American Dream

washingtonpost.com
Duncan Suspends Home Building
Permit Violations In Montgomery Spur Review

By Tim Craig and Michael S. Rosenwald
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, July 19, 2005; A01

Quotes:

Montgomery County officials yesterday froze home building in most new subdivisions across the county while officials examine a variety of lapses in the once-vaunted planning process.

With County Executive Douglas M. Duncan and County Council members reacting to widespread building violations in Clarksburg Town Center, buyers waiting for homes to be built in Montgomery
could face considerable delays and possible cost increases.

Duncan (D) and the chairman of the Planning Board have frozen the issuance of building permits in subdivisions that require site
plans -- about 80 percent of pending residential projects -- until builders can verify that the projects meet height and setback requirements. Projects under construction can proceed, but those that have not broken ground will be subject to another review.

The freeze follows a move in neighboring Prince George's County this year to slow rural development and reflects widespread
concern throughout the suburbs over the pace of expansion and accompanying congestion.

Duncan's announcement came an hour after four council members proposed a broader moratorium on new building permits until
projects' site plans are thoroughly reviewed by county leaders. The council will vote on the emergency legislation, which would be in effect until winter, next week.

Combined, the two approaches represent a rebuke to a planning process that for a generation has tried to steer growth into designated areas near major transit routes. But at least in Clarksburg, one of the county's fastest-growing communities, officials have acknowledged that they were ill equipped to oversee that growth.

Developers and builders predicted dire consequences for home buyers and contractors, with the possibility of interest rates and housing costs creeping up.

"If you buy a house from me that I say I can deliver in six months, you can go out today and get a mortgage that will be good six months from now," said Tom Bozzuto, a developer with projects planned for Clarksburg and near Laytonsville. "If I don't know when I can start the house, you can't get a mortgage at all. You can't lock in an interest rate."

Duncan's freeze will affect about 200 building permits -- which could range from subdivisions of single-family homes to high-rise condominium buildings -- awaiting official approval
in zones requiring a site plan. Applications will have to be resubmitted for further scrutiny.