For Immediate Release: 8/7/2015 City of Rockville Rejoins Montgomery County’s Commission on Common Ownership Communities The Rockville City Council voted unanimously on July 20 to rejoin Montgomery County’s Commission on Common Ownership Communities (CCOC). County laws generally do not apply within the City of Rockville unless the City Council votes to “opt into” them. Rockville first voted to opt into the then 20-year-old County program in 2010 with a five-year sunset provision added. The City’s participation automatically expired in January, 2015, and since then the CCOC has been prohibited from accepting complaints from residents or the boards of common ownership communities living or operating within Rockville’s city limits. “The Commission is delighted to welcome back the 7,200 residents of Rockville living in common ownership communities,” remarked CCOC Chair Rand H. Fishbein, Ph.D. “I commend Rockville’s Mayor and Council for their commitment to good community governance and their decision to reinstate the close working partnership that has served Rockville residents so well over the last five years.” Beginning immediately, the CCOC’s alternative dispute resolution services will be open to both residents and boards of common ownership communities within the City of Rockville. These include staff consultations, conflict mediation and quasi-judicial hearing panels. Cases may be filed with the Commission online or by mail. Information relating to CCOC operations, the rights and responsibilities of living in a common ownership community, panel decisions and instructions on how to file a case with the Commission are available on the CCOC web site. The CCOC is the County-run alternative dispute resolution program serving common ownership communities. In existence since 1991, the CCOC has broad authority under Chapter 10B of the County Code to educate the public on issues relating to common ownership living, provide parties to a dispute with mediation and administrative hearing services and advise both the County Executive and County Council on ways to improve governance within associations. All of the commissioners who serve on the CCOC and the attorneys who serve as panel chairs are volunteers. Common ownership communities comprise 40 percent of the housing stock in Montgomery County. This includes 1,034 associations encompassing approximately 340,000 residents. For more information, contact Peter Drymalski in the Office of Consumer Protection at peter.drymalski@montgomerycountymd.gov or by mail at Commission on Common Ownership Communities, 100 Maryland Avenue, Room 330, Rockville, Maryland 20850, or telephone 240-777-3716, Fax 240-777-3768. # # # Release ID: 15-296 Media Contact: Sue Tucker 240-777-6507

http://www6.montgomerycountymd.gov/apps/News/press/PR_details.asp?PrID=15147]]>