For Immediate Release: Tuesday, June 25, 2019
ROCKVILLE, Md., June 25, 2019—The Montgomery County Council today unanimously named Casey Anderson as the chair of the five-member Montgomery County Planning Board. This will be Anderson’s second full term as chair. The Council also unanimously named Partap Verma as the newest member of the Planning Board. Twenty-four residents applied for two positions and seven candidates were selected for interviews.
“I look forward to continuing to work with Chairman Casey Anderson on issues of economic development, smart growth, pedestrian safety, expanded multi-modal transportation options and much more,” said Council President Nancy Navarro. “I also welcome Partap Verma to his new position. His fresh approach to planning, innovative ideas and experience in the law, diplomacy and community advocacy will help to shape a more inclusive future of our County. This is also an historic appointment for Montgomery County because Mr. Verma is the first Planning Board member who is Asian Indian and openly gay.
“The Council had many exceptional applicants who sought to serve on the Montgomery County Planning Board. We appreciate the time that each of these individuals took to apply and go through the interview and selection process.”
The Council first appointed Anderson to the Planning Board in 2011. He was appointed as Planning Board chair in 2014 and serves as chair of the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, which is a bi-county agency that regulates real estate development, plans transportation infrastructure and manages the parks systems in Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties.
Before serving as Planning Board chair, Anderson founded a jury consulting firm after working as a congressional staffer, government relations executive, newspaper reporter and private-practice attorney. In addition, he served on the board of several nonprofit organizations, including the Washington Area Bicyclist Association, the Citizens League of Montgomery County, the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, the Committee for Montgomery, the Woodside Civic Association and the Silver Spring Citizens Advisory Board.
Verma has worked for 15 years for the federal government and is associate counsel on immigration law at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. He also served as an attorney-advisor at the U.S. Department of State and as a U.S. diplomat-consular officer in Turkey and India.
Verma is a lifelong County resident and an active community advocate in the Forest Glen Citizens Association and the Friends of Forest Glen and Montgomery Hills Advocacy Group. He also serves as a board member for the Mid-County Citizen’s Advisory Board and the Sierra Club of Montgomery County and is a former board member for the Gandhi Brigade.
In naming Verma to the Planning Board, the Council was impressed by his commitment to creating policies that serve the County’s most vulnerable residents while prioritizing transit and pedestrian safety and developing recommendations to help generate more affordable housing and environmentally sustainable development.
The Montgomery County Planning Board plans for livable communities by developing large- and small-scale plans, providing guidelines for the pattern and pace of future development and preserving historic resources throughout our 323,000-acre County. The Planning Board implements plans through its review of development applications and its subdivision decisions. The Planning Board also is responsible for the development and management of County’s nationally recognized 36,512-acre park system. The Montgomery County Planning Board, together with the Prince George’s County Planning Board, comprise The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission.
Learn more about the Montgomery County Planning Board here.
# # # Release ID: 19-227