Rosenfeld represented Residents Advocating for Land Use and the Environment (RALE), a citizen-led organization that led the fight against the proposed Monrovia Town Center development in Frederick.
ROCKVILLE, Md., Sept. 04, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Maryland attorney Michele Rosenfeld has prevailed in a years-long land development case pitting the grass-roots organization she represented against real-estate developers.
Last week, the Maryland Court of Appeals, the highest court in the state, ruled that developers could not build a proposed 1,200-unit housing development near Urbana because of a violation of a state ethics law.
Rosenfeld represented Residents Advocating for Land Use and the Environment (RALE), a citizen-led organization that fought the development over violations of ethics codes.
“It’s been an honor to work alongside so many highly-engaged members of our community, and I am very proud to have represented them successfully in this case,” Rosenfeld said. “It’s been a long and difficult road, but it just shows that a solid legal strategy combined with dogged perseverance can be a winning combination.”
Rosenfeld argued before the Court that former County Commissioner C. Paul Smith violated a state ethics law when he asked a local organization to submit a letter supporting the project. At the time, Mr. Smith was one of five Commissioners who would vote on the pending project. Mr. Smith asked the Frederick Area Committee for Transportation (FACT) to write a letter in support of the development, and violated state law when he did not disclose this conversation. The developer’s attorney relied on the FACT letter to argue for approval of the project.
Maryland’s highest Court agreed that Mr. Smith violated the state ethics ex parte law and upheld a Court of Special Appeals decision last year reaching the same conclusion.
RALE President Matt Seubert said: “I was always struck by how Ms. Rosenfeld, as the sole attorney for RALE, faced off against a squad of attorneys for the developer.”
Former RALE President Steve McKay said: “MTC was a community victory and the community is indebted to Ms. Rosenfeld. Her tenacity and professionalism began with the earliest public hearing and carried through to the Court of Appeals. Our victory is her victory!”
Michele Rosenfeld, a land use and zoning attorney in Rockville, often represents communities concerned about proposed development in their neighborhoods. She was the lead attorney for the Montgomery County Planning Board from 1996 to 2006.
More information is available at www.michelerosenfeldllc.com/
Contact:
Michele Rosenfeld, Esq.
The Law Office of Michele Rosenfeld LLC
301-204-0913
rosenfeldlaw@mail.com