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Maryland
Montgomery County Planning Board Lifts Building Ban in Two Dense Urban Areas
Given the Montgomery County Council’s tentative approval last November of a $27.5-million allocation for additional classrooms in the crowded Bethesda and Germantown school zones, the County Planning Board unanimously lifted their six-month development moratorium, criticized by some for undercutting smart growth.
Required by county law when school enrollment reaches a tipping point, reports the Washington Post, the moratorium was seen by opponents as being at odds with the county’s image, efforts to attract businesses and jobs, and the push for dense development near Bethesda metro stations. Though moratorium results are unclear, because the recession stymied the construction industry and its permit applications on its own, incoming Bethesda-Chevy Chase Chamber of Commerce Chairman Patrick O’Neil blamed officials for ''a bad message'' anyway. ''It really was elevating by law one public policy over another, school capacity over smart growth and transit-oriented development,'' he said, now happy about their review of the school funding question and the end of the moratorium.
Still, County Board of Education President Patricia O’Neil cautioned that the issue is far from settled. ''We have submitted a robust capital improvement budget that meets the schools’ needs, not just the paper needs for the purpose of lifting the moratorium,'' she said about the requested $1.5 billion over six years. ''We can’t be playing games. We want it fully funded to take care of the children’s needs, not the developers’ needs.'' 1/14/2010
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