(Warning: Long post. Contains my own opinion.)
Word has come that the Town Center Action Team's next meeting is set for January 15 at 7:00 pm in the Blue Crab Room at City Hall. This meeting will include an update on the state of play of the new district court house, and it appears that many of the important players will be there. If this is an issue that concerns you or about which you have questions, I urge you to attend.
For those who have not been following the issue, here is a link to our November 15 article on the question. The key points are:
Many in Rockville know that the current state District Court building is old, overcrowded, and in need of -- well, it needs to move. Back when the new Town Square was a gleam in the eye of a few civic leaders, it seemed like there was a perfect solution: use the old public library building! (The red pushpin on this map.) Approval has recently been given for the state to go ahead on its plans to build on this site.
But, what might have been a viable option five years ago isn't anymore, and there are far better options available. For years now, many have been working to try to stop the state from placing its new District Court building at the old library site (which is next door to City Hall and hard by Christ Episcopal School). [The Gazette reported] that outgoing Rockville mayor Larry Giammo [had] proposed what sounds like a reasonable solution: swapping the old library site for the old Giant Supermarket building (next to The Pink Bank -- the green pushpin on this map).
When last we met, the Mayor
Susan Hoffmann, members of the Council, and the City of Rockville staff were working hard to make sure this "swap" took place. So we are clear,
I am in favor of this swap and think the "old" library building is an unsuitable site for a court house.
Never one to be scooped on local news by more than a couple of months, the
Washington Post ran
a good recap of the state of play in its most recent "Montgomery Extra" section.
The Gazette ran a similar piece a day earlier. There's a new wrinkle. It turns out that, if the "old" library site is
not used for a court house, Montgomery County has the right to purchase the property back and do something else with it.
Indeed, State Delegate
Jim Gilchrist told me, "The County Executive and the Council are looking into it and all preliminary indications are that they would exercise that privilege. They are looking into it again at the request of Mayor Hoffmann." So, it is not necessarily in the City's power to make this happen.
And there are many forces now lining up on both sides. What is more, they all have good arguments on their side. So, while I am still of the opinion that getting this thing to happen at the old Giant site is by far the preferable option, I do understand the counterarguments.
What are the various arguments in play, and who is involved?
- Neighborhood citizens: There are myriad reasons why the surrounding neighborhood might not want this courthouse on this spot. It's next to a church and a school. There isn't enough parking. The size of the proposed structure is exceedingly large, pushing up against the boundaries of the site. As Rockville Central team member Frank Anastasi says in the Washington Post article, "What happens when an inmate decides to make a break for it? Where is he going to go? Right into the school door or the church door."
- Other City residents concerned with cost: It is true that shifting to the new site will result in higher costs. Brigitta Mullican, long a staunch fiscal conservative when it comes to City expenditures, recently wrote a note that crossed my desk which read, "I am very concerned how much money the project will cost especially in light of the budget shortfall the State is dealing with."
- The judicial branch (the courts): The court system is perennially last in line when it comes to getting the resources it needs to function. As citizens, we ask a great deal of our judges and court system, and meanwhile we pack their offices and courtrooms into dismal, inadequate buildings and underfund their operations year after year. I know this from research that went into a recent discussion guide I wrote for the American Bar Association, and the Kettering Foundation about the separation of powers in America. In a recent op-ed in The Gazette, David L. Cahoon, former Circuit Court administrative judge who oversaw the design and construction of the current court complex in 1975-84, put it this way: "For nine years a new District Court building has been planned at the site of the old library in Rockville. We are concerned that a last-minute effort to relocate the new courthouse to a different location will cost this community a much-needed facility. The current District Courthouse is obsolete and antiquated. The county’s population of is approaching one million, and the caseloads for the county courts have increased exponentially. We as a community need adequate facilities for the adjudication of our civil and criminal cases." This view holds that, while the "old" site may not be optimal, the risks associated with having this particular project "fall out of bed" at this stage are too great. Finally, some who support this view, such as Montgomery Bar President Mary Ellen Flynn, also criticize the local citizens' view: "It's a classic not-in-my-backyard position," she says in the Post article. (I might reply to that by saying that, in this case, the building is just about literally in people's backyards, so it isn't an outlandish position to take).
- The state delegation and the Governor: It's theoretically in the Governor's power to make sure the risks of the project "falling out of bed" are mitigated to a great degree. After all, he submits the budget. But it is not necessarily clear that he wants to expend the political capital it might take to force the issue. There are lots of other places that could use a court house, who would be very happy to see the Montgomery County project delayed so they could get in line. Governor O'Malley has asked the state delegation to agree on which site it would like to go with, which is an unusual move but which would result in cover. Problem is, the delegation is at best divided on the issue. Senator Jennie Forehand is an outspoken proponent of placing the court house at the old library site. The rest of the delegation is happy to go along with the move to the old Giant site provided that the wrinkles get ironed out. And,with so many forces at work, the clock is running out. As Del. Gilchrist told me:
"I have . . . told Mayor Hoffmann a number of times that I really don't feel strongly about either site but we need to make a decision soon. Only since about September has the Giant site been in play, but with the County's ability to claim the site, uncertainty about how soon the City could take possession of the Giant, and the cost and time lost for doing new architectural and engineering plans I think the possibility for the site is exceedingly small. I think in the next week the county delegation is going to have to support the library site. The Governor and his office told us during the Special Session that there would be funding in the budget, and it seems to me the library site is the only viable option at this point."
There are good arguments on all sides. The issue appears to be coming to a head. It is worth keeping an eye on. One good way to do that is to attend the upcoming Town Center Action Team meeting on the 15th!
Because I can, I want to give Twinbrook Citizens Association president
Christina Ginsberg the last word here. She wrote an email to many concerned -- it does a good job summing up these arguments:
[I was] at the TCAT meeting [in November] where this was discussed in detail. The most telling fact AGAINST putting the new courthouse at the old library site is that there will be NO PARKING for the many, many people who will be coming to the new courthouse, crossing East Jefferson or parking on neighborhood streets since no other parking will be provided. The State has tacitly acknowledged this by scaling back their original proposal, but the new proposal is (apparently) STILL larger than the new Rockville library.
STILL larger - and as Gayl Selkin-Gutman of the Rockville Friends of the Library pointed out at the TCAT meeting - if those parameters are going to be allowed, we might as well have kept the new library on the old site.
How could ANY building of this size be proposed or approved ANYWHERE in our City without parking as mandated by our city zoning codes? That is the question that should be investigated, especially since we just went through the same questions regarding Richard Montgomery. When and how did it slip by our City Council, our elected representative who are supposed to protect citizen interests? Saying that the State does not have to comply with City code is not an acceptable answer - these issues should have been part of the original negotiations when the land was sold by the County to the State.
It is going to be a BIG mistake to put that courthouse astride one of our busiest streets without major traffic mitigations, including parking. Looks like we, the Rockville citizens, will be paying for the mitigations that the State is refusing to acknowledge as necessary. My gut feeling estimate is that mitigations to Jefferson, Washington, Falls and West Montgomery to accomodate the traffic increase would be in the range of $2 million dollars. As for the issue of citizen objection being late in the process, part of that problem is that citizens were not shown what was being planned.
Yes, it will be costly to move the site, but the cost estimates must take into account the fact that the City is still looking to expand its facilities and will be spending $5 million to $7 million anyway for new facilities, either by re-designing the Old Post Office on North Washington or by buying new property. I'm not willing yet to dump this idea based solely on the price tag. Looking forward, this may be the CHEAP solution.
Yes, there are many hurdles to overcome before this issue can be resolved, including obtaining the support of Governor O'Malley, but I'm willing to explore it in detail, not shut it down immediately.
Anyone who reads the articles will note that the impetus to spend the money to resolve this problem is coming from the CITIZENS who are affected by this decision. It is the GOVERNMENT, notably the court system and our elected leaders, who are pushing forward with what can only be described as a flawed decision.
Let's take the time to get this right. I'm not saying at this point that I'm for moving the courthouse or that I'm for spending the money, but I want full information on the table. It's too early to take sides.
Too early to take sides is right. But not too early to pay attention!
What do you think?(Image from Hi Tech Justice)
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It might be a good idea to begin thinking now of what you might want to say. Rockville Central friend Helen Triolo, who runs the excellent resource Rockville Living (a model for local information sources), has developed an interactive map of Rockville that contains all the proposed zoning areas.
