County Reaches Settlement with Clarksburg Developer

Montgomery County has reached a settlement with NNP II, also known as Newland Company, that will result in finishing the uncompleted infrastructure in that portion of the Clarksburg Town Center (CTC) still under Newland’s control along with related brick paver enhancements and completion of the amenities at Murphy’s Grove Pond.

Under the agreement:

1) Newland must restart work immediately to finish road, sidewalk, and stormwater management facilities in the Town Center under its outstanding permits with the County. The work will include the amended site plan enhancements associated with the permitted work; these enhancements are infrastructure improvements that Newland agreed to make to the CTC as part of a Compliance Plan that Newland proposed to the Planning Board to resolve certain site plan violations. These site plan enhancements include items like brick sidewalks, and a fishing pier, landscaping and benches for Murphy’s Grove Pond. The estimated value of this work (including enhancements) is about $7.5 million. Newland will fully bond all work. The work must be completed by December 31, 2015.

2) Newland constructed and the County has accepted arterial roads that cost $5.5 million to construct. Newland expected to be reimbursed by the County for these roads through the Development District. When the Council terminated the Development District in 2010, Newland received nothing from the County, and Newland has asserted a claim against the County for $6.5 million. As part of the settlement, Newland will release the County from all claims associated with the termination of the Development District.

3) In exchange, the County will enter into a participation agreement with Newland and will pay a net of $671,500 after all work is done and accepted. This net amount includes a payment by Newland to the County of $231,000 for future improvements to Snowden Farm Parkway.

4) Consistent with recently adopted County law, the County will undertake responsibility for post-construction stormwater management monitoring.

“Once the County Council terminated the development district that was to have reimbursed Newland for these improvements, progress on completing this vital infrastructure for the Clarksburg community ground to a halt as Newland pursued legal relief — leaving the community stuck,” said County Executive Ike Leggett. “This settlement gets this work moving at last. It defines specifically what is to be done and when it must be done. Clarksburg deserves nothing less. “I want to thank the County Attorney and the Department of Permitting Services for their work in finalizing this settlement.”

“When I first took office, I met with Newland to make sure they understood their responsibilities to the County and constituents of Clarksburg,” said Council President Craig Rice. “This settlement represents many of the items that were promised to the Clarksburg community and I’m happy to see them formalized via this agreement.”

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