Over the past year, I had the honor of serving as the Chair of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC). Our impact on the bi-county region of Prince George’s County and Montgomery County is enormous and cannot be understated. I have the pleasure of serving alongside my counterpart Peter Shapiro, who is the Chair of the Prince George’s County Planning Board. Every new fiscal year, on July 1, we swap the position of Chair and Vice Chair of the Commission. I would like to take a moment to reflect on the great work that we have done together over my first term.

Housing

I know the importance of affordable housing. My parents were able to access government-subsidized housing when I was an infant. This opportunity allowed my father to return to school and apprentice as a plumber. His over 30-year career with the Chicago Housing Authority provided me with a lens into the critical role housing plays in family and neighborhood stability. I’ve made providing affordable and high-quality housing the driving force of my nearly 40-year career as a civil engineer, housing nonprofit executive, and Montgomery Planning Board Chair.

Housing is among the many issues that require our critical eye to continue to provide the quality of life that we want in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties. As Chair of the Commission, my responsibility was to continue to create great places to live, work, and conduct business. To do that, I prioritized starting regional conversations with my counterparts and other key players to talk about the future of housing, transportation, economic growth, and environmental resiliency.

For example, I convened planning board chairs from across the region to discuss our severe housing shortage and other shared challenges. I also worked with the University of Maryland’s National Center for Smart Growth to sponsor a three-part public speaker series exploring innovative ways that jurisdictions across the country have provided more housing options at more price points.

In 2024, the Planning Board hosted a public speaker series with local and national housing and real estate experts. I moderated one of the panel discussions featuring Lisa Sturtevant, Chief Economist for Bright MLS (center), and Yonah Freemark, Principal Research Associate of the Urban Institute (right).

Expanding regional cooperation

Like the housing crunch, many of our challenges in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties transcend our borders. We know our waterways, bike trails, hiking paths, parks, roads, transit systems, and environmental resiliency affect the quality of life in the greater DC region. In addition to discussing housing, the planning board chairs I brought together from across the region shared ideas about transportation and economic development – two key factors in creating great places. We are stronger together, whether that’s learning from each other or teaming up to secure competitive federal grants. The regional group of planning board chairs and I have committed to meeting regularly with each other, and I look forward to continuing to share best practices and collaborate with my regional counterparts.

To forge deeper regional connections, I hosted a breakfast meeting in 2025 with, left to right above: Jim Feather (Fairfax City Planning Commission Chair), Phillip Niedzielski-Eichner (Fairfax County Planning Commission Chairman), Artie Harris, Anthony Hood (Washington, DC Zoning Commission Chairman), Tim Davis (Frederick County Planning Commission Chair), and Nate Macek (former City of Alexandria Planning Commission Chair).

Expecting – and appreciating – excellence

Our planning departments have won numerous national awards, and residents in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties cherish our beautiful and fun parks. Both are the results of our talented, hard-working employees. To help recruit and keep top administrative talent, I met with department leaders regularly to make sure they felt valued as part of the commission family.

With budgets tight in both Montgomery and Prince George’s, early in the process, I brought together the Commission’s budget experts with leaders of the counties’ park and planning departments. That collaboration helped ensure budgets submitted to each County accurately reflected true needs and priorities.

Celebrating diversity

I proudly continued the Commission’s tradition of honoring and celebrating the county’s and our employees’ heritage and affinity groups. It remains important to provide Commission staff with internal training and programming that enriches their understanding and awareness of the great diversity in our workforce and in communities across the DC region. And the Commission continues to offer the public a variety of activities and events year-round supporting that effort, which includes making our communities and parks inclusive for all abilities. It’s so rewarding to have been a part of wonderful Montgomery Parks events like adaptive kayaking to show my support, and I look forward to more upcoming community events.

In keeping with the mission of Montgomery Parks, its Program Access staff ensure individuals with disabilities are welcomed to participate in enjoyable leisure-time activities in accessible places and programs.

Our planners and park experts in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties are national thought leaders. I will continue to find great joy in supporting our M-NCPPC team and working together to help make all of our communities more accessible, livable, and equitable.

As we approach our centennial birthday in 2027, we have many opportunities ahead of us to maintain and enhance our work.  I look forward to supporting Peter as he takes the helm.

About the author
Before his appointment as Planning Board Chair in 2023, Artie Harris was the vice president of real estate at Montgomery Housing Partnership, Inc. (MHP), a nonprofit real estate development organization based in Silver Spring, MD, that creates affordable communities in Montgomery County and surrounding jurisdictions. Previously, Harris was a vice president at Bozzuto Development Company, where he led teams developing market-rate and mixed-income housing projects across the Washington, DC region and beyond. He holds a master’s degree in business administration from Stanford University and a master’s degree in civil engineering from Purdue University.