Historic Preservation Work Plan

The Historic Preservation Work Plan (HPWP) represents the first step in a broader approach to update the city’s historic preservation program. The plan is a framework that directly connects to how plans have been historically developed to guide preservation activities in Rockville.

The Historic Resources Management Plan (HRMP), the city’s guiding historic preservation document, was adopted in 1986. Given its age, the Mayor and Council directed that an action program be implemented to restart an update process. On May 8, 2023, the Mayor and Council endorsed the HPWP as the 10-year framework action plan for the city’s historic preservation program.

The HPWP is comprised of a series of recommended work items and action steps. Many of the recommendations have been previously approved in a number of planning documents and have been discussed at local board and commission meetings, in public forums, and at Mayor and Council meetings.

This work plan is intended to serve as a living document and details policies and implementation steps for citywide historic preservation. Work items and action steps address survey needs, historic districts, incentives, easements, education, and outreach. Via the work plan, the city’s historic preservation program will be modernized and updated, with an eye on yielding specific outcomes, including:

• Creating an improved alignment with national and state historic preservation standards and best practices.
• Strengthening overall local preservation programming.
• Establishing agreed upon implementation timelines.
• Laying out an improved understanding of future budgetary needs.
• Serving as a base to update elements of the municipal preservation plan to better assess and define all aspects of Rockville history and its historic and cultural resources.

It is important to note that the work plan itself does not make any policy recommendations, nor does the document make any changes to the city’s preservation program. The work plan outline a series of projects and updates for the city to embark on. Each of the work items outlined in the HPWP will have its own public engagement process, likely involving stakeholder and work groups, neighborhood listening and discussion sessions, public hearings, and ample opportunity for resident feedback before any decisions are made. Future recommendations and findings will be brought before various city committees, commissions, and the general public for review and feedback.

Precedents: Past Planning Documents and Meetings

The following documents and meetings are the basis used to develop and compile recommendations that make up the HPWP:

1977 Historic Districts Preliminary Preservation Plan 1981 Historic Preservation Action Program 1983 Historic Preservation Action Program 1986 Historic Resources Management Plan 2013 Rockville Amendment: Montgomery County Heritage Area Management Plan 2014 Analysis of Documents for Historic Designation and Certificates of Approval 2016 Historic Preservation Report for Comprehensive Plan 2020 Proposed Revision of the Historic Resources Management Plan 2040 Comprehensive Plan, Historic Preservation Element Public Discussion During the Dec. 17, 2020 Historic District Commission Meeting Public Discussion During the Feb. 8, 2021 Mayor and Council Meeting