More News

A second county Planning Board hearing on alleged site plan violations at the Clarksburg Highlands shopping center Monday night was similar to the first — planners described what they said needed to be corrected and the property owner was not there to respond.

The board had failed to notify Potomac Holdings, owner of Clarksburg Highlands, of the original Oct. 5 hearing.

This time the owner was notified; however, Bank of America took control of the property and placed it into receivership last month and Potomac Holdings did not notify the receiver of the hearing until Friday, Planning Board lawyer Carol Rubin told the board.

Calls to a representative of Potomac Holdings were not returned by press time Tuesday afternoon.

The bank appointed McShea Management Inc. as the receiver for the property on Oct. 5, according to a document filed in Montgomery County Circuit Court. McShea is responsible for managing the property.

Rubin was in discussion with a representative of McShea throughout the day Monday, she said, but realized by late afternoon that McShea would be unable to send someone who could respond to the issues to the hearing.

"The receiver needs to get approval of the Bank of America for any expenditure over $5,000," Rubin said.

McShea also needed to consult with a lawyer, she said.

At her recommendation, the board voted to continue the hearing until Jan. 11, when she hoped to return with a representative of McShea and a plan of compliance already agreed to by the parties to remedy the nine violations.

The shopping center is located at the corner of Frederick and Stringtown roads.

Robert Kronenberg, supervisor of the Planning Board's Development Review Division, said some of the alleged violations were easy to correct. They include failure to follow specified striping in the parking lot, repair light poles in the parking lot, install seating areas between each of the center's three buildings, replace damaged cement and install the shade trees specified in the site plan, he said.

There are also too many handicap-accessible parking spaces, Kronenberg said. The plan called for six and the shopping center has eight, he said.

Kronenberg said issues that are less easily resolved involve the location of a stairway that leads to Route 355, a trellis that was not built in front of the ombudsman's office, a wooden fence that was not built on the corner of Route 355 and Stringtown Road, and a stairway retaining wall that was built of brick instead of the specified stone.

Contacted after last month's hearing, Keith Rosenberg, vice president of Potomac Holdings, said his company was prepared to refute each allegation.

He said he planned to fix some problems, such as the trees and cracking cement, in the spring. Others, such as using brick instead of stone for a retaining wall, were changes made to enhance the look of the center, he said. However, the company never sought approval from the Planning Board for those changes.

Returning with a compliance agreement will save money, Planning Board Chairman Royce Hanson said.

"The approach you're taking is a good one," he said. "It recognizes the objectives of these proceedings — basically to get plans in compliance."