March 26, 2010

Dear Ms. Sobel:
Council President Floreen directed me to respond to your message regarding the rights-of-way at the former School of Art and Design at Montgomery College. Your message was made available to all Councilmembers when we received it. I apologize for the delay in responding, but as you probably know, this has been a busy time here.

Contrary to what you may have been told, the Council legal staff cannot “investigate” in any definitive way who owns the right-of-way at the former MCAD. More particularly, we are not able to do the kind of analysis of the relevant abandonments, including if necessary a title search, that may be necessary to resolve an issue of this nature. Both the County Attorney and the attorneys for Montgomery College may have views on this issue. If their views or any other interested party’s views differ, only a court can give a binding answer. Finally, we are not authorized to offer private legal advice to County residents about this or any other legal issue.

Michael Faden

Senior Legislative Attorney
c: Rich Romer, Office of Councilmember Ervin

F:\LAW\Correspondence\2010\053652 Sobel.Doc