Floating Zone Amendment Will Make Development Process Easier

A floating zone process text amendment adopted by the Mayor and Council in October will allow developments recommended in the city’s comprehensive plan to move forward more swiftly.

Development plans that implement a land-use recommended in the comprehensive plan that differs from existing zoning will be able to move forward two years sooner than would otherwise occur. The amendment will also allow for concurrent review of project plan and site plan applications. While permitted previously, the procedure was not clearly outlined in the city’s zoning code.

Under the amendment:

• A developer will be allowed to request a rezoning (or “map amendment”) on a property if a change in land use or zoning is recommended in the comprehensive plan. Typically, the city would initiate a map amendment to rezone parcels in accordance with the plan, but this will not occur until the zoning ordinance rewrite is completed in 2025.
• The Mayor and Council will be the approving authority for the map amendment as well as a concurrent project plan application.
• Subsequent approval of a site plan by the Planning Commission is required.

For more information, contact Jim Wasilak, chief of zoning, at jwasilak@rockvillemd.gov. To learn more about Rockville zoning, visit www.rockvillemd.gov/zoning.