Council returns to morass of planning

Wednesday, August 31, 2005

The County Council will pick up where it left off next week as members return from their summer recess, pondering the problems surrounding the growing fiasco of regulating development.

Although a much-anticipated report from the Office of Legislative Oversight will be delayed until the first week in November, Council President Thomas E. Perez said the holdup will not prevent the council from taking action.

‘‘We don’t need OLO to institute reforms that will continue the process of restoring the public confidence,” Perez (D-Dist. 5) of Takoma Park said in an interview Tuesday.

OLO, the council’s research arm, is examining the failures that allowed homes in the Clarksburg Town Center to be built too tall and too close to streets. The Clarksburg revelations led to a July 19 freeze on building permits until developers could confirm projects conformed to building restrictions.

On July 26, the council ordered planning reports to ensure development scrutiny.

The Clarksburg debacle has sparked other investigations, including ones by the county inspector general, the Maryland state prosecutor and an in-house review by county agencies.

The first out of the chute is a study of site plan violations by the Montgomery County Civic Federation, which asserts community members are shut out until late in the planning process.

‘‘At the point at which communities now respond to proposed projects, residents are often treated as a nuisance by developers and county planners, instead of as equal partners in community building,” the federation said in a report released Tuesday.

Clarksburg is not the only land-use issue before the council. Its plate includes Bethesda’s Woodmont Triangle, the Shady Grove master plan, the debate on constructing private institutional facilities on plots in the Agricultural Reserve and the biannual review of the county’s growth policy.

The growth policy review includes consideration of fire and rescue services in growing areas.

‘‘The development in Clarksburg has gotten ahead of the provision of fire service,” said Councilman Philip M. Andrews (D-Dist. 3) of Gaithersburg, who leads the council’s Public Safety Committee.

The policy, drafted by the Montgomery-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, suggests the council impose an impact tax on certain areas to provide fire service.

Beyond land use, other matters face council attention:

*Predatory lending. Perez introduced legislation last year to combat discriminatory lending. After months of haggling, the council’s Health and Human Services Committee passed the bill, but with amendments Perez opposed.

Perez said he hoped the council would pass a bill more closely resembling what he introduced.

‘‘I fully intend on bringing the bill up for council vote under my watch as council president,” said Perez, who ends his presidency in December.

*Consumer reorganization. A council bill would have the county’s director of consumer affairs report directly to the county executive. The county’s consumer affairs office is now part of the Department of Housing and Community Affairs.

A hearing on the bill has been scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Sept. 20 in Council Office Building at 100 Maryland Ave. in Rockville.

*The budget. With fiscal 2006 barely two months old, the council will begin work on fiscal 2007. Montgomery residents have been offering comments on how the county should spend its money.

The council has planned a public hearing for residents to share their ideas. It has been set for 7:30 p.m. Sept. 13 in the Council Office Building. On Oct. 1, members will establish budget priorities, which will help shape spending decisions in the months ahead.

For the record, the county treasury should collect somewhere around $3.7 billion in taxes, fees and grants to pay for county services in fiscal 2007, which begins July 1, 2006.

*Gangs. Connected to the budget would be proposals to devote more county resources to combating gang violence. County Executive Douglas M. Duncan (D) has said he might send the council supplemental appropriations to pay for a squad of police officers devoted to gang issues.

The Montgomery County Police Department received 34 new positions in the current budget. Chief J. Thomas Manger has refused to reassign any of those officers to fight gangs.

‘‘We want to work with council to try to get the resources to create a dedicated gang unit,” Duncan spokesman David S. Weaver said Tuesday.

‘‘I think it’s impossible to credibly contend there’s not enough money for police efforts,” Perez said. ‘‘The weak link in our gang initiatives are intervention and prevention. It’s very easy to enter a gang. It’s very hard to leave a gang.”