Council Affirms Special Taxing Districts

5-4 Vote a Setback for Residents of Clarksburg Developments

The Montgomery County Council yesterday upheld a special tax for residents of three Clarksburg developments, opening the way for the county to charge homeowners as much as $1,500 more a year for roads, green space, a library and other community features.

The 5 to 4 vote to maintain the taxing districts, which will repay developers for building many of the basics for the new communities, caps two years of debate. At issue is whether the county government should ask residents to repay developers for basic services that elsewhere in the county are financed through the general treasury and paid for by all taxpayers.

Supporters of the taxing districts say they can offer residents advantages. In Clarksburg, for example, a $17 million library would be delayed for years if financed by general tax funds, county officials have said. But if residents pay the special tax, they can have the library sooner, officials said.

The actual amount of the tax is uncertain. County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) has proposed lowering it from the originally proposed $1,500 a year per household to about $770, but many details remain to be worked out.

The final amount might not be determined for at least another month, when the County Council decides what items the taxing districts should fund.

Under the law setting up the taxing districts, the levy is expected to increase annually and to be collected for about 30 years.

Residents of Clarksburg Town Center -- the community at the center of more than four years of controversy over missing amenities, behind-the-scenes changes in plans, and the special tax -- are likely to be taxed first, possibly as soon as July. Residents of two nearby communities, Arora Hills and Clarksburg Village, also would be taxed under the plan.

Douglas Delano, a vice president of Newland Communities, developer of Clarksburg Town Center, said the company was pleased with yesterday's vote. He said the company had agreed to undertake the development on the premise that the government would establish the special taxing district.

"It is good for the long-term credibility of the county in dealing with the private sector," he said.

Newland has spent about $5 million to build roads and could spend an additional $5 million to $7 million on roads and other infrastructure for which the company hopes to be reimbursed.

David Brown, an attorney for a group of Clarksburg Town Center homeowners who challenged the tax, said his clients would continue to watch the council to see what the taxing district ends up financing. He said the group could end up suing the county, as a group has in Prince George's County, where a development district tax is also under challenge.

"My clients are not going to stand idly by while they pay taxes to finance a windfall for developers," he said.