Wednesday, August 8, 2012
A collection of the best comments following Gaithersburg's unanimous approval of the annexation of Shady Grove Road's approximately 28 acre Sears property.
City officials and residents from Gaithersburg and Rockville alike have offered strong opinions regarding Gaithersburg's unanimous vote to annex the 27.9 acre Sears property located along Shady Grove Road. The decision follows a Montgomery County Council July 31 decision to approve a zone change for the property, shifting it from Research and Development (R&D), which prohibits retail, to Mixed Use District (MXD) zoning. Prior to the vote, Rockville City Council member Tom Moore said in a blog on Patch that Gaithersburg officials were "preparing to wreak serious, unnecessary and perhaps permanent damage upon the relationship between their city and the City of Rockville." Gaithersburg City Council member Cathy Drzyzgula replied directly to …
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Councilman: "I don’t want us to be at war with Gaithersburg."
Rockville has folded its effort to annex the Sears Great Indoors property between it and the city of Gaithersburg, apparently conceding that Gaithersburg got to it first. Monday night's Rockville City Council meeting evolved into a pledge to resolve the controversy that has caused a rift between the neighboring towns. The move came the same night the Gaithersburg City Council voted unanimously to annex the former Great Indoors site on Shady Grove Road. The Rockville City Council opposed the annexation of the Sears, Roebuck and Co.-owned property—and told Gaithersburg officials so in a letter in June. Gaithersburg's vote to annex the Sears site could "wreak serious, unnecessary, and perhaps permanent damage upon the relationship between …
Gaithersburg city council Vice President and council member Cathy Drzyzgula defend the city's annexation of the Sears property along Shady Grove Road.
Prior to a unanimous vote approving the city of Gaithersburg's annexation of the near-28 acre Sears property along Shady Grove Road, City Council Vice President Ryan Spiegel and council member Cathy Drzyzgula defended the city's actions and annexation process. Spiegel and Drzyzgula each provided Patch with the following notes from their statements. It should be noted that these are not direct quotes, rather guidelines for their respective comments on the matter at Monday evening's mayor and council meeting. Ryan Spiegel: A few folks from Rockville have expressed strong opposition to this annexation. And I want to take a moment to address those concerns. First let me say that I don’t believe in alarmism and hyperbole, or personal attacks, …
Monday, August 6, 2012
Council members unanimously supported the annexation of property along Shady Grove Road and spoke out against criticism from Rockville officials.
The Gaithersburg City Council unanimously approved a resolution to annex the 27.89-acre Sears property along Shady Grove Road in spite of harsh criticism from Rockville city officials. Earlier Monday, Rockville city council member Tom Moore said in a blog on Patch that Gaithersburg officials were "preparing to wreak serious, unnecessary and perhaps permanent damage upon the relationship between their city and the City of Rockville." Gaithersburg City Council Vice President Ryan Spiegel and council member Cathy Drzyzgula vehemently defended the city's actions and annexation process with prepared statements and council member Jud Ashman said, "I think some of [Rockville's] interpretations of our process and the narrative history aren't …
Thursday, June 7, 2012
City wants County Council to intervene in its fight to block Gaithersburg proposal.
The Rockville City Council sent letters on Tuesday to the Montgomery County Council and to the Gaithersburg City Council voicing Rockville’s concerns about Gaithersburg’s plans to annex the Great Indoors property on Shady Grove Road. The City of Gaithersburg is considering annexing two properties, at 16331 and 16401 Shady Grove Road. The properties, totaling 28 acres, are owned by Sears and Roebuck Co. and are home to The Great Indoors, a soon-to-close home goods store. They are currently part of the county, with an address of unincorporated Gaithersburg. A report by City of Rockville staff raised two concerns for Rockville: The Rockville City Council expressed those concerns in the letter to Gaithersburg Mayor Sidney Katz. Click the PDF …
Monday, March 5, 2012
The Council will consider an annexation agreement from Sears to move the property, which currently is home to the Great Outdoors, from the county into the city.
The Council tonight will consider introducing an annexation agreement that could grow the city's square-footage by 1.2 million. The agreement would annex 27.9 acres of land at 16331 and 16401 Shady Grove Road from Montgomery County to within the city limits. The land, owned by financially troubled Sears and Roebuck Co., is currently occupied by the soon-to-close Great Indoors, a Sears-owned store. The annexation would include rezoning the land from the county's designation of R&D, or Research and Development, to MXD, or mixed-use development.
Peter Mork
9:12 am on Thursday, August 9, 2012
Piotr, you have accurately described the situation. Thanks. more ›