Southlawn Industrial Area study team offers initial recommendations

Consulting firm VHB offered options its team believes could improve the Southlawn industrial area of Rockville, and make it more compatible with the residential neighborhoods that surround it, at a public meeting last night. Also attending the meeting at Maryvale Elementary School were David Levy, Chief of Long Range Planning and Redevelopment for the City of Rockville; Susan Swift, the city's Planning and Zoning Director; Rockville Planning Commission chair Don Hadley; and City Council candidates Richard Gottfried and Patrick Schoof.

The suggestions fell into the categories of traffic, land use, and improving the viability of the current industrial uses.

Traffic concerns were covered in the most detail last night. Dan Lovas of VHB said the team's traffic study suggests that 10-30% of traffic in the study area is cut-through traffic. The fact that much of the cut-through activity occurs during the rush hours, Lovas said, can make the amount seem greater than those numbers suggest.

Schoof, who has been working with residents and business owners in the study area on several issues in recent years, asked if the study was an actual count using license plate data. That would more accurately show where cars ended up after driving through, and whether they were residents, or cut-through drivers. Lovas said they "haven't done a full-scale origin-destination study." Schoof said there have been ongoing concerns and questions regarding the accuracy of City-conducted traffic counts in the past.

The options proposed by Lovas were:

1. Change traffic patterns.

This was the most dramatic change proposed to reduce cut-through traffic. Access to N. Horners Lane from Southlawn Lane and Dover Road would be cut off, and a new loop would be created using Mason Drive to connect Southlawn and Dover.

There is also a piece of land owned by Montgomery County that would be an alternative route for the potential road connection. When these options were presented, one current business owner was not pleased. "One of [the route options] takes my property," he said. He added that there is an African-American graveyard in a junkyard there, "so good luck with that."

Cutting off the industrial area to the north, and preventing customers from reaching Southlawn businesses from the residential streets, were other concerns about this option.

Regarding such current customer trips via neighborhood streets, land use attorney Bob Harris warned "You'll kill that once you cut off access to town center."

Hadley said a larger issue is the overall lack of access from the study area to MD 355, which is cut off from East Rockville by the Metro Red Line tracks. He suggested the City explore the possibility of annexing land to permit a new vehicular crossing of the tracks into East Rockville.

Swift said residents might not agree to such an idea, noting that past discussions regarding connections via Westmore Road/Avenue have not sat well with some residents in Lincoln Park. "There's not an easy fix" to the 355 connectivity problem, she said.

Less drastic options included installing wayfaring signage that would encourage drivers to use Gude Drive and Route 28 to reach the Metro station and Rockville Town Center, and traditional traffic calming measures such as turn restrictions, speed humps, partial street closures and roundabouts.

Another member of the VHB team said he was told that N. Horners Lane is considered a primary through street by the City, and may not be eligible for speed humps or severe restrictions on speed.

Nancy Fox of VHB outlined possible strategies to improve economic conditions in the industrial area. She said the City could use its economic development tools and incentives, and smooth the regulatory and permitting processes.

Businesses could also take active steps, she said. One approach recommended was for the Southlawn industrial businesses to form a Southlawn Business Association. Similar to a merchants' association, Fox said it could potentially be administered by an existing group like REDI or the Rockville Chamber of Commerce. The group could raise funds to facilitate streetscape improvements, and work with larger industrial associations.

Schoof said he had concerns that the Chamber might not be the right fit to represent industrial businesses, and that REDI has programs primarily to attract new businesses and help current ones expand, as opposed to simply sustaining enterprises. He also warned of outside organizations being brought in from the region or state, if they did not have the best interests of the Southlawn tenants in mind. Harris concurred. Swift said that Southlawn having its own organization "is where the strength would be."

On land use, VHB's Paul Mayer suggested making the properties along 1st Street and N. Horners Lane a "transition area" could better connect the residential neighborhoods with the residents of David Scull Courts, a public housing complex at Taft Street and 1st Street. He also suggested changing the zoning of David Scull Courts from industrial to residential, and creating a gateway to the community at the 4-way intersection of Taft and 1st. The latter would involve better pedestrian crossing infrastructure, and streetscape improvements to give a more residential character.

One question that didn't come up regarding a zoning change for David Scull Courts - does the current industrial zoning protect those affordable homes from redevelopment? With all of the development occurring in the Shady Grove/Gude/Crabbs Branch vicinity, residential zoning would surely make the David Scull property worth a fortune.

There was some consensus among attendees that many of the traffic issues in the study area may need to be addressed with the larger traffic congestion issues along MD 355 and Veirs Mill Road. Swift encouraged stakeholders to give feedback on those wider concerns, so that they can be taken into account in the study. Levy suggested the current citywide Master Plan process could also provide "a broader lens" for discussion of big-picture issues.

The next Southlawn public meeting will be on December 9 at 6:30 PM at Lincoln Park Community Center. An additional meeting will be held in January, and in February, the study recommendations will go to the Planning Commission and Mayor and Council.

Public meeting on Southlawn Industrial Area study tonight in Rockville

The fourth public meeting on the Southlawn Industrial Area study will be held tonight from 6:00 to 8:00 PM at Maryvale Elementary School (1000 1st Street), in the cafeteria.

Representatives of consulting firm VHB will present their initial recommendations, based upon  public comments at previous meetings, and their analysis. They will then collect more public feedback before making final recommendations.

The study is an attempt to identify ways to reduce the negative impacts of the industrial area on nearby neighborhoods like Burgundy Knolls, David Scull Courts, East Rockville and Lincoln Park. It will also suggest potential changes or opportunities in land use within the industrial area.

Rockville candidates make final appeal to voters at King Farm debate

With less than a week until Election Day, Rockville mayoral and city council candidates made their closing arguments at a debate in King Farm last night. Sponsored by the King Farm Citizens Assembly, the debate was held at the King Farm Community Center. While early voting numbers over the weekend were hardly inspiring, this was yet another packed house for a candidate forum. That suggests a high level of interest by engaged voters picking those who will serve the first 4-year terms in Rockville's history.

Given the closing window to change voters' minds, one would expect attacks to increase, and they did. But in an unusual twist, even the moderator of the debate - Rockville Planning Commission chair Don Hadley - found himself under fire.

The table was set earlier Tuesday by former Chevy Chase Mayor David Lublin, writing on his politics blog, The Seventh State. Lublin questioned Hadley as the choice for moderator, because Hadley had a brief past business relationship with the husband of Mayor Bridget Donnell Newton. Mayoral challenger Sima Osdoby picked up this line of attack, charging that Hadley had several conflicts of interest in moderating the debate. Voters in the audience appeared taken aback by Osdoby's attack. Hadley made clear at the outset of the debate that the questions to be asked during the evening came directly from King Farm residents, not him, and that he received them shortly before the debate.

Osdoby ran out of time in her opening statement, and after informing her of this, Hadley joked, "Maybe I should be relieved."

The story isn't quite as sensational as it sounds, however.

Newton's husband, Fred Newton, is being portrayed by her opponents as though he is the development equivalent of Federal Realty, EYA or JBG. In reality, the project Fred Newton and Don Hadley were involved with (408 Great Falls Road) was a couple of small residential lots being joined, and a single-family home being built on the resulting site. Not exactly Downtown Crown or Pike & Rose.

It's hard to characterize a single homebuilding project as "an example of the powerful role development interests can end up playing." The article itself notes that Bridget Newton clearly recused herself from the Council vote related to the property in question.

For her part, Newton seemed determined to stay above the fray. In her closing statement, she recalled former mayor Phyllis Marcuccio - a supporter - chastising her for being "too nice, not tough enough in these debates, or responding to postings on social media" by her political opponents. Newton said she preferred to let her record speak for itself, rather than engage in the political sniping.

The Team Rockville slate, which includes Osdoby, has been under fire by some opponents for its alleged ties to developer interests, so it's understandable their supporters would seek to "flip the script." With Newton having a record of opposing unrestrained development, and of supporting Rockville's tougher pre-June 2015 school capacity standards (that kept parts of the City under a development moratorium), the accusations simply don't ring true.

Another Team Rockville candidate, Councilmember Virginia Onley, has been repeatedly singled out by challenger Richard Gottfried, who has charged that 50% of Onley's campaign funds have come from development interests. Onley again denied the accusation in her opening statement last night, inviting anyone to review her October 26 campaign finance filing. "There are no developer contributions," Onley said. "I do not take developer contributions, or contributions from anyone who does business with the City," she added. She challenged Gottfried to provide evidence of any such contributions by the end of the debate. "I am demanding tonight to know where Rich got his information from," Onley said. Gottfried did not address the topic during the forum.

Incumbent Councilmember Julie Palakovich Carr said the demise of the Gazette newspaper means "there isn't anyone to check the facts" when charges are made during the election season (of course, readers of this blog might disagree). Council candidate Brigitta Mullican attempted to separate herself from the squabbling, emphasizing that she has run a "positive, issue-oriented campaign" without engaging in attack politics. Fellow challenger Clark Reed warned that those engaging in "smears and lies" would likely continue those tactics if they are elected.

Fortunately, issues were discussed as well, and ones of interest to King Farm residents in particular.

The Corridor Cities Transitway remains not only unbuilt, but controversial in its Master Plan route through King Farm to the Shady Grove Metro station. Newton said she believes the CCT should travel along Shady Grove Road to the Metro stop, which would also help redevelop older properties along that street. "Dividing your community in half is not the way we should be doing things in Rockville," she said. Osdoby said that, while King Farm residents' complaints are "legitimate," the route is "in the plan," and all parties should sit down and try to iron out an acceptable compromise.

Council candidate Patrick Schoof, a former resident of King Farm, said he has spoken with many residents of that community about the CCT. Most of them "don't want this to be one more thing that comes through King Farm," Schoof said.

Speaking of things that come through King Farm, traffic on Redland Boulevard remains a bone of contention for King Farm residents. Council candidate David Hill noted that Redland is a "County access road." He suggested the City's best approach would be not to obstruct traffic, but to slow it down with traffic calming measures such as "lamb chops." Gottfried said he would push to install signs forbidding truck traffic, forcing it to use Shady Grove Road instead.

Osdoby noted that some trucks may have legitimate business within King Farm, such as making deliveries. She said the City should discuss options for restricting pass-through truck traffic, and consider how best to implement them. Newton said she served on a committee in 1991 to address similar issues in the West End community, which produced a plan that the City failed to implement. She suggested trucks be routed to the roads that make up a circumferential highway around the City, rather than traveling through neighborhoods.

The future of the King Farm farmstead buildings was another topic close to home. Mullican said, "I was hoping that it would have been done already." She suggested four-year terms will allow the next Mayor and Council to develop a long-term solution for the site. Council incumbent Beryl Feinberg said that solution might involve a Public-Private Partnership, to create a potential public gathering place for concerts and other events.

Osdoby also suggested exploring partnerships on the farmstead. She said her experience in historic preservation with Peerless Rockville would make this "a real priority for me." Newton advocated for a "farm-to-table partnership," that would provide space for farmers markets and a museum consortium. She said division on the current Council has stymied efforts to move forward.

The topic of slates was a contentious one. Hadley asked candidates to respond to concerns that slates come with an agenda for special interests, and create voting blocs.

Reed, a member of the Team Rockville slate, said that slates were preferable to "wandering aimlessly into the future," with no clear agenda. Team Rockville member Osdoby said the unknown questioner was "entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts." The members of Team Rockville are "not a bunch of clones," she said, but "bring together diverse points of view." Newton said she is "not a fan of slates. We are independent thinkers as a city. Let's be independent thinkers as a Council."

Gottfried noted that it was the Team Rockville 2013 slate (minus former member Feinberg) who voted 3-2 to weaken the city's school capacity standards. Feinberg said she "discovered that really there was a lot going on behind the scenes [on Team Rockville] that I didn't want," leading her to become an independent candidate for this election. She promised to continue to make "independent decisions," earning the only other audience feedback of the night, a round of applause.

Team Rockville Council candidate Mark Pierzchala stressed that the 3 members of Team Rockville from 2013 often disagreed on a variety of topics, disproving the idea that slates are blocs. Palakovich Carr, also on the TR slate, concurred. She said that, examining the voting record of the current Council, you would be hard-pressed to tell who was on Team Rockville 2013.

Hill said he is concerned that slates are "a proxy for partisanship," and can be "unhealthy in a deliberative situation." Fellow independent candidate Schoof agreed, saying slates are "divisive." He countered the suggestion that Team Rockville's votes were independent, saying "it's not hard to see" who was on the slate. Perhaps referring to the school standards vote indirectly, where 90 residents and four civic associations testified against the change that was voted for 3-2 by Team Rockville (as Gottfried noted earlier), Schoof concluded that "If we're not honoring your wishes, we're not doing our job."

Reed said he wouldn't be able to run without the support of the Team Rockville slate, and pointed out that slates have a 40 year history in Rockville. Onley said she, too, would be hard-pressed to fund a citywide campaign on her own. Hers is a "grassroots campaign" run on "minimal funds," Onley said. She promised she would "always vote independently," saying that's how she's earned her recognition as the "swing vote" on the Council.

That teed up the topic for Mullican, who said "I don't like a swing vote when you don't know which way it's going to swing." She disputed that one couldn't run without a slate in Rockville. "I'm doing it," she declared. Mullican was the top fundraiser of all candidates in the first reporting cycle.

Troubling report highlights MCPS decline, achievement gap

The troubling results of a new survey of Montgomery County African-American youths highlight the failure of the County Council and Board of Education to close an achievement gap that has grown since 2010. Connecting Youth to Opportunity was produced by The Community Foundation for the National Capital Region, BETAH Associates, Inc. and Montgomery College.

Survey results showed that black students are 3 times as likely to drop out of Montgomery County Public Schools as white and Asian students. And black students are 3 times as likely to be suspended from school as whites and Asians.

The report also showed that Montgomery County's moribund economy, and weak job creation rate relative to Northern Virginia and the District, are disproportionately hurting African Americans. According to the survey results, only 8.7% of black high school students surveyed are employed, and only 30.7% of black high school dropouts have been able to obtain employment.

Even Montgomery County's young black high school graduates are being hard hit, with only 39.7% of those surveyed currently employed.

My suggestion for years has been to attract high-wage aerospace, defense and tech companies (and their accompanying research facilities) to the County - and have classroom space in those facilities as a provision for receiving County financial incentives. This would create internships, and high-tech skill acquisition, that would lead to high-wage jobs for students in our worst-performing schools.

Instead, our County leadership is doubling down on decline. What are we hearing the MoCo political machine's next moves are on declining schools and record exam failure rates? "Soft bigotry" moves like building more luxury apartments on top of demolished affordable housing complexes, putting more rich white people in places like White Oak and Wheaton while displacing lower income residents, redistricting school boundaries - the third rail of MoCo politics, and - by golly - just getting rid of those pesky exams the kids can't pass.

Let's hope this report provides them yet another wake-up call.

No action on Confederate statue reconsideration request by Rockville HDC

Rockville's Confederate statue remains on track for removal, as the Historic District Commission declined to revisit its September decision to permit Montgomery County to move it at its October 15 meeting. Opponents of the move had hoped the HDC would put a reconsideration of the decision on its November agenda.

The hot topic was not even the subject of much discussion at the meeting, where Peerless Rockville Executive Director Nancy Pickard briefly addressed the HDC during the Public Comment period. She asked the commissioners to "take a fresh look at the decision," based on information that those who oppose the relocation have uncovered since the September meeting.

Earlier in the evening, the commission went into a closed Executive Session, to receive legal advice on "correspondence received October 2." HDC Chair Rob Achtmeyer later noted the commission had received correspondence from Peerless Rockville and others, but the topic was not addressed further at that point.

Close to the end of the meeting, Commissioner Craig Maloney did briefly comment on the statue request during Old Business. "I don’t think this is an appropriate course," Maloney said. "We made the correct decision on this."

In other business, the commission declined to find 9 triplex units at 9701 Veirs Drive to be of historic significance. The homes will be replaced with a new residential building. Jim Wasilak, Chief of Planning for the City of Rockville, said the developer has not yet submitted that project for review by the Planning Commission.

League of Women Voters hosts Rockville Mayor & Council Debate as early voting looms

The Montgomery County League of Women Voters hosted a Rockville Mayor and Council candidate forum last night at the F. Scott Fitzgerald Theatre. LWV President Linna Barnes served as moderator of the debate.

As the last debate scheduled before the first votes are cast in Early Voting this weekend, candidates were under pressure to land a few punches with a televised platform to work from. City Council candidate Richard Gottfried accused several members of the Team Rockville slate of being untrustworthy at the close of the forum. He said Council candidate Virginia Onley stated she had not received contributions from development interests, but that in reality, "50% of her contributions did come from developers." Onley has previously denied the charge. The second campaign finance reports are not due for another 3 days.

Gottfried also accused Council candidate Julie Palakovich Carr of taking credit for creating the Vision Zero concept, a movement to reduce pedestrian and cyclist fatalities to zero that originated in Sweden. He said she "ripped off the idea from a New York plan," naming one of several jurisdictions that has tried to adopt facets of the plan.

However, Palakovich Carr has cited the results of Vision Zero's success in Sweden in previous public forums, and she denied ever claiming credit for the proposal following the debate. "I never claimed the idea was my own," she said in an email.  "As I previously said in other debates, Sweden is the poster child for Vision Zero, with pedestrian fatalities dropping by half in just a few years. Effective leaders don't reinvent the wheel. They look for best practices and modify them to fit the needs of their community. Vision Zero is a best practice that we should implement in Rockville."

The ghost of Beall's Grant II was summoned by mayoral challenger Sima Osdoby during a question on affordable housing. That was a controversial affordable housing project planned adjacent to Beall's Grant, an apartment building converted from an old hotel at 254 N. Washington Street. The site was also adjacent to single-family homes in the West End neighborhood. Residents expressed many concerns, including loss of green space, out-of-character density and height, massing of affordable housing contrary to Master Plan recommendations that it be scattered, and the City having misapplied the then-new Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance, to allow the project to go forward.

Ultimately, several citizens, including former Mayor Larry Giammo, were forced to take the latter question to court, and the project was ultimately tabled.

Osdoby referenced Beall's Grant II, saying "When [current Rockville Mayor] Bridget [Donnell] Newton was representing her neighborhood association, I believe she opposed that."

Newton said that in reality, she served as co-chair on a committee that was tasked with trying to reach a compromise between residents and the developer, Montgomery Housing Partnership, that would have allowed the project to go forward. She has also discussed her own ideas for a workforce housing plan that could potentially revive a blighted Montgomery County Public Schools property on Stonestreet Avenue. The mixed-income rowhouse concept would include affordable units for teachers, firefighters and police officers.

Transportation, and Bus Rapid Transit in particular, came up often in the course of the evening. A majority of candidates support BRT, which is being proposed for Rockville Pike and Veirs Mill Road. Council candidate David Hill warned voters not to put too much hope into BRT, noting that it serves more of a long-distance commuting role than a City mobility function. Newton suggested BRT won't help Rockville's businesses much if it isn't implemented correctly, and simply moves commuters through the City. "We don't need people coming through Rockville," she said, "we need them to stop in Rockville" to dine and shop.

Newton said she brings additional clout to Rockville as a member of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments Transportation Planning Board. "That gives Rockville a seat at the table" in regional transportation conversations and planning.

Another of her transportation proposals, a Circulator or trolley, is gaining support among some of the other candidates. Onley said she supports a Circulator, in arguing that "mass transit is the answer to congestion." Newton said she was pleased the idea is catching on. "I've tried for five years to get a discussion going about a Circulator," saying "the last mile" for the transit-using commuter is a vital one to address.

Osdoby said she would break down the major challenge of congestion into "short, medium and long-range solutions." She said passing the Rockville Pike Plan and BRT would be critical to success. Osdoby advocated for more cooperation with the County and state on transportation. "Rockville's role is really to be a forceful advocate of our needs," she said. "I'm not sure the City has always done the best job in doing that."

Newton countered that, after former mayor Phyllis Marcuccio appointed her to a Maryland Municipal League committee, she was successful in bringing $2 million in state funds back to Rockville.

Barnes brought up an interesting topic not previously discussed in the 2015 debate season. That was regarding the MCPS properties on Mannakee Street that include the Carver Center and Rock Terrace School.

Palakovich Carr said the County does have plans for the Rock Terrace School, but "no definitive plans" for the Board of Education to move out of the Carver site. She recommended the City monitor the plans, and engage with the County. "We are somewhat limited in our oversight because of an issue called 'Mandatory Referral'," she said, referring to localities' reduced authority over government development projects. For example, the County Planning Board can advise, but not stop, a federal project like the Intelligence Campus in Bethesda.

Council candidate Beryl Feinberg said the City should "work collaboratively" to determine what is best for those properties. Gottfried argued that the City should have begun working with MCPS on this issue as far back as 2012. Hill, who sits on the Rockville Planning Commission, noted that the front of the Carver site is already in long-range plans for Montgomery College. He urged the City to "start articulating plans for sites like this."

Council candidate Brigitta Mullican said, "There's really not a whole lot the City can do," and recommended that it be upfront about those limitations, so residents do not have raised expectations.

Onley called for "a bigger push" on the future of the site, making "sure we're at the table with Montgomery County." Council challenger Mark Pierzchala recommended forming a working group on the matter. He said there was precedence for such a group, in his own experience working with Montgomery College as President of the College Gardens citizens association.

Council candidate Clark Reed noted that 2/3 of variations in the quality of schools are determined by non-school factors, and that it was important the City keep that in mind as it plans.

Patrick Schoof, another first-time candidate for Council, was more optimistic about influencing the outcome on the site. "There is a lot the City can do," he said. "We simply haven't done it." He said the City needs to establish trust and an honest partnership with the County, and take "a much more proactive" approach than it has to date.

Rockville candidates consider the increasing diversity in the City

How Rockville can meet the challenge of serving an increasingly diverse city population was a question posed to Mayor and Council candidates at Tuesday night's College Gardens/Woodley Gardens debate.

Council candidate Brigitta Mullican said that, in order to improve outreach to a diverse community, "the place to go is the schools."

Council candidate Beryl Feinberg agreed that reaching more residents is partly a location issue. She suggested city representatives "go to our ethnic stores," and that the City should host more ethnic festivals. Feinberg also suggested public information be provided not only in Spanish, but also in the many other languages spoken in Rockville. And she included the disabled as a population segment to which outreach is important, such as ensuring there are adequate sign language accommodations made in City communications.

"Diversity is what makes this city attractive to me," Council hopeful Clark Reed began. "I don't see as much diversity on commissions throughout the city," he noted. Reed echoed Feinberg's call for more ethnic festivals.

Council candidate Virginia Onley suggested the City's Neighborhood Resource Coordinators do more outreach.

Incumbent Mayor Bridget Newton said, "Diversity is one of the main reasons [husband] Fred [Newton] and I stayed in Rockville." She said they wanted their children to grow up in a city that embraced diversity. Newton recounted the initial success her weekly Mayor's Book Club has had with ESOL students at Maryvale Elementary School. She said she was "amazed at the end of the year how much those children have learned."

Mayoral challenger Sima Osdoby picked up a theme she discussed at a debate last week - how national and cultural backgrounds can impact residents' views of their government and law enforcement. They might have grown up in countries where those institutions are feared, and be afraid to take advantage of public services. Osdoby said it was important to ask those residents "what they need from the city," and work with representatives of ethnic groups in the community.

And, as I reported yesterday, Council candidate Julie Palakovich Carr suggested the City study the possibility of allowing non-citizens to vote, noting that 1-in-3 Rockville residents was born outside of the United States.

The other council candidates, David Hill, Patrick Schoof, Mark Pierzchala, and Richard Gottfried were not asked this question at the debate, but please see my previous article for their answers to other questions.