Developers Face a Chillier Montgomery

Montgomery County Executive-elect Isiah "Ike" Leggett (D) is vowing to address what some critics describe as a culture of coziness between developers and government officials that has often favored the building industry and marginalized ordinary residents.

That promise could mark a sharp turnabout from 12 years under County Executive Douglas M. Duncan (D), who will leave office next week.

Duncan, a critic of the county's "paralysis by analysis" reputation, streamlined a bulky bureaucracy he said hindered business. As he turns over the county government to Leggett, Duncan can point to many successes: revitalization of downtown Silver Spring, growth along Interstate 270's high-tech corridor and construction of a world-class concert hall on Rockville Pike, among many others.

But some of the county's incoming leaders -- including Leggett, three new County Council members committed to slower growth and the recently appointed Planning Board chairman, Royce Hanson -- say the pendulum may have swung too far.

A review by The Washington Post of several recent development proposals illuminates an environment in which lobbyists often influence growth policy in private meetings with staff and elected officials.

Leggett, Hanson and council member Marilyn Praisner (D-Eastern County), expected to be elected council president next week, already have begun to look into changing land-use practices.

"The public believes they have given us a mandate to slow growth and come up with some better approaches," Leggett said. "Confidence and respect for the system needs to be restored."

Duncan declined to be interviewed.

The new leaders face a vocal citizenry that has long complained about the development industry's deep pockets and insider ties. The critics say the industry too often has won expedited reviews with minimal public input, avoided requirements for building moderately priced housing and circumvented publicly negotiated community blueprints.

"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," said Stuart Rochester, a longtime eastern Montgomery activist.

The new leaders say the development-approval process should be more open and accountable. They are eager to avoid a repeat of last year's revelations of irregularities at Clarksburg Town Center, where buildings too tall and too close to the road were discovered by a community group, not by government.

Hanson, appointed to head the Department of Park and Planning after Derick P. Berlage stepped aside in the wake of Clarksburg, said his agency already is limiting behind-the-scenes changes by staff and lobbyists.