gaithersblog.net

• Janel Davis writes: Third pedestrian dies on county streets

  This week’s incidents are part of the 92 pedestrian-vehicle collisions — incidents reported by police whether or not a pedestrian is hurt — that occurred in the first 93 days of this year. One bicyclist has also been killed. This year’s numbers do not include incidents in Takoma Park, which reports its incidents separately.

  An extensive report on pedestrian collisions in 2006 has just been posted on the County’s website.

• Margie Hyslop writes: Local legislation spends closing days in limbo

  Much legislation that would let counties, cities and towns make changes is languishing in the final week of the General Assembly’s session, which ends at midnight Monday.

• Melissa J. Brachfeld writes: First phase of extending Crabbs Branch Way OK’d

  The county Planning Board on Thursday approved the first phase of a preliminary plan that would eventually extend Crabbs Branch Way north across Shady Grove Road, where it ends now, to Amity Drive.

Update: The City has posted the video of this meeting.

NOTICE: Because of the MLK Holiday, the meeting is on Tuesday, not Monday. Sorry for the error. Y’all are supposed to catch me on things like that…

The City has posted the Agenda for the MondayTuesday, 16 January 2007 meeting of the Mayor and City Council. There’s a few things of interest, including a look at the plans for redeveloping the Broadstone Apartments site. Note that the structure that the City would like to demolish at the latitude observatory site is not a contributing, historic structure. The current caretakers house was built long after the important structures at the site, and was never considered for designation. The original (c. 1900) caretaker’s house had been moved to Cedar Ave years ago.

Also of note is the item toward the end, regarding restrictions on Alcohol sales. I’ve pasted in the background memo here. (This is an OCR’d PDF, so there could be errors in this; consult the original PDF before commenting to the City about this):

MEMORANDUM TO Mayor and City Council
VIA David B Humpton City Manager
FROM Frederick J Felton Assistant City Manager
Tony Tomasello Assistant City Manager

DATE January 4, 2007
SUBJECT Alcohol Regulation

As you will recall staff raised the possibility of working with Montgomery County during the 2007 Legislative Session on amendments to State liquor laws that would prohibit early morning sales of alcohol and prohibit sales of single beers.

Staff recently met with Montgomery County Department of Liquor Control Director George Griffin and Community Outreach Manager Kathie Durbin to discuss this issue. The City has been working very closely with the County Department of Liquor Control on the “Cops in Shops” and the Gaithersburg Business Alliance programs. The County staff fully understands the problems we are experiencing with alcohol sales in Olde Towne and portions of 355 and they would like to work with us on solutions.

Rather than pursuing a legislative remedy during the upcoming legislative session the County staff has suggested we try to address these issues through the Board of License Commissioners licensing process. Specifically they have suggested that we designate a particular geographic area as an improvement area and request that the liquor licenses for all establishments within the impact area have restrictions on operating hours and individual sales.

Please note that all liquor licenses in the County expire on May 1 2007. This spring all businesses seeking to renew their licenses will have to submit an application and may have to appear at a hearing The County staff has suggested that this would be the appropriate time to request that the restrictions be imposed Please note that this may not be easy to achieve because the Board of License Commissioners have never imposed restrictions of this nature. Staff believes that it will be necessary for citizens to participate in this effort with documented evidence of quality of life problems.

If the Mayor and City Council concur with this approach staff will notify all potentially affected businesses and give them an opportunity to provide input.

We will be seeking guidance on this issue during the January 16 2007 Mayor and City Council meeting. If you should have any questions or wish to discuss this matter please contact one of us.

fjf/ms
cc: Mary Ann Viverette, Chief of Police
Cindy Hines, Olde Towne Coordinator

Following is the full text of the agenda:

City of Gaithersburg
AGENDA FOR A REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING

TUESDAY , JANUARY 16, 2007 , 7:30 P.M.

I. CALL TO ORDER

II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

III. INVOCATION

Nazaneen Dorost, Baha’i Faith

IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Minutes of a Regular Meeting of the Mayor and City Council Held January 2, 2007
TBA -
Background Material (pdf format)

V. CONSENT ITEM
(resolutions for approval by the City Council that do not need discussion)

Resolution of the Mayor and City Council Authorizing the City Manager to Negotiate and Execute a Contract for Consulting Services on a City of Gaithersburg Bikeway Plan ($26,000)

Background Material (pdf format)

VI. PRESENTATIONS

1. Readings and Certificates of Recognition Presented to the 15th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Literary Arts Contest Winners
2. 2nd Quarter Employee Recognition Awards
3. Proclamation of the Mayor and City Council Designating January 15 - 20, 2007, as “Gaithersburg/Germantown Jaycee Week” in the City of Gaithersburg

VII. PUBLIC APPEARANCES
(public is invited to speak on any subject that is not a public hearing topic on tonight’s agenda – each speaker three minutes)

VIII. FROM THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL/ANNOUNCEMENTS

• Upcoming City Events

IX. FROM THE CITY MANAGER

X. PUBLIC HEARING

A Consolidated Joint Public Hearing on Z-304 and SDP-06-004

1. JOINT – Z-304, an Application to Rezone 14.157 Acres of Land, Currently Known as Part Parcel A Lots N-943; N-994; N-888; & N-939, the Broadstone Apartments, Located at the Intersection of MD 355 and West Deer Park Road in the City Of Gaithersburg, From the Existing R-20 (MEDIUM DENSITY RESIDENTIAL) Zone to the CD (Corridor Development) Zone, in Accordance With §24-196 (Map Amendments) and §24-160G.6 (Procedure for Application and Approval) of the City Code
   Background Material (pdf format - Large File 5M)

2. JOINT – SDP-06-004, the Applicant Requests the Redevelopment of 14.157 Acres of Land, Currently Known as Part Parcel A Lots N-943; N-994; N-888; & N-939, the Broadstone Apartments, Located at the Intersection of MD 355 and West Deer Park Road in the City of Gaithersburg, Proposed Plan Includes 334 Multi-Family Units, 53 Townhomes, and 28 Two-Over-Two Units
   Background Material Part I (pdf format - Large File 4M)
   Background Material Part II (pdf format - Large File 1.5M)

   Background Material Part III (pdf format - Large File 6M)

XI. RECESS MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEETING

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HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION

1. Call to Order

2. Approval of Minutes

Minutes of a Historic District Commission Meeting Held January 2, 2007
TBA - Background Material (pdf format)

3. Certificates of Approval

• HAWP-87D Applicant: Maria Glinsmann, 12 Russell Avenue, REAPPROVAL of Request to construct a 1,962 square foot, two-story carriage house and parking lot
  Background Material (pdf format - Large File 4M)

• HAWP-106 Applicant: Mark Wilson, for the City of Gaithersburg, 100 DeSelllum Avenue, Request to demolish house and garage

  Background Material Part I (pdf format - Large File 2M)
  Background Material Part II (pdf format - Large File 2.5M)

4. Consent Item

HAWP-37E - Resolution Authorizing the Staff Liaison to the Historic District Commission to Sign the Written Decision of the HDC Vote on HAWP-37E, Request for Demolition of the Historic Talbott House (Hair Bar) at 309 North Frederick Avenue, as Being Reflective of the Findings and Vote Taken on January 2, 2007
Background Material (pdf format)

5. Adjournment

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XII. RECONVENE MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEETING

XIII. ORDINANCES, RESOLUTIONS, AND REGULATIONS
(ordinances, resolutions, and regulations to be introduced or adopted following appropriate procedures required by the City Code, or resolutions that may require discussion by the Mayor and Council prior to approval)

1. Resolution of the Mayor and City Council Authorizing the City Manager to Enter into a Contract for the Demolition of the Gaithersburg Latitude Observatory Caretaker’s House ($29,370)
   Background Material (pdf format)

2. Resolution of the Mayor and City Council Adopting the Traffic Impact Study Standards Regulation for the City of Gaithersburg
   Background Material (pdf format)

3. Resolution of the Mayor and City Council Authorizing the City Manager to Negotiate and Execute a Contract for Commercial Real Estate Consulting Services ($176,112)

   Background Material (pdf format)

XIV. POLICY DISCUSSION AND STAFF GUIDANCE
(discussion by the Mayor and Council about previous public hearing topics and other policy matters)

1. Resolution of the Mayor and City Council Adopting the Affordable Housing Program Regulations for the City of Gaithersburg (Two Alternative Versions are Ready for Final Action)

   Background Material (pdf format)

2. An Ordinance to Amend Chapter 5 of the City Code Entitled "Buildings," to Create a New Article VI Entitled "Additional Fire Safety Requirements for Certain Multi-Family Residential Structures” to Create a New Section 5-11 Entitled “Automated Sprinkler Systems” to Require the Retrofit of Certain Multi-Family Residential Structures With Automated Sprinkler Systems (Ready for Final Action)

   Background Material (pdf format)

XV. FROM THE ASSISTANT CITY MANAGERS, CITY ATTORNEY AND OTHER STAFF

Guidance on Memorandum dated January 4, 2007 Concerning Possible Restrictions on the Sale of Alcoholic Beverage in Some Locations.
Background Material (pdf format)

XVI. ADJOURNMENT

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THE NEXT REGULAR MEETING OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
WILL BE HELD MONDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2007 , 7:30 P.M.
COUNCIL CHAMBERS, 31 SOUTH SUMMIT AVENUE

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UPCOMING COUNCIL MEETING AND WORK SESSION ITEMS

This list is not all-inclusive, and does not reflect priorities or scheduling
But is intended to provide a glance at future items to come before the City Council.

Feb 5 Meeting

Presentation
- -Report from the Historic Preservation Advisory Committee
- Civil Air Patrol

- Black History Month Tribute
- City Manager Report on the City’s Strategic Planning Retreat Held January 19-20, 2006

Policy Discussion
- T-380, Permitted Uses in the I-3 Zone

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Notice to the general public is hereby given that the
Mayor and City Council of the City of Gaithersburg will conduct
a joint work session on Monday, January 22, 2007, to discuss
Neighborhoods 2 and 3 of the Crown Farm Development.

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RETREAT ANNOUNCEMENT

The Mayor and City Council will hold its annual retreat for the purpose of reviewing the City’s 2007 Draft Strategic Plan and enhancing the working relationship among and between the Mayor, members of the City Council, and management staff. This year’s event is scheduled for Friday, January 19 through Saturday, January 20, 2007 at the Loews Annapolis Hotel located at 126 West Street , Annapolis , Maryland . Please note that while the public is invited to attend the retreat and view the proceedings on January 20, there will be no opportunity for public comment.For more information about the retreat please contact Assistant City Manager Felton at 301-258-6310.

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MAYOR & CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS
ARE TELEVISED LIVE ON CABLE CHANNEL 13

AND ON THE
INTERNET AT
www.gaithersburgmd.gov/tv

TO CONFIRM ACCESSIBILITY ACCOMMODATIONS,
PLEASE CONTACT DORIS STOKES AT
CITY HALL, 301-258-6310

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Hand held signs brought into the Council Chambers may not be displayed in a manner which
disrupts the meeting, blocks the view of spectators or cameras and poses a safety
concern [e.g., signs mounted on stakes]. Your cooperation is appreciated.)

• Chris Robinson writes, Historic Hair Bar building will stand, city rules
  

  The ruling is the latest in a protracted struggle to determine the city’s first case where an owner has sought permission to remove a historical home.

  Halici, who has attempted to raze the place for over a decade, said he plans to appeal the ruling in court. His lawyer, Stephen Orens, was unavailable for comment.

  Upkeep on the property is expensive, and to sell the property the house must go, according to Halici, who applied for and received historic designation for the building soon after he bought the property in 1989.

  In 2003, the city granted a permit to demolish the house, but it expired before work was performed. Now the commission is unwilling to grant approval again.

  Alster noted prior to last week’s vote that the qualifications of ‘‘economic hardship” are too low, and have allowed Halici to take advantage of the city.

  ‘‘This has opened my eyes that we need to be clearer on the criteria and information that we require,” Alster said Thursday.

  Though it’s unclear when a worksession or public discussion will be to review standards for economic hardship, the process already is underway, said Planning and Code Director Greg Ossont.

• Chris Robinson writes, Gaithersburg approves growth restrictions
  

  The requirements will take effect Jan. 24, prompting a moratorium on residential areas around Rachel Carson Elementary School, Assistant City Manager Fred Felton said.

  Residential development also could be stopped around Summit Hall and Thurgood Marshall elementary schools, city managers have said. That might impact the GE Technology property in west Gaithersburg, the city’s largest undeveloped parcel.

  Two versions of the APFO were considered last week. One gave capacity credit for school projects within Montgomery County Public Schools’ six year facilities master plan, while the other only credits school projects budgeted within a two-year timeframe.

  Residents have widely praised the APFO, with the exception being mixed opinions on the length of school projects. Many written public comments supported the two-year limitation.

  The more restrictive version was approved, with council members Geri Eden, Michael A. Sesma and Stanley J. Alster in favor of the ordinance. Councilmen Henry F. Marraffa Jr. and John B. Schlichting voted against it.

• Chris Robison writes, Summit Crossing residents to get financial help
  

  Gaithersburg is set to provide up to $337,500 in assistance for homeowners of the upcoming Summit Crossing development in Olde Towne.

  The economic incentive program, unanimously approved by city leaders last month, is part of an ongoing effort to revitalize Olde Towne, said Assistant City Manager Tony Tomasello.

  ‘‘Clearly the Council has prioritized affordable housing and homeownership, but they also have parallel goals they want to meet to revitalize Olde Towne,” he said.

• Chris Robison (whose wrists were getting a workout this week) writes There’s no business for snow business
  

  The phenomenon, caused by an abnormal warming of waters in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, generally brings milder winters to the East Coast and also results in a muted hurricane season, Hoekzema said.

  It cycles every five to 11 years, with the last strong El Niño in the winter of 1997 and 1998, he said.

  ‘‘It’s hard to pin a record on recent global warming talk and things like that,” Hoekzema said. ‘‘We often see our highest temperatures in years where there was no mention of global warming. … We could set a record low this year, it’s not totally out of the question, and then still have an above-normal winter. That’s just kind of the way weather works.”

  For Gaithersburg, a city that prides itself on arboreal aesthetics, the extended warmer winter certainly is a consideration, said Wally DeBord, public works operations director.

  However, after consulting with an agricultural expert at the University of Maryland, DeBord said the only real impact will be a less colorful spring.

The City has published it’s Legislative Priorities for the 2007 session of the Maryland General Assembly. These are the things that, given their druthers, the City would have the legislature pass in the upcoming session. Key issues in here are:

• Yet more money for the Lakelands aquatic center
• More funding for the City police
• Funding for major transportation projects, specifically the CCT and the Watkins Mill Interchange
• Taxing authority issues: Exemption from the Metropolitan District Tax, authority to levy additional Hotel/Motel and Development Excise taxes
• Authority for a municipalities to be opt-out electrical aggregators. On the Takoma Park website, I found a PDF document from 2005 discussing this issue in detail. A couple of quotes from this document will go a long way toward explaining what they want to do:
  

  What is electricity deregulation?
  Generally, electricity deregulation refers to a state deciding that customers should be allowed to choose an electricity supplier by letting competition enter a market where only a regulated utility monopoly existed before. It is felt that the market forces of supply, demand, and competition will help to keep electricity costs low, and stimulate innovative new products and services that didn’t exist under regulation. Maryland began this process in 1999.

  So if there is supposed to be a choice of suppliers, why can’t we find any besides our existing utility?
  What has been found in every state where restructuring has been tried, including Maryland, is that competition only appears for large industrial customers. This is because electricity suppliers who try to recruit individual homeowners and small businesses quickly learn that the marketing expense is much too high per customer to make it worth their while, and they abandon the effort.

  What exactly is municipal aggregation?
  Aggregation in general refers to many customers joining together to form a buying group. Municipal aggregation refers specifically to the situation where a municipality organizes the pooling of its citizens to become the buying group. The municipality (or a group of them) then seeks out offers on behalf of its constituents to get a better price, terms and services than would be available to an individual.

  What is the “opt-out” part?
  If a municipality has to go out and recruit citizens to join the buying group (i.e. getting them to “opt-in” to the program), then just like when a business tries to do it, it is prohibitively expensive in time and money. Where aggregation can be successful is when it is allowed to be done another way using the so-called “opt-out” approach. This allows the city to publicly declare its intention to become an aggregating entity for its citizens through hearings and mailings, and all citizens are then included in the buying group unless they respond to the mailings or otherwise tell the municipality they wish to “opt-out” of the program.

  There’s a lot more detail in that document, but I think that this gives a pretty good idea of what’s going on. The document explains that forming such a buying group, where people would belong unless they explicitly bother to request exclusion, is not currently legal in Maryland; the proposed legislation is the thing that would make it legal to do this. It also asserts that the electrical utilities — PEPCO in particular — are opposed to this because it would force them to be more competitive.

Anyway, what follows is the complete text of the City’s 2007 legislative agenda, as posted on their website:

City of Gaithersburg State Legislative Priorities for 2007
Posted 12/27/2006

FUNDING

Regional Aquatic/Recreation Center - Bond Bill Needed for Construction

• Additional funding is needed to move forward with this project on Route 28 and Edison Park Drive that will serve both City and County residents.
• The project is now in design phase.
• Gaithersburg has committed $9.5 million.
• Montgomery County has committed $6 million.
• Crown Farm project developers have committed $5 million.
• $1 million bond bill is requested in the 2007 legislative session so we can move to the construction phase.

Police - State Aid Requested to Improve Public Safety

• Maryland provides $1,800 in state aid for each sworn municipal police officer. This figure has not increased since 1999.
• Additional state assistance is necessary for Gaithersburg to expand its force, which currently stands at 49 sworn officers.
• The Maryland Municipal League has made increasing this aid a key component of its legislative agenda.

TRANSPORTATION

Watkins Mill Road Interchange - Engineering Funds Need to be Increased

• The Watkins Mill Road Interchange at I-270 is critical.
• It will aid economic development and reduce congestion at one of the busiest intersections in Montgomery County
• The City and County are working with developers on the Watkins Mill Road extension.
• Gaithersburg recently approved a Road Participation Agreement that would provide for build-out in two years.
• Gaithersburg has secured 65% of the Interchange right-of-way at no cost to the state. Efforts are underway to secure the rest.
• The Interchange is in the engineering phase, but there are not adequate engineering funds earmarked for this project in FY 2008.
• The proposed Consolidated Transportation Plan only calls for $800,000 and the Department of Transportation notes that an additional $7.8 million is needed for engineering.

Corridor Cities Transitway - Make a Top Funding Priority

• Congestion on I-270 has reached intolerable levels.
• The Corridor Cities Transitway (CCT), which is supported by municipalities along the route, provides an effective light rail alternative to commuters.
• The entire right-of-way throughout the City of Gaithersburg is available for construction, and the land for the transit stations has been set aside.
• This project needs to be the next major transportation initiative in Maryland.

LEGISLATION

Metropolitan District Tax - Exempt Gaithersburg and Rockville

• Gaithersburg requests a Bi-County bill establishing that properties annexed into the City of Gaithersburg or City of Rockville since 1965 not be subject to the Metropolitan District Tax.
• This tax is used to support parks operated by the Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission.
• It has never been assessed on properties located within Gaithersburg or Rockville, but a recent County Attorney’s opinion has determined that properties annexed in either City should be subject to the tax.
• Both Gaithersburg and Rockville have their own extensive parks systems and recreational programs that are funded by the respective City’s property tax revenues.

Hotel/Motel Tax- Allow Municipalities to Assess

• The City of Gaithersburg currently has 14 hotels operating within City limits.
• They require additional public services such as police protection.
• Gaithersburg requests that enabling legislation be approved allowing municipalities to assess a 3% hotel/motel tax.
  
• Most counties and the City of Baltimore currently charge a hotel/motel tax, but other municipalities do not have the authority to assess a tax of this nature

Municipal Opt-Out Electrical Aggregation- Approve

• Deregulation has not produced meaningful competition in Maryland, and our residents’ electric utility rates continue to increase.
• Like municipalities across this State, the City of Gaithersburg would like to seek competitive bids from electric providers on behalf of our residents.
• We are requesting that the General Assembly approve municipal opt-out electrical aggregation this year.

Development Excise Taxes- Enact Enabling Legislation

• The City of Gaithersburg is supportive of Rockville’s request for enabling legislation that would permit municipalities to charge development excise taxes to assist in providing the infrastructure necessary to support new development

• Medical examiner rules toddler’s death a homicide, by Jaime Ciavarra.
  I mentioned this incident at the time.

  The determination answers questions in the case of Jacob Matthew Dunn, a 23-month-old who was found unresponsive in his father’s bed on Oct. 8 with no apparent physical trauma or sign of struggle, according to police.

  His father — Gerald Robert Wells, 39, of the 18300 block of Streamside Drive — had shot and killed himself, police said. Jacob was pronounced dead at an area hospital.

• Serious crash stalls rush hour in Gaithersburg, by Chris Robinson.

  I was lucky in that I didn’t have to travel on MD355 yesterday, but I did get the Alert Gaithersburg notice on my cell phone at 4:08 p.m. The notice that the road had been reopened didn’t come until 10:00 p.m. — it must have been a mess.

  A two-vehicle wreck halted rush-hour traffic on northbound Route 355 in the Walnut Hill area of Gaithersburg Tuesday as police investigated the serious collision.

  One driver involved in the collision at North Westland Drive, John Cator, 79, of Rockville, sustained life-threatening injuries, according to county police. He remains in critical condition at Suburban Hospital, they said.

• Traffic concerns jam Crown Farm Village discussion, by Chris Robinson.

  Representatives from these neighborhoods have been at the last two Council meetings. Fearing the foot traffic between the new Crown Farm development and Rio, these residents appear to want either the City or the Crown Farm developers to, in effect, pay to turn their neighborhoods into gated communities. They want fences built so that no one who doesn’t live there can use their private streets to walk through their community, and they want the CIty to promise that it will never take their property to build a footpath. In fact, as their neighborhoods are not in the City, it is difficult to imagine how the City would go about doing this; the decision to grant the easement is pretty much up to Avalon Bay, the owner of Winners Drive.

  They also seem to want the CCT station moved, since it will be right across the street from their homes. Apparently it never occured to them that there might be some people in their neighborhoods who would want to use the CCT, that the close proximity to mass transit would cause their property values to go up, or that shutting down foot traffic from Crown Farm to Rio is going to cause vehicular traffic to get worse. In any event, at this point, I think that the only thing that would keep that station from being built across from their homes would be if the CCT didn’t get built at all.

  Rosalind MacLennan, a representative of the Courtyards at Rio, told Gaithersburg leaders about the community’s concerns at a meeting last week.

  She said the community was even hit with vandalism last weekend, where criminals cracked several flower pots and overturned a fountain. Neighbors handled the cleanup effort, she said, and reiterated that ‘‘good fences make good neighbors.”

  There is concern that the incident could be related to development at Crown Farm, she said.

  During a joint work session Dec. 11 with the City Council and Planning Commission, Courtyards at Rio homeowners called for erecting a fence around their community and shifting the entrance to the proposed CCT station from Fields Road to Rio Boulevard.

Update: The City has released revised versions of the two proposed affordable housing policies: Alternative 1, Alternative 2.

The City has released the final agenda for the Wednesday, November 1, 2006 meeting of the Planning Commission. (I’ve updated my previous post on this here.)

Included in this agenda are discussions of the Affordable Housing Policy and the Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance. The background materials for these two topics have been posted, and now comprise the complete records, including commentary from staff and copies of all the email and letters submitted by the public. The Affordable Housing document is an 85 page pdf, while the APFO record is 120 pages long.

One of the big questions regarding the APFO is whether the ordinance should be sensitive to the six-year planning horizon that MCPS uses, or only to the two-year funding horizon. MCPS would prefer the former, while most of the public would appear to prefer the latter.

In the Affordable Housing debate, the major question is whether Olde Towne should have special treatment under the ordinance.

If you are interested in these topics, I suggest reading through these documents and possibly attending this Wednesday’s session.

Stories this week, continued.

• Council gives warm reception to new height limitations, by Chris Robinson
  
  

  A developer seeking to exceed the city’s height limits on Frederick Avenue has revised its request and lowered its planned buildings.

  A developer for Broadstone Apartments, formerly Stratford Place, in January sought to boost the maximum building height permitted on Frederick Avenue from three to eight stories. After a public outcry, partially related to confusion over where the request for a zoning-text change came from, the request was withdrawn.

  I’ve discussed this story before.

• City sees spike in gang-related crime, by Jaime Ciavarra
  
  

  Two alleged Gaithersburg gang members are charged with attempted murder after police say they stabbed a man on city streets last month.

  It is the most violent incident in a string of increased gang-related crime that has plagued the Gaithersburg area over the past six weeks, including robberies and property thefts, said Det. Patrick Word of Gaithersburg Police.

• State money to bring I-270 repaving, brick sidewalks, by Chris Robinson
  
  

  A $16 million State Highway Administration project will provide resurfacing for more than four miles of Interstate 270 from Falls Road in Rockville to Muddy Branch Road in Gaithersburg.

  Meanwhile, a $75,000 grant from the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development’s Community Legacy program will fund adding a brick sidewalk from East Diamond Avenue to Chestnut Street at the entrance to Olde Towne.

Tomorrow night, during the joint work session on Quince Orchard Park, a draft ordinance will be introduced, covering requirments for traffic impact study standards, as part of the adequate public facilities ordinance that is under development.

The City has posted notice and background materials regarding a proposed adequate public facilities ordinance:

AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND CHAPTER 24 OF THE CITY CODE ENTITLED “ZONING” SO AS TO CREATE NEW ARTICLE XV ENTITLED “ADEQUATE PUBLIC FACILITIES” SO AS TO REQUIRE THAT PUBLIC FACILITIES BE DEEMED ADEQUATE TO SERVE DEVELOPMENT WHICH IS SUBJECT TO VARIOUS LAND USE AND DEVELOPMENT APPROVALS AND TO SET FORTH APPLICABLE PROCEDURES AND STANDARDS FOR THE DETERMINATION THEREOF.

The public hearing will be held on Monday, October 9, 2006. The draft ordinance states:

It is the purpose and intent of this Article to:

1. Implement the authority granted to the City of Gaithersburg pursuant to Article 66B, §10.01, Md Code Ann.
2. Control and manage growth in an orderly, efficient, cohesive and safe manner consistent with the economic and land use planning policies of the City and for the health, safety and welfare of its inhabitants.
3. Provide a mechanism and standards to evaluate and ensure that the public facilities hereafter specified are adequate or will be adequate to serve the needs generated by land use development in the development approval process.
4. Provide for the phasing or staging of development, conditional approvals including but not limited to requiring provision of public facilities and/or traffic mitigation to ensure the adequacy of public facilities. Ensure that premature development does not occur and to require that development approvals are not rendered by an approving authority without a determination of the adequacy of public facilities or that such facilities will be made adequate within the reasonable foreseeable future.

Public facilities specifically addressed in the draft are roads, schools, water and sewer as well as fire and emergency services.