To assist our clients with properties in Montgomery and Frederick Counties, and the Cities of Gaithersburg, Rockville and Frederick, with understanding how the Covid-19 related closures may affect their pending and anticipated land use and regulatory entitlement reviews, we offer below a summary of how the various jurisdictions are approaching the situation. This information is current as of March 22, and is subject to change at any point. For further information, or to better understand how these closures may impact your property or application, please contact one of our land use attorneys.

Montgomery County Council

• The County Office Building is closed to the public until at least March 27.
• Weekly Council meetings will proceed, but are closed to the public.
• Anyone wanting to submit testimony on an item may do so electronically, or through a testimony collection box located outside the first floor entrance closest to the auditorium.
• All committee meetings have been postponed.

Montgomery County Planning Board

• The Planning Department Headquarters is closed to the public.
• Most staff is teleworking, and all staff are generally available by phone or email.
• Meetings will resume on March 26 and will be held solely online. The public may participate by email or phone, with specific instructions found at this website.
• Applicants will participate via Microsoft Teams.
• New applications may still be filed electronically. Paper applications and checks may be couriered with advance coordination.
• The Development Review Committee continues to meet via Microsoft Teams.

Montgomery County Board of Appeals

• Closed to the public.
• All Board hearings through March 27, 2020, are postponed.
• Staff is accepting applications and filings via electronic mail to BOA@montgomerycountymd.gov, with a hard copy mailed U.S. mail to the Board’s offices located at 100 Maryland Avenue, Room 217, Rockville, Maryland 20850 (not the Board’s current/temporary location). See the remote filing instructions here and make sure you include a copy of any filing fee check in the electronic submission.
• We recommend checking the Board’s website for additional postponements or changes.

Montgomery County Department of Permitting Services

• Services are being provided remotely through a telework schedule.
• DPS’ lobby is closed except to receive payments and accept plans.
• Eplans is available for filing applicable permits.
• We recommend checking the DPS website for any changes.
• Inspections are being conducted for new construction, inspectors are generally not going into occupied structures for inspections and roadside tree permits may proceed without first obtaining the DNR permit.

City of Gaithersburg

• All City buildings are closed to the public and to non-essential City staff.
• Regular meetings of the Mayor and Council, Planning Commission, Board of Appeals and Historic District Commission will be held only if necessary through at least April 30, 2020. If any meeting is held, it will be closed to the public, although it will be aired live on the City’s website and cable channel and testimony may be submitted by email.
• In-person services such as inspections have been suspended until at least April 30, 2020.
• Online services such as permit and development applications are operating normally.
• In general, staff is teleworking and is accessible by email.
• We recommend checking the City’s website for additional information.

City of Rockville

• Rockville City Hall is closed to the public through Friday, March 27.
• The Mayor and Council’s Monday, March 23, meeting will be held as scheduled, but will be closed to in-person attendance by members of the public. The meeting will be livestreamed on Rockville 11. Community forum comments will be accepted via e-mail at mayorandcouncil@rockvillemd.gov. For the March 23 Mayor and Council meeting, comments must be received by 2 p.m. on Monday, March 23.
• The Planning Commission meeting scheduled for Wednesday, March 25, has been cancelled until further notice.
• Permits can generally be applied and paid for online.
• We recommend monitoring the City of Rockville’s COVID-19 News and Information website.

Frederick County

• All Boards and Commission meetings are cancelled at least through March 27.
• County Planning & Permitting Division and County Treasury are closed to walk-in traffic until further notice. Most functions are continuing with limited staffing, with applicants encouraged to call and email relevant County staff.
• County Planning & Permitting Inspection Services continue, with some modifications, depending on the type of inspection or permit. See the website.

City of Frederick

• All March public meetings are postponed. The City is working on how to address upcoming agenda items and comply with the Open Meetings Act.
• The City is staffing its facilities with limited personnel and restricting public access. Applicants are encouraged to call and email relevant City staff.
• City Planning, Engineering and Building/Permits Departments are not accepting hard copies of plans, applications or checks while they evaluate how to deliver these services in a “safe and modified work environment.” For City Engineering, re-submittals of improvement plans are being accepted electronically. For City Planning, applications in process that were routed prior to March 13 will be reviewed and comments will be returned to the applicant electronically.
• City inspections are still available, with certain modifications and with limited field inspections. The City is stating that certain items may be inspected at a future date and are not necessarily critical to be checked at this time. These include sidewalk, concrete placement for curb & gutter, pipeline & structure installation, backfill, and binder & surface asphalt (with the exception of wedge & level). The City is encouraging expanded use of photo documentation. Applicants are encouraged to call and/or email relevant inspector.

Opinions and conclusions in this post are solely those of the author unless otherwise indicated. The information contained in this blog is general in nature and is not offered and cannot be considered as legal advice for any particular situation. The author has provided the links referenced above for information purposes only and by doing so, does not adopt or incorporate the contents. Any federal tax advice provided in this communication is not intended or written by the author to be used, and cannot be used by the recipient, for the purpose of avoiding penalties which may be imposed on the recipient by the IRS. Please contact the author if you would like to receive written advice in a format which complies with IRS rules and may be relied upon to avoid penalties.