MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. — All five members of the Montgomery County Planning Board have resigned amidst controversy. Council leadership said they accepted the resignations of the five-member board because it lost faith in the board's ability to work together.
"I've been around county government for 16 years and I've never seen anything like this" said Montgomery County Council President Gabe Albornoz.
Planning Board Chair Casey Anderson, Vice Chair Partap Verma and Planning Board members Gerald Cichy, Tina Patterson, and Carol Rubin submitted their resignations to the Montgomery County Council Wednesday morning. Albornoz called this a challenging time in the history of Montgomery County.
"It's unfortunate that it's come to this, but my colleagues and I decided recently that we have lost faith in the ability of this board to work collectively as a body" Albornoz said.
He says there were a lot of issues from alcohol in the workplace, allegations of a toxic work environment and what Albornoz called a lot of finger pointing in between.
A source with direct knowledge of what unfolded told WUSA9 it was a "very toxic work environment." They went on to say it was such a toxic environment that the board members felt resigning "was really the only way out".
The source blames most of it on Casey Anderson, the board's chair. They say Anderson made a number of inappropriate comments. They also said he had alcohol in his office and often pressured other members to drink with him.
WUSA9 reached out to Anderson for comment, but he did not return our calls or texts as of Wednesday night.
According to an announcement on the Montgomery County Planning Board website, the job of the board is to plan for livable communities by developing large- and small-scale plans, providing guidelines for the pattern and pace of future development, and preserving historic resources throughout the 323,000-acre county. The Planning Board implements plans through its review of development applications and its subdivision decisions. The Planning Board is also responsible for the development and management of Montgomery County's nationally recognized 36,512-acre park system. No more than three Planning Board members may be from the same political party, and all members must be residents and registered voters in Montgomery County when appointed.
Albornoz said the council is working to replace the board members as soon as possible.
In a statement, the Council said that they are "confident that the Planning Department’s newly appointed Acting Director Tanya Stern will provide steady leadership in the weeks ahead."
As for the future, the Council is accepting applications for temporary acting Planning Board commissioners. The Council is scheduled to select them on October 25, 2022.
They're looking for "individuals with expertise in land use, planning, economic development, transportation, and environmental and park issues."
Any Montgomery County resident who is interested in filling one of the temporary acting positions must apply by 5 p.m. on October 18, 2022.
For more info about the process and to apply, click here