A win for the backup water supply for 4.3 Million in our region
A small resident of Ten Mile Creek meets a Poolesville High School Student
Breaking news! Federal 4th Circuit Court affirms dismissal of Pulte Homes lawsuit that challenged Montgomery County's stage 4 Clarksburg development plan. Pulte sought to construct over 1000 homes in the creek's fragile headwaters and atop the sole source groundwater aquifer. The land use plan rightly set science based impervious surface caps in the important Ten Mile Creek watershed, providing a level of protection for the creek and Seneca Reservoir which serves as a back up drinking water supply for 4.3 million regional residents. MCA, Audubon and other partners labored for several years to ensure protection for high quality Ten Mile Creek and the back up drinking water supply.
Long story short - The court has found Pulte had no constitutional property interest in developing its land as it had contemplated, and local authorities had a plausible, rational basis for their actions in denying this development project.
Long story short - The court has found Pulte had no constitutional property interest in developing its land as it had contemplated, and local authorities had a plausible, rational basis for their actions in denying this development project.
| You may remember that along with many other small civic groups who stood up for water quality, science and the master plan - we were named in Pulte's suit and as result had to spend days wading through over a decade of of emails and handing over anything remotely related to Pulte. (See- Nothing Will Get Done Today) As we said that day and as the court has affirmed - water still runs downhill, and faster over developed land, picking up pollutants and depositing it into our streams, creeks, rivers and Bay. The Master Plan, science and common sense indicate that impervious surfaces should be carefully sited to protect water quality, and our elected leaders are doing their jobs when they make these decisions according to Master Plans and public health. |  A process server visits our ED Caroline Taylor to deliver a subpoena from Pulte |
The Background:
In 2004-2006, Pulte purchased 540 acres of Clarksburg land, then governed by the 1994 Master Plan, which divided development into four stages. In the fourth stage, the area containing Pulte’s land was to be developed into residential communities. Pulte’s land was designated as a receiving property for Transferable Development Rights (TDRs) and was zoned for one-acre lots. Pulte could increase the allowable density to two units per acre by purchasing TDRs from agricultural properties in other Montgomery County areas, which would restrict future development of the agricultural property. Pulte invested 12 million dollars in TDRs. Under the Plan, there were prerequisites to Stage 4 development. All had occurred by 2009. The Plan stated that Stage 4 developments can proceed once public agencies and the developer have complied with all “implementing mechanisms,” which included Water and Sewer Plan amendments. Pulte submitted its Water and Sewer Request to the County and the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission in 2009, with a $10,000 filing fee. The County never acted on Pulte’s application. In 2012, Pulte submitted a Pre-Application Concept Plan to the Commission, which rejected the plan. The agencies refused to meet and stopped responding to Pulte’s communications but reopened the Plan to study the watershed in which Pulte’s land is located and ultimately imposed regulatory changes that severely reduced the number of dwellings Pulte could build and imposed additional costly burdens. The Fourth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of Pulte’s due process, equal protection, and regulatory taking claims, stating that federal courts are not the appropriate forum to challenge local land use determinations
In 2004-2006, Pulte purchased 540 acres of Clarksburg land, then governed by the 1994 Master Plan, which divided development into four stages. In the fourth stage, the area containing Pulte’s land was to be developed into residential communities. Pulte’s land was designated as a receiving property for Transferable Development Rights (TDRs) and was zoned for one-acre lots. Pulte could increase the allowable density to two units per acre by purchasing TDRs from agricultural properties in other Montgomery County areas, which would restrict future development of the agricultural property. Pulte invested 12 million dollars in TDRs. Under the Plan, there were prerequisites to Stage 4 development. All had occurred by 2009. The Plan stated that Stage 4 developments can proceed once public agencies and the developer have complied with all “implementing mechanisms,” which included Water and Sewer Plan amendments. Pulte submitted its Water and Sewer Request to the County and the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission in 2009, with a $10,000 filing fee. The County never acted on Pulte’s application. In 2012, Pulte submitted a Pre-Application Concept Plan to the Commission, which rejected the plan. The agencies refused to meet and stopped responding to Pulte’s communications but reopened the Plan to study the watershed in which Pulte’s land is located and ultimately imposed regulatory changes that severely reduced the number of dwellings Pulte could build and imposed additional costly burdens. The Fourth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of Pulte’s due process, equal protection, and regulatory taking claims, stating that federal courts are not the appropriate forum to challenge local land use determinations
