Rockville work session advances zoning rewrite: town‑center height tiers, new 'missing‑middle' and revised transition rules

Rockville city planners gave the Mayor and Council a detailed briefing on May 5 about a proposed rewrite of the city's zoning ordinance and a companion comprehensive‑map amendment. The work session covered a family of mixed‑use transit district zones for Town Center, proposed height‑transition regulations, expanded design clarity, and a new residential‑medium‑density infill (“missing‑middle”) zone.

Deputy Zoning Manager Holly Simmons said staff’s draft implements the Town Center Master Plan by creating an MXTD family with three height tiers that correspond to character areas: a lower edge tier, a core tier and a higher 355‑corridor tier (staff labels included MXTD‑85, MXTD‑235, and bonus heights consistent with the master plan). Staff also proposed applying an MXTD‑235 height in certain transit‑oriented areas outside the town center (Twinbrook and Shady Grove) to maintain competitiveness for transit‑oriented development.

Simmons described a shift away from the ordinance’s older layback (30‑degree) slope toward a two‑step horizontal setback for taller buildings. Under staff’s approach, buildings at or above 50 feet would be required to step back 10 feet from the façade after the second story; buildings using bonus height would step back an additional 10 feet at 85 feet. Staff said the intent is to balance transitions to adjacent single‑unit neighborhoods while allowing the town‑center heights envisioned in the master plan.

On housing, staff proposed a new RMD infill zone to permit duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, side‑by‑side units and cottage‑court forms with limited, objective design standards, modest setbacks and heights scaled to the building type (roughly 30–40 feet depending on form). Simmons noted the proposal is informed by the city’s housing goals and the American Planning Association equity guidance.

Mayor Susan Hoffman and several council members expressed a consistent policy direction: do not reduce use rights on faith‑based properties. Mayor Hoffman specifically asked staff not to proceed with a proposed downzoning for Jerusalem Mount Pleasant (Jerusalem Mount Pleasant United Methodist Church) and the council agreed that properties owned by churches should not be downzoned as part of this rewrite. Simmons said staff will not move forward with the proposed downzoning on that parcel and will continue community outreach.

Council discussion touched on several other topics: whether the MXTD‑235 tier should be applied to Twinbrook and Shady Grove (majority support from council), the need to incorporate the state Housing Expansion and Affordability Act directly in local code (council asked staff to do so), and whether height transition rules should apply only to residential zones or more broadly (some members asked staff to restrict transitions to residential‑only contexts if possible). Several council members recommended a site tour to view proposed zones in person and asked staff to return with maps showing possible expansion of RMD infill across more neighborhoods.

Lincoln Park and Ashley Avenue drew focused attention. Staff said right‑of‑way and roadway capacity vary across the city and that Public Works will evaluate infrastructure improvements if a rezoning proceeds; several council members asked staff to do more outreach and traffic analysis before rezoning recommendations affecting Lincoln Park.

Simmons also told the council staff intends to tighten mixed‑use design language to remove vague terms such as “aesthetically pleasing” and replace them with enforceable, objective requirements (for example describing entrance features such as awnings or canopies) and to add a clear alternative‑compliance pathway for innovative design solutions.

The session produced a number of clear directions to staff rather than ordinance adoption. Council supported the MXTD family concept tied to the Town Center Master Plan, asked staff to incorporate state law around qualified affordable‑housing projects into the local code, supported further consideration and expansion of the RMD infill zone, directed that the Jerusalem Mount Pleasant church not be downzoned, and asked staff to return with additional maps, outreach notes and a proposed schedule for the formal public release and adoption steps.

Ending: Staff will carry the council’s direction into subsequent drafts, continue community outreach (Lincoln Park and other civic associations), coordinate with Public Works on infrastructure questions, and return with revised language and mapped proposals at later work sessions ahead of a public release planned for late 2025 and adoption in 2026.