Rockville 2040 Comprehensive Plan

The Rockville 2040 Comprehensive Plan describes the broad vision for the city’s future. It is the core philosophy that guides development, conservation, and capital improvement projects to improve the quality of life in the Rockville community. The plan establishes new policies, and retains many existing ones, to guide the city’s growth, development, and quality of life over the next 20 years, including in the areas of land use, transportation, housing, recreation and parks, the environment, and historic preservation, among other topics. During the life of the plan’s 20-year timeframe, decisions are made on land use issues and budget priorities, guided by the extent to which they correspond with the plan. The current plan was adopted in August 2021 to replace the 2002 Comprehensive Master Plan.

The Rockville 2040 Comprehensive Plan is comprised of 10 citywide topical Elements and 17 neighborhood-scale Planning Areas. Both sections derive from feedback gathered throughout the Rockville 2040 process, which included numerous listening sessions, citywide forums, open houses, and other meetings, as well as analysis and discussion by staff and the Planning Commission.

Comprehensive Plan by Section

Individual sections of the Comprehensive Plan can be viewed below.

Individual Elements

• Cover and Introduction
• Land Use Element
• Transportation Element
• Recreation and Parks Element
• Community Facilities Element
• Environment Element
• Water Resources Element
• Economic Development Element
• Housing Element
• Historic Preservation Element
• Municipal Growth Element

Individual Planning Areas

Planning Areas Introduction Planning Area 1 – Rockville Town Center Planning Area 2 – East Rockville Planning Area 3 – Hungerford, New Mark Commons, Lynfield, and Fireside Park Planning Area 4 – West End and Woodley Gardens East-West Planning Area 5 – Woodley Gardens and College Gardens Planning Area 6 – Lincoln Park Planning Area 7 – Montgomery College Area Planning Area 8 – Twinbrook and Twinbrook Forest Planning Area 9 – Rockville Pike Planning Area 10 – Montrose and North Farm Planning Area 11 – Woodmont Planning Area 12 – Tower Oaks Planning Area 13 – Potomac Woods, Potomac Springs, Falls Ridge, and Orchard Ridge Planning Area 14 – Rockshire and Fallsmead Planning Area 15 – Fallsgrove and Research Boulevard Planning Area 16 – King Farm and Shady Grove Planning Area 17 – Southlawn and RedGate

Related Documents and Resources

Comprehensive Plan Glossary Interactive Land Use Policy Map

Amendments to the Comprehensive Plan

As the Comprehensive Plan is a long-range planning document, amendments may be necessary from time-to-time to ensure continued alignment with the city’s goals and visions for its future. The policies, goals, and visions within the amendments are treated with the same weight as those in the original Comprehensive Plan document as it was adopted in 2021.

Annual Reports

To provide transparency to the Rockville community, the Comprehensive Planning Division issues annual reports to demonstrate progress made toward implementing the Comprehensive Plan’s recommended actions. Track progress over time by viewing past annual reports found below.

FY 2023 Annual Report FY 2025 Annual Report

Rockville 2040 Process

Rockville 2040, the community engagement effort to update the city’s Comprehensive Plan, engaged the Rockville community in a discussion about the current state of the city and desired future on critical planning issues. The public outreach component included 35 listening sessions, four citywide forums, and three open houses. In addition, planning staff met with a wide variety of stakeholders and neighborhood groups to get feedback on the plan as it was being drafted.

The public process and its resulting input were summarized and presented to the Planning Commission along with a draft of the Comprehensive Plan in two phases, the Elements section in 2019 and the Planning Areas section in 2020. For each section, the Planning Commission held a series of public hearings and work sessions to consider edits to the draft plan and recommended a complete revised version to the Mayor and Council in early 2021. After holding a series of public hearings and work sessions, and making further revisions to the draft plan, the Mayor and Council adopted the Comprehensive Plan at a meeting on Aug. 2, 2021.

Background Information

The following background information contributed to the Comprehensive Plan update:

Maryland State Law on Comprehensive Plans

The Comprehensive Plan is required to comply with the State of Maryland Land Use Article. To learn about the law regarding comprehensive planning, read the article on LexisNexis. (Note: When this link first opens, click “Agree” and expand the plus symbol next to “Land Use,” then “Division I,” then “Title 3,” and read any of the sections under Subtitles 1-3). Additional guidance on the preparation of master plans is available through the Maryland Department of Planning.

Rockville in the Region

The city is part of the larger capital region and is a member of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG). On May 3, 2010, the Mayor and Council voted to endorse the MWCOG plan, Region Forward, which describes common planning challenges and demographic trends, and outlines planning goals and objectives for the greater Washington, D.C. area.

Rockville Summits

The Rockville Summits were a two-part, community-oriented initiative to engage residents and business owners in a dialogue about Rockville’s future. The first Rockville Summit was held in October 2011 and brought together nearly 200 members of Rockville’s residential, business, government, and nonprofit communities to begin an ongoing dialogue about the city, the regional economy, and Rockville’s future. The second Rockville Summit was held in November 2012, when community members from throughout Rockville, including residents and representatives of the business, nonprofit, government, and education sectors, reported on a series of working group studies on various key issues in the Rockville community.

Background Reports

In preparation for the Comprehensive Plan update, planning staff prepared the following background reports to study the state of the city:

2010 Decennial Census Results, City of Rockville (Completed 2012) Residential Units and Estimated Population (Updated October 2018) Housing Scan (Completed June 2012) Strategic Scan of City Conditions and Trends (Completed 2010)

Background Trends Reports

To understand conditions in the city, city departments prepared a scan of key topics through several trends reports that informed the Comprehensive Plan update. The following reports have been completed:

Community Facilities Report Economic Development Report Environment Report Historic Preservation Report Housing Market Analysis and Needs Assessment Land Use Report Transportation Report Research Boulevard ULI Report Rockville Town Center ULI Report

Related Policy Documents

The following documents are not a part of the adopted Comprehensive Plan, but do help guide Rockville’s future by setting visions, goals, and policies for managing growth and community assets.

Climate Action Plan

The Climate Action Plan provides a roadmap to equitably reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prepare the community to adapt to a changing climate.

Recreation and Parks Strategic Plan

The Recreation and Parks Strategic Plan details the current state of the system while identifying focus areas based on a comprehensive assessment of the community’s vision and priorities.

Bikeway Master Plan

The Bikeway Master Plan provides a vision for a safe and efficient multimodal transportation system within the City of Rockville.

Heritage Area Amendment

The Mayor and Council adopted an amendment to Rockville’s 2002 Comprehensive Master Plan to join the Montgomery County Heritage Area and adopt the Montgomery County Heritage Area Management Plan.