Agricultural Reserve

The Montgomery County Planning Board voted Thursday to reinstate a Clarksburg plan it rejected in December over the objections of some area residents.

The board voted 3-2 to approve a plan for 17 homes on 434 acres located on the east side of Slidell Road, 4,700 feet southwest of Comus Road. The project's complicated history includes a December 2003 reconsideration hearing at which board members voted 3-2 to reject the plan, saying it was not in accordance with area master plans.

Both Stan Abrams, attorney for applicant Charles H. Jamison Inc., and members of the citizen opposition objected to Thursday's hearing being called a "reconsideration," saying that since the plan had not changed since its presentation last year, the label was inappropriate.

According to the submitted plans, the 17 homes will be built in various groupings off Slidell Road, Shiloh Church Road and West Old Baltimore Road, which runs through the property known as Thompson Farm. The lots range in size from 3.9 to 77 acres.

Some of the property, about 19 acres along West Old Baltimore and a small parcel surrounded by Bucklodge Conservation Park, is to be donated to the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission for use as parkland. The applicant has also agreed to discuss selling 23.3 acres to the commission at market value.

Representatives of the Boyds Civic Association and Peachtree Ridge Citizens Association were among those who testified Thursday that the planned project, especially the grouping of five homes with a common driveway off Slidell, was too intensive for the Agricultural Reserve and broke up scenic vistas on the Rustic Road. Abrams said the location was dictated by septic concerns.

Robert Wojciechowski, who lives adjacent to the site, testified in support of the project, saying he had farmed the Thompson Farm over the past three years and the new residents would be customers for hay and horses, as well as providing construction work.

"I think it would be an asset to the community to have nice homes and farmettes in our back yard," he said.

Conservation activist Delores Milmoe said Monday the decision would be appealed. "I think staff was second guessing the board's vote [by bringing it back for reconsideration]," she said.

Community Center OK'd for Greenway Village

The addition of a small community center in Greenway Village in Clarksburg was recommended unanimously by the Planning Board Monday.

According to planner Dan Janousek, the 2,000-square-foot space will be added to community amenities already provided in the development plan in order to be sure that such community spaces appear concurrently with development. Open space to be built as part of the development's retail section could be years in the future, he said after the hearing.

There is already residential construction on the site encompassing two phases, or 164 acres, of what will eventually be a 374-acre development. The completed project will have 1,330 homes as well as parkland, a middle school and the commercial shopping area.

The Clarksburg Civic Association participated in choosing the location and uses of the center, staff noted, and no opposition to the project has come forward. The small community meeting site is to be constructed in the upper level of a community pool house and will be capable of accommodating about 75 people. There will be 25 parking spaces.

Staff recommendations, to which the developer had already agreed, according to the memo, include providing the meeting space rent-free to local businesses and community activities and providing a notice board.

The County Council will have the final say on the community center addition to the plans.

The Greenway Village development is bounded by Newcut and Skylark roads and Route 97.