Thursday, July 9, 2015

APFS battle may not be over yet in Rockville

Planning Commission
Chair Don Hadley
The 3-2 vote by the Rockville City Council to drop the city's tighter school capacity standards in favor of Montgomery County's was the end of the Adequate Public Facilities Standards battle, right? Maybe not, if discussion at last night's Rockville Planning Commission meeting was any indication.

Rockville Planning Commissioner Jack Leiderman, acknowledging to his colleagues that he was opening a "big can of worms," suggested the council's action has several implications the Planning Commission must now address.

Leiderman stressed that the Mayor and Council had been warned by both a memo, and a report delivered by Commission Chair Don Hadley, that much of the commission's and residents' support for the draft Rockville Pike Plan was predicated on the safeguards provided by the APFS. He noted that the plan refers in several sections to the APFS as written at the time the plan was drafted.

By only one deciding vote, Leiderman said, 3 councilmembers "shot the horse out from under the rider." With the APFS "gutted," Leiderman suggested, the draft plan may no longer enjoy the support it once had. In fact, it may need to be revised and adjusted for the new standards, he said.

The Planning Commission is required to consider school overcrowding and protect future residents in the Rockville Pike Plan area from having to attend overcrowded schools, Leiderman argued. To that end, he proposed two actions.

First, Leiderman recommended the commission add language to the Pike Plan that would reflect the 2005 school standards, and would apply only to the Pike Plan area. What the council passed was only a resolution, not a text amendment, he said.

Second, Leiderman asked planning staff to continue to provide commissioners with the same school capacity data it had been collecting and furnishing since 2005. That would mean breaking the numbers down by individual school, forecast over a 5 year period, and also taking into account development that is in the pipeline.

Staff Liaison Andrew Gunning said planning staff are still having an internal discussion about how to implement their responsibilities under the new standards. He said that staff will discuss the potential of collecting the old data alongside the new county calculations, and report back to the commission.

The presentation by Chief of Planning Jim Wasilak clearly showed how deceptive the county standards are, compared to the former APFS standards. Whereas several areas of the city were in moratorium for development prior to the change, the entire city is now open for development, without a single desk being added to any school. And the cluster averaging shows school capacity being far greater than it is at many individual Rockville schools in reality.

Commissioner David Hill said he was uncertain that the commission would be able to have a tighter standard for the Rockville Pike corridor than for the rest of the city. But, he added, the commission should develop a solid argument justifying doing so, if it wishes to act on Leiderman's proposal.

Hadley acknowledged that the APFS change indeed has serious implications for the Pike Plan and planning in general. He said that he will work to come up with new language for parts of the draft plan, to reflect the new reality.

In short, the councilmembers who sought the standards change may have inadvertently slowed down the already-lengthy Pike Plan process even further. The commission was supposed to respond to a Mayor and Council communication regarding the plan, leading to some debate last night on how to respond.

Commissioners voted unanimously to have Hadley draft a cover letter reflecting where things stand in light of the APFS change. Hadley also said that it may be beneficial for Rockville to have the final Pike Plan informed by the major goals of the city's next Master Plan, a separate process that only recently got underway.

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

MoCo Planning Department seeks building nominees for Design Excellence Award

Is there a building constructed in the last decade in Rockville you think deserves major recognition? Does it "foster economic, social and environmental sustainability?" Does it "express the essential qualities of outstanding walkable, sustainable places at the scale of the neighborhood, block and building?" And "illustrate how great design contributes to the community in terms of character, identity and economic value?"

You're in luck, at least if you can afford the $175 entry fee, and are prepared to do a lot of writing.

The Montgomery County Planning Department is launching its first annual Design Excellence Award. Nominees may be submitted anytime between now and midnight August 21, 2015. The winning building project will be promoted by the Planning Department through its own media portals, and via press releases to the general media, and through features at department events that promote excellence in design.

Public and private projects are both eligible.

For complete nominating instructions, a list of the professional judging panel and full details, visit the award page on the department's website.

Tuesday, July 7, 2015

Ourisman dealership addition adds to shakeup at Wintergreen Plaza in Rockville (Photos)

The recent closure of Ted's 355 Diner was just the start of significant changes coming to Wintergreen Plaza on Rockville Pike. A strip mall structure of mostly financial-oriented businesses has vacated the shopping center, and their former building is about to be reconstructed to create an Ourisman automotive dealership.

Presidential Bank has moved to 11640 Rockville Pike. Scottrade will reopen July 13 at the Montrose Shopping Center at 5542 Randolph Road. For Eyes is opening up the pike near Roy Rogers. And OneMain Financial has relocated to 1010 Rockville Pike, Suite 304.

The brand of automobile to be sold at the new structure, which will raise the height of the building, is not yet known. City building permits name "Ourisman", and in one case, "Ourisman Rockmont Chevrolet". An online message to Rockmont Chevrolet requesting comment was not returned by press time.








Monday, July 6, 2015

Caring Hands Animal Hospital opening in Rockville (Photos)

A new animal hospital is coming to Wintergreen Plaza on Rockville Pike. Caring Hands Animal Hospital currently has several locations in Northern Virginia, but the Rockville site will be their first hospital on this side of the river.

The company was founded in 1997 by Dr. Michelle Vitulli in Centreville. One difference they emphasize with their hospitals, is that they will allow you to accompany your pet at all stages of treatment at the facility.




Friday, July 3, 2015

Rockville fireworks 2015

Where to see fireworks in Rockville this year? The location has moved to Mattie J.T. Stepanek Park in King Farm, which should be an improvement for both pedestrians and drivers.

Rockville's July 4 celebration will begin at 7:00 PM Saturday night at the park. A live concert including the Nighthawks will take place from 7:00 until 8:45, when the Mayor and Council will greet attendees from the Stars stage.

Fireworks will begin at 9:15 PM.

For a map of where you can park, click here. If it rains Saturday night, the fireworks will be rescheduled for Sunday, July 5. You can bring food and beverages, blankets and chairs. Food will also be available from several vendors during the event.

Mattie J.T. Stepanek Park
1800 Piccard Drive

Thursday, July 2, 2015

Rockville Planning Commission to be briefed on APFS school standards changes July 8

Rockville planning staff will brief the city's Planning Commission on the Adequate Public Facilities Standards changes recently adopted by the City Council regarding school capacity, at the commission's July 8 meeting. The changes weakened the city standards, adopting the less-stringent Montgomery County standards. That means crowding can now reach 120% of capacity, rather than the city's previous 110% standard, and that capacity will be measured by the average of all schools in a cluster, rather than applying the standard to each individual school. By cluster averaging, individual schools have reached overcrowding levels of 180% of capacity in the MCPS system, despite the supposed 120% limit.

A memo from staff to the commission reflects these changes, but also details the elimination of school and transportation requirements for the following types of development in the city:

  • Accessory apartments
  • Personal living quarters
  • Wireless communications facilities
  • MCPS schools and portable classroom trailers
  • "Up to 3 housing units"
  • Senior housing, housing for the disabled, and other age-restricted residential uses
  • Nursing homes

The memo also lists the projects that will benefit from the changes most immediately. Those are the Avalon Bay apartment project at Twinbrook, and an EYA development planned for the Tower Oaks area.

This meeting will begin at 7:00 PM on Wednesday, July 8, at City Hall, and will be broadcast live on Channel 11.

Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Future Rockville restaurant Stanford Grill gets serious about sushi (Photos)

Stanford Grill will be opening in September at 2000 Tower Oaks Boulevard in Rockville. They'll be adding world-class sushi to the American cuisine they've already built a following for at their Columbia location. You might not be surprised to hear that they've named an executive chef for the Rockville restaurant who knows sushi well.

Sean Kinoshita will come to Rockville from his former restaurant, the famed Tao Asian Bistro in Las Vegas. Of his cuisine, Kinoshita says, "A lot of people ask me how I make good food. I just say, I make food I like to eat. I make food that reflects my taste and flavors."

For the Stanford Grill Rockville menu, Kinoshita has created 5 sushi rolls, including:  two spicy tuna rolls, one original-style with sriracha mayo and one battera style. The spicy tuna roll battera style coils around avocado, sashimi, wasabi, scallions, sriracha mayo and unagi sauce. A coconut shrimp roll will feature a spicy masago mayo, crisp cucumber, avocado and pea sprouts. And a yellowtail jalapeno roll will bundle yellowtail, jalapeno, wasabi and cilantro.

But Stanford Grill wants to give you a preview of his handiwork in advance. They are hosting 3 special preview sushi nights with Chef Sean Kinoshita at the following locations and dates (reservations are recommended due to limited seating):

July 13, 4-10 PM
Stanford Grill
8900 Stanford Boulevard
Columbia, MD 21045
410-312-0445

July 27, 4-10 PM
Copper Canyon Grill
928 Ellsworth Drive
Silver Spring, 20910
301-589-1330

August 10, 4-10 PM
Copper Canyon Grill
9300 Taj Lane
Lanham, MD 20706
301-322-8600