The Montgomery County Extra edition of the Washington Post steps up on development...

Amy Presley of Clarksburg Town Center points to differences between the plan residents were shown by developers and what is being built. Residents say they are not getting the neotraditional design they were promised. (Baltimore Sun photo by David Hobby) Jul 29, 2005

As most followers of regional development issues know, last summer there was major fallout over inconsistencies in a number of Montgomery County Maryland development projects compared to originally approved site plans as well as zoning regulations--especially in Clarksburg, where involved citizens created an oversight committee (and spent $500,000) to address the issue. This led to various MoCo planners resigning, public hearings, the likelihood that the current Planning Board Chair, Derek Berlage, will not be appointed, etc. This was reported extensively in the Baltimore and Washington media (and I wrote about it too...).

Last week's edition of the weekly Montgomery County Extra has an article about the Planning Board and features on each of the members. This might be a model for the kind of coverage that other sister Extra sections could do, for the high-profile public commissions sitting in judgement on various planning, development, and quality of life concerns throughout the region.

Here are the articles:

Fielding Flak, Planning Board Redraws Path: Panel Aims for More Transparency
Their philosophies about growth and development have a lot to do with the way Montgomery County looks.

-- Derick P. Berlage: 'A Very Successful Community'
A suburban childhood in Westchester, N.Y., and a passion for walking shaped the early experiences of Derick P. Berlage, 49, chairman of the Montgomery County Planning Board.
-- Allison Bryant: An Effort To 'Demystify' Panel's Work
After spending his childhood in Philadelphia, Allison Bryant became a denizen of that area's campuses.
-- Wendy C. Perdue: An Important Period for The County
Years of volunteer service on an advisory board promoting Silver Spring's revitalization propelled Wendy C. Perdue, 52, into the public eye and onto the county's Planning Board.
-- John M. Robinson: 'I Consider Myself an Urbanist'
As a child, John M. Robinson lived on his family's 300-acre dairy farm in Tunkhannock, Pa., near Wilkes-Barre.
-- Meredith K. Wellington: Goal No. 1: Rebuilding Public Trust
Meredith K. Wellington developed a passion for baseball as a child living in Houston.

-- Seeking New Term, Berlage Stresses Progress and Experience (excerpts from the application letter by Planning Board Chairman Derick P. Berlage, a former Montgomery County Council member and a lawyer) So far, Berlage and Gerald R. Clichy, a planner who has unsuccessfully vied for the job in the past, are the only applicants. Many County Council members are leery of reappointing Berlage, who is accused by some of lax leadership and weak management.

Planning Board Chairman Derick P. Berlage, center, with board members Meredith Wellington, left, and Allison Bryant during a recess at a meeting last Thursday. (By Kevin Clark -- The Washington Post).

Index Keywords: planning; civic-journalism