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The Montgomery County Planning Department's proposed growth policy for the next two years offers bold and innovative ideas on Smart Growth and environmental protection. The policy does make assumptions about human behavior and reaches beyond its intended scope, treading nonchalantly into the master planning process, which is and should remain, within the purview of the County Council.

The goal of the proposed growth policy, which is meant to guide the Montgomery County Planning Board's decisions on new development, is to reduce suburban living by encouraging the construction of condominiums and apartment buildings in areas that are served by mass transit. Using a formula that factors in population growth, household size and construction trends, this could bring as many as 60,000 multifamily units by 2030.

This is very much in line with traditional Smart Growth principles and, on the surface, is an attractive and necessary proposal, especially considering that Montgomery County is nearly built out, with less than 30,000 acres of developable land. Planners point out that single people, as well as the elderly (whose population will increase by 81 percent in the county by 2030), are more likely to live in multi-family dwellings. But there are other factors that contribute to housing decisions, like price and family circumstances. These don't seem to play a significant enough role in the planning board's recommendations.

One of the main problems with the proposal is that some of the methods to encourage transit-oriented growth are overly burdensome. For example, the proposal calls for allowing development to take place when roads drop to a level of service barely above failing, if a high level of mass transit access is available. The goal seems to be to make drivers so uncomfortable that they will be forced off roads and onto buses and trains. Encouraging the use of mass transit is worthwhile, but this method is shortsighted — allowing roads to fall to such low levels of service would not help people who live outside areas that have mass transit, yet still have to drive through those locations.

Montgomery County Council member Marc Elrich, who sits on the committee now reviewing the plan, said the proposal is an "in-your-face" to everybody who already lives in the county. Elrich is also frustrated because the plan fails to offer an alternative to the Policy Area Mobility Review, a process that tests for road capacity (several other council members and County Executive Ike Leggett share his sentiment). Elrich argues that the test is severely flawed, a common position among county leaders, and he had expected planners to offer a different option. That hasn't happened and now the committee has just a few weeks to work on revisions before the mid-November approval deadline.

Also, Leggett and County Council President Phil Andrews are concerned about a recommendation to increase the tipping point for which developers pay to improve schools — from 105 percent of capacity for a cluster to 110 percent capacity. That would reduce revenue for school construction. Planners argue the change simply brings the development review process in line with school system planning for capital projects — the schools don't begin to look at new projects until a cluster is at 110 percent capacity, so collecting money from developers for unplanned projects just isn't fair.

Leggett, who agrees with the general principles of transit-oriented growth, said the plan indicates "almost a sense of arrogance" on the part of the Planning Board, and wouldn't be surprised if heavy revisions are implemented.

Perhaps the reason the proposal is attracting so much criticism is that it highlights one of the fundamental challenges facing Montgomery County. The county must adequately prepare for an estimated 195,000 additional people by 2030, and with a limited amount of developable land, that will be difficult. The problem can't be solved, though, on the backs of those who already live or do business in the county or those who opt for the American dream of an affordable house in the suburbs.