Alison Bryant/The Gazette "Here in the West End, I personally am very concerned about protecting our schools from further overcrowding and our roads from gridlock." Victoria McMullen

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Alison Bryant/The Gazette "As far as the West End in particular is concerned, we are very vested in waht happens in Town Center and we want to make sure that succeeds. I think people are very happy to see that successful." Susan Prince
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AnneMarillR101211 ID: 947081 Anthony Marill Photography/submitted ì[Jehovahís Witness congregants] will park all along that street and end up on our cul-de-sac because they donít have enough parking. And then theyíre talking about expanding and bringing in more traffic flow.î Anne Marill

Alison Bryant/The Gazette "Here in the West End, I personally am very concerned about protecting our schools from further overcrowding and our roads from gridlock." Victoria McMullen

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As the Rockville election approaches, The Gazette is zooming in on five neighborhoods — Twinbrook, King Farm, Town Center, West End and Fallsmead — to learn from residents what they see as concerns. Last week, Town Center residents voiced concern about the future of businesses just outside Rockville Town Square and development encroaching on residential neighborhoods.

This week, West End residents weigh in on what they want from the next Rockville mayor and city council, who will be sworn in Nov. 28.

The mayoral race features two candidates — incumbent Phyllis Marcuccio and Councilman Piotr Gajewski. Eight candidates — Councilwoman Bridget Donnell Newton, Councilman Mark Pierzchala, Leslie A. Francis Jr., Richard Gottfried, John F. Hall Jr., Tom Moore, Virginia Onley and Dion Trahan are seeking the four council seats.

The West End is one of the oldest residential neighborhoods in Rockville, sitting just west of town center. Much of the community’s growth took place during the early 1900s. Woodley Gardens Park, Beall Elementary School and Bullards Park can be found in this neighborhood.

Next week, The Gazette talks with Fallsmead residents about what they want the next mayor and council to focus on in their community.

Planning preferred

The West End differs from neighborhoods like King Farm and Fallsgrove because it’s unplanned, said Susan Prince, president of the West End Citizen’s Association.

And an unplanned neighborhood faces a less certain future.

“Neighborhoods like Twinbrook and East Rockville and the West End, we’re just regular wide open neighborhoods,” Prince said. “How do we preserve the character of our neighborhoods?”

Victoria McMullen, West End resident and vice president of the West End Citizen’s Association, said the Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance, designed to guide growth and development in the city, can provide a semblance of security.

“As long as we have the APFO, we feel fairly safe,” McMullen said. “But we just don’t know. It seems like there’s always some new developer on the horizon ready to build to the sky with residential construction that will crowd our schools and our roads.”

The Rockville Mayor and City Council should consider the wants and needs of residents, not just developers, McMullen said.

Building on worship

Rockville’s Chinese Jehovah’s Witness church is looking to expand in the West End, which concerns some residents.

Church leaders submitted in February a preliminary application to demolish two buildings and construct a 4,500-square-foot church, or kingdom hall, with a 20-space parking lot. The building would stand next to the current kingdom hall, at 624 Maryland Ave.

For Anne Marill, a West End resident, this expansion is of concern.

“So, the sign says, ‘Welcome to Our Neighborhood’ and immediately you have a house of worship,” Marill said. “That was like an oxymoron to me.”

One of the reasons for the new building is a growing number of followers, especially among the church's Chinese-speaking congregation. When it was started five years ago, the Chinese congregation had about 30 people; there are now more than 75 baptized members. The church has about 500 members in five congregations and offers services in Mandarin, Spanish and English.

An expanded church means more traffic, new development, and fewer parking spaces during services, Marill said. Congregants sometimes park on her street during worship hours, she said.

“This is our neighborhood and the majority, I believe, of their congregants are not City of Rockville residents,” Marill said.

The issue is not with the religious group or belief system, she said. It’s what the institution is trying to do with the building and parking lot.

“What happened to the plan for the West End to be neighborhood-oriented?” Marill said.

Muffling noise

Residents of a portion of Nelson and Owens streets near Interstate 270 want the next Rockville Mayor and City Council to approve partial funding for a sound barrier, said Donald Kettlestrings, who has lived in the neighborhood since 1969.

Residents are seeking a sound barrier— a wall that will reduce the traffic noise created on Interstate 270 — to extend south on the east side of the interstate to the Route 28 interchange, Kettlestrings said.

Funding will likely come from the city and state.

Neighborhood residents will ask the Rockville Mayor and City Council to approve the funding for a barrier next spring, Kettlestrings said.