Council's Move Will Not Affect Most Small Projects
By Miranda S. Spivack
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Rockville City Council's narrow approval Monday of a moratorium on new developments won't affect many projects already in the works and will take effect in several stages, potentially limiting its impact.
The plan, approved on a 3 to 2 vote, aims to give Maryland's third-largest city some breathing room as it works to revise its zoning codes to include more open space, improve sidewalks, ensure there is more light filtering between tall buildings to the street and examine parking needs.
For the revisions to have an impact, City Council members said, the city needs to freeze development at some point. The debate centered on when and how to impose such a freeze, with opponents saying that the council was moving too quickly and needed to make more progress on zoning law changes before imposing a moratorium.
The proposal approved Monday will immediately freeze any large-scale development or redevelopment plans for which the developer has not yet submitted initial plans. Plans for large commercial developments will be frozen as of Dec. 29. Most smaller projects will be put on hold by March, with any remaining projects put on hold by September.
However, projects of three or fewer houses will be unaffected by the moratorium. Homeowners who want to renovate, build an addition or tear down and rebuild also are unaffected and can still apply to the city for approval.
The freeze will stay in effect until Dec. 15, 2007, at the latest, and it could be lifted sooner if the city completes zoning code revisions ahead of schedule. It also could be extended if revisions are not complete by next December.
That zoning revision effort, aimed at strengthening some requirements for housing and retail development, is likely to compel developers to provide more amenities, such as open space and light. The revision, being handled by a citizens committee that includes Mayor Larry Giammo and council member Susan R. Hoffman, could take more than a year to complete. Giammo, Hoffmann and council member Anne M. Robbins voted in support of the moratorium.
That prospect worries council member Phyllis Marcuccio, who, along with council member Robert E. Dorsey, voted against the moratorium.
"I am not at all confident the [citizens committee's] is able to accomplish everything on time," she said before voting
Representatives from the development industry said the moratorium was unwelcome.
Morton H. Levine, who is developing the former Chestnut Lodge site near downtown Rockville with luxury homes, said he thought a moratorium could be useful at times. But he said other jurisdictions across the country have made changes in zoning laws without imposing yearlong work stoppages. The Bethesda developer's project will not be affected by the moratorium, but the city still has the ability to slow down projects, he said.
The moratorium approved was far less sweeping than one considered by the council on Oct. 30. It was clear at that meeting that there were not enough votes to support the more sweeping plan, pushed by Giammo, which also would have placed a freeze on developments that had already been approved but not built -- potentially making them subject to new zoning rules.
Giammo found himself virtually alone in his support for the more sweeping plan.
Council members said they were worried that a moratorium including projects already approved but not built would signal that the city was an unreliable negotiator, as those developments would be subject to zoning law changes, and asked the planning staff to develop a new plan.
The moratorium will affect several undeveloped tracts in Rockville, including sections north of the town center. Any plans in the works -- but not yet submitted to the city -- for those areas will be put on hold for about a year.
Construction of single-family homes also can continue, as long as they are not part of a larger development.
The moratorium also allows homeowners to build additions, expand a porch or fence and increase impervious surfaces, such as driveways or walkways.
By Sept. 7, 2007, the city will stop accepting applications for new property uses and will not resume accepting them until zoning code revisions are completed.
Under the measure, any project currently under review will continue to be examined by the city's planning staff, including projects at Twinbrook, King Farm, Tower Oaks and Fallsgrove. Additionally, owners of single-family homes will be able to amend existing plans, and those seeking a new use for a property that includes increasing the square footage will have to apply by Sept. 7 or wait until the new zoning code is complete.
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