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After hearing from the public, Council begins to discuss the Knapp Amendment
On February 24, 2009, Councilmember Michael Knapp introduced an amendment to the Montgomery County Historic Preservation ordinance that if enacted will severely weaken the law that for 30 years has protected historic places in Montgomery County. The Knapp Amendment would endanger the future designation of properties to the County's Master Plan for Historic Preservation and also may open the door to legal challenges and other unintended consequences for broader County land use and environmental policies.
At the hearing on March 31, and in the subsequent public record of letters and emails, individuals, groups, State and County officials, and national and state preservation leaders testified in overwhelming opposition to the Knapp proposal. The count was 440 OPPOSED to the Knapp Amendment, with only 16 IN FAVOR. Opposition came from public officials, preservation organizations at state, national, and county levels, organizations and municipalities from all corners of Montgomery County, and hundreds of County residents, farmers, business owners, and preservation professionals.
The County Council’s Planning, Housing, and Economic Development (PHED) Committee held its first work session on the Knapp Amendment on June 8. Preservationists are encouraged by the discussion but plan to continue to monitor committee and Council actions closely. MPI hopes citizens will continue to remind the Council that Montgomery County’s current preservation program works just fine.
Below are links to further information, to newspaper articles and a Post editorial, to hearing testimony, to submissions by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and other organizations, and to further communications from MPI to the County Council.
For more information on the Knapp amendment and MPI's efforts to defeat it, you may email Eileen McGuckian at phileen3@verizon.net or call 301-468-7331.
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