MCAD Rights-of-Way Inquiry

January 21, 2010

To whom it may concern,

I respectfully and formally request that you investigate who owns the
rights-of-way at the former School of Art and Design at Montgomery
College (MCAD) at 10500 Georgia Ave, Wheaton, MD. Please see the
emails below for links to Council approved resolutions as well as
additional information about the MCAD property.

Please let me know if you need any more information from me at this time.

Thank you kindly,
Beverly Sobel
President, GreenSpaceOnGeorgia.org

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Romer, Richard
Date: Tue, Jan 19, 2010 at 4:03 PM
Subject: RE: MCAD Question
To: "Beverly G. Sobel"
Cc: "Healy, Sonya"

Beverly,

I spoke with a representative from Montgomery College last week. We
have sent over some dates to meet with officials from the College that
work for us and are awaiting reply. I will keep you in the loop
concerning any additional information.

If you would like to send a formal inquiry into the matter to County
Council Attorneys regarding abandonments, you may do so by email
(county.council@montgomerycountymd.gov) or by mail (Legislative
Information Services, 5th Floor, 100 Maryland Avenue • Rockville, MD
20850).

Thanks,

Rich

Richard Romer

Policy Analyst

Councilmember Valerie Ervin

Montgomery County Council - District 5

100 Maryland Avenue, 6th Floor, Rockville, MD 20850

(240) 777-7957 (phone)

(240) 777-7989 (fax)

For more information about our office visit:
http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/content/council/mem/Ervin/index.asp

-----Original Message-----
From: Beverly G. Sobel [mailto:weberlyg@gmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, January 19, 2010 1:59 PM
To: Romer, Richard
Cc: Healy, Sonya
Subject: Re: MCAD Question

Hi Rich,

I hope all is well.

I am just following up on my email below. What is the current status?

Thanks,
Beverly

On Fri, Jan 8, 2010 at 12:04 AM, Beverly G. Sobel wrote:

Hi Rich,

Thank you kindly for providing me with all of the documentation. I
have reviewed it. That said, I am not a lawyer. Nevertheless, from
reading the referenced documentation below, this land has not been
transferred to the MC Foundation. It is still public land. I came to
this conclusion based on these stated requirements:

1) State Abandonment (500 sq ft):
Page 2 of http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/content/council/zah/pdf/reports/g-858-...

When the State Highway right-of-way (about 500 square feet) is
abandoned, SHA has indicated that it will be offered for sale to the
Applicant, Kaz Development, LLC, as the contract purchaser of Lots 1-9
and Lot 18.

To my knowledge, Kaz never purchased these lots because their contract
with MC Foundation has expired. Kaz was unsuccessful in their lawsuit
to overturn Carroll Knolls' 1948 covenants.

2) In July 2007, the County Council adopted three separate resolutions
for three abandonments on Evans Drive, Gardiner Ave, and Douglas Ave
(28,317 sq ft).

All resolutions state:

The Montgomery County Planning Board conditioned approval of the
proposed abandonment upon:
(1) the Petitioner must record a record plat incorporating the
rights-of-way into lots or HOA parcels, and (2) the abandoned area of
Douglas Avenue shall retain a 20-foot wide public easement to connect
Douglas Avenue and Lillian Drive.

The Department of Public Works and Transportation conditioned approval
upon: (1) the applicant must grant necessary easements for County
storm drains and public utility facilites within the rights-of-way or
at applicant's expense, relocate any of these facilities and grant
easements; (2) applicant must obtain an approved Preliminary Plan of
Development for which these abandonments are associated; and (3)
applicant must record a new record plat incorporating the former
rights-of-way within 24 months of the County Council approval of the
abandonment.

The abandonment shall not become effective until the following
conditions have been met: (1) within 24 months from the date of the
County Council's approval the applicant must record a new record plat
of abandonment incorporating the former right-of-way into lots or HOA
parcels except for a 20-foot wide public easement to connect Douglas
Avenue and Lillian Drive and (2) applicant must obtain an approved
Preliminary Plan of Development for which these abandonments are
associated.

The petitioner and applicant is Kaz Brothers LC. All of specific
conditions cited above were not met. Moreover, Kaz Brothers LC was
unsuccessful in their bid to acquire the MCAD property. Per their
contingent purchase contract with the MC Foundation and Montgomery
College, the MCAD property would be sold if townhouse rezoning was
legally approved. The 2009 ruling by the MD Court of Special Appeals
effectively nullifies the County Council's 2007 rezoning decision.

3) The July, 2007 presentation before the Council (Zoning Application
G-858) http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/content/council/pdf/agenda/col/2007/07...

The Planning Board recommended approval of Montgomery County's
abandonment of its rights-of-way in a letter dated April 19, 2004, and
the Council conditionally approved the abandonment on July 3. 2007, in
three Resolutions, 16-233, 16-234 and 16-235. When the Montgomery
County rights-of-way (about 28,317 square feet) are abandoned, the
land will revert back to Montgomery College Foundation, Inc.

As cited above in #2, conditions for abandonment in County Council
approved resolutions were not met. Therefore, the land would not have
been given to the MC Foundation, and the County has not abandoned its
rights-of-way.

Given the overwhelming desire of many residents and County officials
such as Councilmember Ervin to save MCAD as parkland, the County has a
clear need, desire, and incentive to keep these rights-of-way.
According to these documents, the County has by default maintained its
ownership. MC Foundation did not request these abandonments nor did
they pay for them.

From my perspective, it would appear that the MCAD communities have
erred in requesting funding for the approximately 4-acre MCAD
property. Based on the documentation, we should be requesting funding
for 2.53 acres and asking that Councilmember Ervin clarify with the MC
Foundation that they are not the owners of the County right-of-ways.
This reduction in actual MCAD property area will hopefully reduce
acquisition costs for Parks and/or the County.

Please let me know if the community needs to submit a formal request
for further clarification/inquiry. Please also let me know if I have
incorrectly interpreted these documents.

Thank you for your help and time,
Beverly Sobel

On Thu, Jan 7, 2010 at 4:00 PM, Romer, Richard
wrote:

Beverly,

You are absolutely correct. I apologize if there was some confusion in
what was sent over to you earlier.

The February 2007 Executive Orders (70-07, 71-07 and 72-07) regarding
the abandonment on Douglas Avenue, Evans Drive, and Gardiner Avenue in
Carroll Knolls can be found at the following link:
http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/mcgtmpl.asp?url=/content/EXEC/Register...

The July 2007 Hearing Examiner’s recommendation, which followed the
public hearings and Executive Orders states:

Right-of-Way to be dedicated: 20-foot wide public improvement easement
to connect Douglas Avenue to Lillian Road, and a five-foot wide
sidewalk along Georgia Avenue, Evans Drive and Douglas Avenue
rights-of-way – the final amounts to be determined at Subdivision.

This report also shows states that the Planning Board recommended
approval of the proposed abandonment of County rights-of way (Exhibit
44), and states that the abandonment was before the Council in
mid-June of 2007. The developer stated in the report that the State’s
abandonment (500 square feet) of its right-of-way was proceeding at
the time of the report, per a letter from the SHA (Exhibit 33(n)).
The report can be found at the following link:
http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/content/council/zah/pdf/reports/g-858-...

The July, 2007 presentation before the Council (Zoning Application
G-858) states that the County rights-of-way consist of 28,317 square
feet (page 11), and that the land would revert to the Montgomery
College Foundation, Inc. once the rights-of-way were abandoned. For
reference, the total property is 10,315 square feet (2.53 acres).

The presentation before the Council is at the following link:
http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/content/council/pdf/agenda/col/2007/07...

The July 2007, the Council adopted three separate resolutions for the
three abandonments. They can be found here:

· Gardiner Avenue:
http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/content/council/pdf/res/20070703_16-23...

· Evans Drive:
http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/content/council/pdf/res/20070703_16-23...