Documents Reveal Discussion Of Clarksburg Height Limits

Countering Resistance to Heights Discussed

The former Montgomery County planner who oversaw construction of Clarksburg Town Center met with a builder in December to discuss ways of dampening community opposition to the height of the houses, according to documents released yesterday by the county.

The documents show that Clarksburg residents spent months in 2004 trying to convince county officials that the new homes contained widespread height and setback violations, only to be told that nothing was wrong.

At the same time, according to the documents, the planner and one of the companies building homes in Clarksburg held a meeting at which height issues were discussed.

In a Dec. 10 e-mail, a representative of Bozzuto Homes Inc. thanked Wynn Witthans, a planner for the Department of Park and Planning, for a meeting both had attended that morning.

"We feel that after the meeting everyone is in agreement with a plan on how to mitigate any further opposition to our existing condominium buildings," wrote Jackie Mowrey, a development associate for Bozzuto. "Hopefully we can make the residents feel comfortable with the height."

Clarksburg residents and civic activists have long contended that the county's planning process is an insider game controlled by developers who enjoy easy access to planners.

The e-mail from Bozzuto to Witthans heightens those concerns, some residents said.

"It is indicative of the developer-favored climate that has been fostered and continues," said Amy Presley, a member of the Clarksburg Town Center Advisory Committee.

The Dec. 10 e-mail was written four months before the county Planning Board took up the concerns of Clarksburg residents. At that April meeting, the board ruled there were no height violations, in part because Witthans altered the site plan -- a legally binding document describing the size of what is to be built -- to reflect what had actually been constructed.

But in July, the board reversed the ruling, saying that the developer of Clarksburg Town Center, Newland Communities, and four builders -- Craftstar Homes Inc., NVR Inc., Miller & Smith and Bozzuto Homes -- erected 433 townhouses that exceeded the 35-foot limit established in the original site plan and one condominium taller than the 45 feet approved by the county. The board also found that about 100 new townhouses were too close to the street.

The county inspector general, the county's Office of Legislative Oversight and the Maryland special prosecutor are investigating park and planning's role in the matter.

The agency released hundreds of pages of documents yesterday in response to a request by The Washington Post under the Maryland Public Information Act. But officials refused to turn over drafts of documents, those deemed "confidential" or those that involved discussions between staff and attorneys.