Rockville’s “Pike” Dream [UPDATED]

At last month’s community meeting, Gianni Longo, the consultant who worked on the draft Envision Report for Rockville Pike, asked “Do you share with me the feeling that this is an exciting thing?” After showing a picture of Barcelona’s Passeig de Gracia, he emphasized that Rockville could have such a time-tested place. The multi-way boulevard was invented 100 years ago to separate local and through traffic. Such a boulevard would have a “WOW” factor as a special place while keeping Rockville Pike viable and improving mobility.

Looking back, Rockville Pike was two lanes then four, then the Metro came along and you have the traffic-packed Pike of today. The adoption of the Envision Plan concepts along with the implementation of congestion management strategies and partnerships with property owners could lead to quality development over time.

But what does this mean for local businesses? In the short term, not much. This is a plan to be implemented over the next few decades. When the economic situation improves, Mr. Longo insisted “Doing nothing is not an alternative” because traffic on the Pike is at critical volume. One local business owner on Rockville Pike asked me if I’d gone to the unveiling of the Envision Report. She was concerned because the owner of her building said they would redevelop the site in line with the new vision. I’m sure there are many other business owners who are anxious about the process after investing in the infrastructure for their current location.

Others have expressed a fear at losing the special shops and stores on the Pike. Rents will certainly be higher for businesses in new mixed-use developments like Town Center. But change is going to happen and the City wants your opinion on how we should guide it.

On Wednesday, February 9, 2011, at 7 PM in City Hall, a public meeting will be held by the Planning Commission and there will continue to be many ways to respond about the draft plan.

What on earth is the District Form Code in this Envision Report?

It would regulate building in the Rockville Pike corridor in a new way. The meeting next week will include a presentation on the form code as well as a question-and-answer session. The meeting will be broadcast on Rockville Channel 11 and available on the City’s website after the presentation.

The Form Code is a vision, a way to insure a specific form we want the Pike to take. There is less of a focus on land use and more of a focus on the design of the buildings along each street, so that building facades will be consistent and the buildings will relate to each other. The Code will have all the elements found in a master plan but each will be determined by the type of street.

Where should the Bus Rapid Transitway be located?

During the community meeting, Joel Mann from AECOM explained the bike-transit lane proposal. From curb to curb the Pike would be the same as it is now with added access roads on the sides. The idea is to bring transit as close as possible to the retail. During the question and answer segment, Nancy Breen said the Bike Advisory Committee had discussed the use of a duel bike-bus lane and felt the professional bus drivers would be on a predictable schedule so it could work.

[UPDATED] To our south, the White Flint Sector plan uses contains two transitway options – #1 is side lanes and #2 is a center lane. so the draft Envision Report is not compatible. The City Staff are keeping an eye on the process. Obviously a consistent vision will have to be adopted for this State road before any improvements can be made across jurisdictions.

[UPDATE: The White Flint Partnership hired their own consultants and are advocating for center lanes but Montgomery County's Park and Planning originally had "bus priority lanes" on the sides. Below is a view of the two options in the White Flint Sector Plan.]

Here’s how the White Flint Partnership described the plan on our City’s borders in Center lane BRT is best bet for White Flint-Rockville Pike Corridor :

The White Flint 21st century boulevard concept provides a center lane dedicated transitway separating rapid transit vehicles and their ridership from negative vehicular movements, traffic accidents and needed emergency vehicles at the same time providing pedestrians a safe haven as they cross the Boulevard.

What else is proposed for traffic?

Let’s face it, most people are not going to get out of their cars. The draft Envision Report includes ideas about extending the traffic grid as an alternative to the Pike. An extension along Jefferson Street on the west side is the best possibility in the south section. Connectivity with the Twinbrook Metro would be important since the surrounding area would anchor the development. Smaller main streets would allow parking by businesses with side streets providing access to parking garages.

How can I give the City my opinion?

There are three ways to present testimony to the Planning Commission:

In writing, by letter addressed to the City of Rockville Planning Commission, c/o Long Range Planning, CPDS, 111 Maryland Avenue, Rockville, Md., 20850. Please include your name, address and, if applicable, affiliation.

By e-mail to rockvillepikeplan@rockvillemd.gov Please include your name, address and, if applicable, affiliation.

In person, at the Planning Commission Public Hearing, on Wednesday, March 9, at 7 p.m. at City Hall, 111 Maryland Avenue.

What kind of Pike do you want in the future? Nows the time to tell our officials.

Next Steps For Envisioning Rockville Pike

Photo by Cindy Cotte Griffiths

Back in 2007, the City of Rockville started a planning process with consultants to develop a vision for the future of Rockville Pike within the City boundaries which has been dubbed Rockville’s Pike: Envision a Great Place.

I wrote about all of the meetings which led up to a charrette. As we know, Rockville Pike is currently zoned for low-density retail and our complaints about the traffic are justified. Even with the slowdown, the Pike has economic possibilities. Throughout the process with the consultants, people talked about the good and the bad about the Pike.

What do you want to see happen on Rockville Pike in the future? Completely mixed-use like Rockville Town Center? Walkable self-contained communities? Big shopping locations with parking? A place to buy everything you need for your family? A boulevard with bike and bus lanes? Lanes for through traffic? Better intersections?

As properties are re-developed over time, the zoning will determine what is built. We can set the direction through the planning process. The goal of the reenvisiong process is “to create a great location for people to shop, work, live, gather and move.”

The City’s contract consulting team, headed by ACP Vision­ing and Planning, is finalizing the draft document developed from the envisioning process. They will be making their way around to our Boards and Commissions and holding many other public meetings to get our opinions. We all will have the opportunity to help define the future of the Pike.

After the consultants release the draft report, it will be presented to the Planning Commission and Mayor and Council, then a public hearing will be conducted with the Planning Commission. Through work sessions, the Planning Commission will refine the plan then forward it to the Mayor and Council for review, approval, and adoption.

Here’s how you can be involved:

In addition to participating in these work sessions, you will have the opportunity to attend an “open house” for discussion with the consultants and City staff.

You should sign up for the emails from the Rockville’s Pike Interest Group by going to www.rockvillemd.gov/rockvillespike.

After the draft plan is posted on the City’s website, you can send comments via e-mail to rockvillepikeplan@rockvil­lemd.gov  or via regular mail to: City of Rockville, Dept. of Community Planning and Development Services,111 Mary­land Avenue, Rockville, MD 20850-2364.

The Pike is too important to all of us to ignore its future or think it’s the State’s responsibility. We can work to create a great place.

Contributor Opinion by Roald Schrack: Rockville Schools

School overcrowding has recently become an issue in Rockville. Overcrowding at Beall Elementary school was described and denounced by a crowd of about 30 parents at a recent meeting of the Mayor and Council. In response to this and the recognition that the Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance prohibits the construction of new residential facilities when local schools have reached 110% of capacity, the Mayor and Council have been motivated to meet with County Board of Education officials and tour school facilities.

Relief of overcrowding is a real need but there are other problems that exist in the school system that should also be addressed. The following table is extracted from school data available on the Montgomery County Board of Education website in “Schools at a Glance 2009-2010″. It shows the great diversity that now exists in the elementary schools that serve Rockville.

Click for larger image

The first column shows the percentage of the student body below the poverty level and thus eligible for Free and Reduced Meals. The second shows the current population ratio to capacity, the third shows the projected ratio in 2015. The next column shows the composite grade 2 test score. The S/T is the student teacher ratio and the last is the teacher salary expense in $1000. per student.

A study of the table is helpful in understanding the geography of poverty in the city. Also note where poverty is high, the student teacher ratio is low. The county makes an effort to put more resources where it is needed.

On Friday, October 15, the Washington Post reported on a study of Montgomery County Schools done by Heather Schwartz of the Century Foundation. It showed how students from poverty backgrounds did better in school when they made up a minority of the student body. To quote from the article:

After seven years, the children in low poverty schools performed 8% higher on standardized math tests than their peers attending higher poverty schools – even though the county had targeted them with extra resources.

Other studies have shown the vital importance of good teachers. A poor teacher in one grade level can have a lingering negative effect for many years.

In summary, it is not the facilities or the resources that make for a successful school but the human environment – the teachers and the students with whom you go to school.

The future of Rockville is dependent on our future employee pool. Even though the county has direct control of Rockville schools, the city needs to exercise a continuing commitment to the education of our younger citizens. We are becoming increasingly dependent on high technology. Our future citizens must be adequately prepared to compete successfully for future jobs.

Roald Schrack

This is a Contributor Opinion. Rockville Central encourages readers to submit such pieces for consideration — the more voices the better. Simply send them to hello@rockvillecentral.com. We ask that all such contributions be civil and we reserve the right to edit (in consultation with the author) or reject. Contributor opinions should not be seen as reflecting opinions held by Rockville Central editors, as they are just as frequently at odds with our own views. That’s the whole point!

Please also note that Rockville Central does not endorse candidates in election campaigns. Supporters of all candidates are encouraged to submit opinion pieces for consideration.

County Executive Visits Rockville Chamber of Commerce

Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett joked that if he was taken aside and told that the County had just been invaded by locusts in biblical proportions, “I would not be surprised.” It’s been that kind of year after the weather challenges, budget gap, and even an earthquake.

Rockville Chamber of Commerce Board Member, Brian Barkley, introduced Mr. Leggett by recalling The Washington Post line “steady leader skillfully navigates lean times”. During his talk, Mr. Leggett described the tough decisions he has been forced to make.

People ask Ike Leggett why he would even want to be Montgomery County Executive during this difficult economic period. He believes this is the most important time to be helping the public.

Every decision is a crucial one. When there is plenty of money, you can make mistakes. But if I don’t get it right, it could have a profound impact on the future of this County.

This year alone, the County has had to cut $1 billion from the budget and Mr. Leggett emphasized we’re “talking serious business here”. The County’s budget is larger than many states including New Hampshire, Montana, North & South Dakota, and Alaska. He continually asserts that the top three issues in the County are the budget, the budget, and the budget. Back in 2007 when he first said “cut spending now” many thought he wasn’t painting a rosy enough picture but his predictions have come true.

Almost 85% of the budget gap was closed with sacrifices by employees so that the County’s AAA bond rating could be maintained. Montgomery County has had this top bond rating from all three of the big credit rating agencies for almost 40 years, which is the second longest continuous record. Although the County was forced to reduce the reserves from 6% to 5%, he is committed to raising it up to 10% by growing the reserve by a ½% each year. Wall Street was impressed and re-issued the top bond ratings.

Compared to other places, Montgomery County is much better off. People from outside the County incredulously ask “This is your problem?” when they hear about the Seneca Science City controversy. They can’t believe that having Johns Hopkins build in an area designated for development to provide up to 50,000 jobs would even be considered a problem.

Business-wise Mr. Leggett knew the County had to make smart growth decisions. When he first proposed moving County facilities such as the bus depot and fire/rescue training center away from the Shady Grove Metro, people told him it couldn’t be done. But the valuable land was swapped and this development will occur without expense to the County.

When speaking about income taxes, Mr. Leggett explained that 82% of the Maryland State “Millionaire Tax” would have come from Montgomery County. 3% of the wealthiest families contribute 45% of the County’s income taxes. Even though the law never went into effect, the number of taxpayers in the high tax bracket went from 10,000 to 7,300 so “either they died in a hurry or they moved.”

With yesterday’s news from the Maryland Court of Appeals, Mr. Leggett spoke about ambulance fees. The County budget was approved with $14-$15 million per year in ambulance fees. If voters force the County to remove them, the difference will have to be made up with reductions in programs or additional taxes totaling $170 million over ten years. The ambulance fee is used by surrounding jurisdictions so Montgomery County residents are already impacted. If health insurance companies were billed for ambulance services instead of using tax funds, 2/3rds of the amount would be paid by Medicaid or Medicare.

During his comments following the County Executive, Steve Silverman, the Director of the Montgomery County Department of Economic Development, described the County’s efforts to keep the U.S. Health and Human Services agency in Rockville as “very aggressive”. Also, the County is competing to attract the corporate headquarters for Choice Hotels. Although competitive, one “huge problem” is the distance to an airport.

Rockville Economic Development Director, Sally Sternbach, also spoke about air travel. Mid-tier companies need to land their corporate jets, so she advises the County to take a good look at infrastructure and talk about the issue.

As the Chamber works to promote businesses in Rockville, Executive Director, Andrea Jolly, concluded the event by inviting both Mr. Leggett and Mr. Silverman to take their wives out during the upcoming Rockville Restaurant Week.

School Overcrowding In The Richard Montgomery Cluster

One point became very clear at the Public Hearing for Rockville’s Municipal Growth Element (MGE) last Monday, all of the schools in the Richard Montgomery Cluster are overcapacity. With the recent court decision for Beall’s Grant II requiring the City to use data beyond MCPS figures to determine if the City’s Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance (APFO) is met regarding student overcrowding, many are questioning what will be done. Also this week, the Planning Commission denied the addition of  two portable classrooms at College Gardens also due to the APFO. What is the real situation at these schools and what is Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) doing about it? Is all residential and school development in Rockville stopped?

At the Public Hearing, Christopher Kelly, the Richard Montgomery Cluster Coordinator, stated that the APFO would result in a moratorium for all schools in RM cluster. He commended the planning staff for significantly revising the school section of the MGE. MCPS must make the situation in Rockville a very high priority and financial support should more accurately reflect enrollment. Newly-modernized schools in the Cluster are over capacity. The Cluster is worried about the future of Julius West Middle School. A formal dialog on long-range growth and the over-crowding of schools must begin.

Here’s a snapshot of our RM Cluster schools and where they are in the modernization and expansion plans.

Projections indicate enrollment at Julius West Middle School will exceed capacity by six classrooms or more in the next five years. MCPS intends to monitor enrollment to determine the need for a future project. Relocat¬able classrooms will be utilized until additional capacity can be added. In the meantime, restroom renovations are approved and will be completed in the 2011–2012 school year.

RPES

Ritchie Park Elementary has five portables. Two added this summer were not ready for the beginning of school. The feasibility study for the school has been completed so Ritchie Park is ready to be renovated. The next step is to get into the Superintendent’s proposed CIP this fall to fund the needed addition. However, new projects are funded every other year and this is an amendment year. It’s not impossible to be funded but fewer new projects are typically added. If the funds are approved and the project starts, it will take about three years for the addition to be completed. In the meantime, restroom renovations are approved and will be completed the 2015–2016 school year.

The Beall and Twinbrook Elementary Schools are in the middle of feasibility studies which should be completed this year. If they qualify for an additions, both would most likely request funding in the next full CIP in the fall (October) 2011. Both have portables in use as classrooms.

BES

Beall Elementary has seven portable buildings visible at the back and at least one is used by more than one classroom. Again, while the school waits, restroom renovations are approved and will be completed in the 2013–2014 school year.

TES

Twinbrook Elementary has four portables visible on the side of the school. Rising enrollment projections for the next several years at Twinbrook indicate an increase of 175 students, for a total of 687 students by 2016. Twinbrook Elementary has been approved for restroom renovations to be completed in the 2014–2015 school year.

The feasibility study also looks at whether current buildings need to be updated or replaced. Buildings are studied against a checklist of criteria and given a score. Based on the score of each building, MCPS makes a decision about the future needs of the current school building but this is separate from the decision about the need for an addition.

CGES

College Gardens Elementary was just reopened after being torn down and replaced. At the MGE Public Hearing, Andrea Hall, who lives in College Gardens said the school has over 700 students and it was built for 673. The school has two portables on site but this week the Planning Commission denied a waiver to allow their occupancy because only two fire stations are within a 10-minute response time to the school, instead of the required three. The Planning Commission did not have the super majority necessary to grant the waiver. The kids who would occupy the classrooms are already crowded into the school and they cannot use the new classrooms. Beyond this immediate issue, the school would like to get in the queue to build new classrooms that are already part of their master plan. Now in addition to needing funding for the feasibility study for this project, the school would need the County to build the new fire station planned for the Shady Grove area or the APFO would need to be changed. What does this mean for all the schools in the RM Cluster?

The Montgomery County Public Schools Division of Long Range Planning issued a planning document in October 2009 which stated the following:

To address the overutilization of schools in this cluster, the County Council approved the Richard Montgomery Cluster Elementary Schools Solution project, which includes funds to plan, design, and construct eight permanent elementary school classrooms in the cluster. These additional classrooms would meet capacity requirements under the Growth Policy, avoiding a residential moratorium in the cluster. The County Council anticipates that ultimately the Board of Education will request one or more specific projects that will add these classrooms by the start of the 2016-2017 school year and that these funds would be used for that purpose.

Of course, the MCPS budget will be tight for the foreseeable future and competition for modernization funds will be stiff. The process to build additions takes several years. First the feasibility study for a year, then the push for funding in a future budget, then the three-year timetable to actually build the addition. As is apparent with the descriptions above., MCPS has a tendency to project over enrollment then wait until it occurs before starting the process.

During the MGE Public Hearing, people testified on a variety of issues concerning the schools. Because of the economic downturn two families are sometimes living in homes meant for one and more families are renting, so many believe we must reexamine how to better determine number of students. Some testified about moving special programs, such as Chinese Immersion, out of the Cluster, or refusing hardship cases who want a transfer to RM Cluster schools.

Laura Berthiaume, who is on the Board of Education, also spoke at the Public Hearing. She is more than happy to facilitate any fact finding the City wants to start with the Board of Education. School overcrowding is a complex issue. The fact is that although this cluster is overcrowded, so is every other part of a county. An entire grade of an elementary school had to be moved to the bottom of a middle school. The situation is particularly bad in the Silver Spring area.

School overcrowding is a serious problem throughout the County. Now adequate fire protection has come into question when trying to alleviate the situation in Rockville.  The Mayor and Council Worksession on the Municipal Growth Element is scheduled for October 11, 2010. Testimony is still being accepted until October 8th by e-mail to mayorcouncil@rockvillemd.gov (provide your full name and address) or by mail to City Clerk, City of Rockville, 111 Maryland Avenue, Rockville, MD, 20850. What do you think?

Montgomery County Planning Director Compares Rockville To Silver Spring

Rollin Stanley, the Director of the Montgomery County Planning Department, has spent a Friday evening in Rockville Town Center and he’s written about his experience for his new blog, the director’s blog, where “no place is worth visiting that doesn’t have a parking problem”.

In Downtown Rockville On A Friday Eve, he compares Rockville to Silver Spring on a summer night and says, “While Silver Spring has much greater diversity, Rockville surprised me”. Both have break dancers and a fountain. He complimented the textures in our Square, such as grass, boulders, pavers, and wood, which provide varied spaces for people. He also believes the upper residential floors are an advantage and Rockville has a greater variety of shop fronts.

His conclusion:

There needs to be a mix in activity to ensure there is a reason for someone to be on the sidewalk all day long.

Read his entire comparison, which includes a three-minute video showing the activity he found in every direction.

New Development Plan For Chestnut Lodge

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Michael Harris Homes (a.k.a. Streetscape) has submitted an application to be considered at the July 28, 2010 Planning Commission meeting. The plan is to build 22 reduced/modified homes with attached garages and optional breezeways on the site of the historic Chestnut Lodge which burned down in June of 2009. With the housing market for large-scale homes suffering, the houses will be smaller in scale than the detached homes originally approved for the site. The floor plans will be 1400-2100 square feet and the lots will include 2 off-street parking spaces. Sketches of the design can be found here. The site plan shows the lots on a circular street.

The original developer, Chestnut Lodge Properties still plans to build on nine lots as originally planned, including the Rose Hill Barn lot. However, if they aren’t able to build these homes, Michael Harris Homes would use all the property and build 30 homes.

During Citizen’s Forum at Monday’s Mayor and Council meeting, Morty Levine, President and CEO of Chestnut Lodge properties, said there is a “depression in our industry not a recession.” He has sold three houses at Chestnut Lodge. One model and one spec home have been built and are for sale.

In 2006 before the Chestnut Lodge was destroyed by fire, the development was approved for 36 new single family detached homes and 7 residential condominiums in the Lodge building. The Little Lodge and Frieda’s Cottage were to be rehabilitated for use as single family homes.

The Community Planning and Development Services Department recommends approval of the new proposal, which they see as comparable to the density in the surrounding neighborhoods. They also believe the change to attached garages will blend well with the surrounding properties and adjacent historic districts.

The Planning Commission meeting to determine approval will be held on July 28, 2010 at 7 PM in the Mayor and Council Chamber in Rockville City Hall.

What Will Rockville Look Like In The Future?

The City of Rockville has made some projections for 2040 as part of the process to meet the State of Maryland mandate to determine the amount of growth which can be absorbed (by preparing a Development Capacity Analysis DCA) and to figure out the impacts and needs from that projected growth (for a Municipal Growth Element MGE), Basically the State is making Rockville determine the affect on schools, libraries, police facilities, fire and emergency services, and recreational land by October 1, 2010.The draft >Municipal Growth document prepared for the process is 58 pages long and provides a picture of the past, present and future growth in our City. Here are some snippets to give you an idea of the future Rockville:

Population is projected to increase by 34%, from 62,476 to 83,929
Households are projected to increase by 42%, from 24,327 to 34,509
Employment is projected to increase by 41%, from 74,549 to 105,403

The large majority of future, population growth is expected to occur in multifamily housing in more of a mixed-use. Over the next 30 years, employment growth will be concentrated along MD Route 355 and at Tower Oaks, King Farm and Fallsgrove.

What do we need to do to plan for it?

Schools

The City’s forecasted population growth would result in an additional 1,441 students in the Montgomery County Public School System by 2040.

For three reasons, there is not a tight link between the growth in Rockville’s population and the need for school facilities within Rockville. First, high school clusters are not limited by municipal boundaries. Secondly, MCPS has many special programs that draw students from beyond their local cluster. Lastly, there is a regional collection of private schools, both secular and parochial, that Rockville students attend.

Libraries

During the next 10-20 years, however, it is unlikely that there will be a need for a new library facility to be constructed in Rockville since the Rockville Memorial Library was built in 2007. Also with “electronic media and the Internet, it is highly likely that libraries will be changing away from their core historic model of being a collection of printed material toward a different model that has different emphases.”

Police

“Were the Rockville Police Department to maintain its ratio of .91 officers per 1,000 residents, there would be a need for 19 additional sworn officers by 2040. Maintaining the overall City-County effective rate of 2.11 would require the County to add sworn officers at a rate that would maintain its current ratio of 1.2 as the County population grows, while at the same time the City maintained its own proportionate growth.” However, the Rockville Police Department holds that using a strict formulae of this nature is too restrictive because so many factors will decide staffing needs and they believe it is impossible to predict the number of officers needed over a 30-year period.

Fire and Emergency Medical Services

“The Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services (MCFRS) provides fire and disaster protection, emergency health care, as well as rescue and related services to Rockville. Rockville does not provide this service as part of its municipal government.”

“Rockville’s authority with respect to land use provides the municipality the ability to ensure that new developments have sufficient fire service before approving the project. Of primary importance for performance measurement is the amount of time it takes to respond to an emergency. Rockville uses its Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance (APFO), which was adopted on November 1, 2005, to ensure that new “higher-risk” developments have sufficient service.”

Parks and Open Space

If Rockville’s population grows by approximately 21,000, “the City would need to add 378 acres to its inventory of parks and open spaces in order to continue to meet the City target of City-owned 18 acres per 1,000 people.” With the limited amount of vacant land and the cost of this land, this would be difficult for the City. The City will need additional resources, from the City General Fund, the County and State. The MNCPPC resources immediately outside of Rockville will continue to service the citizens of Rockville, thereby providing substantial local and regional park resources. The biggest challenge will be to provide additional neighborhood-scale open space in more-established and mostly built-out neighborhoods such as East Rockville and Twinbrook where there are very few realistic opportunities for property acquisition.

Expansion of the City Limits

Rockville uses the term Maximum Expansion Limits (MEL) to describe areas outside of, but adjacent to, the City’s jurisdictional boundaries where the City would consider annexation should a property owner petition the City to annex the property. The City is currently reviewing the small area annexation provisions to consider annexing eligible parcels along Twinbrook Parkway, and along E. Gude Drive and Southlawn Lane. The Municipal Growth document describes the areas to be considered.

Water

A 70-page draft Water Resources Element for the Comprehensive Master Plan has also been prepared. You can read it here. As this post is long enough, I have not summarized the information. The draft document looks at the “drinking water program, including current and projected water demand, the City’s available water supplies, the Rockville water treatment plant, the water distribution system, known concerns about long-term capacity regarding all of these facilities, our current plans to address those concerns.” Rockville will need to depend on green building initiatives, education programs and conservation to meet our needs.

How You Can Participate In The Process

Read the draft documents to find out more.

Attend the City of Rockville Planning Commission’s public hearing on Wednesday June 9, 2010, at 7:00 p.m. in the Mayor and Council Chambers, Rockville City Hall about the proposed changes to the Comprehensive Plan for the City.

Send comments online; by e-mail to masterplan@rockvillemd.gov, giving your full name and address; or by mail to Long Range Planning Division, CPDS, 111 Maryland Avenue, Rockville, MD, 20850.

Participate in the Mayor and Council’s Public Hearing on August 2, 2010.

What do you think about Rockville’s plan for the future?