Montgomery County’s inspector general says he will investigate the county planning board after receiving numerous citizen complaints over the past two years about the board’s land-development review process.
Inspector General Tom Dagley said he believes the controversy swirling around the development of Clarksburg, where residents complained about height violations and homes being built too close to streets, led others to speak out. He said many requests were done by people who did not want their names associated with their concerns, and he declined to discuss the specifics of other complaints.
Recently, residents have given the board flak over whether an engineer was licensed to provide analysis on a proposed sale of land adjacent to Bethesda’s Hillmead Neighborhood Park.
Still others have complained about the effect of the board approving construction of as many as 773 houses at the former Indian Spring Country Club in Silver Spring.
“We believe using audit standards will clarify whether progress has been made to put effective policies and procedures in place to address many of the concerns that have surfaced, beginning in 2005 with the Clarksburg controversy,” Dagley said.
Planning Board spokeswoman Valerie Berton declined to comment, saying board officials had not been notified of the inspector general’s plans.
The audit of the planning board’s land development review process will begin in July, Dagley said. He said he wants to address “concerns about controls used in the land development decision-making process,” and that his investigation will go beyond Clarksburg.
“The visibility of Clarksburg prompted other residents to voice concerns on other specific projects,” Dagley said.
Bethesda resident Sue Ghosh Stricklett said she had qualms with the board staff’s information-gathering process when it was examining turning 1.3 acres near Hillmead Park into a subdivision.She said it was ineffective, not transparent and “had a lot to be desired.”
Amy Presley, president of the Clarksburg Town Center Advisory Commission, said the planning board has shown significant improvement communicating with the public.
