Montgomery planning board officials unanimously gave the greenlight Thursday to plans for the construction of as many as 773 new homes on the site ofthe former Indian Spring Country Club in Silver Spring.
Board officials said the new development, named Poplar Run, could include no more than 309 town homes, and the rest of the units must be detached single-family homes.
Some area residents say they were upset board Chairman Royce Hanson chose to hold the meeting during the work day, because they were not able to take time off from their jobs to testify.
“In the past, the planning board has held public hearings at 7 p.m.,” said Rocky Lopes, president of Layhill Alliance, an area neighborhood group. “If you have night meetings, people who work during the day would be able to get there. We wrote a letter saying we wanted to be able to attend, and we were completely rebuffed by the planning board.”
Board spokeswoman Valerie Berton said the planning board has made it a real priority to hear from residents, but it is tough to schedule all events during evening hours.
“The chairman feels strongly that cases that are pretty detailed and have a lot of aspects and possible controversy need to be done early in the morning when the board is fresh,” Berton told The Examiner.
County Council President Marilyn Praisner, who represents the area, said she has heard from residents who were concerned about environmental issues associated with the new development, as well as “the size of this development in relation to infrastructure needs like traffic and schools.”
“I don’t have a decision role in this process, but I think the community has raised legitimate concerns,” Praisner said.
The board’s approved site plans say property developer Winchester Homes must reserve seven acres for the possible construction of a new county school. According to Berton, Montgomery County Public Schools has two years to build a new school in that space or else the land reverts back to the developer. If the school takes the property, the developer will be allowed to construct only 730 homes.
