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Public backs White Oak TIF proposal but residents press traffic and accountability concerns
Summary
At a public hearing, developers, business groups, community organizations and residents testified on the proposed White Oak development district and tax-increment financing for the Viva White Oak project; testimony ranged from full support citing jobs and housing to requests for traffic funding, union commitments and transparency safeguards.
The Montgomery County Council received public comment on a resolution to enable creation of a development district and tax-increment financing (TIF) district for Viva White Oak, a proposed multiuse project in White Oak. The hearing collected support from the developer, business groups and local civic organizations, along with concerns from neighbors about traffic, peripheral-road funding and accountability measures.
Tom Lewis, the county development ombudsman, explained TIF mechanics: bonds finance public infrastructure in a defined development district and are repaid from incremental tax revenue generated by the project. "A TIF is a tool for financing development projects in which the local government sells bonds to finance the public infrastructure on a specific property," Lewis said, and noted that approval at each phase requires council votes after fiscal analysis.
MCB representatives, including Drew Gorman and Theresa Stegman, described Viva White Oak as a 280-acre project that would deliver housing, life-sciences space and jobs. Stegman said the project would provide about 4,700 homes, 1.7 million square feet of life-science space and more than 9,000 permanent jobs, and she projected $62 million in new annual revenue for the county. She also said more than $100 million in "spine" infrastructure, including three master-plan roads, is required for initial phases and argued that TIF would fund that upfront work using future property tax revenue; she added MCB would be contractually responsible to fund any shortfall if revenue falls short.
Support came from civic and business groups. Brian Levine of the Montgomery County Chamber urged the county to "utilize every tool, including TIFs," to move important projects forward. Rachel Evans, chair of Friends of White Oak, called the TIF a "smart, proven tool" to deliver long‑overdue investment and amenities consistent with the White Oak Science Gateway Master Plan. Union and labor representatives said they would support the TIF only with strong commitments to union construction labor and good jobs.
Neighbors and civic leaders urged the council to require specific traffic and peripheral-road funding. Barry Weitz of the North White Oak Civic Association said peripheral access—US 29, Columbia Pike and Cherry Hill Road—would be constrained and urged expanding district boundaries or otherwise allowing TIF funds to support widening and interchange projects. He said current rush‑hour trips can take 30 minutes and could be 45 minutes under full buildout without concurrent road improvements. Other residents urged transparency, reporting and community protections to limit displacement.
Council leadership clarified process: the hearing is the step to enable subsequent analysis. If the council later votes to authorize the resolution, the planning board will review adequate public facilities, the executive will prepare a fiscal report, and the council will vote on creating a TIF after reviewing that report. No council vote on the resolution occurred at the public hearing.
