Montgomery County lawmakers on Tuesday expressed support for Potomac billionaire Mitchell Rales’ request to connect his art gallery to a sewer.
On his 127.7-acre estate, Rales has a private residence, land for agricultural use and Glenstone, a private art gallery he opens to visitors by appointment on Thursdays and Fridays. Wanting to expand the gallery by building a new museum, Rales asked to connect the existing and planned buildings to the county’s sewer system.
But because the property is outside the county’s approved plan for the sewer system, the co-founder of Danaher Corp. has had to apply for a waiver, which the Montgomery County Planning Board voted against. Once the County Council formally approved his request for a waiver, as expected next Tuesday, Rales’ request would go to the Maryland Department of the Environment.
There are other regulatory hurdles before he can start construction, said Rales spokesman Charles Maier, like having his plans and permits approved. He wants to begin construction by the end of 2013 or beginning of 2014, and to open within three to five years, Maier said.
Rales’ estate is eligible for a waiver under a county law that applies to “private institutional facilities,” like schools, museums and religious institutions. County lawmakers emphasized that the request meets every requirement for a waiver.
“I would suggest if we didn’t approve this we shouldn’t have a … policy, because if not here, where?” said Council President Roger Berliner, D-Bethesda.
Under the requirements, Rales can develop on a total 15 percent of his land.
Critics of Rales’ plans have expressed concerns that the council is ignoring county laws aimed at preventing development in rural parts of the county, like the largely undeveloped part of Potomac where Rales lives. Many residents wrote letters to the County Council and testified before the Planning Board, saying that approving the request would be the start of a more suburban Potomac.
Ginny Barnes, a leader in the West Montgomery County Citizens Association, asked Rales if he would consider capping development at 12 percent, but he said no.
“I don’t see why he wouldn’t [develop further],” she said. “This guy’s been given carte blanche to do whatever he wants.”
Barnes also questioned lawmakers’ insistence that the museum would have a great public benefit, wondering if they were dazzled by Rales’ money.
“There’s been too much, ‘Oh isn’t this wonderful?’ and ‘This is a county benefit, and that outweighs everything else.’ ” She said. “This museum is only open two days a week by appointment. I don’t call that public.”
Though Maier said it’s too soon to know what the admissions policy will be, he would guess it would be open by appointment only. Rales is considering accepting appointments on Saturdays, he said.
But Berliner said he resented the implication that money had anything to do with the council’s decision.
“Let me send out an invitation to other billionaires to come to Montgomery County and do similar good work for our county,” he said.
