Shady Grove Road has served as the official boundary separating Gaithersburg and Rockville since a 1992 memorandum of understanding between the cities, but a Montgomery County Council vote scheduled for next Tuesday threatens to render the memorandum moot, The Washington Examiner reported.

Gaithersburg is attempting to annex two properties, at 16331 and 16401 Shady Grove Road, totaling 27.9 acres and owned by Sears and Roebuck Co. It was previously home to the now-closed Great Indoors.

The property is currently part of Montgomery County, with an address of unincorporated Gaithersburg.

Sears plans to remain on the property, using it for retail and offices, according the Examiner, but it would require a zoning change that is easier if the property is within Gaithersburg city limits.

To counter, Rockville hopes to annex the road between Gaithersburg's current borders and the Sears property, Patch reported.

The annexation would have the effect of "cutting Sears off so that Gaitherburg's city limits and the proposed addition are no longer contiguous," the Examiner report states.

Glenn Kreger, chief of the county's Area 2 Planning Division, told the Examiner the fight is going to come down to whomever approves the annexation first.

For more information, read the full report on the Washington Examiner.

Related Coverage:

Rockville Letters Oppose Great Indoors Site Annexation (June 7, 2012)

Council Considers Adding 28 Acres To City (March 5, 2012)