Presley cites new County Zoning Ordinance and streamlined development review process as greatest accomplishments during her eight-year tenure
SILVER SPRING, MD – The Montgomery County Planning Board, part of the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC), is changing one of its members after the Board concludes its meeting on Thursday, July 21. That session will be the last attended by Amy Presley, who is leaving the Board after serving two consecutive terms, from 2008 to 2016, which means she is ineligible for reappointment.
“It has been a great honor to serve as a member of the Montgomery County Planning Board for eight years and to play a role in so many positive County-changing and community-enhancing plans and policies,” says Presley. “My service on the Board has been a highlight in my professional life. I have been privileged to experience the passion, dedication, camaraderie and ’family’ of the M-NCPPC.”
Presley considers the County’s new Zoning Ordinance, approved and adopted in 2014, as one of the greatest accomplishments during her tenure on the Board. “It was exciting to play a role in achieving such needed change,” she notes. “I wish the public had more insight into the hard work and dedication of the staff, without whom it could never have been accomplished.”
In addition, Presley is proud of her work in helping to streamline the development review process, noting “It has come a long way.”
About Amy Presley
A resident of Clarksburg, MD, Amy Presley became a vocal civic activist in her community during the 2000s. She played a major role in uncovering discrepancies between development proposals and approved site plans for the Clarksburg Town Center that led to numerous planning reforms. Her involvement in planning and design issues led the County Council to appoint Presley, a former marketing consultant, to the Planning Board in June 2008.
In 2013, Presley and her business partner launched Grace Realty Partners, a private real estate investment business focused on property renovation and helping families through the estate/probate process. Based on their success in this arena, they recently became Founding Partners of Trusted Estate Partners, a company offering comprehensive estate liquidation services and support to attorneys and their clients, using a unique holistic approach to expedite estate settlement and help ensure that fiduciary responsibilities are met.
New Board Member Appointed
On Thursday, July 28, transportation engineer and planner Gerald R. Cichy, PE, AICP, will be sworn in as the newest Planning Board member. His career experience includes working at the Maryland Transit Administration/ Maryland Department of Transportation on projects such as the Corridor Cities Transitway, Purple Line light rail system and regional transit-oriented developments.
Like Presley, Cichy is a registered Republican. By law, since three Democrats are currently serving on the Board, the vacant position had to be filled by a Republican, a voter who declines to affiliate with a party or by a member of another party officially recognized by the Montgomery County Board of Elections.
The other Planning Board members are Chair Casey Anderson (D), Vice Chair Marye Wells-Harley (D), Norman Dreyfuss (R) and Natali Fani-González (D).
About the Montgomery County Planning Board
The five-member Planning Board oversees the Montgomery County Planning Department and Department of Parks, and advises the County Council on land use and community planning. The Chair serves a full time position on the Montgomery County Planning Board and receives a salary of $200,000. The part-time Board Members receive an annual salary of $30,000. They also serve as Commissioners of the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, a bi-county agency established in 1927 to protect public land.
As part of the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, the Montgomery County Planning Board works to:
-Manage physical growth.
-Plan communities.
-Protect and steward natural, cultural and historical resources.
-Provide leisure and recreational experiences.
Learn more about the Montgomery County Planning Board.