The selection of Francoise Carrier as chairman of the Montgomery County Planning Board comes at a time of major change for the growing suburb as it tries to contain sprawl, build near public transit and prepare for the thousands of new residents expected in the next two decades. Carrier, 47, won unanimous backing Tuesday from the County Council, and her appointment to the four-year post, which will pay $160,000 a year, is expected to receive quick approval from County Executive Isiah Leggett (D). She would replace Royce Hanson, 78, a nationally known planner and academician, who did not seek reappointment. His term expires in mid-June.
The county's semiautonomous, $100 million-a-year planning and parks departments report to the council and are led by the five-member Planning Board. Carrier, a lawyer who runs the county hearing examiner's office, would take charge at a tense time for the board, which is facing agency budget cuts while working on improving oversight of development, pushing for innovative, walkable, transit-oriented communities and trying to complete several large plans for segments of the county.
County officials -- grappling with a projected budget shortfall of $779 million in the coming fiscal year -- have suggested chipping away at the park and planning agencies, merging the Park Police with the county police and folding recreation programs run by the Parks Department into the county's Recreation Department. A new round of buyouts for veteran employees is underway. The Office of the People's Counsel, which helps residents without attorneys handle zoning and planning cases, has been eliminated by the County Council. SOURCE: Washington Post
No comments:
Post a Comment