Resident seeks 90-day exception to neighborhood revitalization deadline; commissioners ask for documents and table request

A Montgomery County property owner asked the Board of County Commissioners for a 90-day extension to a neighborhood-revitalization application deadline, saying cleanup and construction delays tied to a 2004 house fire and nearby industrial activity prevented the project from meeting the original timeline.

The resident described purchasing property at 4833 County Road 5165, cleaning the overgrown lot and starting a garage apartment. He said the next house construction could not begin until the existing house sold; the property had been difficult to sell because it is adjacent to an industrial park. “This is why we were asking for an extension due to the circumstances from the industrial plant being plant, not to mention the loss of value of our property,” the resident said.

Commissioners clarified whether the neighborhood-revitalization application had been filed before construction began. The resident said he submitted an application in August 2022 and that it had been signed by staff in September 2022 but that work and timing did not fit the program’s deadlines. Program staff had declined to approve the house because the completion was 90 days outside the program window, the resident said.

Commissioner Beaver asked staff to make copies of the resident’s correspondence and application and to discuss the case with Melody (program staff). The board did not vote on an extension; instead commissioners asked staff to gather the application and related letters and to return with the item for further consideration. “Let's get a copy of his letter front and back. Let's sit down and talk to Melody...and let's table this,” a commissioner said.

Ending: Commissioners asked staff to collect the application, correspondence and any approvals, consult Melody and return the matter to the board for a future decision; no extension was granted at the meeting.