MINUTES OF THE WECA GENERAL MEETING HELD ON 12^th JUNE 2008

The meeting was called to order by Patricia Woodward, President at 7pm. She announced the agenda and distributed a typed copy to all present. Patricia also welcomed Chief Terry Treschuk, and other police personnel and announced that Jim Wasilik (from the City) would also be answering question re: zoning in Rockville.

MINUTES: Jan apologized as The Minutes of the last meeting will need to be presented for approval at the September WECA meeting due to a computer ‘glitch’.

TREASURER’S REPORT: Helen Hillstrom outlined the current balances of the WECA accounts, some allowance should be made because of current , national economic fluctuations. The T Rowe Price account has $2,332.07 and there is $1401.55 in the checking account. Helen stated that approximately $800-$900 is reserved for the next printing of the newsletter, this leaves a balance of approximately $500 for expenses.

OLD BUSINESS:

RENT PAID TO ROCVILLE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH FOR THE WECA MEETING ROOM: The last time WECA paid the church was in the Fall of 2006, with the sum of $150. Helen made a motion that a donation be made to the church for usage of the room by September 2008 and an annual amount (to be determined) thereafter. Rose seconded it and the motion was carried.

SLATE OF OFFICERS FOR WECA: Mimi Vitol presented a list of people for approval as the upcoming year’s slate of Officers. They were Patricia Woodward and Andrew Field for President and Vice President respectively. The others were as follows: Jan Balkam for Recording Secretary, Susan Prince for Correspondence Secretary, and Helen Hillstrom for Treasurer.

A CITY ATTORNEY: WECA was asked for their input on the feasibility of the City appointing an Attorney to their permanent staff. The Attorney’s duties would concentrate solely on Rockville’s business and other issues related to the smooth running of the City. General discussion ensued, with insightful comments regarding fiscal concerns and finally reflecting a generally positive opinion for the appointment after City had thoroughly weighed up practical options.

NEW CHURCH PROPOSAL: * and * gave an update concerning this potential project which involves a plan for a 34,000 square foot church proposed for Falls Road and Monument Street. * and * are now co-chairs of the group should the need arise to oppose the development. Many citizens have joined with them and signed a letter detailing their reasons why the development should not progress and it has been sent to the Planning Commissioner and the Mayor and the Council. However, no further communication has been made from the Church to the City at this time.

TRAFFIC COMMITTEE: Patricia relayed that amongst other topics, the committee had been focused upon pedestrian safety, cyclists and bicycling rules. Different types of pedestrian crossings and other traffic calming items were also outlined as being key when dealing with these issues. Some specific sites that residents voiced concern about and that are being examined are: - West Montgomery and Mannakee, W Montgomery and Forest (near Pumphrey’s Funeral Home), Maryland Ave and South Washington Street. A letter has been sent to Emad El Shafei detailing these concerns and has been forwarded to the State especially in relation to the latter case, which calls for a reduction of speed on Maryland and the Newmark Commons area. A speed camera will probably be installed on Maryland Ave, hopefully by the end of the year. Patricia encouraged residents to e mail her with any further suggestions they may have concerning traffic based problems, so that the committee can explore positive solutions. The Traffic Committee next meets in September 2008.

*Patricia introduced the first guest speaker, Police Chief Terry Treschuk.*

UPDATE AND OVERVIEW OF SPEED CAMERAS AND INCREASED POLICE FOCUS ON TRAFFIC OFFENCES & NEIGHBORHOOD CRIME:

Chief Treschuk covered many topics and distributed written, statistical traffic information as well as answering many questions from residents. The project has been overwhelmingly successful and has lead to a noticeable reduction in the average speed within the City. In the first five months of the project 385 warnings were given to speeding drivers – along Maryland Ave, Jefferson St, Beall Ave and Anderson St alone and 33 tickets were written for ‘running’ stop signs. In March, site analysis for 719 hours using the fixed pole speed cameras at the 400 block of W Montgomery (vehicles traveling westbound), showed 288,704 vehicles and resulted in 1,690 citations. In the same month, at the 500 block of W Montgomery Ave, site analysis for 734 hours detailed 275,645 vehicles traveling eastbound and 868 citations occurred. The average speed of the violation was recorded at 43 mph but there have been some recorded vehicle speeds - late at night - of between 50- 65 mph. These as well as other sites in the City (Wooton & Rockville High School, Baltimore Road etc) have had a very positive outcome and police recently note a 9.41% reduction in violations and generally reduced speed in the area. In January 2009 they need to report back to Annapolis about success rates etc. and this is when more mobile speed recording devices and sites can be discussed. Currently fourteen, ‘challenging’ traffic locations are shown as being monitored on their website and when recording devices are not in place then Police Officers are in attendance instead.

Residents asked about FUTURE SITES for fixed speed cameras – they are to be determined but the Chief stated that perhaps Great Falls and Maryland would be some ideal examples.

SOME OTHER CONCERNS were voiced from residents and the Chief outlined the following in response to them: With view to near accidents at Falls Road and Route 28 he was aware of the very bad sightline. It is a State Highway and it is being discussed whether LED’s would be an option here as they’ve proved successful in similar cases in some other States.

With view to the NEW COURT HOUSE and concerns about it impacting the adjacent neighborhood and CES School. The Chief said that the City and Police Dept. had held a meeting and apparently the State has no mandate to provide parking and this remains a concern.

The safety of children who play at the TOWN SQUARE was raised as they may inadvertently run into the street by accident, near Gold’s Gym but also near the fountain at the other end of the Square. Chief Treschuk shared their concerns and this potential hazard had already been noted – as had the large volume of people who congregate there at weekends etc . The Police are looking into solutions to avoid any harm to pedestrians and especially young children at that site generally. It was added that the Town Square Parking Committee would like to prohibit traffic during the weekends. Another area of concern was raised by another resident, at DAWSON & MARTIN’S LANE citizens of all ages frequently run across the road to access stores, bus stops etc.

Some residents raised the point of lack of STREET LIGHTING in some areas of the West End. The Chief sympathized with their opinions but explained that it was not appropriate to focus on that at the moment as the following had been implemented already suing significant amounts of the budget: sidewalk extensions, expenses on bikeways, roundabouts/ upgrading of roadways and that two additional Police Officers had been assigned to traffic enforcement duties. More residents asked about the site and timeline concerning A MOVE FOR THE ROCKVILLE POLICE DEPT.. Chief Treschuk noted that that the details of this was still being reflected upon but he was keen for it to move forward as currently they inhabit a building created for 27 employees, but he has 96.

‘TAGGING’ (GRAFITTI) IN THE WEST END: Chief Treschuk also addressed that there had been some incidences of ‘tagging’ on street signs in the recent past, primarily in the Gt Falls and Beall Ave area. He explained that they were cleaned up in a timely fashion and that it seemed to be related to a small group of residents and that these occurrences were very occasional in the West End. However, they will continue to monitor the situation and pay special attention to a group of teens who frequent Welsh Park at night. He encouraged all residents to please report any incidents immediately to Rockville Police. The non emergency telephone number is: (240) 314 8900. Police Officer, Lieutenant Eric Over is the Community Liaison person for WECA and is also a resident of the West End himself. The Chief was thanked for his participation.

NEIGHBORHOOD CRIME PREVENTION TIPS: Lieutenant Over then addressed the meeting and stated that generally the West End neighborhood had a very low crime rate. However, he spoke of a commercial burglary on E Gude Drive and three recent burglaries in residential areas: one which involved a lap top being stolen from a house on the 500 block of Beall Avenue - the door was left unlocked, another where the burglar alarm was activated on the 600 block of Maryland Ave and on W Argyle, a house had items taken whilst the residents were away from the home.

Lieutenant Over advised the following crime prevention tips for residents to follow, but above all reiterated that trusting one’s instinct could not be stressed enough. He said that the Police Dept. would welcome calls from citizens who thought or felt something was ‘not quite right’ or if they noticed unusual behavior of any kind. You are the eyes and ears of our community so for your convenience the number to call to report anything suspicious to the police is (240) 314 8900, obviously do call 911 if immediate, emergency assistance is required.

Remain vigilant, do not leave window open during the summer, do not mention if you’re going away from your home, if you are away - ask a trusted person to check on your house so that they go in and out of the home periodically – put the lights on and off (or use timers, set for different times) and if possible have the cars moved around to give the appearance of being at home. Always leave your contact information in the event of an emergency so that you may be easily contacted.

*Patricia introduced the second guest speaker Jim Wasilik from the City who gave an overview, update and addressed queries about the new Zoning Ordinances, (currently in draft form)*.

Mr Wasilik explained about the major changes to Rockville’s zoning ordinances and why they needed to be reviewed, he explained about the RORZOR Committee and how the City had sought residents input throughout the long process. Several people in attendance asked many, detailed questions and below are even more specific topics - (marked with an asterisk*) – that Mr Wasilik expanded upon which seemed to be of most interest to those present.

*MANSIONIZATION the height has been reduced from 35’ high at present to 32’. The height of the dwelling will be measured in front of the residence, rather than from the street level. It will be measured to the top peak (gable) of the roof. *F.A.R. (Floor Area Ratio) detailing the ‘footprint’ of a dwelling depending upon the specific size of a lot. PERVIOUS/IMPERVIOUS SURFACES, THE MINIMUM in brief, a minimum of 25% of a lot must remain pervious. This was enacted to deter residents from installing an excessive amount of concrete, (in their front yard for example), paving or other impervious surfaces, such as roofing. This depends on the type of zone the building is designated in. ‘GRANDFATHERING IN’ : previously ‘grandfathering in’ was not provided , although again, in brief Mr Wasilik stated that mostly, if in a residential area that, ‘you can keep what you have, but cannot add to a residence in any way that would further break the new rules’. There was concern of what would be acceptable in a house burns down, could it be replicated and Mr Wasilik stated no, that would be a situation where now, you could not put back the same house if it did not conform to the new standards. Many residents were unhappy and a little confused by certain rules in this regard it was suggested that residents may choose to consult with their individual insurance companies, (to see if their replacement clause would be voided or not), in the unfortunate event of this happening to them – in this way they’d be fully versed with what they would require in their own unique case. DESIGNATED HISTORIC PROPERTIES were exempt from the latter situation. HOME BASED BUSINESSES: it was recognized that some have more impact than others and there was lengthy discussion about this. What constituted a minor compared with a major business operation was delineated by Mr Wasilik. A low impact business, for example was one which received 10 visits or less per week whereas a major one had more than 20 visits (including deliveries). CHILDCARE facilities were dealt with slightly differently. Current business would be ‘grandfathered in’ and if legal can continue as they have done before. A resident raised the issue of BUSINESSES THAT HAVE A NEGATIVE IMPACT WITHIN A RESIDENTIAL AREA, as she was concerned that the City would not evict in these situations and that much time could pass with little action. Mr Wasilik outlined the current process of complaint procedures which leads ( if the business owner does not comply with city requests/ordinances), from municipal infractions to fines of $600 per day, and finally to court. Mr Wasilik explained that a new, more streamlined process was hoped to be implemented in order to lead to ceasing of operation.

At present the above is in a draft form, citizens can still submit written comments, *the data is available in it’s entirety on request from City Hall or online at the City’s website*. Rockvillemd.gov.zoning.There are two more public hearings (16^th and 30^thJune), after which an updated draft will be reviewed by the Mayor and Council, who will ultimately finalize matters after taking all comments into consideration by 4^th August 2008.

Patricia Woodward, President adjourned the meeting at 9.10pm.

Respectfully submitted by

Jan Balkam

Recording Secretary for WECA