County Council Approves Rezoning, Gaithersburg Leads in Border Battle

A vote by the Montgomery County Council Tuesday morning has placed Gaithersburg ahead of Rockville in what is essentially a race between the two municipalities to claim part of Shady Grove Road.  

The council unanimously approved on Shady Grove Road for retail use.

The vote rezones the property from Research and Development (R&D), which prohibits retail, to Mixed Use District (MXD) zoning. 

Nancy Floreen, a Montgomery County council member, said that though the county doesn’t play a large role in annexation issues, if the council does not support the annexation, the zoning in place on the property stays that way for five years.

“That’s an important point to remember,” said Floreen, who is also chair of the council’s Planning, Housing and Economic Development Committee, which recommended approval of the proposed zoning.

, and Tuesday’s decision to change the property’s zoning requirements will help the process.

The annexation is opposed by the city of Rockville, which Patch reported . Rockville, too, initiated its own annexation of the road between Gaithersburg’s current borders and the Sears property.

Rockville would not be able to annex the land if Gaithersburg is able to annex the property first, according to legislative counsel Jeff Zyontz, who was present at the meeting. 

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