SILVER SPRING, MD – A top environmental official, author and advocate of growth that is compact, neighborhood-based and great for pedestrians will present to the Montgomery County Planning Board on Thursday, May 14 as part of its 2009 Growing Smarter Speaker Series.
Lee Sobel, a development and finance analyst with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and an expert on retail thanks to years of work for a Florida investment property group, will discuss smart growth concepts that apply to Montgomery County. His presentation is entitled “The Business Case for Smart Growth.”
Among Sobel’s accomplishments is writing “Greyfields into Goldfields,” which describes how to convert aging, unsuccessful shopping malls into thriving neighborhoods, for the Congress for New Urbanism. Sobel’s research illustrates how declining malls can give way to public plazas and a mix of residential, office and commercial uses accessible on foot.
With the Planning Board focusing on smart growth as part of the 2009-2011 Growth Policy, as well as a host of other initiatives, Sobel’s talk is timely. He will focus on policy, technical assistance and outreach for development that achieves smart growth goals.
Sobel has conducted financial analyses of development patterns and presents to builders and government agencies about making compact development lucrative as well as environmentally sound. Prior to joining EPA, Sobel was a senior associate at CB Richard Ellis investment property group, selling shopping centers and retail property throughout Florida. A contributing author of “This Is Smart Growth,” Sobel has a law degree from Thomas M. Cooley Law School and is a resident of Maryland.
Sobel is the sixth of a series of speakers who will address the board this year. Continuing education credits have been approved for AICP members.
Who:
Montgomery County Planning Department
What:
Lee Sobel presenting “The Business Case for Smart Growth”
When:
7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 14
Where:
Park and Planning Headquarters auditorium
8787 Georgia Ave., Silver Spring
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