Land and Cultural Preservation Fund, Inc.
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As many are well aware, FoFC has been working to ensure adequate public facilities for all developments in Frederick County, Monrovia Town Center is no exception. FoFC supported the founding of RALE – an organization that has done superb work on behalf of the citizens living in the Monrovia area. Finally after many years of research, writing, advocacy, public meetings, lawsuits, fundraising and anguish – Frederick County taxpayers finally had a good outcome from our courts. Read about it here.
When: Tuesday, May 9th
On May 9th at 9am, the Monrovia Town Center (MTC) case goes back to the Circuit Court.
As you may recall, we’ve been there before. Over two years ago, following RALE’s appeal of the controversial approval of the proposed greenfield development in Monrovia by the Blaine Young Board of County Commissioners (BoCC), Circuit Court Judge William Nicklas remanded the case back to the County Council. At issue in this decision was the now infamous “FACT letter,” including how it came to be and how it was used to influence the MTC case. Judge Nicklas determined that the MTC case record was so tainted by this letter that he couldn’t continue his review of the case. As a result, he took the unprecedented step of sending MTC back to the County Council for further proceedings to resolve a specific set of issues. Now, over two years later, the case is back with Judge Nicklas and, frankly, those issues are still unresolved and the case record is just as tainted as before.
For a little bit of background, let’s first remind you that MTC proposed 1,250 homes just north of the intersection of MD80 and MD75 in Monrovia. The hearings before the Planning Commission and the BoCC brought out hundreds of people opposed to the development. Arguments centered around the impact that the high density development would have on local schools, roadways, aquifers, and the loss of farmland. Among these, the impact of an additional 12,000 car trips each day on MD 75 – a two-lane, hilly, twisting country road – figured prominently. Local residents were unanimous in their concern about the roadway, and the State had consistently told Frederick County that there were no funds for the needed improvements.
On the last day of public hearings over the development, when public testimony was closed, Blaine Young brought out a letter purportedly from the Frederick Area Committee on Transportation, or FACT. The FACT letter, which Young read word for word into the record, extolled the virtues of the MTC proposal. Young read out the names of the FACT members that he claimed were behind the letter, and touted it as positive support of the MTC development by a supposedly neutral body of transportation experts.
There was only problem – the FACT members that he named had never seen the letter. In fact, as reported in the Frederick Newspost on 3 June 2014, the letter was the product of only three men – County Commissioner C. Paul Smith, Michael Proffitt, and Michael Smariga. None of the other FACT directors voted upon or endorsed the letter in any way. What’s worse, Smariga is the father of the MTC developer’s lead project engineer and co-founder of the MTC engineering firm. Yet, Blaine Young and the MTC lead attorney touted it as a significant piece of evidence in favor of the development. Fortunately, Judge Nicklas thought otherwise.
As it turned out, so did the County Council. Following a series of public hearings and extensive review of the MTC case record, the Council reached a similar conclusion as Judge Nicklas. Not only were they unable to resolve the issues directed to them by the Circuit Court, a majority of Council members also could not reconcile the impact of the letter upon the case record. As a result, on 1 September 2015, the Council ordered the MTC hearing process to begin again. However, shortly before Planning Commission hearings were expected to begin, the MTC developers requested a delay so that they could revise their application. What followed was months of delay, a lawsuit filed by the developer against the County, RALE, and 22 individuals that opposed the development, and then more months of delay. The MTC developer then hired new attorneys who sent several antagonistic letters to the County, opposing the mandated hearing process and threatening additional litigation.
The Council had had enough. With the developer failing to cooperate in the County’s mandated process, the Council decided to send the case back to the Circuit Court. May 9th begins this next phase of the MTC saga. It’s an intriguing situation. The last time Judge Nicklas sat over the case, he decided that the record was too tainted to begin the appellate review. Nothing has changed since then. So what might occur now? I think there are three possibilities:
1) He could decide to restart RALE’s original appeal;
2) He could also decide to bring testimony to attempt to resolve the issues in the record; or
3) He could simply decide to vacate the MTC zoning, APFO LOU and DRRA approvals, effectively enforcing the County order to restart the hearing process.
We don’t expect to learn which option Judge Nicklas will decide on May 9th. In fact, May 9th should just be about defining a process and a schedule for the Judge to hear argument from MTC, RALE, and – potentially – the County on how things should proceed. This won’t be a public hearing and the public won’t have an opportunity to speak. However, I still encourage you to attend. We think it’s important to send a message that Frederick County residents haven’t forgotten about MTC and haven’t given up our opposition to the development. I’ll be taking time off work to attend. I hope to see you there.
Steve McKay
President, Residents Against Landsdale Expansion (RALE)
Testimony about the Planned Urban Development Amendment for the Monrovia Town Center (PUD R-12-02); Public Hearing before the Planning Commission 10/23/2013
Good evening Frederick County Planning Commissioners:
I am Janice Wiles, Executive Director for Friends of Frederick County, a working to protect taxpayers and citizens through good planning, and environmental protections in economic growth, and pushing for transparency in local government. We believe in sound planning. We want to believe that the Frederick County Planning Commission does too.
So, let’s start from the beginning. The Monrovia Town Center is COMPLETELY unnecessary. In 2010 a plan was approved based on Maryland Department of Planning 20 year housing forecast demand; the plan called for building 36, 264 new homes to meet projections AND WE MET THOSE PROJECTIONS WITHOUT the Monrovia Town Center.
As an aside on projections, and as planners I’m sure you are aware that the WashCOG and MDP have since lessened their 20-year projections for Frederick County by at least 20%!
But as the story goes, the political will of our county has changed from leadership for the entire citizenry to helping a few who help you and your Board of County Commissioners. In this case all of these citizens here, many more families in Monrovia, and all taxpayers in Frederick County stand to lose because Roy Stanley, Howard Payne and Rand Weinberg want the Monrovia Town Center?
Well here’s what we want.
We want to believe that the Frederick County Planning Commissioners have carefully read the application for the Monrovia Town Center.
We want to believe that you have explored the area and thought long and hard about what it means to put 1500 homes on agricultural land.
We want to believe that you have studied the FCPS plans and the traffic impact analysis.
We want to believe that you have considered why this project was removed during the 2010 comprehensive process.
We want to believe that you are considering the needs and demands of the Frederick County community over the special interests and profits of the landowner, developer and attorney: 75/80 Properties LLC, Payne Investments LLC, and their attorney Rand Weinberg.
Let’s talk about our families and something we all care about – family values, like education.
Green Valley Elementary School sits across the street from the proposed MTC. And right across from the proposed – yet “mythical” – high school. At present day 82% state rated capacity afternoon pickups are a mess. Cars line the entire parking lot and loop out to the bus lanes under the new pickup policy. Parents and school officials there are nearing a grid-locked situation. As Planning Commissioners do you consider this a problem?
And then, what is your proposal to ensure that the development complies with Section 500.3 (J) of the zoning ordinance:
“Planned developments shall be served adequately by public facilities…. Additionally, increased demand for public facilities … created by the proposed development … shall be evaluated as adequate or to be made adequate within established county standards.”
While as Planning Commissioners I’m certain you know the following, but I will say it just in case there is doubt.
On May 22, 2013 the Frederick County Board of Education’ Educational Facilities Master Plan presentation projected the need for four new elementary schools to service the development in Linganore, New Market and Monrovia. Only one (1) new elementary school is planned for and budgeted. Moreoever that new school, the East County Elementary School, will not seat a single student for 8 years minimum. Planning Commissioners: where will the other 2100 kids go?
The problem is no better at the middle school level. Windsor Knolls Middle School is at its designed capacity. The BOE has stated that there are no plans to make it larger. There are also no plans, either budgeted or envisioned to add another middle school in this part of the county. Even after Urbana Middle is expanded, this part of the County is projected to be 108% of state rated capacity. There are no options put forth by either the county or the BOE to adequately deal with the 220 projected new middle school students from the proposed development. Planning Commissioners: what is your plan?
In closing we would like to clarify a few incompatibility issues with the MTC:
We request that the Planning Commission do its job and thoroughly review Monrovia Town Center PUD R-12-02 in the context of the county plan, the county’s residential needs, the impacts on infrastructure, the county’s citizen’s interests and quality of life.