Twinbrook Neighborhood Plan

Home > Master Plan > Twinbrook Neighborhood Plan > Twinbrook Neighborhood Plan

The Twinbrook Neighborhood Plan offers a blueprint for the community for the next twenty years.

Update:

The Mayor and Council adopted the Twinbrook Neighborhood Plan on Monday April 27, 2009. The Plan outlines a series of goals and recommendations that will serve as a guide for the Twinbrook neighborhoods for the next 20 years.

Many City residents consider the “Twinbrook” neighborhood to be located both north and south of Veirs Mill Road. The City’s Master Plan considers the area north of Veirs Mill Road to be Planning Area 7, Twinbrook Forest-Northeast Rockville. Planning Area 8, Twinbrook, is south of Veirs Mill Road. The Twinbrook Neighborhood Plan considers both areas at the same time, and provide the City and Twinbrook residents a set of goals and recommendations that will guide the future of the neighborhoods for the next 20 years.

A Neighborhood Plan Advisory Group worked with City staff to identify and evaluate neighborhood issues and provided guidance and feedback throughout the planning process. Many innovative ideas emerged during the planning process and the city implemented several of the ideas, including a new park zone and new mixed-use zones for the neighborhood commercial areas that now allow for residential as well as retail and office.

Once the Advisory Group completed and endorsed a draft plan, the Planning Commission held three public hearings and received verbal and written testimony. An extensive public outreach program was undertaken and visualizations were prepared that depict rezoning concepts for the existing commercial and industrial areas. In June 2008 the Planning Commission voted in favor of a resolution to approve the modified plan and forward it to the Mayor and Council. Planning Commission modifications were made based on public hearings and written testimony. The Mayor and Council held a public hearing in October 2008, received verbal and written testimony on the plan, and conducted a series of work sessions in early 2009 before adopting the plan.

Twinbrook Neighborhood Plan

· Copies of the approved plan are available free of charge from the Community Planning and Development Services Department at Rockville City Hall.

For more information, please contact Ann Wallas, Planner, at 240-314-8200 or e-mail
twinbrookplan@rockvillemd.gov.

· Ordinance 12-09, adopting the Twinbrook Plan as an amendment to the Rockville Master Plan.

· The Mayor and Council held a Public Hearing on the Planning Commission Draft of the Plan on Monday, October 13, 2008 and closed the public record on Friday, October 31, 2008.

· View the June 11 Planning Commission Amended Draft Twinbrook Neighborhood Plan.

· View draft concepts for Veirs Mill Road Commercial Area and Lewis Avenue Industrial Area.

· Twinbrook Neighborhood Plan:
Advisory Group Recommended Draft, December 2006

· Twinbrook Neighborhood Plan, Appendix:
Advisory Group Recommended Draft, December 2006

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the main goals of the Twinbrook Neighborhood Plan?
The primary goal of the TNP is the retention and protection of the residential neighborhoods. The plan contains recommendations to help retain the character of the residential neighborhoods, while directing any future development towards the current commercial and industrial areas. The plan also makes recommendations to help maintain and upgrade the public areas to ensure that recreational opportunities, public accessibility and the natural environment enhance the quality of life for all residents.

What is a neighborhood plan?
Neighborhood plans are intended to offer guidance on a more focused level by providing a means for neighborhoods to:

identify, preserve, and build on the positive qualities of their neighborhoods;
acknowledge and deal with existing issues or problems; and
set goals and priorities that will shape the future of their neighborhood for the next twenty years to come.

After adoption by the Mayor and Council, the Twinbrook Neighborhood Plan will offer a blueprint for the community for the future.

Who were the members of the Twinbrook Neighborhood Plan Advisory Group?
The Twinbrook Neighborhood Plan Advisory Group was a group of your neighbors who volunteered to work on the plan. They were appointed by the Mayor and Council in March 2005, and continuously worked together to provide guidance to City staff in the preparation of the draft plan.

Will there be redevelopment in the area?
The Plan recommends that any future growth be directed towards mixed-use development on land currently used for commercial and industrial activities. It recommends that, should their owners wish, the existing shopping centers on Veirs Mill Road be redeveloped to allow a Neighborhood Center, compatible with adjacent single-family homes. This could include a full-service supermarket and a range of smaller stores with residential or office use on upper stories and open space features. The library, which is owned and operated by Montgomery County, would remain. The King Farm Village Center and Congressional Village are two examples of this kind of center that have been built within the City of Rockville during the past few years.

Will the industrial areas on Lewis Avenue and Halpine Road be replaced?
The Plan recommends that the industrial uses be allowed to continue, but if their owners wish to redevelop, they should be allowed to include some residential and office uses on the property. It is proposed that the scale of any new development should be compatible with the adjacent single-family homes.

For more information, contact Rockville’s Long Range Planning Division within the Department of Community Planning and Development Services at 240-314-8200, or email twinbrookplan@rockvillemd.gov.

Twinbrook Neighborhood Plan Boundary Map

Planning Process

Assemble Resource Team
Outreach to Target the Community
Community Workshops
Advisory Group Appointment and Formation
Drafting of Plan and Recommendations
Neighborhood Meetings to Review Draft plan
Draft completed and Approved
Planning Commission Public Hearing
Community Outreach - Open Houses
Development of Zoning Concepts
Planning Commisssion Public Hearings, Worksessions and Approval
Mayor and Council Public Hearing, Review and Adoption

What Twinbrook Means To Me
Twinbrook Neighborhood Advisory Group Meeting
April 7, 2005

Neighborliness
“Just Where I Live”
A place to raise my family
A starting point
Parks and trees
A central location to MD and DC
A base of operations
“A gift”
Diversity
A real city, less suburban
An emerging, exciting place