Share Comprehensive Map Amendment – Letters Sent to Impacted Properties (June 2025) on Facebook
Share Comprehensive Map Amendment – Letters Sent to Impacted Properties (June 2025) on Linkedin
Email Comprehensive Map Amendment – Letters Sent to Impacted Properties (June 2025) link
As previously discussed on this page, in recent years, the city has adopted several policies to guide land use and development within Rockville. These include specific rezoning recommendations of the Rockville 2040 Comprehensive Plan and Town Center Master Plan, as well as with general policy direction to steer the densest development to transit-oriented areas. A key component of the Zoning Ordinance Rewrite and Comprehensive Map Amendment project is to rezone properties in the city to help align the city’s land use zoning to the city’s adopted goals and policies. This process is referred to as the Comprehensive Map Amendment (CMA).
In early June, a hard copy mailing was sent to a) all properties and property owners recommended to be rezoned through the CMA and b) all owners of property within 500 feet of property proposed to be rezoned through the CMA. The mailing informed property owners and residents of the recommendations and invited them to attend upcoming meetings specifically tailored to the Comprehensive Map Amendment. Registration information for these virtual meetings can be found below:
For any of these proposed rezonings to occur, the Mayor and Council will have to adopt the Comprehensive Map Amendment. This will take place through a public process projected to begin in December 2025.
Share Summer Zoning Ordinance Rewrite Meetings on Facebook
Share Summer Zoning Ordinance Rewrite Meetings on Linkedin
Email Summer Zoning Ordinance Rewrite Meetings link
The City will be hosting several public meetings related to the Zoning Ordinance Rewrite (ZOR) and Comprehensive Map Amendment (CMA) this summer. Save the date for the following meetings:
Planning Commission Meetings – May 28, June 11 and July 23
The Planning Commission is anticipated to discuss the ZOR three separate times this summer: on May 28, June 11, and July 23. The May 28 meeting will focus on new zones, changes to existing zones, height transitions in the Zoning Ordinance Rewrite, as well as the rezonings proposed to be implemented through the Comprehensive Map Amendment.The June 11 meeting will discuss smarter, transparent) Phase 2 initiative. The July 23 meeting will revolve around parking and use standards.
Planning Commission meetings typically start at 7 p.m. and will be both in-person and virtual. The staff report and meeting agenda will be available in the Agenda Center of the city’s website approximately one week before each meeting.
Topic Specific Meeting: New Zones, Changes to Existing Zones, and Height Transitions – June 4
City staff will be hosting a topic specific meeting on June 4 focused on new zones, changes to existing zones, and height transitions. The presentation and discussion will be similar to the May 5 Mayor and Council meeting and May 28 Planning Commission meeting.
This meeting will begin at 7 p.m. and take place virtually. Advanced registration is required to receive a Webex meeting link. You may register for this meeting here: registration link.
Comprehensive Map Amendment Meetings – June 24 and June 26
City stall will be hosting two meetings on June 24 and June 26 to review proposed rezonings with the community. These meetings are identical to one another – interested participants should attend the meeting that best fits their schedule. At the meetings, city staff will share an updated project timeline, provide draft standards for proposed new zones and update the community on the latest guidance and direction from the Mayor and Council regarding staff’s proposal for a comprehensive rezoning in alignment with the Rockville 2040 Comprehensive Plan. These will be similar to a series of meetings about the CMA hosted in November 2024.
These meetings will begin at 7 p.m. and take place virtually. While these meetings are open to the public, they are heavily geared towards the owners/residents of properties directly proposed for rezoning or in the vicinity of those properties proposed for rezoning. Advanced registration is required to receive a Webex meeting link. You may register for these meetings at the following links:
Mayor and Council Meeting – July 21
The fourth ZOR work session before the Mayor and Council will be hosted on July 21. This meeting will build off the past work sessions held in January, March and May and will focus on parking and use standards.
The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. and will be both in-person and virtual. The staff report and meeting agenda will be available in the Agenda Center of the city’s website approximately 10 days before the meeting. Members of the public may sign up to speak during the public forum section of the meeting; see the meeting agenda for instructions to sign up.
Topic Specific Meeting: Parking and Use Standards – July 31
City staff will be hosting a topic specific meeting on July 31 focused on parking and use standards. The presentation and discussion will be similar to the July 21 Mayor and Council meeting and July 23 Planning Commission meeting.
This meeting will begin at 7 p.m. and take place virtually. Advanced registration is required to receive a Webex meeting link. You may register for this meeting here: registration link.
Share Upcoming Mayor and Council Work Session on the Zoning Ordinance Rewrite on Facebook
Share Upcoming Mayor and Council Work Session on the Zoning Ordinance Rewrite on Linkedin
Email Upcoming Mayor and Council Work Session on the Zoning Ordinance Rewrite link
The Mayor and Council will hold a work session March 3 on the Zoning Ordinance Rewrite, focusing on process improvements under the city’s Faster, Accountable, Smarter, and Transparent (FAST) 2 initiative. The Mayor and Council previously provided overall direction to proceed with FAST 2 at a work session held on September 30, 2024.
Improving the development process directly relates to three of the Mayor and Council's primary guiding principles:
Housing,
Economic development, and
Effective and efficient service delivery.
Since that work session, city staff have explored ways to achieve the Mayor and Council’s objectives. The March 3 work session will focus on specific development processes, including project and site plans. Staff will present recommended changes and seek the Mayor and Council’s guidance. Since these processes are regulated through the city’s zoning ordinance, the proposed changes would be implemented by amending the text of the zoning ordinance through the ongoing Zoning Ordinance Rewrite project.
The March 3 meeting starts at 5:30 p.m. and will be both in-person and virtual. See the staff report with the meeting agenda here. Members of the public may sign up to speak during the public forum section of the meeting. See the meeting agenda for instructions.
Share Upcoming Council Work Session on the Comprehensive Map Amendment on Facebook
Share Upcoming Council Work Session on the Comprehensive Map Amendment on Linkedin
Email Upcoming Council Work Session on the Comprehensive Map Amendment link
On January 27, 2025, the Mayor and Council will hold a work session on the Comprehensive Map Amendment portion of the project, specifically focusing on the rezonings recommended in the Rockville 2040 Comprehensive Plan. During this work session, staff will present the Focus Areas that the Comprehensive Plan recommends for rezoning along with staff’s proposed zoning (staff’s proposed rezoning is intended to implement the Comprehensive Plan recommendations), and ask Mayor and Council for direction.
Since the engagement that occurred for the project in the fall, staff’s proposed rezoning for one Focus Area has changed:
- Planning Area 10, Focus Area 1 (Montrose and North Farm): Staff proposes creating a new, higher-density residential zone, limited to residential uses, and applying this zone to the majority of the Focus Area, which includes all of Rollins Park and Congressional Towers. This will implement the Comprehensive Plan recommendation that “A new, higher-density residential zone, limited to residential uses, is appropriate for the remainder of the site to permit new investment and upgrades, though it should not result in residential displacement.”
All other proposed rezonings remain the same.
The January 27 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 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. Any member of the public may sign up to speak during the public forum section of the January 27 meeting.
As always, please reach out to zoning@rockvillemd.gov with any questions or comments on the project.
Share Letters sent to property owners, October 23, 2024 on Facebook
Share Letters sent to property owners, October 23, 2024 on Linkedin
Email Letters sent to property owners, October 23, 2024 link
Work on the Zoning Ordinance Rewrite & Comprehensive Map Amendment continues. A key component of the project is to comprehensively amend the zoning map in alignment with the recommendations of the Rockville 2040 Comprehensive Plan. This means that some properties are proposed to be rezoned based on Comprehensive Plan recommendations.
On October 23, 2024, a hard copy mailing was sent to a) all owners of property recommended by the Comprehensive Plan to be rezoned, and b) all owners of property within 100 feet of property proposed within the Comprehensive Plan to be rezoned. This mailing informed property owners of the recommendations and invited them to attend an upcoming meeting tailored specifically for them.
A copy of the letter to owners of property recommended to be rezoned can be found here.
A copy of the letter to owners of property within 100 feet of property recommended to be rezoned can be found here.
Frequently Asked Questions and a Zoning Districts Quick Reference were also included in these mailings.
View an interactive map showing zoning changes recommended by the Comprehensive Plan. Additionally, you may read the Rockville 2040 Comprehensive Plan to see references to any property proposed for rezoning.
Among other tasks, the ZOR will refine the list of zones within the city to make the city’s zoning easier to use and understand. Many zones will be maintained, while some zones will be added and others will be consolidated. As a result of these changes to the list of zones, additional rezoning is anticipated to be proposed before the conclusion of this project.
For rezonings to occur, the Rockville Mayor and Council will have to adopt the Comprehensive Map Amendment through a public process.
Share Upcoming Public Workshops on Facebook
Share Upcoming Public Workshops on Linkedin
Email Upcoming Public Workshops link
The Zoning team will be hosting two public workshops to inform the Rockville community about the ongoing Zoning Ordinance Rewrite & Comprehensive Map Amendment process. At these meetings, the team will introduce the project and provide background, lay out the project timeline, share project milestones to date, introduce the Engage Rockville page for the project and host a Q&A. These meetings are open to the public and all Rockville stakeholders are encouraged to attend.
The city will be hosting two identical workshops. There is no need to attend both meetings - attend the meeting the best suits your schedule.
-
Thursday, October 17 at 7 p.m. - this meeting will be held virtually via Webex. Advanced registration is required. Register at this link.
-
Tuesday, October 22 at 7 p.m. - this meeting will be held in person in the Mayor and Council Chambers at Rockville City Hall.
