CITY OF ROCKVILLE PLANNING DIVISION

PRELIMINARY REPORT

December 15, 1999

SUBJECT

Annexation Petition: ANX97-0126 (as amended 11/99)

Petitioner: Francis O. Day, III; William T. Wheeler, Trustee; and Brigham & Day Paving Company, Inc.

14900 Southlawn Lane

Rockville, Maryland 20850

Public Hearings:
Planning Commission, January 12, 2000
Mayor & Council, January 18, 2000

REQUEST

The petitioners request the undeveloped properties identified herein as Lots 3, 4, & 5 Block "A", located in the Burgundy Park subdivision and a portion of Southlawn Lane that abuts Lot 5 be annexed from Montgomery County into the City of Rockville. Lots 3 and 4 are located on the south side of Dover Road, with lot 4 having a small portion of street frontage on Gude Drive as well. Lot 5 is located on Southlawn Lane and abuts the rear lot line of lot 3. The subject properties collectively total approximately 8.08 acres + of land.  In the subject petition, the applicants request the Mayor and City Council assign the I-1 (Service Industrial) zoning classification to the properties upon annexation.

The original annexation petition included only two parcels, those located on Dover Road. However, it was determined that the petition as submitted would have created an enclave of County land surrounded by City land. State annexation law does not permit this. Therefore, an amended petition, including the third lot, was submitted. Finally, it was determined that a portion of Southlawn Lane would remain in Montgomery County as an enclave if it were not also annexed at this time.  Therefore, the petition was amended a second time to include the portion of Southlawn Lane adjacent to Lot 5.  It is this amended petition which is the subject of this consideration.  All other conditions of the annexation, including the ownership and request for I-1 Zoning remain the same as in the previously submitted petitions.

PREFACE

The subject petition has been submitted in accordance with provisions of Article 23A of the Annotated Code of Maryland that specifies procedures for annexation to a municipal corporation. The law requires the Mayor and Council to introduce a resolution to propose annexation promptly upon being petitioned to do so. Such a resolution has been introduced and the Mayor and Council have scheduled a public hearing for January 18, 2000. The Mayor and Council are required to conduct a public hearing simultaneously, for adoption of a new zoning map for the subject property. Prior to the Mayor and Council's public hearing, the Planning Commission is required to study the subject area and forward its recommendation to the Mayor and Council, including an appropriate zoning classification of the subject site. Section 25-99 of the City of Rockville Zoning and Planning Ordinance requires the Planning Commission to conduct a public hearing so that interested persons or parties who wish to speak and/or submit written comment into the record have an opportunity to do so.

BACKGROUND

The petitioners are the owners of the subject properties. The existing Montgomery County zoning classification of the platted properties is I-2, Heavy Industrial. The Southlawn Lane portion of property is a public right-of-way owned by Montgomery County.  The subject annexation petition has been amended twice. The Planning Commission held a public hearing on the petition on May 20, 1998 and a Mayor and Council public hearing on the first amended petition was held on June 15, 1998. In July 1998, the Montgomery County Council reviewed the petition and adopted a resolution to disapprove the City's request to annex the properties and rezone them for development under the City's I-1 Zone. The resolution for disapproval was based on the fact that the property was designated for heavy industrial development in the 1985 Upper Rock Creek Master Plan. The Council supported the Montgomery County Planning Board's recommendation that there are significant differences between the County's I-2 Zone and the City's I-1 Zone and that the County should maintain a significant inventory of heavy industrial land.

Subsequent to the County's action, it was agreed that a comprehensive review of the issues raised by Montgomery County would be undertaken in a joint City-County study. As a result, the City and County had an opportunity to review the issues associated with rezoning land from I-2 to I-1 upon annexation. The goal of the City and County review was to provide policy guidance for reclassification of annexed land in the study area until an amendment to the Upper Rock Creek Master Plan, which began in July 1999, is completed. Two important issues were considered in the policy review including protection of the Lincoln Park Community in Rockville and maintaining a critical inventory of land zoned for heavy industrial use in the County.

The staff of Rockville and the Montgomery County Park and Planning Department prepared a report (Southlawn-Gude Industrial Study) that establishes a policy boundary line for considering City of Rockville requests for authority to reclassify annexed property. Under the proposed policy, properties generally east of the policy boundary line would be considered inconsistent with the 1985 Upper Rock Creek Master Plan and not appropriate for reclassification to the City's I-1 Zone. Properties generally west of the policy line would be considered appropriate for reclassification to the City's I-1 Zone.

The County Council considered the matter and adopted a resolution on August 3, 1999 to adopt the policy referenced above. In the action taken by the County Council, it was specified that properties generally west of the policy line, which are considered appropriate for reclassification to the City's I-1 Zone, are not required to come to the Council to receive express approval for reclassification to the City's I-1 Zone. Therefore, the consent of the County Council is not required in this particular annexation. The annexation petition will be, however, sent to government agencies in Montgomery County for review, as required by State law.

ANNEXATION

The Properties - The properties are currently used to store construction materials. They are relatively flat, with gentle slopes in the northeast and southwest portions of the properties, and they contain little vegetation. The properties were subdivided in 1989 in Montgomery County, and the preliminary plan at the time showed warehouses and office space on two of the three lots and a vehicle repair facility on the third.

Public Facilities and Services - Lots 3 and 4 are not within the City of Rockville's water and sewer service area, but Lot 5 is within the City's service area. Water and sewer services to Lots 3 and 4 would be provided by WSSC when the properties are developed. At the present time, Montgomery County provides no services to the subject properties for which it would have to be compensated if the parcels are annexed into the City. Services such as police protection will be provided through general tax revenue. Any public improvements necessitated by future development of the property, such as roadway improvements to the site's street frontages, stormwater management facilities, or water and sewer service connections would be the responsibility of the site developer. All such improvements would be constructed and installed under established permit and bonding procedures

The Rockville Master Plan Regarding Annexations - The subject property and abutting properties to the north, northeast, and northwest are currently located in an "Urban Growth Area" (UGAs) as established by the adopted and approved 1993 Master Plan of Rockville. The 1960 City Master Plan described what the proposed limits of growth would be for the City. Specifically, "maximum expansion limits" (MELs) were identified by the 1960 Plan and were established for the purpose of providing the best physical transition between the development of Rockville and the development which would take place beyond. In the current City (1993) Master Plan, the term Urban Growth Areas (UGAs) has replaced the term MELs, in order to make the language more representative of current development conditions.

The Maryland National Capital Parks & Planning Commission (MNCPPC) has in previous annexation considerations, raised concerns about the loss of County taxes when annexation occurs. Hence it has become somewhat standard for MNCPPC to recommend the City request the petitioners pay county park taxes or make a payment in lieu of taxation upon annexation. While the City supports the County's request that the applicant comply, it has not been included as a required condition of the subject petition's approval.

Annexation Recommendations - In view of the fact that the subject properties are contiguous with the city limits of Rockville, lie within an UGAs, and their annexation will not form an enclave of county land, approval of the annexation is recommended subject to the following conditions:

ZONING MAP

Procedure
When land is annexed, all zoning upon that land which was imposed by the authority previously having jurisdiction will no longer exist. Therefore, the Mayor and Council must adopt a new zoning map to become effective upon the annexation of the property.

The Annotated Code of Maryland, Article 23A, Section 19, prescribes procedures for enlarging municipal boundaries in Maryland. State law also imposes limitations on the zoning classification that may be assigned to newly annexed land. The law requires that land uses of the City zone assigned to a newly annexed property, may not be substantially different from that specified in the adopted Montgomery County Master Plan or General Plan covering the subject parcel prior to its annexation. The 1985 Upper Rock Creek Master Plan prepared by the Maryland National Capital Park & Planning Commission (M-NCPPC), is the County's Plan covering the subject property. The Plan's land use designation for the subject site is for "heavy industrial" land usage, which is identical to the site's current I-2 (Heavy Industrial) zoning classification. However, as outlined in the previous section of this report, Montgomery County and the City of Rockville have completed a study of the area, and the Montgomery County Council has agreed to allow the rezoning of these parcels to the I-1 Zone, based on the findings and recommendation s of the Study.

The Rockville Master Plan regarding Land Use & Zoning
The approved Land Use Plan which was adopted with the City's 1993 Master Plan recommends the subject property for "service industrial" land usage. Thus, the petitioners request to rezone the subject property to the City's I-1 (Service Industrial) Zone is consistent with the City's Master Plan land use designation of the subject site area. It is important to note that the City's I-1 Zone permits land uses similar to the uses permitted in the County's I-2 Zone. However, the County's I-2 Zone does not permit the vast majority of retail and/or office related land uses as are allowed in the City's I-1 Zone. Since many of the uses permitted in the County's I-2 Zone are of a heavy industrial nature, they would not be permitted in the City's I-1 Zone. In accordance with the City's Zoning Ordinance, the I-1 Zone is designed to provide space for certain industrial uses necessary to serve residents of the City and surrounding areas and provide general wholesaling and retailing facilities for certain commodities appropriate in an industrial zone.

Existing & Proposed Land Use and Zoning in the Area
The subject properties are undeveloped and currently being used to store operable and inoperable construction equipment, other miscellaneous machinery, and a range of discarded materials. At present time the subject properties and abutting properties northwest, north, and east are located in the County and zoned I-2 (Heavy Industrial). It should be noted that the properties immediately abutting the subject properties are primarily service industrial and not heavy industrial land uses. i.e., warehousing, a printing plant, moving and storage company, etc. The applicant affirms in the subject petition request that the intended use of the properties will be service industrial in nature, such as warehousing, general office, etc.

The applicant has pointed out that the subject parcels received County subdivision approval in 1989 with subsequent recordation in 1993. The conditions of subdivision approval imposed by the County clearly indicate that, at the time of subdivision approval, neither the applicant nor the County was seeking heavy industrial development on these properties.

Zoning Map Recommendation
It is recommended that the properties subject to this petition request be placed in the I-1, Service Industrial Zone upon annexation. This recommendation is consistent with the land use recommendations of the City's Master Plan, the existing use and zoning of neighboring land uses located in the area, and the joint City-County Gude Drive/Southlawn Industrial Area study recommendations.

Attachments