Rockville council presses final zoning rewrite work session; staff clarifies nonconforming uses, signs and historic rules

City planning staff presented the fourth and final scheduled work session on Rockville’s zoning ordinance rewrite and map amendment, laying out proposed changes to articles 9 through 13 of the zoning code and answering questions from the mayor and council.

Deputy Zoning Manager Holly Simmons said the staff draft would permit digital message centers in more intensive mixed‑use and industrial zones under strict standards: full‑image changes no more often than every 30 seconds, a requirement for light‑sensing dimmers and a maximum of 0.3 foot‑candles above ambient light. She said malfunctioning signs must go dark or freeze until repaired.

“The goal is to allow business messaging while protecting neighborhoods from flashing or distracting displays,” Simmons said.

The draft also removes minimum parking requirements within a half‑mile of Metrorail stations and a quarter‑mile of bus‑rapid‑transit stops, aligning the ordinance with the town center master plan and county policy, Simmons added. She said staff expects the market to still supply parking where businesses demand it and that ADA accessible spaces remain governed by the Maryland Accessibility Code.

Planning staff chief Jim Wasilek summarized proposed changes to nonconforming‑use rules, including a provision that would allow limited expansions of nonconforming uses—up to 20% of existing square footage—subject to findings that the expansion would not harm public health, safety or the character of the area. Wasilek said minor repairs, facade improvements and certain ADA upgrades would be allowed through routine approvals rather than a separate nonconforming‑use process.

Councilmembers probed several points. Mayor Ashton and others expressed concern about raising the bar for drive‑throughs in mixed‑use corridors, saying those facilities can provide critical access for seniors and people with mobility limitations. Councilmember Fulton and other members asked staff to preserve access for food and banking drive‑throughs in areas where they serve residents with accessibility needs.

On historic preservation, Simmons described changes to codify Rockville’s nine designation criteria in the ordinance, expand administrative approvals for minor work in historic overlay zones, and add tools to prevent demolition by neglect. Councilmembers asked for clearer notifications to property owners, a review of what triggers delisting of designations, and an update to the city’s historic inventory (staff confirmed the last inventory was completed in 2011 and will return with cost and timing estimates).

Council asked staff to return drafted ordinance text incorporating several refinements discussed at the meeting, including clearer language on owner notice and thresholds for exceptions, and to consider whether bonus heights should be tied to mandatory additional affordable housing on targeted sites.

The council did not adopt ordinance text that night; the schedule in the staff presentation said a final staff draft would be released on June 15 with adoption currently scheduled for June 29.