Recommendation
Approve sending the attached letter (Attachment A)from Mayor and Council to the Montgomery County Council regarding Montgomery County Council's draft Gaithersburg West Master Plan.

Discussion
At the December 14, 2009 meeting of the Mayor and Council, a request was made to staff to provide an update on Montgomery County's Gaithersburg West Master Plan process, and to provide a draft letter that the Mayor and Council would review for sending to the Montgomery County Council regarding the Plan. Attachment A is the requested draft letter. It reiterates and updates points made in previous communications to the Montgomery County Planning Board and the Montgomery County Council, as discussed below.

For more than two years, Montgomery County staff from the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (Montgomery County Department of Planning) has been developing a master plan for a portion of the Shady Grove Sector that is called Gaithersburg West. Technically, the draft plan (Attachment B, and http://www.montgomeryplanning.org/community/gaithersburg/index.shtm) is an update to both the 1990 Shady Grove Study Area Master Plan and portions of the 1985 Gaithersburg Vicinity Master Plan.

The central purpose of the plan is to update the Life Sciences Center portion of the planning area, which is immediately to the west of Shady Grove Road beyond the boundaries of the City of Rockville. A map of the planning area, including its location relative to the City of Rockville, can be found on p. 8 of Attachment B. The core of the new development that is proposed in this plan is the 107-acre undeveloped Belward Farm parcel, which Johns Hopkins University (JHU) now owns and proposes to develop into a mixed-use center for scientific research and supportive housing and retail. Other parcels are also targeted for additional development, including properties owned by Adventist Health Care and Danac.

Residential development is also proposed on properties currently owned by Montgomery County and used for County governmental functions. The County is planning to relocate these functions in order to sell the parcels for development. The County Executive's "Smart Growth Initiative" is focused on these relocation efforts. Information on that Initiative can be found at http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/puitmpl.asp?url=/Content/EXEC/cpus/index.asp. The Smart Growth Initiative includes an advisory committee, on which City staff serves.

The Gaithersburg West Master Plan's public process started with a series of design charrettes sponsored by JHU in late 2007 and early 2008 to introduce the concept to the community. County Planning staff held a series of community meetings from October of 2009 until March of 2010.

The Public Draft of the Gaithersburg West Master Plan was presented to Rockville Mayor and Council by Montgomery County Planning staff on March 9, 2009, in advance of the Montgomery County Planning Board's public hearing on March 26, 2009. On March 31, 2009, Mayor Hoffmann, on behalf of the Mayor and Council, sent the attached letter (Attachment C) to Royce Hanson, Chair of the Montgomery County Planning Board, during the period of open comments. The letter expressed the Mayor and Council’s support of the overall concept of the Life Sciences Center, but expressed concerns in a number of areas, including the impacts on traffic in the City and other impacts of the proposed high level of new density in the plan.

On July 16, 2009, the Montgomery County Planning Board approved a revised version of the document, entitled the Planning Board Draft, and transmitted it to the County Council and the County Executive.

The County Council held public hearings on the Master Plan on September 15 and 17, 2009. Rockville's Mayor and Council submitted written comments to the County Council as a part of public hearing records, reiterating its concerns with respect to traffic, density, open space and other amenities (Attachment D).

County Executive Isiah Leggett also wrote to Councilman Phil Andrews, who was President of the Council at the time. The County Executive endorsed the overall concept, but recommended a reduction of maximum density from 20 million to 18 million, and an extension of I-370 into the Belward site to give better access to the Life Sciences Center from I-270. (Attachment E).

In his 2009 report, Councilman Phil Andrews also expressed support for increasing density somewhat in support of the Life Sciences Center, but expressed concerns about the overall high level of added density under the proposed plan (Attachment F).

In contrast, Johns Hopkins University has been aggressively in favor of the full extent of the plan, and has hired a lobbyist and assembled testimony in support. Attachment G is a document assembled by Johns Hopkins, showing testimony of supporters of the Plan at the Planning Board public hearing.

The County Council's Planning. Housing and Economic Development (PHED) Committee held work sessions on September 29, October 5, October 12, October 26 and October 29, 2009 to discuss the Plan. One major recommendation that came out of discussions was that the overall maximum development of commercial space be reduced from 20 million to 18 million square feet, in keeping with the County Executive's recommendation.

The County Council decided to defer final decisions on this plan until after it had addressed the County's Growth Policy and the White Flint Sector plans. The Growth Policy has now been completed, but the White Flint process is still continuing. The next meeting for the PHED committee on the Gaithersburg West plan is tentatively scheduled for January 25, 2010, but County Council staff indicated that the Council may defer it further.

One of the concerns expressed by elected officials and community members is the traffic that will be generated by the high level of new development anticipated in Gaithersburg West, and the cost of infrastructure improvements that may be required. The County Department of Transportation has established a working group on this topic, working with representatives from DOT, County Planning, the State Department of Transportation (including the Mass Transit Administration, the State Highway Administration and the Secretary's office). The Cities of Rockville and Gaithersburg have been invited to participate, and Rockville's Transportation and Planning staff have attended several of the meetings.

City staff has emphasized the points expressed by the Mayor and Council through its letters, and provided insights into the impacts associated with the increased commercial and residential densities on Rockville. As a result of Rockville’s letters and participation, the I-270/Gude drive interchange, which was not a part of the previous recommended improvements, was included in the modeling tests conducted by County Planning staff to determine whether it would be helpful. City staff has not yet seen the results of this analysis.

City staff still remains concerned that the full impacts of the increased development have not been thoroughly analyzed. Of particular importance to Rockville is the network of streets that lead from the Gaithersburg West planning area to the intersection of Route 28 and I-270, as well as I-270 itself. Also important is the impact on Wootton Parkway and its surrounding network. Even the most aggressive Plan goals, which includes a fully functioning Corridor Cities Transitway and high transit usage, still anticipates that 70% of trips will be in automobiles. To date, City staff knows of no modeling done that shows the full impacts of this large increase on streets and intersections in the City of Rockville.

The attached draft letter (Attachment A) expresses this concern, as well as points that have been raised in previous letters.

Mayor and Council History
On March 23, 2009, the Mayor and Council approved sending a letter (Attachment C) to Royce Hanson, Chair of the Montgomery County Planning Board.

One September 14, 2009, the Mayor and Council approved a letter (Attachment D) to the Montgomery County Council expressing similar thoughts.

On October 26, 2009, the Mayor and Council endorsed the concept of Light Rail for the Corridor Cities Transitway, which is a key part of the Gaithersburg West Master Plan. The County Council has subsequently also endorsed the Light Rail option.

Public Notification and Engagement
As detailed above, the Montgomery County Department of Planning held a series of public meetings on the plan in the fall of 2009. The Montgomery County Planning Board held a public hearing in March 2009, and the Montgomery County Council held public hearings in September 2009.

Boards and Commissions Review
The Montgomery County Planning Board reviewed and approved the plan in July 2009, and referred it to the Montgomery County Council.

Next Steps
Send letter to the Montgomery County Council.

Attachments

Department Head:



Susan Swift, Director of Community Planning and Development Services
Approved on: 12/29/2009

City Manager:

Scott Ullery, City Manager
Approved on: 01/04/2010