Rockville Planning Commission approves Montgomery County diversion center pending MOU on buffer, access and operations

The Rockville Planning Commission on Sept. 10 approved a mandatory referral from Montgomery County to convert an existing maintenance office at 13077 7 Locks Road into a Montgomery County Diversion Center, subject to a memorandum of understanding between the county and the city addressing site buffer, patient access and egress, signage, noise and landscaping.

The commission's action was unanimous. Commissioner motion language directed that the MOU must be in place prior to issuance of an occupancy permit and must address the facility's compliance with the city's comprehensive plan regarding an adequate buffer between the residential area and the facility, patient access/release/egress, signage, noise, and visual buffering with emphasis on native plantings.

The diversion center proposal would renovate a two‑story, 16,490‑square‑foot portion of a property in the MXT (Mixed Use Transition) zone on a parcel the staff report described as roughly 26.23 acres; the project’s limits of disturbance are approximately 4.75 acres. Staff reported the renovated facility would provide voluntary, short‑term stabilization services for people experiencing a mental‑health or substance‑use crisis, operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and would accept clients only by referral and transport from hospitals and county…