Leggett: Development Needs an Enema

MoCo's exec-elect hopes to rework the county's growth policy and break up that warm, fuzzy relationship between developers and the planning commission, the Washington Post writes.

Ike Leggett (right), who won the exec job on a platform of slower growth, says new-home construction may need to chill while infrastructure catches up. He and other incoming pols also say the development-approval process must be more transparent.

"Confidence and respect for the system need to be restored," Leggett tells the Post.

The county's new approach responds to critics who accuse fat-cat developers of getting around regulations. In one instance, a developer of 23 townhomes in Woodside got the planning board to waive requirements for moderately priced units, reducing the number from four to one, the Post writes.

"There really is a network of players in this county who know how to gain advantages and have access and results that are not available to the average citizen," says eastern MoCo activist Stuart Rochester.

Royce Hanson, chairman of the planning board, is hosing down the board's ethics policy, the Post reports. Hanson also may ask the county council for more time to review proposed development and less time blown on the council's pet projects.

Photo courtesy of the Washington Post.

"Developers Face a Chillier Montgomery" (Washington Post)