Both sides will make their presentations before a judge.
Frederick, Md (KM). Residents Against Landsdale Expansion is continuing its efforts to get the Monrovia Town Center Project re-heard before the Frederick County Council.
Last week, RALE and the project’s developers were in Circuit Court. The judge decided that RALE would makes its arguments for sending the case to the Council on June 15th. The developer would respond by July 17th, with RALE response presented by August 4th. . Oral arguments would take place on September 6th beginning at 10:00 AM.
“This is the current chapter in our appeal of the MTC–Monrovia Town Center–approvals,” says Steve McKay, President of RALE.
In 2014, the last Board of County Commissioners held hearings on the massive project, which would place 1250 new homes on 391;6-acres near Routes 75 and 80. On the final night of hearings after the record of public testimony was closed, then Commissioners’ President Blaine Young introduced a letter purportedly from the Frederick Area Committee on Transportation which said the roads in the area of the development were adequate to handle the increasing traffic.
But letter ran into controversy, as the FACT board never took a vote on it.
McKay said this meant that the record was “tainted” and the project needed to go through the approval process all over again, starting with the Planning Commission. RALE went to court, and a judge remanded the case back to the County Council., which is what RALE is seeking. It would then be up to the Council to decide on the fate of the project. “The surest way for the court to help the Council start this process over again is for the court to finally invalidate–vacate–the approval that the BoCC grant MTC. And that’s certainly something we’ll be arguing for,” says McKay.
The first time around, the Council didn’t take a vote on it, and the case was sent back to the Circuit Court.
He also says RALE’s argument to remand the case to the Council is a strong one. “The court had some very strong statement about the record and the irregularities in the record,” says McKay.
By Kevin McManus