Chair Harris will serve as Chair of the M-NCPPC over the next year and provided remarks on July 17, 2024

Montgomery Planning Board Chair Artie Harris provided remarks from the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission’s (M-NCPPC) Wheaton Headquarters dais on July 17, 2024, about starting his tenure as Chair of the Full Commission. Each year, the M-NCPPC Chair position rotates between the Chair of the Montgomery Planning Board and the Chair of the Prince George’s Planning Board. When both planning boards come together to meet once a month, they are known as the Full Commission.

Remarks by Chair Artie Harris – Full Commission Meeting, July 17, 2024

“It’s an honor to be here today as Chair of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission. I want to thank Peter Shapiro for his leadership of the Commission and his ongoing support as we rotate responsibilities and I transition into this role.  In addition, I want to thank all of the Commissioners for your hard work and continued commitment to the people we serve in Prince George’s and Montgomery counties.

For nearly 100 years, the Commission has worked to improve residents’ quality of life through thoughtful strategies that strengthen our economies, protect our environment, and create welcoming communities for all to live, work, and thrive. As a result, our counties are the engines of our state’s economy and serve as examples for regions around the nation.

While this work has always been demanding and complex, the challenges we face today are unprecedented. From the very real housing crisis sweeping our region and the nation to the threats to our natural environment, to assuring safe and reliable transportation modes, we are at a crossroads that will determine the future of our region.

We can either accept the status quo that threatens the growth and stability of our counties or take bold action and ensure that our children and grandchildren can live and flourish in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties as we have.

These challenges are too big to tackle alone. That is why this bi-county Commission matters. Leveraging our shared knowledge, experience, and expertise, we are uniquely positioned to develop effective and innovative strategies and policy solutions that serve residents’ interests today and for future generations.

Together we can go to Annapolis and represent the interests of our collective 2 million residents and collaborate with those in our nation’s capital and those across the river in Virginia to build consensus and lift us all up to a better future. We can work with our sister bi-county Commission, WSSC, to protect our drinking water and assure our infrastructure and technology around it remains state of the art.

I know we can do this because we have already accomplished so much together — from securing federal funding for connecting trail networks, to reviewing and approving policies and plans that allow more people to find housing in walkable, sustainable neighborhoods, to providing support for the Governor’s housing policy. The Commission is making a real, lasting difference for our region.

I look forward to helping guide the Commission in this new role. As part of taking a role in regional responses and solutions, I am excited to share and invite everyone to the Montgomery Planning Board’s 2024 Speaker Series featuring three insightful conversations with local and national thought leaders on housing and what is being done to increase the housing supply.

I look forward to all that we can and will do together.”