Recommendation
Endorse recommended approach to the review of the Comprehensive Master Plan.

Discussion
The Mayor and Council approved and adopted the City of Rockville's Comprehensive Master Plan (CMP) on November 12, 2002. Article 66B of the Maryland State Code, which provides the legal framework for delegation of Planning and Land Use activities to municipalities, requires that each jurisdiction review its CMP every six years and, if necessary, make revisions. The Planning Commission is given the authority to review and to make its own determination on whether the Plan should be revised and, if so, how extensive the revision should be. The results of that review will be forwarded to the Mayor and Council in the form of a recommendation. The final decision rests with the Mayor and Council, which is then required to communicate its decision to the Maryland Department of Planning.

City staff has recommended to the Planning Commission, City Manager and senior staff that the first step in the review process should be a Staff Technical Review (Staff Audit) of the existing (2002) plan. The Staff Audit was launched with senior staff on July 15, 2008, and staff from across City departments have been working through the Audit process over the summer. Senior staff will review the outcome of the Staff Audit at a staff Round Table Presentation and Discussion in early October 2008.

This Staff Audit is being run concurrent with outreach to the public, which is discussed below in the section on Public Notification and Engagement.

Staff discussed the review requirements and recommended process with the Planning Commission on August 13, 2008. Briefing materials from that meeting are included as Attachment A. Attachment B is the State guidance document entitled Managing Maryland's Growth, Revisiting the Comprehensive Plan: The Six Year Review. The 2002 CMP document itself was included in a briefing packet to Mayor and Council on July 16, 2008, but can also be found on the City's Web site, at http://www.rockvillemd.gov/masterplan/index.html.

The Planning Commission is scheduled for briefing on the results of the Staff Audit in November. The Planning Commission will discuss the Audit results together with citizen comments, in order to make a determination regarding how much, if any, revision of the CMP is warranted. At this point, staff anticipates that the Planning Commission will forward its recommendation to the Mayor and Council in January or February 2009.

As an additional note, the 2006 State Legislative Session passed House Bill 1141, which requires all jurisdictions to add elements to their Master Plans on Municipal Growth and Water Resources, supported by a Development Capacity Analysis. The deadline for completion of these elements is October 2009. Two six-month extensions are possible, if progress can be demonstrated. Planning Department staff is working together with Public Works staff on these elements. Staff is taking these new requirements into account during the review process and will return at a later date to brief Mayor and Council on these elements.

Mayor and Council History
The Mayor and Council approved and adopted the current City of Rockville Comprehensive Master Plan on November 12, 2002.

This Agenda is the first presentation to Mayor and Council for the current process, though briefing materials were sent to Mayor and Council under cover of a staff memo dated July 16, 2008.

Public Notification and Engagement
CPDS staff has worked with the City's Public Information Office to assemble a project team and develop an outreach plan that identifies the communication goals; key messages; target audience; communications partners and stakeholders; and communication barriers.

Public involvement is important to the review process; and everyone with an interest in the City is invited to participate, either on an individual basis, or as part of a community group. The first step in this process is technical in nature and involves review of the 2002 document, as discussed above. However, staff have already worked to produce articles, which have appeared in The Gazette and Rockville Reports. An inter-active Web site is in the final stages of development, in order to allow citizens to determine their planning area, review the relevant sections of the plan and make comments on-line. TRC-11 spots are planned and Neighborhood Resources coordinators will be working with community groups to help them be involved in the review process.

Should the decision be made to revise the Comprehensive Master Plan, a new, and even more vigorous, outreach plan will be prepared that might include community visioning workshops and focus groups, together with all of the multi-media methods of public engagement.

In advance of the September 8 presentation staff has prepared a press release, sent email notification out on the Neighborhood Resources listserve, and finalized the Web site.

Boards and Commissions Review
The Planning Commission was briefed on the review process and progress made to date on August 13, 2008. The Planning Commission stressed the importance of public participation from the beginning of the process. They will discuss the Staff Audit, together with input from the community, in November and December before formulating their recommendation to Mayor and Council in January 2009.

The following Boards and Commissions have been invited to participate in the review and are being briefed by staff: Historic District Commission, Traffic and Transportation Commission, Commission on the Environment, Cultural Arts Commission , Senior Citizens Commission , Recreation and Parks Advisory Board and the Rockville Bike Advisory Committee.

Next Steps
September - December 2008: Complete staff work and public outreach. Planning Commission discussion, decision and recommendation to Mayor and Council.
January 2009: Mayor and Council review Planning Commission recommendation.

Attachments

Department Head:



Susan Swift, Director of Community Planning and Development Services
Approved on: 08/29/2008

Deputy City Manager:


Catherine Tuck Parrish, Deputy City Manager
Approved on: 09/02/2008