Development Report – Village Center
The Planning Board is scheduled to take action on Thursday, April 26 on plans to renovate and add some retail density and new housing to the 18-plus acre property.
Originally, the Sketch Plan included an apartment complex with parking garage at the rear of the Village Center. The latest plans now include 49 townhouses, 34 two-over-two condos and 32 condos/apartments; however, only the 32 condos/apartments are included in the Site Plan that Atlantic Realty Companies (ARC) is seeking approval for from the Planning Board. The remaining housing units will be included in a future Site Plan for the property.
The retail redevelopment will be phased in and will include the creation of new path sites on the front of the property and the extension of Centerway Road through to Watkins Mill Road, which will create a connection between the residential development and new retail.
MVF’s Commercial Architectural Review Committee (CARC) has had several reviews of the plans and continues to believe that ARC is moving in the right direction with architectural design and layout. CARC will be reviewing additional plans with more detail at an upcoming meeting.
To view the Planning Board staff report being considered at the April 26 meeting, visit www.montgomeryvillage.com and choose “Development & Projects” from the “About MV” menu.
State Legislative wrap-up
The 2018 Legislative Session ended on April 9. Over 3,100 bills were introduced, but no significant bills affecting Montgomery Village HOAs or condominiums passed.
Bills requiring the licensing of HOA managers did not gain support again this year. In addition, bills regulating HOA/condo boards of directors for voting procedures, meeting notifications and adoption of rules did not garner enough support to pass.
Several legislators continued to argue that there must be more standardization of rules, procedures and governing documents for HOAs and condos. For example, the issue of dispute resolution procedures for HOAs and condos was a new issue before the legislature, with the goal of imposing a state-wide dispute resolution procedure. None of these bills passed.
With regard to condominiums only, there was a bill that would set out a state-wide standard for denying the use of parking and recreational elements to persons who are more than 60 days delinquent. The bill did not pass, but it is anticipated that the bill will be reintroduced in the 2019 assembly.
Lastly, again for condominiums, there was a bill to make it easier for condominium members to amend their governing documents, but this did not pass either.
CFO Replacement
The process continues to find a new Chief Financial Officer (CFO) to replace Greg Snellings, who resigned in early March. The CFO is charged with leading MVF’s Finance and Administration Department. Initial interviews have been completed, and an announcement should be made shortly.