Montgomery County Council Seeks Applicants for Two Vacancies on the County Board of Appeals

Per Montgomery County: Deadline to submit an application is Monday, June 19 at 5 p.m.
The Montgomery County Council is seeking applicants to fill two vacant positions on the County Board of Appeals. The partial terms of Ms. Seminario-Thornton (Republican) and Mr. Sternstein (Democrat) expire in September 2023. Both have indicated that they will reapply for the Board of Appeals. Applications for these positions must be received no later than 5 p.m. on Monday, June 19.

By law, no more than three members of the Board shall be from the same political party. Applicants may be registered to vote in the County as a member of any political party or unaffiliated with any political party. Voter registration will be verified by the Montgomery County Board of Elections.

The current members of the Board include Chair John Pentecost (Democrat), Richard Melnick (Unaffiliated), Caryn Hines (Democrat), Laura Seminario-Thornton (Republican) and Alan Sternstein (Democrat). Members of County Boards, Committees and Commissions may not serve on more than one such group at a time.

Members of the Board currently receive $16,563.50 annually, with the Chair receiving $23,408.82. Salaries are adjusted each December to reflect 50 percent of the change in the Washington Area Consumer Price Index.

Duties of the Board of Appeals include hearing and deciding requests for variances from development standards contained in the Zoning Ordinance; hearing appeals from certain administrative decisions rendered by County government agencies; and hearing oral argument on and deciding appeals from decisions of the Hearing Examiner on conditional uses. The Board also considers and decides requests for modifications of special exceptions.

The Board normally holds weekly hearings all day Wednesday and worksessions every other week on Wednesdays. If necessary to accommodate an extended caseload or continued hearings, the Board may schedule hearings on other weekdays. Members are expected to prepare for the hearings by reading the cases to be heard and to share the workload of drafting and editing. Members work approximately 15-25 hours a week.

The principal jurisdiction of the Board of Appeals does not include the municipalities of Brookeville, Poolesville, Laytonsville, Rockville, Barnesville, Gaithersburg and Washington Grove. The Council is not precluded from appointing someone who resides in one of these municipalities, although the Council may avoid doing so.

Letters expressing interest, including a resume (no more than 4 pages in length) listing professional and civic experience, political party affiliation, a telephone number to reach you and an email address, should be sent via email to [email protected] addressed to Council President Glass, or sent via mail to Council President Glass, County Council Office, 100 Maryland Avenue, Rockville, Maryland 20850. Letters of application must be received no later than 5 p.m. on June 19, 2023. It is the Council’s policy not to consider applications received after the deadline. After the closing date, Councilmembers will review the letters of application and select applicants to interview.

Council staff may request a redacted resume or bio to include as part of the information shared with the public. Any interviews held are open to the public and will be televised. A financial statement of assets, debts, income and family property interests will be required of all applicants. Only the appointed candidates will be required to make the financial statement available for public review.