Gaithersburg council reviews final design for Crown Farm Park; restroom options left for later decision

City staff and an architect presented the final design for Crown Farm Park and councilmembers directed staff to finalize construction documents and prepare a construction solicitation, while stopping short of a formal vote on adding restroom facilities.

Melanie Brown, city staff, and Amal Deshpande, architect with LSG Landscape Architecture, presented the plan for the 2.99-acre park at the corner of Steinbeck Avenue and DeCoverly Drive in the Crown Farm neighborhood. Brown said the city had sought community input, secured a historic area work permit from the Historic District Committee in June and refined the design to respond to adjacent property concerns. "We are excited to present this proposed design layout to you this evening," Brown said.

The design preserves the restored corn crib and nearby historical silos, removes a deteriorated storage shed and grain bin, and arranges the site in three levels to take advantage of existing topography. Deshpande said the park will rely on existing on-street parking, not add new parking, and that the middle play area has grades under 2 percent to meet ADA accessibility standards. The playground includes accessible features such as expression swings, a duo spinner with full-body support and a supportive swing chair for children with mobility issues. The plan also calls for bioretention features that exceed minimum stormwater requirements and a palette of primarily native plantings.

Council discussion centered on whether to include restrooms. Councilmember Jamil Hernandez argued for restrooms as a policy preference, saying, "Parks are for everybody in the city," and urged staff to explore feasibility. Staff reported three options and approximate costs: a concrete pad with enclosed portable toilets (site work $15,000–$18,000; annual rental/service about $7,200); a prefabricated self-contained restroom unit (about $50,000 plus roughly $14,000 per year for maintenance and pumping, with potential solar or composting options requiring Maryland Department of the Environment permits); or a fully connected stand-alone restroom building requiring utility extension and WSSC permitting, estimated at about $300,000 plus additional approvals and community review. Staff said adding any restroom option would likely add four to five months to the schedule; staff also noted that a longer permitting pathway for a fully connected building could require site plan revisions and historic-district review.

Several councilmembers—including Neil and Lisa—described the proposed park as primarily a neighborhood playground that most nearby users would walk to from adjacent houses and said they preferred not to delay the project for a restroom decision. Neil said he was "comfortable going forward" with the design as presented and suggested the city could revisit restrooms later if usage patterns change.

Staff outlined the near-term schedule: finalize construction documents while resolving a few stormwater details, advertise a solicitation in September or October, return a contract to council in November, begin construction in January and expect construction to last six to seven months for an anticipated opening in summer 2026. Staff confirmed the project is funded in the city's CIP with a budget of about $2,300,000.

Public comment included one speaker, David Mullins of Gateway Apartments, who supported keeping restroom provision on the city's radar and said facilities can make parks more usable for a broader community.

The council did not take a formal vote on restrooms during the work session. Instead, staff was directed to proceed with final construction documents and procurement work on the presented design; the restroom question will be handled later, potentially through staff guidance or a memo examining restroom criteria across city parks.

The final design and schedule reflect the project's historic-site constraints, accessibility goals and expanded stormwater management features. Staff will return to the council with a construction contract in November and, if the schedule holds, construction would begin in January 2026 with a target opening summer 2026.