rockville, Maryland do hereby proclaim sundown on 04/13/2026 through nightfall of 04/14/2026 as Yom Hashoah Day of Remembrance and urge all residents to remember the victims of the Holocaust and reflect on the need for grace, dignity, and respect for all people. Madam Mayor, I move the proclamation.

Thank you. Do we have a second? Councilmember Shaw seconds. All those in favor, please raise your hand and say aye.

Aye. And then we

have And now I have, former councilmember Beryl Feinberg come up to

say a few words.

It's an honor to be here with some colleagues, although I'm no longer up there. It is a very important and solemn day and it is one that regardless of anyone's political views, we need to remember what happened and the people who were murdered, during the Shoah. And during that, it was people from many different walks of life. And I just wanna make sure to include the Roma, the Sinti, people with disabilities, and Poles, Polish people were also targeted for the destruction or the decimation of for racial, ethnic, or national reasons. And many mourning more, including the LGBTQ, Jehovah's Witnesses, Soviet prisoners of war, and political dissidents also suffered the grievous oppression and death under the Nazi tyranny.

Remember all of those who were murdered needlessly. Thank you very much.

So here in Rockville, we take great pride in our public safety personnel. But it's very easy to recognize the members of the fire department, members of the police department that you see on the streets. But I have to tell you, some of the most important members of our public safety personnel are those who are part of the telecommunication team. In fact, very often, the first people that you will interact with when there is a tragedy, when there is a problem, is someone over the phone. And we here in Rockville take extreme pride of our amazing personnel within our operations.

I've seen firsthand behind the scenes of the degree to which their system setup is incredible. And I can tell you numerous places both with throughout the world and the nation are not as privileged as we are here in Rockville to have incredible personnel manning our telecommunication system and ensuring that all of our residents and anybody here in the city of Rockville is safe. And I know we take deep pride into those of who are who are here. So whereas the week of April 12 through 04/18/2026 has been designated as National Public Safety Telecommunication Week, And the police communications operations of the Rockville City Police Department's Communication Center are an essential link between our law enforcement professionals and the residents of Rockville. And the Communication Center handled 66,661 calls in 2025.

And now, therefore, the mayor and council of Rockville, Maryland do hereby proclaim April 12 through 04/18/2026 as National Public Safety Telecommunications Week in the city of Rockville, Maryland, and call upon the residents to commemorate this observance by thanking our police communication operators for the in I'm gonna add incredible, amazing, great work that they do to assist in the protection and safety of our communities. Madam mayor, I move the proclamation.

Council member, Valery seconds. All those in favor, please raise your hand and say aye.

And now we have numerous members of our team. We actually have, our chief, Jason West, but we also have Carl Nadler and Victoria Leoncini here to accept this proclamation. Welcome.

Thank

you very much.

Thank you.

I don't wanna say a few words.

Take it away. Well,

don't if you really wanna ask me if I wanna say a few words, but first, I'd like to say, thank you, madam mayor, council members, city manager, and, of course, police chief West. We really appreciate everyone taking the time out of their busy schedule to acknowledge us. The other thing I wanna say is that I'm very happy to work for a city that stands tall on certain issues even if it is not the safe thing to do or the politically correct thing to do, and that's all I'll say there. Something else I'd like to talk talk about that really makes most of us angry at work and sad at the same time is people who are constantly conned out of money. It used to be scampers and frauders would go after the elderly people.

Well, they've gotten so good, we've had scientists, doctors, even a teenager the other day that was scanned out of money. And please tell your family, your friends, and ask them to tell their family and friends that the Rockville City Police, Montgomery County Police, the sheriff's department, the Social Security Administration, the FBI will never contact you and say, send me money so you're not getting arrested. They won't say, go to the bank and Venmo me money. They won't say, get Bitcoin and send it to me. They've gotten so good where some of these conmen and fraudsters make believe they're your niece or nephew that they're locked up in jail right now, and they need you to send the money immediately for bail to get out.

It just doesn't happen, and it happens way too often where people really are scammed out of their hard turn hard you know, hard earnings and savings and so on and so forth. And most of us have caller ID now on our phones and our cell phones, and it may look like it's from the police department or the Social Security Administration. Take the information. Don't say anything. Hang up, and then do your own research and get look up the phone number for that police department or the Social Security Administration.

Or if you don't you're not sure how to look up a phone number, ask a friend or a neighbor. And if you're ever unsure of someone you're talking to, up and give your local police department a call wherever you are. So don't the the bottom line is don't give away your money. Don't give people your personal information over the phone. Don't ever give them your credit card information.

It won't happen. And like I said, we just see too many of it, and they've gotten so good now because it's very easy to get, including mine, all of our personal information now with the Internet. With a little research of $19.95, you could find out information about all of us. So, again, if you're unsure of something, please contact the police and never ever give out your personal information or take money out of your bank account to give someone because you think you're in trouble. Okay? It just doesn't happen. All right? Thanks. Thanks for letting me take the time out, everyone.

Thank you for your hard work.

Thank you

so much.

We couldn't do what we do without our fellow officers, the public, the citizens of Rockville who help us tremendously, and also our wonderful new police chief, chief West. He's really put the department in a new in a new era, a very positive era that all of us who work here really appreciate it and stand behind him a 100%. Again, thank you, everyone.

Thank you. We really appreciate you sharing that wisdom and, we have heard of scammers and sometimes they're not even in this country. There are some other places doing that work, so please heed that advice. I have the honor of reading our National Arab American Heritage Month proclamation. This is a newer, celebration.

I think it was around 2021 or 2022, but so important to see and make sure that we are recognizing the diverse community that we have in the city of Rockville and the county. We have seen too much hate from all different kinds of hate, religious hate, gender hate, disability hate, so much hate language filling our airwaves. And it is very special that in Rockville, we get to say we appreciate you, we see you, you are welcome here, and we will speak up for you. So I just wanted to say thank you to everyone, for allowing us to take these few minutes to celebrate these important celebrations throughout every month of the year. Whereas, April is National Arab Heritage American Heritage Month and the 2026 theme is many voices, one community.

Whereas, congressman David Dingle of Michigan with the help of several Arab American organizing groups issued a resolution in 2017 recognizing April as National Arab American Heritage Month and then in 2022 making it federal. Whereas more than three point five three point five million Arab Americans who live in United States who traced their ancestry to 22 countries from North Africa to the Arabian Gulf and places including Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Sudan, and others. And whereas the number of Marylanders of Arab industry has more than doubled since the census first measured in nineteen o eight and is among the fastest growing Arab populations in the country. Now therefore, the Mayor and Council Maryland do proclaim April 2026 as National Arab American Heritage Month and encourage all residents to acknowledge, embrace, and celebrate Arab Americans. Someone please help me move the proclamation.

Doctor Miles moves. Councilman Vallari seconds. All those in favor, please raise your hand and say aye. Aye. Excellent. Thank you. And we have some recipients here to accept this and say a few words. I wanna welcome Samira Hussain, who is the founder of the Arab American Heritage Month and chair of Arab Americans of Montgomery County and the Islamic Center of Maryland. Come on up. We'll also welcome Arwa Abed, Middle Eastern American Liaison from the Office of Community Partnerships. And Rim Sharath, Clinical Social Worker Outreach Committee, Islamic Center of Maryland. Thank you very much. And do you want to say anything?

Absolutely. We can continue.

Good evening, Assalamu alaikom. Thank you, madam mayor and every council member. We are honored to be in this to be part of Rockville City and honor the Arab American Heritage Month. It has been founded in 1997. And ever since, we have done educational outreach.

We have done you name it, we have done it because I think educating ourselves, educating our neighbors is the key issue. We we have been living in a lot of violence and a lot of hate, as was stated. But I think it's going to be up to each of us to reach out and ask a question and communicate because that can knock all the dividing walls between us. Reem can continue, but I would like to thank you since Arawa, she's our Middle Eastern liaison from the Office of Community Partnerships. She probably got caught in the traffic.

And, on behalf of the Arab Americans of Montgomery County and the Middle Eastern American Advisor Group, we thank you from the heart. Reem will continue.

Alright. Thank you, mayor and city council and everyone who organizes, this event and other events for the city. As a first generation Arab American and daughter of immigrants, I was a firsthand witness to my parents' journey of building a home in a new and unfamiliar country. Arab culture is rooted in the concepts of community, resiliency, and the push to keep having hope and persevere despite the challenges. Their journey was often rough, but what stayed true throughout their journey of building their home was a community that welcomed them with open arms and told them it'll be okay, and we're here to stand by your side.

That community was here, and we've been here since 2000. Now, as a mental health therapist in Montgomery County, PTA president at one of the local middle schools, and a proud parent of a middle schooler, I see firsthand the impact that mental health, community building efforts, and services and resources for our most vulnerable people can change the trajectory of a person's life. Nothing is more valuable to a person's journey than the experience of being seen, heard, included, and supported especially when needed. It's true when they say it takes a village and the Rockville and greater Montgomery County area is like a village. Yes, there are times where challenges and road bumps come along the way as with everything in life, but at the end, we can come together to celebrate and support one another.

I want to end by saying I stand here on the shoulders of all those who've paved the path before me. I also stand alongside other communities who share equally resilient and beautiful journeys of creating a home in Rockville. Just like my family was taken in by this village, I'm honored to be in a space with others in this room, everyone who's called Rockville home as we continue to build a healthier, stronger, and more inclusive Rockville. Thank you.

Yes, ma'am. Good evening again. I'm going to do my best council member Kate Fulton impersonation and be brief. However, this is a as all proclamations are, this is a very important one. And I have the privilege in this instance to present the proclamation declaring April 2026 as Autism Acceptance Month in Rockville. Let's see. I think this is

an extra.

Here we go. There we go. Cooking with gas or electricity now. Alrighty. What I'll do is read, one of the proclamations and then call folks up to receive them, and I believe y'all have a few words to share as well.

Is that correct? Okay. I'll, read this as follows. It says whereas April 2026 is autism acceptance month, and this year's theme is celebrate differences. And the city of Rockwell is honored to take part in the annual observance to help raise awareness, to promote autism acceptance, to celebrate each individual's unique differences, and to foster inclusivity and connectedness connectedness rather.

Now, therefore, the city of Rockville I'm sorry. The mayor and council of the City Of Rockville Of Maryland do hereby proclaim April 2026 as autism acceptance month in the city of Rockville, Maryland, and we urge everyone to increase their knowledge of the condition and specific programs that have been and are being developed to support individuals with autism and their families. So I have three people to recognize in particular, and we have some that will speak on speak as well. I have, miss Brittany Bletsoe, the mother of ace Alexander, are you here? Oh, my apologies. Oh, councilmember Fulton's shaking her head at me. Madam mayor, I move the proclamation.

Thank you. Do we have a second? Councilman Jackson seconds. All those in favor, please raise your hand and say aye.

Aye. Alright. Sorry, miss Bledsoe. Take two. Can you come down for us, please? It's like the price is right. Yep. Come on down. Well, she could spin the big wheel. Thank you for what you do, ma'am. And I wanna also bring up, Rebecca Murphy, an assistant, who's the co chair of the Rockwell Human Rights Commission. Good to see And, Tara Owens, the executive director of Main Street, and a couple of guests with her. Awesome.

And

in keeping with council member Fulton, a shut up and let y'all speak. Go for it.

Council member, Miles, we forgot to add Sunflower Bakery.

Oh, I apologize.

Also here. So Okay.

Oh, Sunflower Bakery, please come up. Yes. Thank you. I'm so sorry. You?

I'm so sorry.

Autism acceptance is more than awareness. It is about recognizing the inherent value and contributions of autistic individuals and ensuring they are supported, included, and celebrated for who they are. Each year, standing up here feels a little bit different. What began as a call for awareness has grown into something far richer, a genuine conversation about belonging. Acceptance means that autistic people are not asked to mask who we are in order to be welcomed. It means our community makes room for the full range of how we think, communicate, and contribute.

We are grateful once again to see so many of the organizations that support autistic individuals and their families here with us today. Their presence is a reminder that this work is shared and that Rockville continues to be a place where neurodivergent residents are seen as neighbors, colleagues, and friends. On behalf of the Human Rights Commission of the City of Rockville, and as a proudly autistic community member myself and Becca, we graciously accept this proclamation from the Marian Council. Thank you.

Hello. My name is Jesse, and I'm 22 years old. And I'm a member of Main Street Connects, Maryland, and I've been part of to a community for the past four or five months. And I'm after I moved from Utah, autism exists on many levels, and it affects people in different ways, how we find jobs, how we make friends, and how we interact with others. And because of it's important to not judge anyone, especially when they are having a hard time.

Personally, I sometimes repeat myself and and accept patience. And as I work through my thoughts, that that the patient understanding makes may make a difference. Sometimes, like now, I struggle with speaking sometimes. And there's days where I catch myself repeating over and over again, which is okay to do that. Accepting means being seen for who you are.

It means having a community to understand you and support you. For me, Main Street Connect has provide that community, and I'm grateful to have found a place where I can truly be myself. Thank you for recognizing Autism Acceptance Month and for helping create a more understanding and inclusive community for everyone. Thank you.

Good evening, and thank you for this honor. My name is Sam Smith, and I am proud to be a part of the Main Street community living right here in Rockville. I also have autism. Today, about one in thirty six children in The United States are diagnosed with autism. That means millions of individuals like me are part of our schools, workplaces, and neighborhoods.

For a long time, talked about autism awareness, but holding awareness was just a start. From awareness, we need to move to acceptance. Acceptance means understanding inclusion and opportunity. It means seeing our strengths, supporting our challenges, and making space for us all to live full and meaningful lives. Because of places like Main Street and the programming of Main Street Connect.

I have a home where I feel independent, safe, respected, and strong. I'm grateful to the city of Rockville for recognizing Autism Acceptance Month and for helping create a community where everyone belongs. Thank you for this proclamation.

I'm not sure I can follow that,

but one thing I can appreciate with this evening is is the word inclusion, and I've heard it more than once, and it's it's nice to hear, and and clearly Rockville values that. So mayor Ashton and and county council members, thank you for taking time to I'm sorry?

You gave us a promotion.

For recognizing Autism Acceptance Month. At Sunflower Bakery, awareness and acceptance is just a starting point. Our real focus is on opportunity, dignity, and high expectations. Every day, our students and graduates show what's possible when people are given the right training, the right opportunity, and the right environment to show what they can do. We're proud to partner with the families, with our stakeholders, with the city, and with this community to build pathways to employment for young adults with learning differences, and we work with a large population who who are on the autism spectrum.

So, thank you for the work that you do to contribute to the community that we live in.

Absolutely. Mayor

Ashton is helping me. So every year we have a wonderful graduation where we highlight and lift up our graduates. We are honored to recognize 46 individuals who will be graduating from our pastry arts, hospitality, and culinary programs, and honoring community members who have either made an impact to Sunflower or the disability community, and we invite you to join us on April 26 at the Montgomery County Cultural Arts Center. So everyone is welcome.

I wanna thank mayor Ashton and the council. My name is Britney. Autism acceptance month is different to me.

My son drowned in

the city of Rockville from my from little ping from the apartment. I just wanna say thank you to everybody that came and that supports this. This isn't just for me. It's for everybody else. Learning about autism is different than just a book reading it in front of you. Everybody's different. There's nobody the same. I just wanna tell you that thank you to everybody, and thank you to you two for not leaving me since it happened.

Thank you to Britney Bledsoe. A tragedy has turned into creating awareness for so many. And, last year, we announced, scholarships for children who are who have autism to learn how to swim. So I just wanted to say that was an honor of ACE and, tragedy can't always be prevented, but we try and, we really appreciate you sharing your story. Thank you to this entire community for being here. Can we give a clap out for inclusion?

Thanks Thank so much.

Alright. So it's my honor to, proclaim, April as Earth month. So you already know about Arbor Day and, what Rockville does, for the trees. And Earth Day is really important as well. We have actually well, Earth Month, sorry.

We have on the website a lot of events that take place during Earth Month, stream cleanups, other things that are really, really exciting and important for adults, for children, and for older adults. Just I would be remiss not to mention, because I'm on the Commission on Aging, that this Saturday, April 18, is Rockville Villages Go Green, and it's at the senior center. And you can learn more information by going on the website and looking it up. Now I will read the proclamation for Earth month or Earth Day. Whereas, the first Earth Day was proclaimed in 1970 to foster public environmental awareness and whereas Earth Hour, an annual global event organized by the World Wildlife Fund, calls on individuals, governments, and businesses around the world to turn off all nonessential lighting for one hour between 08:30 p.

M. And 09:30 p. M. On Saturday, 03/28/2026, to call attention to climate change and loss of biodiversity. And now, therefore, the mayor and council do hereby proclaim the month of April 2026 as Earth Month in the city of Rockville, and further proclaim Wednesday, 04/22/2026 as Earth Day, and Saturday, 03/28/2026, between the hours of 08:30PM and 09:30PM as Earth hour, and urge all members of the community to take actions to promote a healthy and sustainable environment.

And with that, madam mayor, move the proclamation.

Thank you. Do I a second? Councilor by Frank seconds. All those in favor, please raise your hand and say aye.

Aye. It is unanimous.

And I believe we have Cindy McCabe of the environmental commission, the Rockville Environmental Commission to come up and say a few words. Oh, you're welcome.

Thank you, council member. My name is Cindy McCabe. I'm with the Rockville Environment Commission, and this is Charlie.

Do you wanna say hi? Well,

I just wanna say that I'm so proud to be a resident of Rockville hearing all of the proclamations that have come before me. It's hard to follow any of them. Some of them were very heartfelt. Thank you, council members, and mayor Ashton. I'm pleased to accept this proclamation on behalf of the Environment Commission and all who are engaged in protecting Rockville's environment, and we also have commissioner Summer here as well representing.

We appreciate the mayor and the council's support for environmental programs, the city's climate action plan, which is going great, and the electric vehicle readiness plan. Earth Day is April 22, but Rockville is hosting lots of events, some of which were already mentioned. So I'll try not to double up, but you may have to forgive me. To learn about all of the events, you can go to Rockville MD Dot Gov Slash Earth Month. Some of them are Rockville Weed Warriors, an invasive plant removal event, climate solutions webinars, including how to landscape with native plants, and how to install solar with our switch together campaign, which is on June 4.

The Cordon Creek Nature Center hosts many events like the city nature challenge in April and the spring festival in May. We love the nature center and all the turtles. Green permit fee waivers are in effect for April. If you know any contractors or anyone who is getting a green upgrade on their home, like installing solar, electric vehicle chargers, and efficient heating and cooling systems, The permit is free for the month of April. These are just a few examples. Go ahead and check the website, Rockville reports, and the environment and sustainability e newsletter if for more events and details. Thank you so much, council and mayor, for this.

So, are a number of health conditions that we often issue proclamations of because they're really not the community isn't aware of the degree to which it's important to both get checked, but also to recognize those who might be suffering from these conditions. And so, one of those is Parkinson's disease. And we recognize every April, declaring the month to recognize and bring awareness to this condition that is affected that many people are affected by. Whereas Parkinson's disease is a chronic progressive neurological disease, and then the second is the second most common neurodegenerative disease in The United States. In fact, Parkinson's disease is estimated to affect approximately one million people in The United States, and the prevalence will rise to one point two million in 2030.

And now, therefore, the mayor and council of Rockville, Maryland do hereby proclaim April 2026 as Parkinson's Awareness Month in Rockville, Maryland, and call upon all residents to join all communities and across the region to understand this disease, support research, and all efforts to find a cure. Madam Mayor, I move the proclamation. All right, and I believe we have, Doctor. Aviva Ellinstein from the Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders Neurologist to come and say a few words. Welcome.

Thank you very much.

Thank

you. Thank you. Hello everybody. It's really my honor to be here. I'm just one of many neurologists in this area and more so one of many movement disorder neurologists who have really dedicated our education and professions to taking care of people living with Parkinson's disease.

Also, many folks in this area, as you know, study Parkinson's disease, and along with trying to advance treatments and find a cure, it's, I think, equally important to keep a focus on prevention, which is really getting a lot more attention these days. We don't fully understand how to prevent it, but I would ask everyone to keep their eyes on things we can do in our communities to decrease exposures to things that might contribute to Parkinson's disease later in life. I happen to just be a movement disorder doctor here because we're down the street from the NIH where I trained, and so I accept this proclamation not only on behalf of everyone living with Parkinson's disease, those of us taking care of them, but also my mentor, who ultimately brought me here, Doctor. Mark Hallett, who recently passed. And so I accept this also in his memory.

And here in this area, we are not only blessed, I would say, to have lots of doctors, more than many other regions in the country, but we also have a fantastic non organization to support people living with Parkinson's, their spouses, their caregivers, their family members. And here tonight also is Jared Cohen, who's the president of our regional Parkinson Foundation of the National Capital Area. If we have a minute, he can come up and say something as well.

Thanks, Jared. Thank you so much, Mayor.

Thank you, Council. Thank you, Mayor, for taking a moment to recognize Parkinson's this one one month a year, but people live with it all year long. PFNCA, for more than thirty years, has been providing programs and services to help people live well with Parkinson's and to let everyone know we're we're we're providing programming now in Rockville at title boxing and also at the Preston. So if you know people with Parkinson's, please encourage them to learn more about local opportunities that can help them live well with the disease. But again, thank you to the mayor and to the council.

Awesome. Oh, you're dealing with me again. Hopefully, I have my act together better. I have the honor of presenting a proclamation for Science Day. I think we have a number of science geeks up here. So this this this yeah. This this one is good as all of them are. The proclamation reads as follows. Whereas on 04/22/1990, the Rockville Science Center held its first Rockville Science Day and has continued Science Day as an annual event in the city of Rockville. And now, therefore, the mayor and council of Rockville, Maryland do hereby proclaim actually, before I do that, let me skip up one because this is an important date.

Whereas on Sunday, 04/26/2026, the Rockville Science Center will present its thirty fifth annual Rockville Science Day on the Rockville campus of Montgomery College, which will include hands on activities for kids of all ages and and technological innovations of interest to adults. Now, therefore, the mayor and council of Rockville, Maryland do hereby proclaim 04/26/2026, Rockville Science Day, and Rockville urge all members of the community to participate in this opportunity and connect with science in the real world. With that, madam mayor, I move the proclamation.

Thank you for a second. Councilor Brack. Thank you your Councilor your hands and say Aye.

Aye. Oh, I think we have some scientists in the building. Come on down. You wanna come down? Yeah. Say a few words. Say a few words. Alright. Thanks for coming out tonight.

Awesome. Yeah. So thank you so much.

Exactly.

So, yes, thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you so much for for the proclamation for our thirty fifth Rockville Science Day. I'm Ulysses Santa Maria. I'm the current president of the Science Center. So, yeah, please come by, check us out. So Rockville Science Day at this point, we now call it the biggest science event in Montgomery County at our thirty fifth year. We are incredibly proud to be able to offer this for now thirty five years and for many more years to come. We will feature over a 120 exhibitors, and we have about 4,000 people who come and join us for the day for a a wide variety of hands on activities, demonstrations around the sciences. And for us, the sciences is a very large swath.

So you come, you don't know what you're gonna see, but it's gonna be great. And, and yeah. But also, the other important message to relay is, you know, with the celebration of our thirty fifth year also comes the understory. We are also, working on getting relocated, to maintain ourselves here in Rockville. So, addition, you know, we have that sort of promotional aspect to science science day this year.

So for us, we have a fifty fifty raffle they'll also be doing at the event with the starting ticket price of $7 for our nice slogan, save 7 for science to make sure that we're able to, find a new home here in the region and be able to stick around for the long run. That way we can be here, when the seventy seventieth Rockville Science Day comes around. So, but no, seriously, I hope to see you all there and thank you all for the support that you've given us, over the years here at the Science Center. And, you know, we we I can't actually imagine Rockville Science Day happening anywhere else but Rockville. So thank you.

So

this time I didn't bring the rocket.

That way the photo's a little bit easier.

Thank you.

Thank you to everyone who came out to celebrate our proclamations and recognitions. In this building, in this city, we celebrate inclusivity and science and we really appreciate everyone indulging us and and really raising awareness on important topics. Thank you.

I know.

Colleagues, given the time, I think we roll light into our meeting, just because we wanna make sure that we can get to community forum and our public hearings close to time. Okay. With that, we'll move to agenda review. Ms. Sarah Taylor Farrell.

Madam Mayor and council members, we did make a change to this evening's agenda, the work session on Budget number three for capital improvement debt review and final balancing has been moved from tonight's meeting to next week's meeting on April 20, and it reflects on tonight's meeting. And it has already been added for the April 20 meeting.

Thank you. And I just want for the listening public, this gives us a chance to listen to everyone's comments in the budget public hearing and then to come back again next week. It also means that you won't be here until midnight. So thank you for everyone to everyone for making that adjustment. Now we have the city manager's report.

Mayor Ashton, members of City Council. Ladies and gentlemen, good evening. Mayor, I rarely do this, but I only wanna use the time tonight to recognize two city employees, but I think it's really worth it. First, I wanna recognize a Rec and Park team member. That's seniors program manager, Terri Hilton. Terri Hilton won a really impressive award. It's called the World Changer Award. It's from the Women in Parks and Recreation, a professional group that connects and supports women in the field of recreation and parks across The United States. So this is a national award. And here's why, miss Hilton is receiving the award, and this is a quote.

She embodies the true essence of servant leadership and commitment to making a meaningful difference and for being a role model whose work enhances the lives of those around her and beyond. That is very high praise for Teri. Anybody that knows her will acknowledge that that's exactly who she is and what she does every single day. So I wanted to call that out tonight. Secondly, I wanna call out and congratulate police lieutenant Dan Romero, who, a couple weeks ago graduated from north the Northwestern University School of Police Staff and Command.

This is a very rigorous police leadership training academy and it's really important to note Dan's, continuing appreciation and commitment to, continuing education, but also professional development. It's really impressive that he would take the time to go through that. So congratulations to Dan. And lastly, I think this is really cool and I'll share it with you. At the entire graduation ceremony, guess who gave the keynote address? Our own police chief, Jason West. That's really impressive as well. Did he sneak out? He did. Dog on him. Anyway, that's pretty impressive. So just wanna call that out. Thanks for the time there. I appreciate it.

Thank you. I just also wanna thank staff for a number of responses from RCPD managing some public safety to public works. One of our longstanding employees had his last day on Friday and dealt with a major water main break on Wooten Parkway. I think he's been here over fifty plus years. And he put his retirement ceremony on hold to go out and do one more water main break.

That shows a commitment to him and to the city. I also wanna acknowledge the volunteers and the staff who put on the volunteer reception, mister Mihaelic. It was fantastic. I think we counted 2,000 volunteers and over 61,000 volunteer hours, and that is not in in capturing everything encapsulating everything. I know that it was for rec and parks only, so there's so many people who are doing volunteer work throughout the city, and we appreciate them.

Your team also helped us with the youth town hall, as well as a number of cleanups in the housing needs assessment. So we've been very busy in the city trying to implement our priorities, but taking care of the community. So thank you to everyone who participated. We'll now move on to community forum. I do want to clarify that we have community forum.

We also have two public hearings later. So if you're interested in having your remarks count towards the public hearing, please hold and we'll have community forum for general issues. But then there will be a public hearing and we'll call folks up. The public hearing will be just in a few minutes after consent agenda, so it won't be too long, but there'll be one on the zoning text amendment as well as a zoning text amendment, zoning ordinance rewrite, as well as on our budget. So I wanted to note those.

So if you're here to speak on that, just hold a sec, and we'll get to that shortly. Okay. Now we're gonna open the floor for community forum. This is a time where we welcome your ideas, your concerns, your feedback, and you will have up to three minutes. We request that you address the mayor and council. You speak in a civil and courteous tone, and we appreciate everyone who has signed up in advance. And I'll call for folks if you're inspired to speak after. Those who've signed up in advance, please let us know. All right. First, I'd like to welcome Jake Jakobic. Is Jake Jakobic here?

I believe he's from Webex.

Okay. Is he on? Okay. Just also to make sure he's on the line, please. We'll move on to Will Riso. Do we have He had to leave. He had to leave. Okay. Next, Libby Adams. Welcome.

Ms. Adams, can you turn the mic toward you, please? Thank you. Okay.

So

I'm back. Unfortunately, my stuff is all of our belongings are being held hostage in the apartment across the street unless I come up with $12,000 to pay to clean it. Right now, I am still waiting for something to be done as far as you know, back in at the November, our unit was deemed clear and free of mold, and our family was forced to go back in there. As of March 25, I've done another test, and it shows it says fungal growth is evident in portions of the dwelling dwelling. Fungal growth is believed to extend to areas not accessible at the time of inspection to include ceiling or wall cavities.

This is just little blurbs out of it. Debris and elevated moisture levels inside HVAC system and ductwork have created conditions conductive to mold growth. Possible cross contamination occurred during previous mold remediation. Testing and analysis showed elevated con concentrations of fungal spores, including a lot of ones that I can't name, but namely black mold. Okay?

Special note, elevated levels of mold airborne as confirmed on laboratory analysis, mold categorized as potentially toxicogenic confirmed airborne on laboratory analysis. Investigation and development of corrective measures and verification of corrective measures should be done on the HVAC system, which wasn't done the last time, yet my my unit was deemed clear and fine. Obviously, it was not. At present, there are no government regulations in place to regulate the removal of mold, bacteria, and or what are permissible levels. Common sense has to prevail.

We are dealing with a fungus that is invisible to the naked eye by itself. Mold is wonderful at fulfilling its purpose when outside but can become a containment in an issue inside. Namely, elevated concentrations of potentially potentially toxigenic microbial organisms were noted in the living room, kids room, rear bedroom, and HVAC system of the property, which means that it is currently being dispersed across the whole building and essentially the whole row of buildings, which I've been saying since the beginning. And, you know but it's funny that I end up here on the day that you guys are talking about public health and fair housing and even Parkinson's. Mold can cause symptoms that end up developing into Parkinson's as well as many other issues.

All of the molds that are listed I don't know if you guys have been on the emails. I don't know if anybody's paying attention. The levels are outrageous, and that is after four months after the city inspectors cleared our apartment, said it was livable and free and clear of mold. That was another four months that my family was forced to live in there being exposed to that because the Rockville City Department cleared my place as habitable. I'm just you know, I know that maybe you guys weren't equipped back then, but if you're not equipped, then you guys shouldn't be clearing things unnecessarily.

So, it's a shame that I'm back here, and it's a shame that there are other people that are still over there that are being ignored. So that's all I have to say.

Thank you, mister Mihelic. Is there someone who can speak to miss Adams, please? Thank you. Okay. Next, we have Ms. Anusha. Ms. Shista, welcome.

Thank you for this opportunity, as always, to be in front of you and say a few words, mostly to say thank you. I'm happy to live in this city, and I appreciate everything that you guys do to include us. Today, I celebrate Sri Lanka's New Year. That's why I'm dressed in this color. This is the color of the New Year, apparently.

But I'm mostly here to say thank you to the mayor for including us in the events that have taken place in this city. It started with the Richard Montgomery performance. The the the drummers had a wonderful experience. And then you continue to invite us to the international night performance. And then we are going to be on the stage, and a rock will sit during the hometown holidays.

We are very happy about that. And to be walking in the parade, my goodness, what an opportunity. Thank you so much for recognizing Sri Lanka and for giving us an opportunity to be ourselves in this city. So as I always say, every experience is an opportunity for us to become the light we are meant to be. I thank you for giving me that opportunity. Thank

you. Welcome, Jeanie O'Meara. You're gonna wait? Okay. Thank you. Mister Jacobyc?

I think they're working to get him a link. Is he on?

I know they sent him a link. Is he on?

Is on?

Is there anyone else who would like to speak?

Yeah. One.

Okay. Mister Jackaback, go ahead.

Yes. Thank you. Thank you. Sorry for the mix up. Hi there. Good evening, mayor and council. My name is Jake Jakobach. I am live in 319 Grandin Avenue in Croydon Park, and I am the chair of the Rockville Bicycle Advisory Committee. I need to first commend the city council for its hard work in making Rockville a better city to ride a bike, to make it safer for all of us who wish to take all kinds of ways of getting around to be safer on the city. And as part of our work on the committee, we host regular events, bike rides, such.

And with the beginning of bike month next month, I wanted to formally invite, madam mayor and the council to our inaugural bike month ride on May 2 at 10:00 starting at City Hall. It'll be a short six, seven mile bike ride around the city going at a leisurely pace, very social, everybody hanging out just enjoying themselves. And I want to formally invite all of you to come and join us on that ride that day on May 2. I understand it is on your calendar, and, I look forward to seeing all of you there, on May 2. Thank you for your time.

Thank you. Is there anyone else who would like to speak as part of this community forum who will have several budget public hearings and zoning ordinance rewrites and comprehensive map amendments shortly? So alright. Just checking. Thank you to everyone who signed up in advance who participated.

Colleagues, we have several items on consent agenda. I will read them as a start. Agenda 9A, adoption and resolution to establish the maximum rate of rent increase as required by the Section 18,194 of the Rock Ville City Code entitled Voluntary Rent Guidelines and Notice Requirements of Rent Increases Item 9B, authorization for the City Manager to execute the federal aid project guidelines and working supplement agreement with the Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration for the Research Boulevard Shared Use Path Feasibility and Design Project under the Carbon Reduction Program. Item 9C, approval of minutes. Colleagues, does anyone have any broad questions, or can we move forward with a motion?

Okay. Who wants to make the motion?

Madam Mayor, I move to approve consent agenda items A, B, and C.

Thank you. Do we have a second? Councilmember Van Grack seconds. All those in favor, please raise your hand and say aye. Aye. Excellent. Thank you. We'll now kick off our section of hearings. And I believe we have some staff members who are going to present. I just want to make sure they're getting in place.

All right. We're moving to Agenda Item 10A, Public Hearing one the Zoning Text Amendment Application TXT twenty twenty six-two 71 for the Zoning Ordinance Rewrite Zohr, Mayor and Council of Rockville applicants. We application, as well as the next one after this on map amendment so folks know when to testify, please. Thank you. Welcome.

Good evening, madam mayor, members of the council. So this evening, as mentioned, we do have three agenda items pertaining to our ongoing zoning ordinance rewrite and comprehensive map amendment. For the record, I'm Holly Simmons, deputy zoning manager with community planning and development services. So first up in our public hearings, we do have a public hearing on the zoning ordinance rewrite followed by a public hearing on the comprehensive map amendment. As many of you all will recall, these are two separate legislative items, so there are two separate hearings.

Before we get into both of those items, we did want to provide a bit of context. I know it's been a while since we've seen you all, so we did want to reflect back on where we've been and give a heads up about where we are going. So you'll see before you the project adoption timeline specifically. Adoption is the last phase of this project, which has been going on for over two years now. So we kicked off adoption back on December 1 when you all authorized us to file the staff drafts of the zoning ordinance and the zoning map.

In January through February, we had review with the Planning Commission. They held four, work sessions where they dug into a number of topics and had public hearings as well, so we per received quite a bit of testimony during that time. That concluded on February 25 when the Planning Commission made their recommendations to this body, and that will be the subject of our work session later in the evening. Currently, we are kicking off the Mayor and Council review, so that will run from April through June 2026, and we are anticipating adoption to occur on 07/06/2026. And with that, madam mayor, I will turn it back over to you to conduct the public hearing.

Thank you. Can you just give some guidance to the public on there are two different ones as they think about which one to testify on? We have some early signs, so many people from the floor who wanna speak. So please go ahead.

Absolutely. So for this first one, we really are focusing on the zoning text amendment for the zoning ordinance rewrite. If you have comments on the nearly 300 page staff draft zoning ordinance, now would be the time to provide them. So anything, related to standards within zones, different uses, parking, landscaping, things of that nature, kind of the policy that's written in narrative form, this is the time to provide comments on that element of the project. If you have comments and testimony regarding rezonings that are proposed that you see our zoning map changing from one zone to another, perhaps related to a specific property or related generally to re rezoning in the city, the comprehensive map amendment portion or the comprehensive map amendment public hearing would be the time to provide that testimony.

Thank you very much. And to give a heads up, have I four people signed up in advance on this one. Mark Bischela from the College Garden Civic Association, Bill Commoners, Julia Binder, and then Jeanine Amara will speak. And then we have a number of people signed up for the next public hearing. We'll start off with former council member Mark Bischelen, now president of the College Garden Civic Association.

I just can't keep out of it. Okay. So on March 24, we had a special general meeting at the College Garden Civic Association because of the tight timeline of the zoning ordinance approval process. And, I had to do some education, I I'll hold up some signs that you and the audience behind me can see. I had to educate the the 40 some people that were there that when you do a zoning ordinance, there's a map, and then there's a text.

And the current, zoning ordinance, 253 pages. The new one's 290 pages. It does incorporate the design, document that is separate at the moment. That's a lot of stuff to go through. And whereas College Gardens retains its r 90 zone, what I had to tell the people that at our meeting that is that the definition is what counts.

So we're our 99,000 square feet minimum lot size, but what does that mean? And you have to dig into the, text part, the 290 pages. And a text zone includes a purpose statement, uses and standard, and zone standards, and some other things. And keep that in mind because that's what I'll be talking about. There's a highlights document.

It's good as far as it goes. It's 53 pages, but it is incomplete. It doesn't have a section on uses, and that has changed big time for our zones. Okay? And so when I prepared for our civic association meeting, I actually put together a table that should be in the highlights document that's not there and this is on differences in uses for the single family, zones and that'd be r four forty through r 400 and this is what's missing from the highlights document and it should be there because it's it's it's there are huge changes.

I'm gonna read you four, resolutions from our Civic Association meeting. We'll take this back up at our regular meeting in May. Process resolution one. The College Garden Civic Association resolves that mayor and council instruct city staff that the uses of small and large lot single residential zones be tabulated in a similar fashion as the CGCA draft table and officially be appended to staff highlights document and distributed to all neighborhood associations. Process, resolution number two.

The College Garden Civic Association resolves that mayor and council instruct the table clearly indicate which changes are due to state law and which are due to mayor and council, direction. Now there are changes in uses and at least three of these come from state law, But there's there's no indication in what you can read either in a highlights document or the the draft zoning about which are which. In fact, they're hardly mentioned at all if mentioned. Resolution number three. The college it's three paragraphs.

The College Garden Civic Association, CGCA, resolves and asks the Rockville mayor and council extend the approval timeline of Rockville's proposed zoning ordinance to, at earliest, September 2026. Further, in order that stakeholders include neighborhood associations are able to better understand the many changes, instruct city staff to provide an improved highlights document that should be timely released to the public to allow stakeholders to effectively advocate before the mayor and council in the revised approval timelines. The CGCA finds the proposed zoning ordinance materials as currently presented to be so daunting in their breath and so vastly different in their structures from the previous zoning ordinance that it's difficult for the College Garden Civic Association to effectively review and make substantive comments on the proposed zoning ordinance. We did, however, make one substantive resolution and this, I'm reading it here because it applies not only to College Gardens NSR 90 zone but to any single family zone. The College Garden Civic Association resolves to mayor and council that section twenty five point seven point one point four a, purpose of the small lot single unit residential zones be reworded as follows.

Now there's two parts to this. There's two sentences that already there. I'll read them right now. The small lot single unit residential zones include the r 90, r 75, r 60, and r 40 zones. These zones are intended primarily for single unit residential uses on smaller lots than those in the large lot single unit residential zones. That's what's there now. It's not a purpose statement. It's a description. These are two sentences to be added. The purposes of these zones include one, provide appropriate located areas for residential development that are consistent with the plan and public health and safety and two, stabilize and protect the essential characteristics of the existing residential neighborhoods. And where did I get those? I got them right out of the current zoning ordinance. So thank you.

Thank you. Next, we welcome Bill Commoners.

Good evening, madam mayor, members of the council. My name is Bill Commoners. I'm here representing Tower Dawson LLC, the owner of and the original developer of the Tower Oaks planned development and the property just to itself. Tower Dawson is a business resident of the city having moved its offices to 2000 Tower Oaks Boulevard, their lead platinum building. I have two subjects to share with you this evening.

The first is the current zoning ordinance provisions related to planned developments. I urge you to keep these provisions in the new ordinance with as little change as possible. I will have a letter for you that references the corresponding provisions of the new zoning ordinance to make it easy to see the comparison between the old and the new. But to allow orderly development of the planned developments, the zoning ordinance should retain the general and individual planned development zone zone provisions, the planned development governing documents definition and development standards, and the APF provisions. The amendment provisions for planned development should also be kept, but in the more simplified process proposed in the ZTA because the current amendment process is a deterrent in time and cost to the evolution of the planned developments.

The second subject relates to the former elementary school site just north of Tower Oaks. The owner has always been supportive of the recommendations in the comp plan and has carried forward by the staff to rezone the property. But at the same time, the owner is certainly open to consideration of other less intense alternative zones that will still allow more homes than the current zoning and therefore might be economically feasible. Development Jerome, by the way.

Please continue. Sorry about that.

Different kind of heckling. Just the development under the current R 90 zone is just not economic from the start. By abutting Tower Oaks, the property can have regular access from the south, meaning Wooten Parkway, that can thereby avoid use of the Don Mills Court for regular access, instead leaving that only for emergency egress and ingress purposes that are already provided for in an existing easement with the city. As a creative compromise for the property, the planning commission proposes to restrict density based on the use of Don Mills Court. Instead, Tower Dawson suggests a more restrictive approach, modifying the planning commission's text with language to simply limit connection to the adjacent residential street to being used only for emergency egress or excuse me, emergency access, ingress and egress.

I will give a copy of the proposed replacement provisions to the clerk for you. But in this way, combined with regular access from the South, there may in fact be an economic way to provide the added housing without the community impacts, and at the same time, prevent any potential cut through traffic concerns. Thank you for the opportunity to testify. I look forward to your work session. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Welcome, Julia Binder. I'm Julia Binder. I'm actually

asked to speak at the next hearing.

Okay, that sounds fine. Yes. Welcome, Jeanie O'Meara.

Hello. Good evening, everyone. You've seen me talk about deer mesh fencing before, so

I will keep it brief.

I think you know where I stand on it. But I'm here to support the city staff recommendation, if I'm interpreting it correctly, of their recommendation of letting folks, especially who live on corner lots, be able to have the eight foot mesh deer fencing put up. Additionally, I agree that the corner lot should be able to start this fencing behind the front facades of their home. I did notice in the recommendation, I think there was a reference to fence extenders, that they strongly recommended the traditional fence and an eight foot deer mesh fence be put in together, to minimize, them being intrusive or clumsy. So that this way, they would be side by side fencing rather than having these big gaps in between.

But I, not only myself agree with this, I also bought, which I can drop off, there's over 60 of our neighbors who support the eight foot deer fencing established as well. So thank you for your time.

Thank you. We also have Jason Pepin. Welcome. Good

evening.

My name is Jason Pepin with Investment Properties. We own property in the Rockville Town Center, including 1 Church Street and 11 North Washington Street. We have been engaged throughout this process and previously submitted a comment in the public record requesting consideration for this use. While it is not included in the planning commission's recommendation, we did not receive specific feedback on the rationale and would welcome further consideration from the mayor and council. To be clear, the two buildings I mentioned are viable office buildings today.

We are actively leasing space and signing new leases with new tenants, and we are not proposing any conversion or change in use at this time. My comment is strictly about zoning flexibility for the future. As office markets evolve, adaptive reuse is becoming an important tool to keep buildings occupied and contributing to the tax base. We are asking the city to consider allowing indoor self-service storage as a permitted use or a conditional use within the MX TD District limited to existing buildings and structured parking with no exterior changes. And I do have an example.

This is a multi story self-service facility, self storage, facility in McLean, Virginia. From the outside, it looks like a typical office building, and there are many similar examples, like this one. This is a photo of our building at 1 Church Street right across the street from the Rockville Metro, as it stands today. And this photo is the exact same photo and represents what it would look like if this type of use were ever implemented within the MXTD District. With the amount of new and planned residential development in and around the town center, this would provide a convenient option for nearby residents while remaining consistent with the character of the district.

This is not a building specific request. It's a zoning text consideration to provide flexibility if and when it's ever needed. Thank you for your consideration.

Thank you. That exhausts a list of those who signed up for this section. Is there anyone else who would like to speak? Okay. I'll turn it back to staff if you can also just note, upcoming dates for public hearings as well as how long this will be open through.

Absolutely. Thank you. So the next public hearing for both the zoning ordinance rewrite and the comprehensive map amendment will occur on May 4. And then our public record remains open until adoption of both the zoning text amendment for the zoning ordinance rewrite and the comprehensive map amendment for the zoning map, which again is anticipated to be July 6. However, I would note that the earlier folks provide comments and testimony, the more able we are to be responsive to them.

Thank you very much. Okay. Seeing no additional hands for this section, would

you So I

just wanted to clarify, is this

hearing the comprehensive map amendment in

public hearing going be now?

Well, I'm getting to that. Okay. Sorry. Thank you. Thank you. You. Alright. So we'll now move on to agenda item 10b, which is public hearing number one on map amendment application, map twenty twenty six dash zero zero one two six for a comprehensive zoning map amendment for the entire city, mayor and council, City Of Rockville as applicants. Welcome back Holly Simmons and Jim Wasilek.

Thank you, madam mayor. So this is the second public hearing for our project this evening. And as noted earlier, we'll focus on the comprehensive map amendment. So I'll turn it back to you.

Thank you. I did want to note the mayor and council did have some discussion during our leadership planning team meeting, and we'll probably have a discussion later today about timing. The body is very interested in making sure the public has enough time to review this as we do as well, and we have a chance to listen to all the comments and feedback. I also wanted to note that based on the feedback this evening, staff is gonna come back with a revised draft with edits that incorporate the Planning Commission's recommendations plus what we weighed in on on those recommendations, and that will be issued on April 20. You can follow along on Engage Rockville. Okay. I will now call on those who have signed up. Bill Kamenos. Did you want to speak again in this section? Okay.

Julia Binder. Welcome.

Good evening, mayor and council members. My name is Julia Binder. I live in Newmark Commons, and I was recently elected to the board of our HOA. I'm here to represent the board and read a letter sent to you on April 6 by our board president, James Nations. It reads, the board of directors of Newmark Commons is writing to oppose the rezoning to RMD 25 of the 10 acre parcel abutting Don Mills Court and homes on streets off Scandia Way.

This level of density would not be compatible with the adjacent communities of Newmark Commons and Markwood. We ask that you consider residential medium density infill as an alternative less dense zone. We also ask that you take steps to protect our neighborhoods from being used as a transit for vehicles coming from the South, seeking access to Falls Road, Maryland Avenue, and I 270. This traffic would come not only from the additional homes on a 10 acre plot, but also from the 20 acre plot connected to it from the South where plans reportedly call for building an estimated 375 homes. If vehicle access were granted through our communities, we would become an alternate route for traffic from Montrose Road, Tower Oaks Boulevard, and Wooten Parkway.

This would offer drivers an alternative North South commuter cut through between Montrose Road and Rockville, but at the cost of passing through our neighborhoods. This level of traffic would endanger our neighborhood school children and adult walkers and expose our residents to additional carbon emissions and noise pollution. The city of Rockville has a history of rejecting other suggestions of creating parallel routes to the pike by, for example, connecting and extending East Jefferson Street. These ideas were discarded for the same reason that vehicle access through Newmark Commons and Markwood should be rejected, concern for the safety of residential neighborhoods and schools and respect for the citizens of Rockville. We appreciate the need for more housing in Rockville, but we ask that new housing be planned and constructed in ways that honor the needs of adjacent communities like ours.

Members of the NMC board of directors would welcome the opportunity as suggested by mayor Ashton to meet with the developers in a mutual listening session to determine how we might work together to lessen the impact of development on our communities. Thank you for the city's engagement with Newmark Commons regarding the Rockville 2040 comprehensive plan. Chief of zoning, Jim Waselek, has been supportive in keeping the community informed starting with a briefing just six months ago to our board on 09/04/2025. Since learning of the plans, 700 of our neighbors have signed a petition opposing the RMD 25 designation, including two thirds of all Newmark common residents. The NMC board of director thanks you for the thoughtful and ongoing leadership you're demonstrating by listening to our residents, considering potential rezoning options, and acting to support a future that maintains the quality of life for all current and future homes in Rockville.

Thank you very much.

Thank you. Welcome Peter Krug.

Thank you mayor and council. My name is Peter Krug and I've been living in Rockville, specifically in Newmark Commons for four years. I'd like to address transparency if you will. We all know what's happened with Wooten High School and how the, closing of Wooten High School due to basically MCPS allowing it to fall into disrepair, created a situation, that enabled them to decide to close the school and by creating options on the fly and then not listening to the impacted parties, they basically were able to transfer students. Their plan now is to transfer students to another school and so this is about a transparency issue here because there was no input from the community in making these decisions.

And so as you know, mayor and council recommended changes and you were rejected. An organization challenging this closure is lawyering up to stay the decision. And so this is a despite unanimous outcry, there's no communications that were able to change MCPS's mind. On the flip side of the same coin, there's a parcel of land on Area 12 that is adjacent to the Newmark Commons and Markwood neighborhoods that's currently zoned r 90. From what we can tell, the owner has been trying to rezone the property from high density, to high density r M D 25 for quite a while.

Instead of presenting a building proposal to the community in support of a rezoning request, the changes have submitted as part of the zoning ordinance rewrite. Did the developer use this tactic to enable a zoning change without input from the impacted parties? This lack of transparency smacks of a predetermined decisions made intentionally to avoid studies of community impact. Residents recommended the changes but we're told is not standard to change the rewrite once it has been accepted as in the Rockville 2040 comprehensive plan. Newmark Commons has recently hired a new board of directors elected and the new neighborhood is now officially opposing rezoning to R M D 25.

While the parallels between the Wooten closure and the rezoning of the parcel are striking, there's one major difference. Mayor and council can instruct the rezoning commission to limit changes to compatible development. Please use your power to either maintain R 90 or limit density to R M D infill with no roads connecting to Newmark Commons. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Anna Astrid Molina.

Good evening, mayor and council. I lived in Markwood for thirty years and as a Venezuelan American, I deeply value the opportunity to speak to you in this democracy. I want to thank all for the extensive work on the 2040 plant. I am here to urge you to reject the R and D 25 rezoning for Parcels SOAR ID 17. Because Markku does not have an HOA, we were not notified and our voices are missing from the conversations deciding the fate of our doorsteps.

There is a sacred reason why this land is unsortable for high density development. This plot was part of the 1789 Montgomery County Core Farm And Almshouse. For a hundred and sixty years, it was the final resort and final resting place for the poor, the elderly, and those with mental illness. Hundreds estimated between 501,000 people lie lie here in unmarked graves, including John Dix Dorsey and Sidney Randolph, victims of the nineteenth century lynching. The last burial was in 1983.

In 1984, city study, in an 1884 city study concluded that public use for this property was not viable due to these unmarked graves and restricted access through what is now Wotton Parkway. While small archaeological digs in 1987 and construction in 2000 relocated about a 100 remains, the vast majority of these salts are still there. If the city was deterred from using this site for public projects because of this grave, how can we justify a seven story high rise in the same ground? This is not just open space. It is a sensitive historical site.

To allow an RMD 25 designation, which requires deep excavation for foundations and underground utility, is to risk disturbing the remains of our County's more vulnerable former residents. Also, want to mention noise pollution. Even if traffic is restricted through Wotton Parkway, noise by residents will directly impact Newmark Commons and Markwood. Currently, the high noise levels from two seventy and the nursing home traffic is cumbersome. On days where patients have outdoor activities, the noise levels make it impossible for me to work from home, forcing me to go to the library.

Adding two forty four high density units will shatter the piece of Marwick And Newmark Commons. Besides demand for a low impact approach that honors its history, the RMG 25 is the most intrusive designation possible. I ask you to honor the dignity of those buried there and the safety of those living here today. Please prioritize our shared history and our quality of life over high density development. Thank you so much.

Thank you. Welcome, Susan Knowles, followed by Alex Bellida.

Hi. I'm Susan Knowles, and I live in Newmark Commons. I wanna thank the mayor and council for continuing to listen to our community's concerns about the proposed new zoning for partial Zord ID 17 in Planning Area 12. Staff has informed me that these recommendations were made by a long range planning team. Who were these people, and did they come out and actually walk the property?

Our neighborhood was not involved because we're in Area 3, and this property that abuts ours is in Planning Area 12. The owners of the property have had ten years to work with you, and we've had about one. When I came before you on December 1, I asked you to please keep working on this document before the draft was submitted to the planning commission. It moved on with input to the staff to look at different zoning options for this parcel. When it was presented to the Planning Commission, the only choices they were given at first was to keep it as the draft stated, RMD 25, or revert back to the older designation, R 90.

During discussion, the Planning Commission was led to believe that historically, the zoning usually agreed with the newer recommendation. Luckily, the Planning Commission looked at compatibility with the neighboring properties and added some language that seemed to take our concerns into account. But what we have now puts our neighborhood in Markwood between a rock and a hard place. They decided to keep the R M D 25, but added that if development was allowed to exit onto Don Mills Court, the zoning would have to be less dense. But that would allow the 375 or so townhomes on the 20 acres south that will be developed to also use the exit, creating a north south route between the Wooten Parkway And 270 At Falls Road.

This is a draft. The mayor and council have the power to make changes to this document. There have been no traffic studies or environmental studies to see how this will affect Newmark, Markwood, and all the neighborhoods around the Falls Road interchange. Online, it says the city staff will update the staff draft ordinance and zoning map during this review process, and this document will be revised incorporating mayor and council direction. Please take this time to listen to the suggestions we have been offering.

You have the power to have the staff make the changes before the official adoption on July 6. All we are asking for is something that the city has always stated that's important, compatibility with the adjoining neighborhoods and no road into or through Newmark Commons and Markwood. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Welcome, mister Bellita, followed by Kristin Ram Ramoson.

Thank you very much, madam mayor, members of the council. Some of what you'll hear tonight from us as I'm a resident of Newmark Commons will be repetitive, but I was in the radio business for over forty years. We used to have a saying, tell them what you're gonna tell them, tell them again, and then tell them what you told them because you can't go back in radio and reread what they said. So forgive us if we sometimes cross remarks. One of the mysteries of the city's rezoning process is that no one could tell us who exactly decided this small plot of land next to Newmark would be rezoned R M D 25.

We were told by planning staff that it came from consultants. Who were these consultants, and did they ever visit the plot? And how did they justify putting high rise structures in an area of development that is not near transit hubs or businesses? How did they decide to integrate hundreds of new residents and all of their cars without regard as to how they would get out of this parcel, go to work, go to school, go to business. Is there a map somewhere that shows what new roads will be needed to accommodate these people?

Surely, someone must have thought about this before deciding R M D 25 was a great idea. But the comprehensive plan says, quoting, proposed additional road connections were not supported during Rockville's 2040 public engagement process. Then there's also this pesky 1991 agreement with the residents of Don Mills Court regarding access to the city maintained stormwater facility. The the agreement stipulates that access to that plot, quote, will not be used as a public right of way to facilitate development, and such decision is in the best interest of the city. Did anyone also consider how unpleasant it might be to live in buildings slapped right up against I two seventy?

I can attest to the noise levels that we hear in Newmark from trucks, whiny sport cars, and racing motorcycles. Now right now, there's a healthy tree canopy on that plot that offers a measure of protection, not just from the noise, but from pollution. Whoops. Those trees won't survive dense development. But I get it.

You want to increase housing opportunities in the city. It makes sense. It's good forward thinking policy in these changing times. But does it make good sense and good policy to let unnamed consultants pick just any old plot of undeveloped land, leaving you and us to deal with the consequences? And does it make good sense and good policy to run roughshod over an established neighborhood whose residents oppose this? I urge you to defer a decision on rezoning this plot. Leave it as it is currently zoned until you can make a truly informed decision and until the representatives of the developer actually reach out to us and start talking. Thank you.

Thank you. Welcome, miss Rumison, followed by Pat Reber.

Good evening, madam mayor and council members. My name is Kristen Rasmussen, and I lived in Newmark Commons for the last three years. Before moving to Rockville, I lived in Cambodia, Phnom Penh, a very crowded city where development occurred with no public input. So I do appreciate this opportunity to be here today. I wish to express my concerns, and I will repeat much of what's already been said as well as what I said back in December, but we thought that it was important to get as many of us in front of you as possible.

I have many concerns with the process that's been followed as part of the comprehensive map amendment application being considered tonight. The areas affected by the proposal to rezone the land parcel, those of us living in those areas have had insufficient time to engage with city leadership on the matter. Now that has improved over the last couple of months and we do appreciate your efforts. But I'm concerned as others are that this area and the implications of the development in it have not been carefully considered. In recent years, Rockville has been increasingly affected by flooding.

This is one reason why the city council developed its climate action plan 2022. As you know, the Rockville climate action plan makes specific references to protecting the city's tree canopy, reducing greenhouse greenhouse gas emissions, and taking steps to mitigate flooding. My neighbors and I are aware that the parcel is currently zoned for townhome and single family home development, which we are not opposed to. If developed and rezoned, it would mean that some trees would be cut. Zoning for high density, we fear that there would be clear cutting, which as we heard earlier would affect noise levels as well as air quality.

High density development and consequential tree loss would also put communities at risk of increased flooding, which is already a major concern due to the impact of climate change. I implore you as council members to uphold commitments laid out in the city's climate action plan. Doing otherwise would simply defy logic. High density development would also mean many more cars on what are now the safe streets of Newmar Commons. And I, as a mother of a young child who's going to go to middle school in just over a year, am very concerned about that.

When I drive through the area, I see many kids crossing Newmar Commons neighborhood to other communities, not just those that are living in NMC. And already, we have a traffic issue with people going faster, a limited number of signs posted, speed, sign signs posting the speed limit. More cars on the road would make the area less safe for the children and other residents of Newmar Commons in adjacent neighborhoods. My neighbors and I have outlined many reasons to remove rezoning of the parcel from consideration as part of the map amendment application. In the case of this parcel, high density development would have overwhelmingly negative consequences for surrounding residents in even the wider city.

Thank you very much to listening for our input and for taking our concerns into consideration.

Thank you. Welcome, Pat Reber.

Thank you, mayor and council for having us, testify tonight. I am also with the Newmark Commons Group, so I don't think I need to identify the plot in question. We appreciate that six of you took time with us over the past weeks weeks to meet with us, and I know that took time from busy days, and we appreciate that very much. The seventh has eluded us, but we're still trying. Today, I will address the January 13 testimony from representative Tower Dawson.

Mister Commoner was here this evening, and I've had a small chat with him. And, maybe we will start talking, and, I thought he had very enlightening testimony this evening. In January, however, I wrote my testimony, so you're gonna have to listen to it. In January, he acknowledged our concerns about safety, pollution, and noise from heavy traffic routed through our two communities. He said, quote, there can be routes of access to serve the property from other than the abutting Don Mills Court, end quote.

First, the word can is an indefinite commitment. We hope to get more solid assurance that all traffic from the plot next to us, along with that from the 20 acres to the south am I coming through in the mic? We hear you. Yeah.

Thank you.

Would exit onto Wooten Parkway. Second, the assurance offered in his testimony in January, not this evening, only addresses traffic on Don Mills Court. There are other possible routes onto our streets. We already hear the loud drone of two seventy but are somewhat protected by wooded property. You just heard that from my husband.

The prospect is dangerous and daunting of thousands more trucks, cars, service vehicles, ride shares, and deliveries transiting our neighborhoods from 30 acres of development. Third, last September, city staff briefed the Newmark Commons board about the proposed rezoning. One board member asked staff how the city would access the site if developed. The answer from this a Rockville staff member was, quote, the clearest way would be through Don Mills Court. Fourth, Tower Dawson's lawyer, mister Commoner, suggested that Newmark residents should have been bracing over the past half century for more traffic because the site had originally been intended for a school.

That plan was abandoned decades ago, and Rockville City itself said it should never be open to traffic. Fifth, the Tara Dawson lawyer noted that there was no opposition to r m d 25 in traffic before the 2021 adoption of Rockville's comprehensive plan. That's because thanks to a city ordinance from 2011, the city was not obligated to inform adjacent properties like us about a proposed rezoning if it was part of a developing a comprehensive plan. For these reasons, we are asking mayor and council for a solid commitment that vehicle traffic from any development on the 10 acre plot next to Newmark and the contiguous 20 acre plot south of it will only flow south onto Wooden Parkway. Can mayor and council help us with these concerns during this con process?

Thank you very much.

Thank you. That exhausts the list of those who have signed up in advance. I'm just double checking. Is there anyone else who did not speak who would like to speak? Please join and note your name and whether you live in the city of Rockville.

I I I signed up online, but maybe I did it My name is Tyler Abrams. I am a sixteen year resident of the city of Rockville. I live at 915 Grandin Avenue, near Lone Oak Park, East Rockville. My wife and I have been residents here at Rockville, like I said, for sixteen years. We've raised our two young children here, and we love Rockville.

I'm ready I'm I'm here specifically in reference to area one, the Vears Mill Road corridor of planning area eight, Twinbrook and Twinbrook Forest, which propose it's basically the logic is built around a proposed bus line that will run along Viers Mill, and I would argue that there are many existing bus lines along Viers Mill. As a 16 resident in the city of Rockville and more specifically the South Side Of Grandin Avenue, East Of 1st Street, I am adamantly opposed to the rezoning of my property and my entire street from residential detached to residential attached and the threat this has on my street, the sense of neighborhood, the community my family lives in. While I understand the general land use principles, guidelines, and policies that were used to generate this particular aspect of the commission's proposal, I fear that in practice, the proposed rezoning of Grandin Avenue will be a detriment. I, like many of my neighbors, moved to this neighborhood as a result of recognizing its great charm. It is a diverse, working class neighborhood where neighbors are friendly and respectful of one another, and we very much appreciate the quaint, quiet nature of where we live.

Each and every one of us who purchased a home here bought into the sense of neighborhood that it exudes. The relative density, relative home size, and relative lot size is very consistent from block to block in my neighborhood, making this feel like a cohesive place that we all call home. Homeowners take great pride in what is, in most cases, their largest investment, myself included. A great example of this is the large amount of home improvement that is consistently ongoing throughout our neighborhood. The introduction, however, of townhouses, duplexes, triplexes, and apartment buildings to our neighborhood and my actual street specifically would change the makeup of our neighborhood.

It inherently would mean increased density, which I know is the intent here, but also an influx of renters who, by their very nature, do not have a stake in the neighborhood or the communities they live in. This would also contribute to a transient feel in our street where occupants come and go on a regular basis, and there are far fewer people and families who tend to stay for longer periods of time and contribute to the community and neighborhood we live in. This also would inevitably impact our property values as the value of the homes on Grandin Avenue would become the value of the land rather than the value of the existing structure. As developers will want to move in to create denser building types and the homes we have worked so hard to upkeep and improve over the years will have no value anymore. It is also likely that parking would be a major issue as we already lack adequate street parking.

Thank you very much. I appreciate your testimony. Thank you. Is there anyone else who would like to speak? Mister Komener?

Thank you, madam mayor. I think I was signed up for this one, but I apologize. I was out in the hallway chatting when, you began it. My name is Bill Commoners. I'm an attorney representing the Tower Dawson LLC, the owner of Tower Oaks on the property in the South.

And I just wanna mention a couple of things, that have come up in some of the discussion. First of all, I wanna make sure that everyone understands that Tower Dawson has not in the past nor does it today have any plan for development of the 9.75 acre adjacent to Tower Oaks. But when a plan is prepared, whether it's by Tower Dawson or someone else, it's gonna go through the city's very rigorous review process for any physical engineering issues and compatibility access questions. Any of that will be considered by the city staff as they do with every development application that comes in. I have great confidence in them about that.

Second, there's been some comment about the density that's potentially allowed on the property to the south of this property that's within Tower Oaks. So I heard somebody this evening talk about 375 units. I've heard 400 units. There's an agreement between Tower Dawson and Newmar Commons that limits that area to a 170 units as maximum. Finally, I mentioned in my testimony on the zoning ordinance, ordinance, the potential footnotes for the whatever zone you place on this property to try and address this access question.

And I just like to read into the record the two the two choices or the two items that have been that have come up. First is from the planning commission, which we have proposed to revise. It they've recommended in this in their report to you, quote, if any vehicular access to a property is provided from a secondary residential street that ended in a cul de sac on the effective date, then the maximum development density is limited at 10 dwelling units per acre. Now that still leaves the question of act of access of some kind for that. We want we the our client suggests more limiting than that, as I mentioned earlier, with a footnote that would say, only quote, only emergency ingress and egress to a property may be provided from a secondary residential street that ended in a cul de sac on the effective date, unquote.

So that that, I would hope, would address any question about regular vehicular access from any development of that parcel on our client's behalf. And that would be a footnote that could be used and be applicable irrespective of whatever zone you place on the property, R M D 25 or whatever it might be, to try to accommodate the concern about access to Don Mills Court, but preserving the opportunity for the emergency ingress and egress, which is already provided for today. Thank you very much.

Thank you very much. Doctor Mouse, go

clarifying question for her? Is that possible?

I think, mister I just assume. Okay.

I just I just had a you said there was no plans for y'all to develop the 10 acre property adjacent to Tower Oaks, or did you mean ten eight the 10 acre parcel next to Newmark?

The 10 acre part the 9.75 acre parcel north of Tower Oaks is the parcel that's adjacent. Got it.

That's all. That's all. Thank you. Thank

you. Is there anyone else who would like to speak in this section? Okay. I want to acknowledge that we have received written comments. The mayor and council have that in our records, and we will continue to watch for those. Want to turn it back to Ms. Holly Simmons to see if you have any follow-up. Thank

you, madam mayor. That concludes materials for staff, but we're looking forward to being back before you for the work session later this evening.

Thank you. There has been some comments about all the different zoning districts. I wanted to note, in addition to what I said earlier about when your revised draft is going be published, there is a zoning district quick reference on Engage Rockville. I will note that I've heard from staff different height limitations. If we can have those height limitations included in this quick reference so that the listening public can track all the different RMD, RM25, 10, infill so that there's a sense.

Staff does a great job of saying what's allowed in terms of housing type, but not necessarily heights, and I think that might be another helpful piece of information to add. Certainly,

we can make that happen.

Thank you. And I wanna remind the listening public that we do have another public hearing coming up. Do you wanna send a reminder share a reminder on that?

Sure. So, again, the next public hearing that we have is on May 4. There will be public hearing both on the zoning ordinance rewrite and on the comprehensive map amendment similar to what has occurred this evening. And as madam mayor mentioned earlier, we are planning after this evening to revise the staff drafts of the zoning ordinance and the zoning map based on mayor and council's direction this evening, and that is intended to be published to engage Rockville on April 20, one week from today.

Thank you very much to everyone who participated in our public hearings. We're going to be moving on to our budget public hearing next, but want to note that there will be a work session on this very topic this evening under agenda item 12. So if you're interested, feel free to stick around. You can also watch us online. I'm now going to move on to our next agenda item, which is FY 'twenty seven Budget Public Hearing four. And I want to turn to Sarah. I know this has been properly noticed, as you mentioned. Is there anything else you want to say, Ms. Sarah Taylor Farrell?

Madam Mayor, it has been properly noticed on threethirteen and threetwenty three.

Thank you. And I want to welcome staff members Daniel Chambers, Stacy Webster, and Kim Francesco. Thank you.

Good evening, madam mayor and members of the council. This is our fourth and final public hearing scheduled for the FY 'twenty seven operating budget and capital improvements program, with the public record for the FY 'twenty seven proposed budget also closing tonight. Included in your packets this evening is a summary of all public testimony on the FY '27 budget thus far as well as an interim report of the survey results. At the time of drafting that report, we had four seventy responses, and a final report will be shared with the mayor and council following the close of the public record. This public hearing was advertised in The Washington Post, posted to the city of Rockville's website, social media accounts, channel eleven bulletin board, and Rockville reports.

And once again, the public record for the f y twenty seven proposed budget will be closing tonight, so this is the final chance to provide testimony on this budget. Thank you.

Thank you. Although I know officially we listen all the time, but this is the official closing of this public hearing. I want to thank you. I want to thank everyone who's filled out the budget survey. People have filled out the CIP project ideas and really contributed throughout the process through all the hearings we've had. So thank you. Okay. So I have a list of folks who have signed up in advance, and then I will call for those who would like to speak. I want to note that please address the mayor and council. If you have any written testimony that you haven't already emailed, please feel free to give it to Ms.

Sarah Taylor Farrell, our city clerk's office. We'll then log that information. I'd like to first welcome Julia Estella Sarmiento. As you speak, please note whether you live in the city of Rockville, and please restate your name.

Good evening. My name is Julia Sarmiento, and I am the Maryland Housing Program Manager at the Latino Economic Development Center. LEDC serves residents across the DMV by providing the skills and financial tools they need to buy, rent, and sustain their homes, maintain affordable rental housing, and start or expand small I'm here today to request your support for LEDC for $4,000 grant application to the city of Rockville, which will allow us to continue and expand tenant services for residents within the city of Rockville. As a Maryland housing program manager, I oversee a team dedicated to ensuring that Montgomery County tenants understand their rights and responsibilities within the city of Rockville. LEDC works directly with tenants facing evictions or other housing hardships, like the shutoff of their utilities or poor living conditions.

Our team connects residents to Montgomery County rental assistance programs as well as local resources and services offered by the city Of Rockville. LADC has provided housing services in Montgomery County since 2009 and tenant services since the beginning of COVID nineteen. Our staff is highly knowledgeable about both city and county rental laws as well as the social service programs available to tenants and families. Today, I am advocating for your support of LADC's grant proposal because this funding will allow us to focus more intentionally on Rockville residents who are facing financial challenges. With this support, we can continue connecting tenants to the resources that help them avoid eviction, prevent utility disconnections and stabilize their housing situations.

LEDC also provides referral to financial education, budgeting assistance and credit building programs both within the both within and beyond our organization, each of which is critical to long term housing stability. Last year, LADC helped Ms. Flores, a City Of Rockville resident, who had fallen behind on her rent and despite making payments, was unable to bring her account current. She had been hospitalized due to back injury, which affected her ability to work consistently. While Ms.

Flores owned a small business that was generating income, she was overspending and lacked a clear understanding of her business finances. LEDC referred Ms. Flores to a small business coach who helped her organize her finances, develop a profit and loss statement and implemented healthy financial behavior. Ultimately, Ms. Flores avoided eviction and stabilized her finances. Today, she has improved her control over her income and is seeing more money remain in her bank account at the end of each month. This is the type of holistic, culturally responsive support LEDC provides to City Of Rockville residents. With your support of this application, we can continue helping tenants like Ms. Flores remain housed, financially stable, on a path towards long term success. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Thank you. Welcome, former Councilmember Beryl Feinberg, followed by Christina Recky.

Thank you very much. It seems like it's old. Oh, I thought former council member Bershaler was here a minute ago. It felt like old home week here. My name is Beryl L.

Feinberg and I reside at 10404 Strathmore Park Court, Rockville, Maryland. Thank you, Monique Ashton and council members for your service. Really appreciate and understand all the time and effort you put into making Rockville a great place to live, work and play. The city manager's FY twenty seven operating budget proposes a $25,000 community services and enrichment grant for the hospitality training program. Tonight, I want to underscore the benefits and critical need for this grant for the Sunflower Bakery.

Neurodivergent individuals face significantly higher unemployment and underemployment rates with estimates indicating that thirty percent to forty percent of neurodivergent adults are unemployed, a rate three times higher than for individuals with other disabilities and eight times higher than the general population. Adults on the autism spectrum face even steeper barriers with unemployment estimates ranging from 76 to over 80% according to the National Institutes of Health Research. Since 2009, Sunflower Bakery has improved the lives of over six seventy five teens and young adults with learning differences. Young adults with differing abilities participate in a twenty six week training program, acquiring skills to prepare them for future employment within the food service or hospitality industry. Incorporating both classroom and hands on training, students learn many of the same skills that typical young adults struggle with as they enter the workforce.

Promptness, learning to listening to supervisors, balanced with self advocacy, responsive customer service, time management, money management, and job searching skills. Program participates participate in the Sunflower Bakery space. You can read more about this on their website. Unlike other workforce development programs, Sunflower Bakery incorporates job services and employment supports post graduation from training. All of this requires timely receipt of financial resources for program participation in their varying programs.

Following rigorous accreditation processes, Sunflower Bakery proudly noted status as a community rehabilitation partner with the Maryland State Division of Rehabilitation Services or DORS for employment services and pre employment training for its STEP or Sunflower Teen Exposure Program and importantly, the job coaching services. In the last several months, DOORS funding has been delayed or underfunded, while Sunflower Bakery organizational cash flow requirements are in real time. Many of its generous supporters previously in the federal workforce or as contractors lost jobs and scaled back donations. Matching federal funds have been reduced. All of this is to say without Rockville's ongoing support, potential students may never experience this extraordinary workforce development program.

Firsthand, I have witnessed how with workforce training, not only are the graduates' life changed, but so too the entire family's life expectations. Thank you again for your support. Should you wish to witness how this grant and the other programs change lives, you may request a tour of the Sunflower Bakery headquartered right here in the city of Rockville near the Twin The Twinbrook neighborhood. Or you may register to attend the annual celebration on April 26 at the Montgomery College Cultural Arts Seventh at 7PM. Check out their website for more details.

And thank you mayor Ashton and council member Van Grack for serving on the celebration and graduation host committee. Really appreciate it and hope to see you there on the twenty sixth and any others of you. Thank you very much.

Thank you. Welcome, Cristina

Recchi, yes.

Recchi? Thank you. Good evening, Mayor Ashton and council members. My name is Cristina Recchi. I'm vice president of programs at the PTA at Meadowhall Elementary School, and I'm also an English teacher at Community Reach of Montgomery County, working with, parents at Meadowhall Elementary School.

I'm here tonight to ask you for your continued support for English classes for Meadowhall parents in the coming budget year. I've had the privilege of teaching parents who are deeply committed to their children's education and to their own growth. They are here with us tonight and so are their beautiful children. So is Ms. Cecilia Rojas, LOP Program Director at Community Reach of Montgomery County.

These parents come to class because they want to do more than simply get by in daily life. They want to understand what is happening at their children's school. They want to communicate with teachers with confidence. They want to help with homework, prepare for exams, read school messages, and take an active role in their children's academic progress. Parents gain the language skills they need to participate more fully in school life.

They become more comfortable asking questions, attending school meetings and events, speaking with staff, and supporting learning at home. That matters because strong parent involvement is closely connected to student success. I've seen parents who were once hesitant to begin to speak with greater assurance. I have seen them return to class consistently because they know these lessons are helping them at school, at home, and in the community. Their commitment shows that this program is needed and that it is working.

Funding English classes gives parents tools not only to help their children meet school responsibilities, but also to be included and thrive in the broader community. English proficiency helps parents navigate daily life with greater independence. It helps them speak up for themselves, access services, build relationships, pursue employment opportunities and contribute more fully to the life of our city. These classes are not simply language instruction, they are a bridge to confidence, connection and participation. When we invest in parents, we also invest in children.

When we help families build communication skills, we strengthen schools. And when we create opportunities for parents to engage and succeed, we strengthen the entire community. This is why continued funding to community reach of Montgomery County is so important. It allows us to keep building a school environment where families are not left on the margins but are equipped to participate, belong, and thrive. Thank you for your time, your leadership, and your consideration.

Thank you. Welcome, and thanks to all the children for coming out as well. Love to see civic engagement. Welcome Kate Berman. Kate Berman.

Madam Mayor, there was a Madison was supposed to be called on the list before Beryl Feinberg.

Okay. She's not on the list. Let's see. Okay. We can call Madison Kelowna's phones. Welcome.

Honorable mayor Ashton and city council members, good evening. My name is Madison Kalonin. I am proud to be a development associate at Sunflower Bakery. I'm here tonight to provide testimony in support of Sunflower Bakery's funding request to the city of Rockville as part of your fiscal year twenty twenty seven budget. I first wanna take a moment to thank mayor Ashton and the Rockville City Council for your continued support of Sunflower's mission and work.

We greatly appreciate that this council, amidst your very busy schedules, makes the time to stop by our storefronts and community events often. For those of you who are not familiar, Sunflower Bakery is a workforce development program for individuals with learning differences headquartered right here in Rockville on Alpine Road. We offer training in pastry arts, hospitality, and culinary arts that teach our students transferable yet industry aligned technical and interpersonal skills to support their transition into the workforce. As a nonprofit social enterprise, every item we sell provides critical training to our students. The employment gap for individuals with learning differences is a nationwide concern, but we're tackling it at a local level.

Individuals with learning differences are underrepresented in the workforce not due to lack of ability, but rather a lack of workforce development opportunities tailored to their needs. According to the US Census Bureau, five point three percent of Rockville residents under the 65 have a disability. In Montgomery County as a whole, fifty one percent of individuals with disabilities ages 18 to 64 are employed compared to eighty two percent of their peers without disabilities. Sigma, structural, and individual barriers are all hurdles for individuals with learning differences to pursue meaningful employment, and Sunflower Bakery fosters the skills, knowledge, and self assurance needed to overcome them. Sunflower Bakery has made intentional decisions to further our impact as a local service provider and business, and I ask that the city of Rockville considers a similar intentional investment in our programs.

This past year, Sunflower Bakery earned its three year CARF accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities. This was the product of an intensive evaluation process and signifies to our students, families, supporters, and community partners that Sunflower's programs meet rigorous standards and its staff are committed to continuous improvement. We also have the honor of celebrating our first class of culinary arts graduates this past year. We recently expanded to offer training in culinary arts in response to student interest and feedback from our employer partners indicating a need for employees with these skills. Each each decision our staff makes is grounded in the question, what is best for our students?

And this expansion is a testament to that mantra. In that same vein, we have just launched our hospitality sunflower teen exposure program. Our teen program introduces teens with learning differences to career opportunities and introduces soft skills that will benefit them in the work workplace. This curriculum complements our existing pastry arts teen program but was created to support teens who are more interested in front of house and customer service roles. On April 26, we'll be celebrating our largest graduating class ever at our annual graduation event.

Nearly half of these graduates are from our hospitality workforce development program, for which Sunflower Bakery is seeking support from the city of Rockville. In the past two years, we have more than doubled our enrollment of our hospitality program, and we seek to keep this momentum going. Our community of over 70 local employer partners consistently mention the dependability, skill, and drive of Sunflower graduates. I invite you to our bakeshop or cafe to see our hardworking hospitality students in action. I appreciate the continued support of the city of Rockville and Sunflower Bakery's pursuit of a more inclusive community. Thank you for your consideration, and I have some treats

to share with you all made

by our students.

Thank you. Thank

you. While she's moving, just wanted to invite

Oh, I think you're going for one.

Welcome, miss Welcome, miss Jody Tick. Do you want us Okay. Alright. Thank you. Thank you very much.

Alright.

Do we have Steven Gormley? Steven Gormley? Okay. Kevin Kennedy. Welcome.

Yay. Thank you.

Madam mayor, members of the council, city staff, good evening. My name is Kevin Kennedy. I know you're all familiar with the Rockville villages, and I greatly appreciate the support that you've continued to show for them. When I moved to Rockville in 2022, I was pleased to find active villages here, including one in Rockville Town Center where I live. It's challenging these days to connect with neighbors in a new community, particularly for me since I was working full time and caring for my wife who is in the late stages of Alzheimer's disease and lives in a nearby memory care home.

The city had the foresight to hire a full time facilitator for to help the city neighborhoods start and grow active villages, and more recently, to add a part time assistant. With the numerous villages in Rockville in various stages of development, I've been impressed watching Trish Evans and her assistant help the city's villages move forward. It's been great to be part of Rockville Town Center Village. We have about a dozen people in our informal leadership group, a number of whom are here in the audience this evening. We've been very active with a monthly coffee club, regular lunch, munch gatherings, a museum outings, a trivia team competing weekly at the world of beer, and many other gatherings.

We've run two coat donation drives for Meadowhall Elementary School families, and I was was pleased to see some of those families here this evening. And also more recently, a drive for toil toiletries for the County Coalition for the Homeless. We've established a website and a monthly newsletter, which goes out to over 300 people. While we're volunteer driven, we would not be where we are today without the support of the city village staff. The city's team has also fostered cooperation across the different villages with events like this Saturday's villages go green and the villages year in review in January that some of you attended.

The city's village staff also helps keep us from reinventing the wheel. When my village decided to do a survey of residents' interests and needs, Trish pointed us to one West Rockville Connects had done. When Falls Grove Village wanted to do a survey, then she pointed them to me and to our survey. I applaud the growth and success of the other Rockville villages and root for the ones that are just getting off the ground. However, I believe current staffing cannot provide all the current and nascent villages in the city the degree of support that has allowed Town Center Village to thrive.

It's just not sustainable. Additional staffing, I think, is critical to build on Rockville's success in growing its village movement. At previous hearings, you heard recommendations to increase village program staffing from Elaine Kuback, chair of the Commission on Aging, and Diane Fuchs, an officer with West Rockville Connects Village. I echo those recommendations. Shifting the assistant position from part time to full time in the fiscal year twenty seven budget would enhance the support the city provides to its villages and help make Rockville even more livable. An additional halftime assistant position on top of that would further strengthen individual villages and connections between them. I hope you'll consider those changes to the budget. Thank you.

Thank you. Welcome, Kevin Kennedy followed by Nancy Picard. Nancy Picard. Thank you.

I thought I was last, but I'll go first of our group tonight. Thank you. Good evening, madam mayor and members of council. I'm Nancy Picard, executive director for Peerless Rockville. For more than fifty years, Peerless has served as the city's partner gathering I'm sorry, and sharing Rockville's history.

Tonight, I really would like to thank you, the members of the council here tonight that have recognized this and that have taken the opportunity to speak out for us and to, propose increasing the budget for us. But I'm here tonight to actually ask you to go just a little bit further and to maintain the grant at the $95,000 level that we've had this year. Even level funding represents a reduction for us. Inflation, combined with the city's shift to reimbursement based funding, means we now have to borrow money just to cover basic operating expenses like salaries for a large portion of the year. This added cost directly reduces what we can deliver to the public.

In many communities, our work is done by government agencies or municipal departments. In Rockville, it's done by a nonprofit at a fraction of the cost. Peerless Rockville fulfills a role that no city department currently covers. A significant cut to our operational funding does not just affect our organization. It directly diminishes the city's ability to collect and interpret its own heritage and to provide heritage tourism opportunities to all.

Rockville in the county is known to embrace its history, but its approach is exceptionally lean because it leverages Peerless Rockville's expertise rather than maintaining a full city department. However, this model has a breaking point and requires a minimum level of investment. To sustain our modern professionally staffed archive, we require funding sources that reflect today's economic realities. Consider our neighbors. Gaithersburg allocates more than triple our current funding, over $300,000 to support its history and culture programs.

For Rockville to further cut to 75,000 would not just be a budget adjustment. It would be a retreat from a benchmark level of civic engagement that our neighboring jurisdictions already are meeting. We understand that the city of Bowie operates its history programs with a budget of $830,000. Of that, over 400,000 is dedicated specifically to personnel and professional services, many of the same specialized functions that peer peerless currently provides. Many other jurisdictions directly fund museums and cultural centers.

These cities have determined that heritage education is a fundamental civic priority. In contrast, the proposed $75,000 grant represents less than point 04% of the total city budget. This is not a sustainable pass and, unfortunately, will force us to retreat from our archives, pull, cut put cuts to our staff, or cuts to upcoming educational programs and initiatives. I ask that you maintain our current funding level or increase it, recognizing it as a high value investment that allows the Rockville Peerless Partnership to continue. At ninety thousand, we will do everything we can to make it work, But any amount below that level will likely result in measurable dis decreases in services.

We are deeply committed to this work and to the city of Rockville. We need your continued support. Thank you so much for your time and consideration.

Thank you. Welcome Deborah Liverpool followed by Marion Buno.

Good evening, mayor and council. My name is Deborah Liverpool. I'm the chair of the board of directors for Peerless Rockville. I'm here to speak in strong support of maintaining, if not increasing, funding for Peerless Rockville. Peerless Rockville is not simply a historic organization.

It is a steward of our city's identity, our shared memory, our truth. The red brick courthouse in which Peerless sits stands on the grounds where enslaved African Americans were once bought and sold. That's not a distant history. That's Rockville's history. Today, Peerless Rockville ensures this story and many others are told with honesty, dignity, and context.

At a time when communities across the country are grappling with how to tell inclusive and accurate histories, Rockville already has a trusted partner doing that work. Cutting funding could now undermine that process and send the wrong message about our city's commitment to equity and truth. This is not just about history. It's about a smart investment. Peerless Rockville delivers exceptional values to the city with a regularly with a relatively modest budget.

And involves educational programming for students, cultural events for residents, heritage tourism that brings visitors into Rockville, supporting local businesses contributing to our local economy. If we were to replicate these services across multiple departments, it would significantly cost more. Peerless leverages city funding to attract other grants, donations, volunteer engagements. In other words, your investment multiplies, reducing the investment risk not only programming but additional outside resources that benefit the community. Finally, I would ask you to consider the long term aspect.

Cities that invest in their history that are fully and honestly building stronger communities. They foster civic pride, attract vendors, visitors, and create spaces that residents can learn and reflect. Peerless Rockville does all of that. This is not a place to cut. It's a place to stand firm. Respectfully, I urge you to maintain or initially increase funding for Peerless Rockville as a vital partner in preserving history, strengthening our community, and supporting our local economy.

Thank you. Welcome, Miriam Buno.

Greetings, mayor and council.

My name

is doctor Miriam Buno and I'm the education and outreach manager for Peerless Rockville. I'm a part time employee who is responsible for the majority of our events. Most of you know or have been to our events, but I wanna tell you a couple stories that are probably less visible. A number of years ago, a boy from Julius West Middle School came to the Peerless offices to do research on The US colored troops from Rockville in

the civil

war. Peerless continued to support him when he was a student at Richard Montgomery and wrote an essay on the topic. He came back to us as a student at Howard University to give a presentation where he shares the floor with a US park ranger, and he comes back to Peerless again in recent years to work on the US Civil War trail sign that he coauthored on North Washington Street. Peerless was there to support him at every step of his education and provided essential archival materials as well as a platform to help him tell the story of contributions made by underrepresented people living in Rockville. By speaking for us and participating in the creation of the US Civil War Trail sign, he gave back to our community, ultimately adding to the city's interpretive landscape.

Peerless is proud to have helped him on his journey of learning and sharing. Here's another story, of Peerless working with an individual to preserve Rockville's history. In this case, it's peerless providing assistance and serving as a repository for unique archival materials. I had a meeting last week with a woman who has been recreationally photographing and documenting changes on Rockville Pike for the past twenty years. She wants to preserve these images which are irreplaceable and came to Peerless for help.

We're now working with her not only to store her photos but help her prepare for a presentation on them, how how Rockville Pike has changed over time and what it means and finding other ways for her photos to be shared with the public through our platforms. These are not the first and they will not be the last people who have walked into Peerless to get knowledge or shared theirs and become active participants in documenting and sharing Rockville's history. The community grant is our operational funding for our archival and educational content. We deeply appreciate the support of a city that values historical accuracy and inclusive heritages and takes a stand funding content that demonstrates these values. I want you to know that the current wider atmosphere towards accurate history has created a challenging funding reality in the history nonprofit world and that the city of Rockville has the opportunity to protect and preserve Rockville's diverse heritage by keeping our community grant stable.

Please continue your support by funding Peerless at the current level adjusted for inflation and newly imposed financing expenses. A reduction will seriously impact the quality and availability of our services and it will be another blow against true and inclusive history at a most vulnerable time. Thank you.

Thank you. Welcome Paul Newman. Thank you. And miss Sarah Taylor Farrell, I just want to encourage those who are supposed to be speaking virtually, if we could just send them an email and check to see what they're joining.

We are. And mister Newman called to let us know. He's feeling under the weather, so he will not be speaking tonight.

Good evening, madam mayor and members of the council. I'm Noreen Bryan. I live in Rockville, and I'm here to deliver Paul Newman's testimony. So it's not really me. It's him that's here. Good evening to all of and this is the testimony. Good evening, and thank you for the opportunity to speak. My name is Paul Newman, Peerless Rockville board member and city resident for over forty years. I'm here to urge you to fully fund Peerless Rockville at the level they were historically received because their work uniquely benefits the municipality in ways no other organization does. My message tonight rests on two themes, partnership and leverage.

First, partnership. In many ways, Peerless Rockville provides services as an extension of city government, providing research, archival work, educational programs, historic documentation that the city does not have the staff, infrastructure, or time to produce on its own. When residents, historians, or other organizations ask questions about the city's history, Peerless Rockville is often the one who responds to these calls. They help to preserve the city community artifacts and memories that shape our culture and document our diversity of experience. This is a true partnership, one that fills a gap in government capacity with professionalism, expertise, and responsiveness.

Cutting their funding doesn't just affect a nonprofit. It weakens a partner that the city relies upon. My second point is leverage. Peerless Rockville returns value to the community many times the dollar amount of its grant. Actively research and document city history.

They provide informal public relations simply by telling the story of this community accurately, thoughtfully, and compellingly. Peerless further leverages the city's investment by generating additional income from its rental properties and grants. If the city had to replicate these services internally, it would cost far more, many times more than the requested grant. Staff time alone would exceed the amount. Acquiring special expertise would exceed that amount.

The infrastructure needed to maintain archives and respond to research requests would cost still more. This is the definition of leverage, a small investment that produces an outsized return. In closing, is asking for the for the level of support they have received in recent years. A reduction to as low as 50,000 would undermine a partnership that benefits the city every day and would diminish the leverage that returns a modest investment into a powerful community asset. Fully funding Peerless Rockville is fiscally responsible, strategically smart, and essential to preserving the history, identity, and civic pride of the community.

Thank you for your time. As a fellow board member of Peerless, I appreciate and fully support Mr. Newman's testimony. Thank you.

Thank you. Welcome Anita Neal Powell.

Good evening, mayor and council. My name is Anita Neil Powell, president of Lincoln Park Historical Foundation and a lifelong resident of Montgomery County in Rockville. On behalf of the foundation, thank you for the opportunity to provide comments during the FY twenty twenty seven budget cycle. As I listen to nonprofit funding requests, several issues stand out. If the city provides funding to nonprofit organization, there should be clear requirements for annual reporting that documents how funds were spent and whether they were used as approved.

For organizations whose mission served the entire city, reports should demonstrate citywide impact across the full 13.11 square miles, not activities concentrated in limited areas or pockets within the city, particularly for those receiving recurring funding through the community grant process. I am also aware that funding was awarded to certain organizations in support of the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary. As of April, I am uncertain whether any information has been shared with the mayor and council or the public regarding timelines for programs, projects, or events. When proposals are funded, expectations for start dates, milestones and deliverables should be clearly defined as ensure transparency and accountability. Finally, regarding nonprofit expenditures, while our foundation did not apply for funding this year, it is important to understand how public funds are used for salaries, rent, or other operating expenses.

Our support payments to volunteers for research or project based work. However, I do not support the use of taxpayers' dollars to fund ongoing staff salaries, such as executive leadership position, executive director, et al. If public funds are allocated for salary, those expenses should be clearly identified as separate line items in the budget. I share this perspective in the interest of transparency and fiscal responsibility. Thank you again, mayor and council, for the opportunity to comment on the FY 2027 budget. I hope these observations will be used as you deliberate on nonprofit funding decisions.

Thank you. Welcome, Charles Reagan.

Good evening, mayor Ashton and members of the Rockville City Council. I'm Charlie Reagan. I am the executive director of the Treehouse Child Advocacy Center of Montgomery County. I wanted to take this opportunity to thank, to speak, tonight and especially to thank you for your continued support of the Rockville Community Service and Enrichment Grant program overall. These grants have a direct and meaningful impact on the well-being of children and families in our community.

As April is child abuse prevention month, it seems appropriate that I'm here on behalf of the treehouse child advocacy center, where your funding helps provide critical services to children who are victims of abuse and neglect. At the Treehouse, we often say we are the best, resource we hope no no one ever has to use. But the reality is too many children in our community do need us. And when they do, they deserve to have access to compassion compassionate, high quality care without delay. Because of your investment, children in Rockville receive specialized medical exams in a safe, child friendly environment as well as trauma focused therapy that helps them start to heal.

These services are provided through a coordinated multidisciplinary team approach that reduces further trauma and ensures that children and their families don't have to navigate this difficult experience alone. This work is immediate, local, and life changing. It helps turn moments of crisis into pathways toward healing. Without this funding, many of these children would face delays in care or, unfortunately, may not receive services at all. With your support, they are given the opportunity to feel safe again, to process their trauma, and to move forward with hope and resilience.

As you consider the budget for the upcoming year, I respectfully urge you to continue and, if possible, strengthen your investment in the community service and enrichment grant program overall. The return on that investment is profound, healthier children, stronger families, and a safer Rockville for all of us. I'd also like to extend an invitation to each of you. This Friday, April 17 from one to four, we will be hosting an open house at the Treehouse Child Advocacy Center. We would be honored to welcome you and anyone from the community to show you our space and introduce you to the dedicated team and community partners who make this work possible every day.

So thank you again for your leadership and for your for and for your commitment to the children and families of Rockville. Thank

Thank you. You. Is Cassidy in the room? Miss Cassidy? Okay. Gonna go on to virtual. We have Craig Rice virtually. Miss Craig

Good evening. Welcome.

Can you

hear me okay?

We can.

Alright. Fantastic. Well, thank you very much. On behalf of Mana Food Center, I wanna thank you all for your leadership and for your continued commitment to supporting Rockville residents, especially during times of growing uncertainty. Your partnership has helped to ensure that families in Rockville have access to the food

and resources they need to thrive. And for that, we're incredibly grateful. Since our founding in 1983, MENNA has grown from a small volunteer driven effort into the primary food assistance provider serving Montgomery County, including many of our neighbors right here in Rockville. What began in a vacant school serving a few 100 residents has grown into a network that now reaches more than a 176,000 people each year. We distribute over 3,000,000 pounds of food annually and partner with local farms, schools, faith communities, grocery providers, and other nonprofit organizations, many of which serve Rockville families as well.

And we're proud to be a part of a broader ecosystem that reflects the compassion and commitment of this community. We are incredibly grateful for Rockville's support through its community grant program and partnership in connecting residents to food assistance, And we encourage the city to build on this foundation with increased sustained investment to meet the rising need. Because the reality is the need is rising quickly, and we're seeing that impact right here in your city. Right now, Manna is serving more than 11,000 families each month across the county, and in that includes a growing number in Rockville. In this past year, we've experienced a 20% increase in families seeking assistance, and we know that number reflects not just need, but capacity.

Many more families are struggling quietly, really making difficult choices every day between food, rent, transportation, and health care. Food insecurity is not happening in isolation. It is deeply connected to rising housing costs, health care access, and economic instability. Families are now having to navigate multiple overlapping challenges and turning to organizations like MANA as a critical first line of support. But at the same time, the nonprofit network that serves these families is under significant strain.

Organizations across this region are being asked to do more than ever before with fewer resources. Demand is not only increasing, but it's becoming more complex and more time intensive. And families need more support, more follow-up, and more coordination across services. Meanwhile, operating costs continue to rise. Food, fuel, rent, utilities, insurance, all increasing at a pace that current funding simply does not match.

And more importantly, our people are under strain. Our nonprofit staff, including those serving on the front lines, are experiencing declining wages, rising burnout, and increased financial insecurity. Many are working multiple jobs just to make ends meet, and some are relying on the very services they provide to help them. This model is not sustainable. And without action, we risk losing experienced staff, reducing service capacity, and weakening the very network that so many, residents rely on.

That's why we respectfully ask for you to consider two key priorities this year. First, continue and where possible, increase investments in community based food assistance and human services. These are investments that are efficient, targeted, and deeply impactful. They allow organizations like MANNA and our partners to meet residents where they are and deliver food with dignity, flexibility, and cultural relevance. And second, we urge you to support funding levels that account for the true cost of delivering these services, including cost of living adjustments for our nonprofit partners.

This is not about expansion. It's about stability and ensuring that organizations can retain staff, maintain operations, and continue serving residents without disruption. Rockville has long been a city that leads with compassion, innovation, and a deep sense of community responsibility, and this is a time in which we want we're asking you to build on that legacy. With thoughtful and strategic investment now, you can help ensure that families in Rockville remain food secure, that nonprofits remain strong and resilient, and that the progress we have made together is not only protected, but strengthened into the future. Thank you for your time, your leadership, and your partnership.

Thank you. Oh, I I don't think we have Noel v Escobar, but if you see a login, please let me know. Next, we will welcome Ulysses Santa Maria.

Good evening, mayor council. Good to see you again. So I currently serve as president of Rockville Science Center. So, for tonight, I'm addressing our line item in the proposed budget. For the most part, I just urge to, you know, consider maintaining the amount that was budgeted for us in the prior fiscal year as compared to this one.

No need to give out the exact numbers, but asking for maintenance. For us, we we serve as a interesting and overall relatively unique aspect of the city. There are not that many places that can claim that they have a science center or a affiliated science and technology museum, which sometimes we're classified with. But we're also an activity center, so people come and they do primarily activities with us. And as such, it provides a a different aspect to the city.

It shows that we care about education. It shows that we care about, making sure that our, community has enrichment as well as a nourishing aspect to the things that we, value here. Oftentimes, we're shown as a beacon for highly educated professionals, primarily in biotechnology, research, and, other sectors that are related to that as well. So in terms of our annual community impact, we see anywhere between, at minimum, you know, 5,000 just through our annual event alone, Rockville Science Day, which we've now been hosting and will host for thirty five years, making it a staple of of the community. But in addition to that, we can get up to 9,000, 10,000 people in our community and beyond.

Our own internal data shows that we're a destination location. We attract people from all throughout the region to come to Rockville. Our internal data shows alone that, about 60% of our population actually come from, Gaithersburg in Germantown. So people are driving to us and we've had patrons come to us as far as Baltimore, Northern Virginia, Washington DC proper, York, Pennsylvania because they saw a program that we were offering, a training that we were offering that they couldn't find anywhere in their region. In terms of other goals such as economic development and and outputs, we have a high college rate, so many of our students go on to college.

We currently use a slogan 99 to 90. So 99% of the high schoolers that enroll in our programs end up going to college and about 90% of them when we reviewed the data finish as STEM majors. So they go on and become working professionals in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, medicine, these sorts of things. As far as other new developments for us, we, also can can have the possibility of lowering a person's cost of living here through our recent expansions in the, makerspace department for us. A makerspace is a tool shop.

You can think of it as a, a third space where people who like to build things or create things or fix things can come, but we also, serve as, but we also serve as not just that, give me one sec. But we also serve as a place where people learn to repurpose, reuse, and repair. So we've offered workshops such as understanding how light fixtures work, how to fix your walls, and we get access to tools that can help you accomplish these things for little to no cost, saving people potentially hundreds, if not thousands of dollars over the course of the year if they choose to take advantage of it and as long as we do our effort to make sure that they know about it. So that's all the various ways that we have come to serve our local community. And, you know, the funds that we receive go to that and any possible expansions we try, as time progresses.

So we're always looking to try new things. You know, that's what we do. We're scientists. We're technologists. We iterate. We try new things. And whatever works, works. And if it doesn't work, sometimes we try again, but then we'll move on. That's just a scientific method.

Thank you.

Thank you very much. That exhausts the list of those who have signed up for the budget hearing. Is there anyone else who would like to speak? Welcome.

Good evening, Madam Mayor and members of the Rockville City Council. My name is Robin Yasino. I'm a Rockville resident, and I'm here on behalf of NAMI Montgomery County. That's the local affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness. I'm a volunteer and one of the many residents who have personally benefited from their work.

And I want to express gratitude on behalf of all of us from NAMI Montgomery County for the Community Services and Enrichment Grant allocated to NAMI in the proposed 2027 budget. The city's support ensures that NAMI's peer led support groups, classes, and resources remain free of charge for residents who are affected by mental health issues. That includes those who are living with a mental health issue, as well as the family members who walk beside them. I happen to fall into both of those categories. Years ago, despite being in treatment myself for quite a long time, I felt lost when a loved one was diagnosed with a serious mental illness.

It felt as though we had been dropped onto some kind of foreign highway. NAMI's family to family class helped me find my bearings. I learned about treatment options and how to provide effective support and so much more. But the best part was being with others who were on a similar journey. Together, we learned how to navigate that new territory together with our class leaders who had been there, who already knew that territory.

That's the secret sauce about NAMI. More than a decade later, NAMI was again invaluable when I faced a mental health crisis of my own. Mental illness affects one in five people, and yet it is incredibly isolating. Through NAMI's peer to peer class and support groups, I connected with people who really understood with what I was going through. And being part of a community, that has been a cornerstone of my ongoing recovery and a very powerful antidote that surrounds the stigma with mental illness.

Today, the need for these services, which are free of charge to people who attend them, it is greater than ever. In response to rising demand, NAMI Montgomery County has increased its support groups 25% this year alone. Between January and March, NAMI held 74 support group meetings, and more than half of them were filled beyond capacity. Those were people who went onto waiting lists. The City Of Rockville's continued support is essential to meeting the growing need and ensuring that nobody in our community has to face these challenges alone. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Is there anyone else who would like to speak? Okay. We'll turn it back to staff.

Thank you very much. That concludes the final public hearing for the FY 'twenty seven budget. And the public record will close tonight for that budget.

Thank you very much. I will note that on April 20, we will have a budget work session. We'll talk about CIP, bulk balancing, and I think some final discussion on community grants. Is that right? Okay.

And then we currently have adoption by May 4. Thank you to the finance team. Keep us on our toes. And thank you to everyone who came out to testify to share your feedback and the work that you're doing in the community. We now have Agenda Item 11A, which is the adoption of an ordinance declaring a 5,867 square foot property located at 301 Frederick Avenue to be no longer necessary for public use in authorizing the conveyance of said property to the 1715 Douglas Avenue property owner for nominal consideration. I'd like to welcome Mr. Andrew Lukemeyer.

Good evening, madam mayor, members of the city council. I'm here tonight for the adoption of an ordinance that would convey a portion of a city owned parcel at 301 Frederick Avenue to the property owner of the adjacent property at 715 Douglas Avenue. This action follows the introduction of the ordinance by the mayor and council on 03/02/2026. The agenda for this presentation includes a brief review explaining the background and purpose with information on the subject city parcel with an aerial map and plat for a visual depiction of the property, a review of the property conveyance procedure, description of the public notice provided since the introduction of the ordinance and the next steps, and lastly, a suggested motion. In 1964, the city acquired a 7,340 square foot parcel with address 301 Frederick Avenue from the property owner of 715 Douglas Avenue for a nominal amount.

This parcel is located at the corner of Douglas And Frederick Avenues in the Lincoln Park neighborhood. This parcel of land is partially improved with a sidewalk and a ride on bus stop. Aside from these existing public amenities and the reservation of an area for a future expansion of the bus stop to include space for a shelter, city staff has determined that there are no other public needs for the unused portion of

the

parcel. The current owner of 715 Douglas Avenue, who is family to the property owners who conveyed the land to the city back in 1964, has requested the city's consideration to convey the unused portion back to her family's property. It is staff's opinion that the unimproved portion of the parcel can be deemed no longer needed for public use and can be conveyed to the property owner of 715 Douglas Avenue for a nominal amount, mirroring how the property was acquired by the city back in 1964. The city hired a professional land surveyor to conduct a field survey and prepare meets and bounds and plats for the division of the parcel. The property to be conveyed to the property owner is the southern portion of the property measuring 5,867 square feet and containing no public improvements.

The property to be retained by the city is the northern portion adjacent to Frederick Avenue measuring 1,473 square feet and containing the existing sidewalk and the ride on bus stop with enough space for a future concrete pad for a bus shelter. The city charter gives the mayor and council the power to convey any real or lease held property when no longer needed for public use after having given at least twenty days as public notice of the proposed conveyance. Since the introduction of the ordinance on 03/02/2026, city staff has taken the following steps to provide the required twenty days of public notice of the proposed conveyance. A public notice was published in the Washington Post on 03/09/2026. An announcement of the mayor and council's consideration of the property conveyance was posted to the city's website on 03/05/2026.

A letter was sent to 305 Frederick Avenue, the only other directly adjacent private property to 301 Frederick Avenue on March. Following the previous introduction of the ordinance, the next step is to adopt the ordinance at tonight's meeting. After the adoption, the city manager will convey the conveyance area to the owner of 715 Douglas Avenue for nominal consideration by executing a deed of conveyance in a form approved by the office of the city attorney. The suggested motion for tonight to adopt the ordinance is on your screen. That concludes my planned remarks for this evening, and thank you for your attention.

Thank you. One second. Have one question, and then I will turn over to Councilmember Vallari. The nominal amount that the applicant is paying, can you just clarify what that is?

The nominal amount is $1 Perfect.

Okay. Thank you. Councilman Vallari.

Madam Mayor, I'd like to make the motion. I move to adopt an ordinance declaring 5,867 square feet of property located at 301 Frederick Avenue to be no longer necessary for public use and authorizing the conveyance of said property to the 715 Douglas Avenue property owner for nominal consideration.

Mike, please.

Thank you. I wanted to say thank you to the property owner. As I mentioned earlier, when we met about this and introduced it, the property owner helped the city to have space to develop the road and sidewalk and which is important for public safety. So just thank you, and I'm glad that we were able to bring resolution. Okay. Thank you, mister Lukemeyer. I'm going to propose that we take a quick break. What do we need? Five, ten minutes? I'm hearing ten.

Okay. We'll be back in ten minutes. Thank you everyone for being here today. Good evening, Rockville. Today is 04/13/2026.

We are reconvening Meeting nine-twenty six. We're moving on to agenda item 12A, which is Work Session one, discussion and direction on Planning Commission recommendations on zoning text amendment TXT twenty twenty six-two 71, the Zoning Ordinance Rewrite and Map Amendment, MAP twenty twenty six-one 126, the Comprehensive Zoning Map Amendment, Mayor and Council of Rockville Applicants. Welcome back Holly Simmons as well as Jim Wasilek. I know you're also joined by Nick Naim and Evan Johnson. Thank you.

Good evening again, madam mayor, members of the city council. So we do have quite a bit of information for you all this evening and direction being sought. Just to start out with an overview of what we are doing here during this, work session, as mentioned earlier in the evening, our planning commission did provide recommendations on quite a number of items back on February 25 when they finished their review of the staff draft of the zoning ordinance and zoning map. And so we're here before you this evening to seek your direction on the most substantive of those recommendations. So we'll start out with the staff draft of the zoning ordinance and proceed on to the staff draft of the zoning map.

I will mention that there are three more work sessions after this one where we will be going over individually each one of the articles and specifically focusing on the key changes from the current zoning ordinance to the staff draft of the zoning ordinance. So there will be plenty of opportunity to discuss other items outside of what we talk about here this evening, and we really are focused just on the Planning Commission's recommendations. So as mentioned earlier this evening, we will be taking these the direction that you provide to us this evening and incorporating that into the revised staff draft that we plan to publish one week from today. And once we get through the discussion and direction on Planning Commission recommendations, we will have some information on next steps so we can all understand where we're headed from here. So first up are the Planning Commission recommendations on the Staff Draft Zoning Ordinance.

As we go through these, we're going to take each one of the substantive recommendations in kind. We'll seek mayor and council guidance. Typically, that is going to look like seeing what the Planning Commission's recommendation is and then asking for your concurrence or other opinions. We are, as I said, focused on substantive changes. The planning commission recommendations can be found starting at brief book pages eight forty one for the zoning ordinance rewrite portion and eight sixty for the comprehensive map amendment if for those folks who would like to follow along.

And we are going to proceed through these in order of article. So we'll start with article one. If there's an article where we don't have a a recommendation that we need to go over, we simply won't be addressing those articles. So first up, in Article one, we have some information on transitional provisions. So we do include transitional provisions within the zoning ordinance that basically provide a framework for how we move from the current zoning ordinance to the proposed zoning ordinance or what will become our current zoning ordinance upon adoption.

This is specifically proposed to ensure orderly and fair transitions from our current to our new zoning ordinance, and there is a limited option for pending applications to proceed under the current zoning ordinance even after the new zoning ordinance is adopted. Within the staff draft, there are certain eligibility criteria. Specifically, they need to have completed a site plan app they need to have submitted a complete site plan application within one year prior to the adoption date. The applicant needs to provide written request to the chief of zoning within two months of adoption, asking to proceed under the current zoning ordinance, and they need to receive approval within one year following adoption date of the ordinance. We understood that there was some desire from this body for flexibility in terms of those transitional provisions, so we reconsidered this and made a recommendation to the Planning Commission, which they ultimately adopted as their own to widen the eligibility criteria to include not only site plans but also project plans, Planning to extend the submission window to eighteen months prior to adoption from that one year twelve month timeline, and also to extend the approval deadline to two years following adoption.

So the question here becomes, does the mayor and council con concur with the Planning Commission recommendation?

Thank you. So we're going to pause between each section so you can get our feedback. And also just to give some groundwork, this is not the final decision. We're giving tentative straw polls. I was gonna say council member. Yeah. City manager Mahalik. Go ahead.

That's correct, Mary. If folks are a little reluctant tonight, the the thumbs up or thumbs on are soft. Right? Final vote is in until you guys actually adopt the ordinance.

Okay. And I'm gonna use the method of going down the line if there are questions. Okay? And then if not, if there are no questions, then we'll do the thumbs up. Okay? So, doctor Miles, you get the first right of refusal on questions if you have any.

I don't have any.

Okay. I'm just gonna look down the line and see if anyone so I don't have to go to each person. If you have a question, go ahead.

So I like what you the commission's recommendation here, but the question I have is within either of the the recommendations, it says that there's the written requests in which I presume would apply in either scenario. To what degree is this a discretional or subjective with regard to allowance? Because we're essentially saying you can do this, But is this something that we're saying, you can do it, but we might hold back approval for one way or another?

I would say it's entirely the applicant's option whether they choose to proceed under the old ordinance or think, no. The new ordinance is more favorable, and I'd like to proceed under that.

So I was going the actually the opposite direction, not necessarily from the applicant's perspective, from the city's perspective. So let's it because it says that there's a written request within too much of adoption. Does that mean that written request is automatically granted, or is there a discretionary or subjective standard on behalf of the city in deciding to allow them to go with this direction?

I don't foresee that it would be. If if an applicant said we would like to proceed under the current zoning ordinance, I don't foresee an instance in which we would say no. However, I perhaps should also defer to our chief of zoning.

I would concur with miss Simmons that, essentially, if they make the request, we essentially Okay.

So so this provision is being drafted as in you choose your lane, and as long as you're you're within the parameters, you can go in that direction.

Great.

That answered my question. Thank you.

Thank you. I have a follow-up question. Thank you, colleague, for that. I sent this note to Mr. Mihalik, and I know response was sent to the full council on March 23.

In general, I support the Planning Commission's recommendation here, and I appreciate you all coming and presenting them with options. Where I have a question is when a property owner is losing rights. And I know that we're not saying someone who has something, you have to tear it down. Right? That's not what we're saying.

You can you they'll be grandfathered. But if they were to make substantial changes or sell the property, they are in effect losing rights in some areas. Most of the places in this, we're giving more rights or expanding opportunity. But for example, if there is an industrial area that's changing, that's one example. Know that there has been some since the comprehensive plan, there has been an increased demand for industrial space.

So that's one example. The second example is the drive through opportunities on 355. Right? We're trying to fill every space, and in some cases, staff is recommending that we don't allow drive throughs on 355. To what level is the city reaching out to property owners in in the instance where you're proposing a loss of property rights? So

I would say two things to that, and you've really touched on a lot of this, but, it is correct that we are proposing to grandfather existing uses. So they would be treated as, conforming uses under the new ordinance if they are currently in existence. And if they continue to be in the same form, even if they were to expand, they would be treated as a conforming use and, for all intents and purposes, would be conforming. The zoning ordinance specifically says in, or the draft zoning ordinance specifically says at section twenty five point six point one d that, those existing uses would continue as conforming uses. When it comes to outreach, we have sent notices to all of the properties that are proposed to be rezoned.

We did that back in 2024 was the first time we sent notice, to all of the property owners as well as those within a 100 feet of them, and then we reached out again in the 2025 to those same properties and everyone within 500 feet of them. And I will say that every opportunity that we have had to push our Engage Rockville page and say, please sign up for updates, stay informed on this project, we have absolutely done that. Have we specifically reached out to property owners and said, here are all of the, potential and anticipated impacts and changes to your property? We have not done that. I don't foresee that that would be feasible, but the information is readily available for those who do want to, dig in.

And we are certainly always happy to speak with any property owner who has any questions.

Thank you. So we the city has not the communication says we're working on this, but it didn't say your specific property will be changing in this way and may lose rights. It's not scratch the last part. It's not saying specifically even you're changing in this way, or is it doing that? Has it done that?

I do know that you did that for some areas because we heard from a church, for example, that they did not want to lose property rights and they wanted have the zoning kept. Has that happened for other property owners that might be losing rights? For example, people who own industrial properties that they're not gonna if if they sell it to someone else, they wouldn't be able to stay industrial.

So specifically thinking of the light industrial properties down by the Twinbrook Metro Station, are proposed to be rezoned to MXB, they would have received the same communications that we provided to other property owners that are proposed to be rezoned.

Okay. So told that this this would be rezoned, and you would not be able to do industrial in the same way if you were to redevelop the property?

We developed a form letter that essentially said you and this is harkening back, over a year and a half now. So this is asterisk asterisks and caveats that I don't remember the specific language, but we did, say you are currently zoned x. You are proposed to be rezoned to y. Here's the comprehensive plan recommendation, the specific language. Please show up to one of our property owner meetings that we are going to have. And then we offered the first time in person and virtual options for attendance. And then the second time, we had two different virtual meetings at different times of the day and on different days of the week.

Okay. I preliminary support this idea of the grace period. I do I would like to get more information to confirm if there is a list of highlighting the areas where people are losing property rights. I think that might be helpful just to better understand the communication that was sent. Appreciate that. Councilmember Vallari?

To piggyback on that, I can confirm that Ms. Simmons' memory is accurate because I live in a home that received the letter. And it was very clear. I was actually very happy, wearing my City Council member hat. But it was super clear as far as this is what your property is currently zoned, this is what is proposed. I noted that distinction. I just want to make sure that everybody got that same communication because I found it really helpful, and I know that my neighbors nearby also found it really helpful, too.

Thank you. Any more questions on this one? All right, those who support preliminarily this approach of well, I'll ask who supports the planning commission recommendation, and then I'll just if if we don't see enough

Mary, you can just do

the planning zoning commission recommendation all

the way through. Is fine

with that.

Okay. Perfect. Who supports the planning commission recommendation? Okay. Excellent. Council member