Town Center Master Plan

The Town Center Master Plan (the Plan) was adopted by the Mayor and Council on Jan. 27, 2025. The Plan recommends 63 different actions to implement the visions, goals and policies laid out in the Plan. Some of the most critical actions recommended by the Plan are those pertaining to the zoning and land uses within Town Center. With an interest to provide an opportunity for new development to use the Plan’s recommendations regarding building heights, parking and ground floor residential, Mayor and Council will be considering initiating a change to the zoning requirements in the near future instead of waiting until the Zoning Ordinance Rewrite project to do so in calendar year 2026.

On Monday, Feb. 24, 2025, the Mayor and Council will consider authorizing the filing of a zoning text amendment (ZTA) to implement elements of the Plan’s land use and zoning recommendations. The filing of a zoning text amendment is the first step in a public review process which will include a recommendation by the Planning Commission and public hearing by the Mayor and Council prior to their decision. If ultimately adopted by Mayor and Council, this zoning text amendment will allow development in Town Center that is supported by the Plan to move forward in advance of the ongoing Zoning Ordinance Rewrite (ZOR) and Comprehensive Map Amendment (CMA) project.

The proposed text amendment would revise City Code Sec. 25.14.35, Interim Comprehensive Plan Floating Zones, as follows:

Additionally, the ZTA would establish aesthetic standards and public benefit requirements for any development that utilizes the floating zone mechanism. The zoning text amendment is consistent with Actions 1.1.1, 1.1.2, and 2.1.1 of the Plan. A copy of the proposed text amendment is included in the brief book for the Feb. 24 meeting. The brief book can be accessed in the Agenda Center of the city’s website.

The proposed ZTA should be viewed as an interim step, while the ZOR and CMA will implement the Plan’s zoning and land use recommendations in a more permanent manner. If a property owner wished to develop under floating zone regulations, they would need to request Mayor and Council approval to use the floating zone as part of a development application. If approved, the interim floating zone would change the zoning of a property on a temporary basis. The floating zones will be eliminated upon the adoption of new zones for Town Center as a part of the Zoning Ordinance Rewrite and Comprehensive Map Amendment, which is anticipated to be adopted in 2026.

A timeline for subsequent meetings related to the proposed text amendment will likely be discussed at the Feb. 24 Mayor and Council meeting. The Engage Rockville page will be updated following the Feb. 24 meeting with the meeting’s outcomes and upcoming meeting dates.

At their meeting on Jan. 27, 2025, the Rockville Mayor and Council voted unanimously to adopt the Town Center Master Plan. This was the final step in the process for this project and took place nearly two years (almost to the day) since the Mayor and Council initially approved the project charter in January 2023. View the final approved Plan here.

Thank you to the Rockville community who participated in this process – from residents and community groups to businesses, Town Center employees and visitors. We heard from nearly 1,000 people throughout this process, and though everyone didn’t always see eye to eye for Town Center’s future, discussion and dialogue between us undoubtedly improved this Plan. We are so appreciative to those who took the time to attend a meeting, provide comments or testify before the Mayor and Council or Planning Commission.

Now that the policies within the Town Center Master Plan have been adopted, it is time to start implementation and bringing the Plan’s vision to life. As a reminder, the Plan contains an implementation matrix that establishes timeframes to implement each of the Plan’s actions. City staff will start work on those actions identified as “near-term” in the coming weeks and months. Some of the larger recommendations within the Plan – most notably the zoning changes proposed – will take some time to implement. The Department of Community Planning and Development Services is actively working through the best mechanism to update zoning for Town Center to align with the Plan’s vision. We will keep the Engage Rockville page for the project up to date for the latest on the Plan’s implementation.

The Mayor and Council hosted their most recent meeting on the Town Center Master Plan on January 13, 2025. As previously reported, this was a critical date by which the Mayor and Council either needed to adopt the Plan or request a one-time, 60-day extension of the timeframe to review and adopt the Plan. The Maryland Land Use Article requires legislative bodies to review and take action on a pending Comprehensive Plan amendment within 90 days. This initial 90-day period was set to expire on January 16, 2025.

During Monday night’s meeting, the Mayor and Council voted unanimously to approve a resolution to extend the review period by 60 days. During this meeting, the Mayor and Council indicated their desire to see the Plan brought back on January 27 for the body to consider for adoption. As such, possible adoption of an ordinance to adopt the Town Center Master Plan will be considered on the January 27 meeting agenda.

A revised version of the Plan is available for review in advance of the January 27 meeting. Changes to this version compared to the draft up for consideration on January 13 (and posted on Engage Rockville for review January 8) include:

The staff report and brief book for the January 27 meeting will be published in the Agenda Center of the city’s website on January 17. The Mayor and Council continue to collect public feedback on the draft Plan. To provide feedback, send your comments via email to mayorandcouncil@rockvillemd.gov and carbon copy comprehensiveplan@rockvillemd.gov. Alternatively, any member of the public may sign up to speak during the public forum section of the January 27 meeting.

The snow was no match for Rockville as the Mayor and Council concluded their third work session on the Town Center Master Plan during a virtual meeting on January 6. Previous work sessions on the Plan took place on December 9 and December 16. Recordings of all Mayor and Council meetings, as well as meeting packets and staff reports, may be viewed on the city’s website.

Over the course of the three work sessions, the Mayor and Council have directed staff to make many edits to the Plan. The major changes made to the Plan since the September Planning Commission approved draft include:

The Mayor and Council are scheduled to consider adoption of the Plan at their next meeting on Monday, January 13. The Maryland Land Use Article requires legislative bodies to review and take action on a pending Comprehensive Plan amendment within 90 days. January 13 is the last Mayor and Council meeting within this 90-day period.

In addition to the high-level summary above, the staff report for the January 13 meeting has been updated to include a summary of changes made to the Plan since the Planning Commission approved their version in September. The final Draft Plan for Adoption Consideration, which is what the Mayor and Council will be voting on during the January 13 meeting, is available to review here.

The Mayor and Council are keeping the record open until the adoption of the Plan for any additional comments from the public. If you have not provided your thoughts on the Plan but would like to do so, please send your comments via email to mayorandcouncil@rockvillemd.gov and carbon copy comprehensiveplan@rockvillemd.gov. Alternatively, any member of the public may sign up to speak during the public forum section of the January 13 meeting.

The Rockville Mayor and City Council hosted a public hearing and a work session on the Town Center Master Plan on December 9. The full agenda packet, which includes staff’s presentation to the Mayor and Council, can be viewed here. A video recording of the meeting may be viewed here.

During the public hearing portion of the meeting, individuals and organizations had the opportunity to present their feedback on the draft Plan to the elected body for their consideration. The Mayor and Council opted to keep the record open until the adoption of the plan, for any additional comments from the public. If you have not provided your thoughts on the Plan but would like to do so, please send your comments via email to mayorandcouncil@rockvillemd.gov and carbon copy comprehensiveplan@rockvillemd.gov.

During the work session, staff gave a presentation with questions on nine topical areas, asking the Mayor and Council for direction on how to proceed with changes to the development of the plan. The Mayor and Council provided valuable feedback and requested staff perform research on some items and return with additional options and recommendations on other items.

Staff will return to the Mayor and Council for further work sessions to discuss four topics in more depth:

Two additional work sessions have been scheduled for Monday, December 16 and Monday, January 6 to allow for further discussion. Both meetings will begin at 6:30 p.m. and take place in a hybrid fashion – the community may attend and/or participate in the meeting either in person at Rockville City Hall, or virtually via Webex. The agenda packet for the meeting will be uploaded to the Agenda Center of the city’s website approximately 10 days before the meeting.  

Given the addition of additional work sessions, the latest schedule for the Plan’s adoption is as follows: 

The Mayor and Council hosted a public hearing on the Town Center Master Plan on October 28. At this meeting, individuals and organizations had the opportunity to present their feedback on the draft Plan to the elected body for their consideration. Staff also gave a presentation with an overview of the Plan and the major changes since the first draft was released in April. View the full agenda packet, which includes staff’s presentation to the Mayor and Council.

After public testimony ended, the Mayor and Council opted to keep the record open for additional comments from the public. If you haven’t testified with your thoughts on the Plan but would like to, please send your comments via email to mayorandcouncil@rockvillemd.gov and carbon copy comprehensiveplan@rockvillemd.gov. Once a closing date for accepting additional public testimony is determined, we will share that on the Engage Rockville page.

Following discussion at the October 28 meeting, an additional public hearing has been added to the schedule. This public hearing will take place on Monday, December 9. This meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. and take place in a hybrid fashion – the community may attend and/or participate in the meeting either in person at Rockville City Hall, or virtually via Webex. The agenda packet for the meeting will be uploaded to the Agenda Center of the city’s website approximately 10 days before the meeting.

Given the addition of this meeting, the latest schedule for the Plan’s adoption is as follows:

This week staff created and published three documents to assist the community in reviewing the draft Plan. These resources are designed to assist the community with understanding the changes that were made to the Plan through the Planning Commission’s review cycle and summarize the opportunities for engagement that have taken place so far. We encourage you to review the following documents:

While these documents are hyperlinked in this news feed post, they can also be accessed under the “Reports & Documents” tab on the right sidebar of the Engage Rockville page.

On September 25 the Planning Commission approved the draft Town Center Master Plan and authorized its transmittal to the Mayor and Council. This is a major milestone in the process, which officially moves the project on to its final phase: seeking adoption by the Mayor and Council. A copy of the Planning Commission approved copy of the Town Center Master Plan can be found here.

The Planning Commission’s approved draft will be brought before the Mayor and Council on three separate occasions. The current anticipated schedule is as follows:

Our Draft Plan Feedback Form remains live if you have any thoughts or comments to provide on the Planning Commission approved draft. Alternatively, you can also send feedback to comprehensiveplan@rockvillemd.gov.

Have you been tracking the Planning Commission’s review of the Town Center Master Plan? If not, don’t fret – this newsfeed post will bring you up to speed!

The Planning Commission has reviewed and discussed the draft Town Center Master Plan four times so far: an introductory meeting on June 26, a public hearing on July 10, and work sessions on August 14 and September 11. The Planning Commission is scheduled to approve their draft of the Plan and transmit it to the Mayor and Council at their September 25 meeting. The September 25 meeting starts at 7 p.m. and is hybrid – if you’d like to attend you can join at City Hall or tune in remotely via Webex. The draft of the Plan that the Planning Commission is considering approving can be found here.

Planning Commission approval is not the final step in this process – the Plan also needs to be adopted by the Mayor and Council. If the Planning Commission does indeed approve the Plan at the September 25 meeting, staff anticipate the following schedule for review and adoption by the Mayor and Council:

Comprehensive Planning staff will update this page and send out another news blast after the September 25 Planning Commission meeting informing the community of the meeting’s result. If the Plan is approved at that meeting, staff will also provide a link to view the approved Plan for the public to review.

If you haven't already, please complete the Draft Plan Feedback Form on Engage Rockville to provide your thoughts on the Plan. Completing this form informs staff of the community’s perspective and helps staff bring these perspectives to each approval body in an organized way.

As always, feel free to reach out to comprehensiveplan@rockvillemd.gov with any questions or comments on the Plan and this process.

UPDATE: The Planning Commission work session has been rescheduled to Wednesday, August 14 at 7 pm. This meeting will take place in person at Rockville City Hall. There will be no online component of this meeting. For additional information about this meeting, please contact comprehensiveplan@rockvillemd.gov.

The weather is heating up and so are things with the Town Center Master Plan! Since releasing the draft Plan in April, city staff have been meeting with stakeholders, community groups, and members of the public to talk about the Plan’s goals, policies and actions. We will be hosting two public meetings to share the Plan’s recommendations and to talk about WMATA’s concept for improvements to the Rockville Metro Station. Join us on one of the following dates to learn more about both projects:

The next step in the process is to bring the Plan to the Planning Commission for their review and approval. It is anticipated that the Plan will come before the Planning Commission at least four times. Staff currently anticipate the following schedule for the Planning Commission:

If the aforementioned schedule sticks, the draft Plan, with any modifications as instructed by the Planning Commission, will be introduced to the Mayor and Council in late September/early October.

Don’t forget to complete the Draft Plan Feedback Form on Engage Rockville to provide your thoughts on the Plan. Completing this form, in addition to any public testimony or attending a public meeting, helps staff understand the community’s perspective and helps staff bring these perspectives to each approval body in an organized way.

The Comprehensive Planning team is pleased to announce that a draft of the 2024 Town Center Master Plan is now available for public review and comment. You can view the Plan here - it is a large document, so it may take a couple of minutes to load. The Plan includes 59 recommended actions that address the goals laid out within the Plan:

The Draft Plan Feedback Form is now live on the Engage Rockville site. After you’ve had an opportunity to read through the draft plan, please let us know your thoughts through that feedback form. Additionally, we will be scheduling a series of public meetings to review and gather feedback on the draft plan’s recommendations in early June. We are also working on scheduling the Planning Commission public hearing on the draft plan, which provides yet another opportunity for feedback. This will most likely take place in July. We will update the Engage Rockville page once all of these meeting dates are confirmed.

We are so appreciative that you’ve stuck around for this master planning process, but we’re not done yet. Your feedback is essential to make sure this draft is on the right path, or if any modifications are necessary before we bring the plan before the Mayor and Council. Have questions or want to set up some time to chat with staff? You can reach Comprehensive Planning staff at any time by emailing comprehensiveplan@rockvillemd.gov.