Descendants of slaves who own the Sandy Spring plantation where their ancestors once worked are fighting Montgomery County officials to get addresses for the land. The seven residents say they have been paying property taxes and a slew of other fees but because the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission says their street doesn’t exist, they can’t get electricity, cable, water or sewer service or access to emergency services. They filed a suit in Montgomery County Circuit Court Thursday evening, according to their attorney Michael Sklaire.
They initially filed a lawsuit in federal court in 2008 after the planning commission denied their request for addresses. U.S. District Judge Roger Titus dismissed that case last month because of jurisdiction requirements and gave the group 30 days to file a new complaint in Circuit Court.
The group is seeking at least $1 million in damages for each of the seven plaintiffs, as well as compensation for interest, legal fees and other expenses.
The group owns pieces of a former plantation that their ancestors — former slaves — acquired in the late 1800s. The land comprises about 430 acres between Gold Mine and Brooke roads in Sandy Spring.
Three of the plaintiffs in the case live on the land now. The other four live in other parts of Montgomery County.
In 1994, a real estate developer began building “luxury, single-family homes,” the complaint says, and directed the firm Macris, Hendricks and Glascock, P.A., to survey the land. In the survey, Farm Road — the address for the pieces of the former plantation — was omitted, and the planning commission approved the developer’s plan.
Trevor Ashbarry, attorney for Macris, Hendricks and Glascock, P.A., declined to comment, as did planning commission attorney Jared McCarthy.
By approving the “fraudulent submissions,” the complaint says, the planning commission prevented the property owners from getting building permits or making repairs.
“This property has been handed down from generation to generation,” said Sklaire.
The complaint describes 69-year-old William Rounds, one of the plaintiffs who grew up on Farm Road. “He remembers horses and wagons on Farm Road,” and used to walk to school along the road in the 1940s, the complaint says.
“They want the opportunity to use their property,” Sklaire said.
