Good evening, Rockville. Today is Wednesday, May 14th, 2025. This is meeting number 06-25 of the City of Rockville Planning Commission. I am Jamie Espinoza, Chair of the Planning Commission. I am joined in chambers by Commissioner Shahan Saluddin, Commissioner Eric Fulton, Commissioner Monksoon, and Susan Pittman, Commissioner Susan Pittman is joining virtually tonight. Tonight's meeting is obviously being conducted in person and virtually by WebEx. Tonight's agenda includes a briefing on Project Plan Amendment PJT 2025-00203. Then this will be followed by a regularly scheduled commission items. So moving to our first agenda item, it is that briefing on Project Plan amendment PJT 2025-0023 to amend the plan development for Rockville Center and corporate to permit construction of a 12 story multifamily building containing 147 affordable housing units and a parking waiver to provide zero onsite parking spaces located at 41 Maryland Avenue in the PD-RCI plan development Rockville Center incorporated zone SCG development holdings, C comp stock 41 Maryland LL C comp stock 44 Maryland LLC applicants. Mr. Wastelach, is there a staff briefing? Yes, thank you, Mr. Chair and members of the commission. This is a project plan application to amend an existing plan development within the town center and without further ado. I'm going to pass it over to Christopher Davis or senior planner. Thank you, Mr. Waseleck. Good evening, Mr. Chair and members of the commission, Christopher Davis with Community Planning and Development Services Department. It's Mr. Rossillac. Good evening, Mr. Chair and members of the Commission, Christopher Davis with Community Planning and Development Services Department. Mr. Rossillac indicated this is a Project Plan Amendment PJT 2025-0023 for 41 and 44 Maryland Avenue. This represents the momentum at Rockville Station project. So just to recall for the Planning Commission, this is your briefing, and it allows the opportunity for the Commission to provide preliminary feedback to the applicant and ask questions as you'll see the project will come back to you at a later stage for recommendation. So the project site is outlined in red on the screen. It is 41 Maryland Avenue. It is located in planning area one corresponding to the town center and is approximately 0.42 acres. It has a land use designation of commercial and residential mix and a zoning classification of PDRCI corresponding with the plan development for Rockville Center Inc and an equivalent zone for the mixed use transit district. As you can see, the property is currently developed with an on a surface parking lot at the corner of East Middle Lane and Maryland Avenue. As you can see, this area is further developed with properties surrounding of mixed uses and this development would add to that area of development. So the specific proposal by the applicant is to replace the existing surface parking lot with a 12 story multi family building that would include 147 affordable housing units. The proposed site plan is shown here on the screen. As you can see, most of the building footprint will take up the majority of the property with open areas to the western side of the property and to the south. The this project plan amendment is accompanied by a waiver to reduce the required parking to zero on site parking spaces. And to further implement that change the proposal is to amend the plan development for certain use and site standards. In addition, the applicant proposes to replace certain MPDU units classified for the confronting 44 Maryland Avenue property with MPDU units in the subject to project. So to outline the review process, the applicant has completed their pre-application requirements, including an area meeting on January 21st, 2025. Following the pre-application stage, the applicant has submitted their project plan, amendment application, and completed their post application area meeting, which was completed on April 29th, 2025. Further steps include the applicant DRC meeting, where staff will provide comments on the proposed project that is scheduled for May 29th. And the mayor and council will receive their briefing next Monday on May 19th. So, the next steps include the applicant finalizing review of the project plan amendment application taken into account comments received by the Planning Commission and Marion Council in addition to public comments at the area meetings and will revise the application as needed. The application will then come to you for your recommendation at a future planning commission date before proceeding to Mayor and Council for their consideration to include a public hearing and possible adoption. Once action is complete on the project plan, the Planning Commissioner will then see the project again for consideration of a site plan application. And with that, Mr. Chair, that concludes staff's presentation. The applicant has a presentation to follow. Thank you. Any of my commissioners, have any questions to the staff at this time before we hear from the applicant? Nope, here and none. Please come forward, ma'am. I think Mr. Wasill, I guess you put you under oath. Good evening, Nancy Reglin from the Loughhrm of Shulman Rodgers here on behalf of SCG development, which is one of the applicants that is the Affordable Housing Developer Comstock 41 41, which is the owner of the Surface Parking Lot, and Comstock 44, which is the owner of Boulevard 44, confronting the property. The presentation tonight is going to be presented by Kirk Salpini of SCG Development, and then he and I will be happy to field your questions, and we do have a lot of our project consultants in the audience today. Should any questions, we need to go to them for referral. So at this time, it like to pass us over to Mr. Selpini. Good evening. Members of the Planning Commission would like to thank you for this opportunity to present our proposed redevelopment of 41 Maryland Avenue. I'm Kirk Salpini, Director of Construction for SCG Development, the co-developer with Comstock companies. SCG is focused on providing high quality, affordable and workforce rental residences that strengthen our communities. All our projects include 100% affordable rental housing. SDG units partners have developed and continue to operate more than 60 properties in 12 states. locally, SEG's completed 1,250 units in the DMV within the past seven years, including four Maryland projects with more than 450 units. Momentum at Shady Grove, Silver Creek Senior Living in Kensington, Ceneca Creek Senior Living in Gathersburg, and Foundry Square in Frederick, and several others in the district in Northern Virginia. Next slide please. 41 Maryland avenues located at the intersections of Maryland Avenue and East Middle Lane in Rockville Town Center. The project offers several benefits to the city, including 147 affordable units, which is approximately 90 more affordable units beyond what a market rate project would deliver with the required 15% MPD use as originally envisioned on the site in 1994. Increased low, moderate, and workforce housing stock at a variety of income levels from 50 to 80% of area median income. Extended MPDU affordability. The 40 MPD use proposed to be transferred from Boulevard 44 have a 30-year term and expire in approximately 20 years. The MPD use transferred from Boulevard 44 will be subject to a 99-year affordability covenant adding approximately 83 years beyond the current MPDU covenant. Leveraging the state, county and cities, investments and mass transit, both rail and bus, increased utilization of the existing available parking infrastructure, advancing development of an underutilized urban infill site through a joint venture with the property owner. Next slide please. The site's currently being used as a surface parking lot that directly abuts the Victoria condominium to the West and 30 East Montgomery Avenue to the South. SCG strives to build efficiently enabling us to offer rents at significant discounts to market for residents earning between 50 and 80% of HUD's area median income and sometimes less. At 0.41 acres and 82 feet wide, 41 Maryland Avenue site geometry presents an unreasonable obstacle to constructing structured parking in an affordable housing building. The limited width makes it economically infeasible to construct parking, either above or below grade. Once circulation ramps and drive aisles are considered, you'll be unable to fit double loaded parking bays, driving down efficiency and up cost. SCG acquired the site because it's well located, transit oriented, and position to benefit from the transportation, public amenities, and services infrastructure that the city of Rockville wisely invested in. 41 Maryland Avenue also enjoys abundant nearby public structured parking available for lease to third parties and ease of access to popular employment centers. County bus service that will be enhanced by bus rapid transit nearby Metro rail access and a walk score of 93 meaning daily errands can be completed without a car. Reinforce the decision to add residential density at this location. In essence, the city of Rockville has thoughtfully invested in tenant demand drivers and the applicant believes we we can leverage these investments to create a desirable and affordable housing project. Further, there's a strong need for affordable housing in Rockville. Multiple affordable housing projects are located within point four miles of the site, and enjoy strong demand, evidenced by average vacancy rates below 5% with some having waiting lists. 41 Maryland Avenue will help meet this demonstrated demand. Next slide. The first floor plan reflects a sloping site, affording a one and a half story lobby, a club room and leasing area at grade with a half-level rise to residential units and additional amenity spaces, including a mail room, package storage, fitness, and bike storage. serv, and tenant, move-ins and outs are located at the south end of the building. In response to comments we heard from the community, we added a pickup and drop-off space to allow residents convenient access to ride sharing and delivery services. We also added an ADA parking space on Maryland Avenue with an accessible path to travel that can accommodate wheelchairs and other mobility devices. Finally, we expanded the sidewalk at the intersection of Maryland Avenue and East Middle Lane to slow the traffic turning onto Maryland Avenue and provide greater pedestrian safety. Next slide, please. This slide shows the proposed setback of 41 Maryland Avenue from the property line and its relationship to the Victoria Condominium Building, as well as the Condominium's vehicular drop-off and courtyard area. The second level of the proposed building includes residential units with those on the West Elevation enjoying an outdoor terrace. After meeting with and hearing concerns of the Victoria Condominium residents, the applicant modified the balcony locations to avoid confronting the existing condominium building. The preliminary design for 41 Maryland Ave includes a second-level terrace at approximately elevation 448. The proposed terrace will extend to meet the existing Victoria Condominium Garage Wall with a construction joint separating the two structures. The first-level Victoria Condominium patio is at approximately elevation 460. Thus the Victoria Condominium first level patio will be approximately 12 feet above the proposed terrace level at 41 Maryland Avenue. Next slide. The proposed building elevation is envisioned to include brick, cementitious panels, and prefabricated balconies. A two-level base and top frame the composition. 41 Maryland Avenue has been designed to deliver traditional market-level finished ceiling heights in units and amenity spaces. And the request for 120 foot height above the 448 elevation in the PDP approvals is to permit alternative structural systems as a hedge against uncertain tariff impacts on material pricing. Next slide, please. At street level, the building lobby and amenity spaces activate the surroundings with full height glass and metal panels, engaging passers-by in generating interest. Corbled brick accents and an entry canopy add elegance to the building base and complete the facade treatment. Next slide, please. Our vision includes several residential units along Maryland Avenue accessed accessed via the main building entrance, with loading and servicing at the southern end of the proposed building. The planning staff and the community express concerns about loading and servicing outside of the building. In response, we redesigned the loading dock, raising the height to permit loading, trash removal, and servicing to occur within the building. The extra height will also permit service vehicles to back in and pull out, reducing potential conflicts potential conflicts with Marilyn Avenue traffic. Next slide, please. The scale of 41 Maryland Avenue building is clearly contextual in comparison to the neighboring buildings as shown in this slide. At 120 feet above elevation, 448, the proposed building is well below 200 feet permitted height in the MX-TD zone. It is slightly higher than the 12th story Victoria economy and parking garage to the west and well below 44 Maryland Avenue which rises 15 stories to the east. While further east, the boulevard anseltops out at 18 stories. The circuit court and district court building, the executive office building, and 51 Monroe Street represent other buildings in the neighborhood. 41 Maryland Avenue has been thoughtfully designed to be attractive to future residents, aesthetically appealing, competitively immunitized, and contextually scaled to the neighborhood. SEG looks forward to working with the Planning Commission to complete the Project Plan. Thank you for your time. We look forward to answering any questions you may have. Thank you. So to begin, do any of the commissioners in the room with me have any questions of the applicant? I got one. Really more of a clarification. Can you go over again? What the tariff situation has to do with you seeking 120 feet of height to the building? Yes. So when we build with certain types of structural systems, they require more building height than other types of structural systems. Our goal is to provide market rate ceiling heights so that we can compete with other new buildings. So in order to do that, if there is more building height required to accommodate, let's say, a a cold-form steel structural system versus a concrete structural system to get to that market rate finish ceiling height, which we believe is approximately 9 feet. Then we want the flexibility to go out and seek a better or more cost-effective material in the building structural system. If I were to use one building material, I might need 10 feet for floor to floor. If I were to use a different building material, I might need 10 feet 8 inches floor to floor to get to that same finished ceiling height based on the thickness of that floor slab and other factors. Makes sense, thanks. Yeah, I have a question, maybe two staff and applicant. So I see a lot of the emails from the neighboring and they were concerned about the viral impact of this building. So I want to know like I see the shorter side of the Victoria building is facing the proposed building. So do you know how many units will be impacted by this new building? So the way the Victoria and this building they are, the short end of the Victoria faces the north side of this building. Then the courtyard for the Victoria is the middle of this new building. And then there's low-rise buildings for the Victoria along East Montgomery Avenue that are closer to the end of this building. So,, the impacts are only to the end units of the Victoria Tower that are along Middle Lane, and so it's just the short end and two units on each of those floors of the Victoria. So to respond to the neighbors, I think here you can see like the balconies on the west side facing the Victoria. The balconies that actually confront the end of the tower have been taken off. So it expands the area of building to building face between the two. And then when they get to the Victoria's Car Park courtyard, then the balconies for the building continue on the west side. Okay, thank you. And so the current building edge, does that conform with, are there any like a minimum setback for something that? Yeah, I think the fire separation between window window is 30 feet and it's it meets that. Okay I think maybe additional image was something to show the actual view from the impact to show the two beside each other and the Japan because from the the plan it is quite narrow. Well, the site is only 82 feet wide. Since 1994, the building massing has been approved on this site for 100 feet over 448 level, so basically 110 feet. the budget for the budget for the budget for the budget for the budget for the budget for the budget for the budget for the budget for the budget for the budget for the budget for the budget for the budget for the budget for the budget for the budget for the location of those? On the Maryland Avenue. Okay and they will be new spaces not like existing. So it's the parallel spaces along Maryland Avenue but they'll be reworked and redesigned. So one at the exact corner as you turn on to Maryland Avenue will be the loading dock. I mean the loading dock will be the drop off zone. So any deliveries to the project for Uber Eats or pick up from people who are using lift, you know, people being dropped off by their friends, there would be a safe place there. The next parking space beyond that going up Maryland Avenue, we're designing a fully accessible parking space. And by that I mean it allows a cheer lift vehicle to be able to drop off on the inside curbside and actually have that mobility equipment be able to go up on the curb. So there's a ramp. All the other accessible spaces, which is like 10 very close by here. They're all just marked ADA spaces, but they're not allowed the mobile lift. So we're adding an enhanced ADA space right in front of this building and so to accommodate the build-in of those spaces Is the city losing any of the current metered street parking? Yes, they will two spaces or more more because in fact the loading dock and Trances also at the far end on the south end of Maryland Avenue. Okay, does do you or staff know you said more? Do we know how many meter street spaces the city's losing? I don't recall off the top of my head. Let me see if I have something from the parking study that tells me how many there's eight there now. There's eight there now. So I think we're losing three or four. Okay, four then the only other question there's the little panhandle at the south end of the property. What is that going to be? Open space. Okay. Thank you. Oh, when we're done. Seven. Oh, we're just losing one. Excellent. All right, thank you very much. Commissioner Pittman, do you have any questions? Commissioner Pitt, we can't hear you. Sorry. Press the wrong button. We can't hear you again. So no, I don't. Okay. Can you hear me now? Can you hear me now? We can, but you have an echo. Can you hear me, Chris? Charest, Vanessa? Yes, perfect now. Thank you. Okay. Thank you. No, I don't have any questions. Thanks. Does anyone, any of the other commissions have any questions based on any of the follow-up work? Thank you so much. Oh, perfect. Then we'll see you again as we cycle back. Thank you so much. Thank you. Right. That brings us to our regularly scheduled commission items. Mr. Wastelak, do we have a staff liaison report? Yes, thank you, Mr. Chair. Your next meeting will be two weeks from this evening on May 28th. And we have a final record plan in Tower Oaks and a Zor work session that will cover the proposed rezoning. Similar to the first mayor and council work session, this will do another session that actually has some follow up to it. So I think it'll be very valuable. Looking at doing the next work session on the June 11th meeting, you already had your work session on the development review process, so bringing back that information on June 11th. So next two meetings, you've got work sessions on the zoning ordinance re-rate. And next meeting also have the your annual report for your review. And looking ahead to June 11th, we also have a couple of final record plans to add to the Zor work session that evening. And that's all I have for you this evening. All right, thank you. Any old business? I got one thing. Mr. Walshak, would you mind redistributing the dates for our meetings for the rest of the calendar year? We've got a bunch of travel coming up this summer and so I just want to get a jump on that. Sure. I hope you could do that. Thank you. Okay. Any new business? All right, hearing none that brings us two minutes. I saw three minutes or three sets of minutes. Yes, that's great. So I was hoping to tackle those in chronological order, starting with the meeting number 18-2024. This is meeting from November 13th, 2024. Does anyone have any changes to these minutes that they'd like to offer? Hearing none, do I hear a motion? I move to approve the draft minutes from November 13th, 2024 as presented to us by staff. All those, I'll second. All those in favor, raise your hands. Say aye. Aye. Aye. I see Commissioner Pittman raise your hands, so that passed unanimously. That brings us to the minutes of meeting number 19-24. This is from December 11th, 2024. Any commissioners have any comments or offer any changes to this? Hearing none do I have a motion? I move that we approve the draft minutes of Wednesday December 11th, 2024 as presented to us by staff. And I will second all those in favor raise your hands. Hey, I I, I will second. All those in favor raise your hands. Aye. Aye. That motion passes unanimously. Commissioner Pittman raised her hand. That brings us to our final set of minutes. This is a for meeting number two dash. I think that should be 25 at the top. This is from February 26, 2025. Do any of the commissioners have any comments or in changing to this set of minutes? Again, just to be clear, I know at the top, it's a dash 2024. I think that should be 25. It should be 25. OK, that's correct. So that's the only change I had to anyone else had any other. I move that we approve the draft minutes of Wednesday, February 26, 2025, noting the edit of 2-2-2024-2-2025. And I'll second. All those in favor raise your hands a aye. Aye. That passed unanimously. Right. That brings us to any correspondence Mr. Wasleich through receive any. There were none received. All right. Thank you. Do I have a motion to adjourn. I move to adjourn. I thank it. All those in favor raise your hands aye aye motion passes unanimously. Thank you have a good night Rockwell. you