WECA Support for Historic Designation of 628 Great Falls Road – 4/18 HDC Meeting

PRESS RELEASE                                      15 April 2013

West End Citizens’ Association

Rockville, MD 20850

Contact:         Noreen Bryan  (301) 762-1256

                        Jim Coyle  (301) 251-1584

Rockville’s West End Neighborhoods Support Historic Designation of 628 Great Falls Road

Historic Gateway to Rockville Should Be Preserved

Staff supporting Rockville’s Historic District Commission has recommended historic designation for a single-family home located at the tip of the intersection of Great Falls Road and Maryland Avenue.  “Rockville’s West End neighborhoods ‘wholeheartedly support’ staff’s conclusion that the property located at 628 Great Falls Road is the ‘gateway’ property to the city’s historic core and should be protected,” said Noreen Bryan, President of the West End Citizens’ Association.  

The property is owned by the Rockville Maryland Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses, which has filed development plans with the City for a second sanctuary with 135 seats. The church now worships in an existing sanctuary on property located at 624 Great Falls Road and no changes to that property have been proposed.  The expansion plans include a 32-space parking lot with a one-way-in entrance from Great Falls Road and a one-way-out exit onto Maryland Avenue.  A single-family home located at 626 Great Falls Road, also owned by the church, would be demolished to accommodate the new parking lot.    

There are neighborhood concerns about the proposed expansion. “We support the existing church in our community,” said Bryan, “but this new use, when added to the impact of Julius West Middle School, the Masonic Hall and Rockville Home for Boys, serves as the tipping point that will transform our community from a residential neighborhood to an institutional hub that was never contemplated by the master plan.”  She also stated that the “residential character of the neighborhood will be even further eroded” if the house at 626 Great Falls Road is demolished to make way for a new parking lot.

Others are concerned about traffic impacts.  “We have the crazy I-270 interchange on Falls Road just a few hundred feet away, and a one-way exit from Julius West Middle School right across the street” said Jim Coyle, President of the Rose Hills Falls HOA.  “I just don’t see how a one-way-in, one-way-out parking lot that straddles Great Falls Road and Maryland Avenue can safely function at this location.”

The Rockville Historic District Commission will consider this case on Thursday, April 18 during its regular 7:30 p.m. meeting at Rockville City Hall.   

The Historic District Commission staff report can be found on-line at:

http://www.rockvillemd.gov/government/commissions/hdc/2013/0513_Item_V-A_HDC2013-00611.pdf

April WECA Meeting: Thurs, April 18th at 7pm + Two Items of Interest

Agenda for WECA Executive Board Meeting on April 18^th at 7pm

This month's WECA meeting will be held on Thursday, April 18^th at 7:00pm at the Rockville Presbyterian Church (215 W. Montgomery Avenue). Please enter from the rear parking lot on Harrison Street. The meeting agenda is provided below -- we hope to see you then.

1.  Welcoming and Opening Comments/Introductions 7pm
2. Organizational/Business Items 7 - 7:15pm
1. Approval of Minutes from March 2013
2. Treasurer's Report
3. Updates from the City
4. Report from Lt. Over
5. Report of Nominating Committee: Jacques Gelin 
3.  Presentation by KSI: New Plans for Pink Bank Site  7:15 - 7:45pm
4. Rockville Pike Plan   7:45 - 8:15pm
5. Services for Seniors: Pat Schultz  8:15 - 8:45pm
6. House across from Bombay Bistro: Historic designation? Other?  8:45 - 9pm
7. Updates on On-Going Projects/Issues
8. Ideas/Comments from the Floor

Rockville City Police Department: Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) Public Information Session on Tuesday, April 9^th at 7pm at Rockville Library

The Rockville City Police Department is currently undergoing an on-site assessment as part of a program to achieve reaccreditation by verifying it meets professional standards.

Administered by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA), the accreditation program requires agencies to comply with state-of-the-art standards in four basic areas: policy and procedures, administration, operations, and support services. As a part of the on-site assessment, agency employees and members of the community are invited to offer comments at a public information session on Tuesday, April 9, 2013 beginning at 7:00 p.m. in the Rockville Library, 21 Maryland Ave. If someone cannot speak at the public information session but would still like to provide comments to the assessment team, he/she may do so by telephone by calling 240-314-8398 on Tuesday, April 9, 2013 between the hours of 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m.

Telephone comments as well as appearances at the public information session are limited to 10 minutes and must address the department's ability to comply with CALEA's standards. A copy of the standards is available at the Rockville City Police Department. Local contact is Lieutenant Eric Over, (240) 314-8967. Anyone wishing to submit written comments about the Rockville City Police Department's ability to comply with the standards for accreditation may send them to the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement, Inc. (CALEA), 13575 Heathcote Boulevard, Suite 320 Gainesville, Virginia 20155.

Tree Removal on Wall St.

            A new house has been approved for construction at 23 Wall St.  Previously, the Historic District Commission (HDC) had approved the tree removal/re-plant plan. Recently, the City of Rockville Forester requested the property owners remove two additional trees, including  one along the property line of 25 Wall Street.  If you are interested in this issue involving removal of mature trees, the meeting of the HDC will be held on April 18, 2013 at 7pm in the Council Chambers of City Hall.