IMPORTANT NOTICES
The Board of Appeals’ proceedings are held IN PERSON in the Davidson Memorial Hearing Room, located on the second floor of the Council Office Building at 100 Maryland Avenue in Rockville, Maryland 20850.
Staff posts the Board’s Agendas for the following week’s proceedings, and all supporting materials received as of the time of posting, on the Board’s " Agendas, Exhibits and Other Materials” webpage by cob Friday of the week before the proceedings. Persons appearing before the Board are asked to familiarize themselves with these postings, including the Exhibit numbers assigned by the Board and, for ease of reference, the page number in the pdf posting that corresponds to any exhibits that will be referenced during the proceedings.
Participants can now display their previously-submitted exhibits on the video screens in the hearing room via an HDMI cable. Participants whose laptops do not have an HDMI port are responsible for providing the necessary adapter. Participants can also use a County laptop to access and display the posted materials. The use of thumb drives is not permitted on County-owned computers.
Please contact us at by email or call 240-777-6600 if you have any questions.
APPOINTMENTS AND FILING INSTRUCTIONS: If you need to visit our office for any reason, please schedule an appointment by emailing us. Appointments are generally scheduled for Tuesdays and Thursdays. Regarding filings, the Board requires that all submissions be dual-filed (electronically, by emailing a pdf of the completed submission, and in hard copy form). Time-sensitive filings are considered to be “filed” at the date and time shown on the emailed electronic submission. The attached Notice contains appointment information and hours, as well as up-to-date filing instructions.
Note: Except as otherwise required by the Zoning Ordinance or other law, all supporting materials for scheduled hearing and Worksession items must be emailed no later than noon on the Tuesday of the week before the scheduled proceeding date to ensure inclusion.
Mission Statement
The mission of the Board of Appeals is to implement the flexibility provided by the Zoning Ordinance, as approved by the County Council, in a fair and equitable manner, and to assist County residents, irrespective of race, ethnicity, nativity, gender, disability, or other relevant demographic or socioeconomic characteristics, in understanding and participating in the variance, administrative appeal, special exception modification, and conditional use appeal processes.
Duties and Responsibilities
The Board of Appeals has authority to hear and decide cases involving certain land use issues, including modification of special exceptions filed or decided before October 30, 2014, and variances from the development standards or other requirements of the Zoning Ordinance. The Board also hears and decides Administrative Appeals from actions by the County government (as specified by the County Code). The Board applies the Zoning Ordinance Standards applicable to all such cases. The Board has County-wide jurisdiction, except for the municipal corporations of Brookeville, Poolesville, Laytonsville, Rockville, Barnesville, Gaithersburg and Washington Grove.
Commitment to Racial Equity and Social Justice
The Montgomery County Board of Appeals includes racial equity and social justice as part of its core values. The Board of Appeals recognizes that the history of racism in our country has led to many current day disparities in housing, education, and employment, among other things, and that racial inequities have become institutionalized in the policies and practices of many agencies and organizations, including governmental agencies.
The Board of Appeals recognizes this history and strives to achieve racial equity and social justice through its actions. The Board endeavors to administer the responsibilities given to it by the County Council in a manner that will, to the maximum extent possible, assist all Montgomery County residents and other persons that come before it in overcoming these historic inequities and injustices.
This Commitment Statement is a living, enduring statement that captures the Board’s on-going commitment to advancing an equitable community and to affirmatively furthering racial equity and social justice in Montgomery County.