Proposal to Lower Costs for Montgomery County Real Estate Developers Encounters Community Opposition

WhenMontgomery County developers build new projects, they are usually required to pay some portion of the cost of any road and transportation improvements needed to handle the traffic a project may generate. Total traffic is estimated by combining existing traffic figures with the expected traffic from planned, though not-yet-built, projects.

An amendment to this approach, recently introduced in the Montgomery County Council, would change the formula slightly. Only estimated traffic from projects with building permits would be counted, not all unbuilt projects.

The debate arose in the context of the ” White Oak Master Plan” for a town center next to the Food and Drug Administration headquarters. Adventist HealthCare hopes to construct a 48-acre hospital and medical campus on the site.

The purpose of the proposed reduction in fees is to address complaints from some smaller developers about the impact that larger unbuilt projects have on their costs. Developers say they are worried that, by building small projects in the White Oaks area, they may be subjecting themselves to paying tens of millions for road improvements needed for larger projects around them, even though those may be far from completion.

A representative of the North White Oak Civic Association argued against the amendment, telling the Montgomery County council that the new approach would ignore costs that developers should be paying for, with taxpayers ultimately footing the bill. The Council’s Planning Committee will take up the amendment very soon.

Real estate development involves anticipating and overcoming a variety of obstacles, financial, legal, and political. Building a major project in a way that satisfies the needs of the developer, local officials, and the community can be a daunting task. With expert legal and practical guidance, however, it can be done.

If you are undertaking a new real estate project or are involved in a controversy over an existing one, the experienced real estate Rockville and Bethesda, Maryland attorneys at Longman & Van Grack can help. We have expertise in representing commercial, industrial, and residential real estate developers in a wide variety of matters. For a consultation, call us at (301) 291-5027.