Historic Funeral Home Needs Additional Parking
Oct 21, 2010 13:55 - 3 Comments
Pumphrey’s Funeral Home has filed a Zoning Text Amendment to install a parking lot on the land they own next to the funeral parlor on West Montgomery Avenue. The Mayor and Council are holding a Public Hearing about the issue on Monday, October 25, 2010, at 7:00 PM in their Chamber at Rockville City Hall.
On their website, the Pumphrey family details the family’s long history in Rockville. Six generations have been involved with the business. In the 1830′s William Ellican Pumphrey, a Rockville cabinetmaker, began making coffins. Then in 1854, he entered the undertaking business on Main Street in Rockville. During the 1920′s, funeral services were held in chapels and viewing rooms but the Pumphrey family believed they should be held in a “comfortable, homelike atmosphere”, so in 1928 Pumphrey purchased the large home at the corner of Williams Street and West Montgomery Avenue where Pumphrey’s still operates.
Then four years later in August of 1932, Rockville changed the zoning code and made the Funeral Home a Nonconforming Use. Although the business has been permitted to continue operating, if it should cease operation for more than three months, it would lose the ability to operate a funeral home on the site.
Currently Pumphrey’s has 17 parking spaces with access off Willams Street and they would like to have 47 surface spaces in addition to the two inside their garage. They admit that under current zoning requirements they should have 52 spots but to a great extent, this would alleviate the problem.
On Wednesday, September 29, 2010, the Planning Commission considered the Zoning Text Amendment to allow the expanded parking. Through their attorney, the next door neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. Bowen, sent a letter of opposition to the text amendment. The City Staff recommended the denial of the text amendment because it would perpetuate a nonconforming use in a residential zone. The Planning Commission voted 3-2 to recommend denial with Commissioners Callistein and Pakulniewicz opposed and Commissioner Trahan absent.
In the memo from the Community Planning and Development Services Department to the Planning Commission, they do acknowledge:
There have been periodic complaints from the neighborhood about overflow parking on the local streets in the vicinity of the funeral home. The text amendment is intended, in part, to address this issue.
People visiting the funeral home do park on Potomac and Wall Streets and even across on Forest Avenue.
The West End Citizen’s Association will be discussing this issue at their monthly meeting tonight at 7 PM at Rockville Presbyterian Church.
Persons wishing to testify at the Public Hearing before the Mayor and Council are asked to call 240-314-8280 by 4:00 PM on Monday to place their names on the speakers’ list.
I have been told that the WECA membership approved the request 25-20, with 5 absentions and approved a motion that the president report the vote to the Mayor & Council on Monday.
WECA had 50 individuals attend a meeting to vote for the Pumphrey’s Funeral Home Zoning Text Amendment!!?!? That participation is impressive. How did your community get so many people to attend? Were there other pressing issues discussed at that meeting or was it a meeting required by the developer?
i wasn’t there so i can’t tell you who was or why they came. i can clarify-pumphreys is not a developer and no meeting was required.
WECA sent a newsletter right before the meeting inviting everyone to come. group also does an email reminder of meeting. other meetings i have attended rarely have more than a dozen people.