How you can help this week 4/29/25

update: week of 4/11

Action Items Following the Community Meeting: Please send emails!

1) Since the two Residential Care Facilities are adjacent properties owned by the same entity, we believe this constitutes a different "use type" rather than being classified as separate "Residential Care Facilities (up to 8 persons)." 

These two properties will physically and functionally operate as a single facility. The owner is attempting to enter a loophole in the code to profit from a 16-person residential care facility. This was not the intent of the code and will drastically transform the R-200 zone into a different use type. For precedence, the Fairfax County zoning administrator, Leslie Johnson, made a similar ruling on three homes owned by the same owner for this use type. She believed that this created a drug rehab compound that would convert a residential community into an institutional use.

➡️Contact County Council President, Councilmember Katie Stewart 

➡️Contact County Council Vice President, Councilmember Will Jawando

2) Urge County Council to sponsor the following UPDATED Zoning Text Amendments.

In the Montgomery County Zoning Ordinance, Ch. 59 Section 1.2.1-B, it states that the "purpose of chapter 59 is to promote health, public safety, and general welfare". Having two drug rehab centers, which could house up to 192 new patients in total every year (who meet a level 3.5 treatment definition = "designed for people with serious psychological or social issues that require 24-hour care and are at risk for imminent harm”) in direct contact with an elementary school is in direct conflict with the code. Rehab centers are a very important healing process for patients, but adjacent to a school is an extremely poor decision.  Therefore, we proposed the following two Zoning Text Amendments to counteract situations like this. We believe that the original authors of the code did not intend for this loophole situation to occur and that these amendments would easily resolve this. These amendments are not discriminatory. They simply add a limitation to a certain use type of the code.

Amendment 1: "Properties used as group homes must be a minimum of 0.5 miles away from school, daycare, and/or public playground properties."

Amendment 2: "Properties used as group homes must be separated from each other by a minimum of 1,000 feet."

➡️Contact County Council President, Councilmember Katie Stewart 

➡️Contact County Council Vice President, Councilmember Will Jawando

  CC: Director, Mid-County Regional Service Office, Luisa F. Cardona 

We have received the following clarification on the zoning total of people per residential care facility from Division Chief Salazar. Is it 8 patients in addition to overnight staff per property OR is it up to 7 patients and 1 overnight staff per property, as councilmember Luedtke stated at the meeting.

Thank you for your inquiry regarding the number of persons “permitted by right” able to reside at a Residential Care Facility (RCF).

The Zoning Ordinance, 59.3.3.2.E, provides the following clarifying guidance. 

E.   Residential Care Facility

1.   Defined, In General

Residential Care Facility means a group care or similar arrangement for the care of persons in need of personal services, supervision, or assistance essential for sustaining the activities of daily living, or for the protection of the individual, in which: 

a.   the facility must meet all applicable Federal, State, and County certificate, licensure, and regulatory requirements;

b.   resident staff necessary for operation of the facility are allowed to live on-site; and

c.   the number of residents includes members of the staff who reside at the facility, but does not include infants younger than 2 months old. 

The Department of Permitting Services interprets this as meaning a total number of 8 persons (staff and patients) may live on site. 

For example one nurse may live on-site along with 7 patients.  However, if the RCF chooses to staff the facility with three nurses living off-site who come to the facility each working 8 hour shifts then 8 patients may reside at the RCF.

 In conclusion, no more than 8 persons are “permitted by right” to reside at the RCF in any combination of patients and resident staff.

 Department of Permitting Services Division Chief Victor Salazar

• Our current understanding is that the facilities do not have their state license yet, so this can still be resolved, but time is critical. The Maryland Behavioral Health Administration oversees the licensing of "recovery residences." Contact: bha.communications@maryland.gov 

• Additionally, the property owners also own a THIRD ADJACENT PROPERTY on which they can build another facility. For that matter, according to how the county has responded so far to their code, this same owner could purchase 20 adjacent homes and convert them all to facilities of this nature if they so desire. Therefore, we must convince the county to take immediate action on these matters.

If you have any information that would be helpful to share or other knowledgeable sources that could support this effort,
please email greenwooddrugrehabprotest@gmail.com 

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