Rockville Weighs Moratorium on Construction

Council Debates a Less-Sweeping Plan to Stop Development While Zoning Rules Are Reviewed

Rockville Mayor Larry Giammo says he supports a moratorium on new and already-approved development projects while the city reviews and fixes weaknesses in its zoning laws. (By Michael Temchine For The Washington Post)

The Rockville City Council is expected next week to consider a moratorium on building new projects as city officials and a citizens' panel continue their examination of local zoning rules.

The proposed moratorium, if approved, would represent a less-sweeping plan than the one pushed late last month by Rockville Mayor Larry Giammo, who wanted to include projects approved but not yet built.

Giammo said he is concerned about weaknesses in local zoning laws that he says do not require enough open space, wide enough sidewalks or recessed upper floors of high rises to allow more light to filter to the street.

He said at a council meeting last week that he believes the city legally would be able to impose new requirements on some developments after they were approved by the city but before they were built. His view was backed by the city's legal counsel. But several council members said they were worried that including already-approved projects under a moratorium would send a message that Rockville, the third largest city in the state, is an unreliable negotiator and would change the rules after developments were already approved.

"I am concerned about the whole notion of a moratorium," said Phyllis Marcuccio, a council member who opposed Giammo's plan.

"We have so many things going on in the city at one time as we look at our zoning and resculpting our city ordinances. I would like to see that in better shape before we say to anyone we are not going any further," she said. "I am rather satisfied that we got away from the notion of a moratorium on any activity already in place. That for me felt victorious."

Marcuccio said she would be more inclined to back a plan put forth by council member Susan R. Hoffmann, which would include only new projects under a moratorium so the city could continue its work on revising zoning law. The moratorium could last at least a year while the revision is underway.

"We are going to have to do something at some point to transfer our old codes to our new codes," Marcuccio said.

Joy Young, president of the Rockville Chamber of Commerce, said the business group opposes the moratorium, even in its modified form.

"We don't think it is healthy for the city. When you stop the pipeline for development, you are stopping jobs, stopping housing," she said. But she said she isn't sure that her viewpoint has the support of the council and said she expects a close vote next week.

Last week, as the council debated the proposal, which had been put forth by the planning staff and supported by Giammo, it quickly became clear that the plan lacked the three votes needed for passage. Giammo backed off and said he would support the plan proposed by Hoffmann, which also is being backed by council member Anne M. Robbins.

"It's about our word, our integrity and the credibility of government," said Robbins, explaining why she wouldn't back Giammo's plan but thought Hoffmann's proposal, which would give the building industry notice, would be acceptable.

"We have to do something as we work on our new zoning," she said.

Council member Robert E. Dorsey said he has reservations about any kind of moratorium.

Builders often complain about midcourse rules changes, saying they make it difficult to plan projects, which often are on the drawing board for years before ground is broken.

Rockville is an incorporated and self-governing municipality that is not subject to the development regulations of the Montgomery County Department of Park and Planning or the county's Department of Permitting Services.

However, there is some possibility that Rockville officials, as well as officials in Gaithersburg, the county's other large incorporated municipality, may coordinate some efforts along Rockville Pike. The planning department, in tandem with the newly elected Montgomery County Council, expects to reexamine zoning regulations in the next year. The county planning staff, at the behest of new county Planning Board Chairman Royce Hanson, also is focusing on how Rockville Pike is developing.