Chestnut Lodge staff report outlines options for handling revised plan submitted by developer

JNP Chestnut Lodge, LLC is legally allowed to submit a revised project plan amendment under City of Rockville code Sec. 25.07.07.14, Final Project Plan Application, a staff report posted ahead of Monday's Mayor and Council discussion says. The only question is how the revised plan should be handled. That plan was submitted on June 1, and some residents and historic preservation advocates have complained that they were not notified of the new plans by the developer.

Rockville's zoning chief Jim Wasilak has the authority to determine whether a revised plan requires additional steps and notification, or even has to be submitted as an entirely new application. Wasilak is asking the Mayor and Council to advise him on the process, given that the Mayor and Council will be the determining authority for the plan amendment.

The report says that the review process for the revised plan could consist of some or all of the following options: "written and electronic notification by the applicant as required for application submission and public meetings, an Area Meeting with the community conducted by the applicant, staff Development Review Committee (DRC) review and recommendation, Planning Commission review and recommendation, another Mayor and Council public hearing or another Discussion and Instructions session."

According to the report, the Mayor and Council could even determine that no additional steps are necessary, and then give staff instructions on how to proceed.

The applicant is proposing to reduce the proposed townhome building's footprint to be 10% larger than the historic Chestnut Lodge that stood on the site before it burnt down in a suspicious 2009 fire. And it is asking to reduce the number of townhome units from 7 to 6.

County Council approves WSSC nominee who was sentenced for DWI

The Montgomery County Council, which has talked tough about drunk driving, voted yesterday to approve the nomination of T. Eloise Foster to the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission. Foster was sentenced for driving while impaired, after being pulled over by a Maryland State Trooper on I-95 in 2007.

At the time, Foster retained her position as Maryland's budget secretary despite her sentencing.

Foster is the latest addition to the water and sewer utility with a spotty driving record. WSSC chief Carla Reid has crashed 5 WSSC-issued vehicles, totaling one of them in a rollover wreck on the Capital Beltway, according to The Washington Post.

Earlier this year, County Councilmember Roger Berliner said that "in order to take serious action against reckless, irresponsible and intoxicated drivers, we need legislators in Annapolis to pass measures that go after the people who should not be on the road with real penalties.” The following month, Council President Nancy Floreen wrote, "The Montgomery County Council joins our Police Chief in calling for the State of Maryland to strengthen our laws against drunk and impaired driving,"

Once again, the Montgomery County political cartel has failed to match words with actions.

Rockville Chamber of Commerce to host Community Fun Day on June 26

The Rockville Chamber of Commerce will host its first annual Community Fun Day on Sunday, June 26, 2016 from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM at the Rockville Senior Center at 1150 Carnation Drive.

Get ready to meet local businesses, while kids enjoy games and activities. They'll also be able to see police and fire vehicles and meet the first responders who use them. Everyone will enjoy free BBQ.

The event will go forward rain or shine, as the Senior Center has extensive indoor facilities that can be used if necessary. Donations for the Rockville Volunteer Fire Department are not required, but will be welcomed at the event.

Move by Chestnut Lodge developer stirs controversy in Rockville

Revised project plan
rendering of
JNP Chestnut Lodge, LLC's
townhome proposal

Developer JNP Chestnut Lodge, LLC has submitted a revised project plan amendment to the City of Rockville for its proposed townhome development at 500 W. Montgomery Avenue. The move has stirred controversy among residents and elected officials alike.

Last week, a City email stated that a revised plan had been submitted, and that the Mayor and Council would potentially vote on it next Monday, June 20. Subsequently, additional City emails were sent out to clarify that the Mayor and Council would instead be discussing "the review process" for the unusual filing. The original amendment failed to achieve majority support from either the Planning Commission or the Mayor and Council.

 It is now up to the City zoning chief to determine what the appropriate process is to follow in this case.

The email confusion, and the apparent fact that the new revised plan was not shared with any of the parties of record by the developer, brought former mayor and current West End Citizens Association President Larry Giammo and Peerless Rockville Executive Director Nancy Pickard out to address the issue during the Community Forum of last night's Mayor and Council meeting.

During Old/New Business later in the meeting, the Mayor and Council discussed the issue further, but no action was taken in terms of voting. One question debated was whether or not the Mayor and Council should seek advice from outside counsel on the matter, or rely on the City Attorney.

Revised site plan, which
drops the number of units
to 6 townhomes

Of what little information is available as of press time, the revised plan reduces the number of townhomes from seven to six. The controversial rear design, including garages, remains intact. Most of the filing simply makes the case for why this plan complies with both the City master plan and historical preservation standards. By removing one unit, the length of the project is slightly reduced horizontally, but still does not resemble the original lodge. Opponents of the townhome plan have argued that the original agreement between the City and the original developer remains in effect, and requires a multifamily condo building. With Chestnut Lodge having burnt down in 2009, their position is that the developer must replace the former mental institution with a building of similar proportions, and with the type of housing units that the agreement was based upon.

Developer's new building
footprint comparison between
townhome proposal (blue dotted
line) and the original
Chestnut Lodge (grey filled area)

The new footprint in the revised plan now increases 10% over the original lodge's. What the next step is, will be determined by the Mayor and Council next Monday evening.

Town Center parking solutions miss the target for Rockville business owners

"We're basically

slaves now"

The Mayor and Council discussed solutions for the parking woes of merchants and patrons in Rockville's Town Center last night, as a follow-up to a February worksession on the topic. But the proposals outlined did not address the bane of most Town Center business owners - the competitive disadvantage of 24/7 paid parking in Rockville Town Square versus the free parking available at competing developments like Downtown Crown and Rio/Washingtonian Center.

Mayor Bridget Donnell Newton and councilmembers considered how to improve wayfinding signage, change City-controlled parking meter enforcement policies (such as using yellow cards for a 5-minute grace period), how sign ordinance limitations might prevent more effective parking signage, whether a consultant should be hired and at what cost, returning the popular Wednesday farmers market to Regal Row, restoring holiday banners to the Town Center area, and having regular consultation meetings with business owners and other stakeholders.

But, invited to the podium by Newton to share their initial reactions, several Town Center business owners said the discussion avoided the main issue - the cost of parking in the garages at Rockville Town Square.

"You don't understand how much we're suffering," said the owner of California Tortilla on E. Montgomery Avenue in Regal Row. "We're basically slaves now," to a parking situation that's deterring business, and the high rents they must pay, he said.

Mellow Mushroom owner Danny Trahan suggested the City save money on hiring a consultant, and listen to the business owners instead. Trahan estimated that the current paid parking situation is costing Rockville Town Square businesses $5 million in sales. By allowing free parking at least during strategic times like evenings and weekends, the increased revenue could refill City coffers and pay for free parking, Trahan argued.

Trahan said he is willing to put up money to help solve the problem, if selling advertising space in garages and in the public square would help offset the cost of free parking. He suggested building a dome structure in the square to allow activities to continue during inclement weather, as has been done in Reston Town Center. Advertising could be sold on the structure, as well as on signs in the garages, he said. Trahan said he would be willing to purchase signage in both locations to promote Mellow Mushroom.

Scott Feldman of Giuseppe's Pizza, where some patrons have stopped going because of parking costs and unfair meter ticketing policies, asked the Mayor and Council to compare the activity in Rockville Town Center on weekend nights to that in Downtown Crown and Rio. "You'll see a big difference," he promised. Many have cited the lack of wait times at Town Center restaurants on weekend nights, in comparison to hour-waits at Rio and Crown, as a metric showing how paid parking is killing business.

But landlords in the Town Center were not prepared to cut them a break at the February worksession. None attended last night's discussion. In February, several noted that there's no such thing as free parking. "If [merchants] want to have free parking, they can have free parking, It's just a matter of paying us," Duball, LLC president and principal Marc Dubick, developer of the Upton/Cambria Hotel and Suites building, said then.

Councilmember Julie Palakovich Carr made a very good point, that there are more garages than the ones in Rockville Town Square in Town Center, and that it would be difficult to have a free parking policy that covered all of them.

But the City is in a real parking pickle that could threaten the future of its Town Center, business owners said. Customer counts were down during the Duball construction, and now Hometown Holidays taste ticket redemption is dwindling in recent years, as well, the owner of Ben and Jerry's said. While the City can refuse to take action on the unpopular paid parking that gives Rockville a bad reputation in the region, he acknowledged, it risks finding many of its downtown shops "boarded up" if they go out of business as a result.

Leggett's WSSC nominee sentenced for DWI in 2007

T. Eloise Foster, Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett's nominee to the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission, was sentenced for driving while impaired in Howard County in 2007. She was sentenced to unsupervised probation, alcohol counseling, 10 hours of community service, and fined $200, according to The Baltimore Sun.

Foster was pulled over by a Maryland state trooper on Interstate 95 in Howard in June 2007. She failed several sobriety tests, and was charged. Foster was budget director for the state of Maryland at the time.

Leggett, who was a victim of a drunk driver himself in a 2009 crash, called for tightening drunk driving laws in December 2015. The County Council is scheduled to interview Foster Tuesday morning at 11:00 AM. They are then scheduled to confirm her appointment 55 minutes later.

"The Montgomery County Council joins our Police Chief in calling for the State of Maryland to strengthen our laws against drunk and impaired driving," Council President Nancy Floreen wrote to the Montgomery County delegation to the Maryland General Assembly in February of this year.

Drivers with interesting driving records seem to be joining WSSC often these days. The Washington Post reported that the agency's latest chief was involved in five accidents while driving WSSC vehicles. She totaled one of those WSSC vehicles in a rollover accident on the Capital Beltway, the Post reported.

Rockville neighborhood could be listed on National Register of Historic Places

A process that began in 2012 has culminated in the nomination of New Mark Commons to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places, pending review by the Rockville Historic District Commission. That review will take place at the commission's next meeting, on Thursday, June 16.

Listing on the register gives an honorary recognition of the historic significance and character of a place, but does not prevent architectural changes to homes, or require the review of the HDC to make such changes. It does require any project involving federal funds, licenses or permits to be reviewed by the federal agency involved to determine if the project will have an adverse impact on the historic character of the listed property.

Inclusion on the register also makes communities and homeowners eligible for historic preservation grants.

The nomination acknowledges New Mark Commons' place in history as an example of "Situated Modernism."  Builder Edmund J. Bennett and architects Keyes, Lethbridge, & Congdon emphasized open space, amenities and mature trees. The community was promoted as "a Twentieth Century village that's one foot in the future and a step back to a better time." Like its contemporaries Reston and Columbia, it also features a lake, even though it reduced Bennett's profits to build it.

Included in the staff report and attachments are many other interesting details on the development and features of New Mark Commons. It's very much worth a read for those interested in Rockville history, planning, architecture, and the times in which this neighborhood was constructed.