The Montgomery County Council is asking for a seat at the table when it comes to making decisions about and choosing representatives for a new state workgroup focused on improving county planning procedures.
On Feb. 6, Executive Marc Elrich, the Montgomery County Planning Department, the Maryland-National Capital Parks and Planning Commission and members of the Montgomery County delegation of the General Assembly announced a working group focused on planning. The group will examine the county’s development review process with a special emphasis on economic competitiveness with other jurisdictions.
On Monday, Council President Evan Glass sent a letter to Del. Lesley Lopez (D-Dist. 39), chair of the working groups asking for changes and additions to be made to the working group’s structure.
The changes requested are
- Including the council president, in addition to the Interim Planning Board Chair and the County Executive, in selecting representatives from the development community and the resident community to serve on the working group.
- Allowing for two staff representatives of the council as designated by the council president. Glass said this would allow the council to provide a staff person with experience in land use and planning, in addition to a legally trained staff person with experience in land use law. The current proposal allows the county executive to have five representatives, MNCPPC to have three staff representatives and the state to have five representatives.
- Providing the council with the opportunity to be briefed on the findings and recommendations of the workgroup or working group?
Glass also asked that the group wait to begin any review until the council is finished appointing new members to the county’s planning board, which is slated to be completed in June.
“We also ask that careful attention is given to clearly establishing the processes and the deliverables for the working group in order for the new Planning Board, Planning Department staff and the public to have a clear understanding of the work and scope of the group,” Glass wrote in the letter. “We are currently in the process of selecting three members of the Planning Board and will appoint two more, including the chair, by June. At a minimum, we respectfully request that the appointment process be complete before any review begins.”
In October, the entire Planning Board resigned after drama engulfed the board, starting with the discovery of a fully stocked bar in Chair Casey Anderson’s office. Planning in the county has been under even more intense scrutiny since these incidents.
The council is currently interviewing applicants to fill three seats on the Planning Board and expects to announce the appointees on Feb. 28. Those seats are currently held by temporary appointees. The council plans to replace the interim chair and vice-chair in June, Glass said.
