Montgomery County Council Member Mike Knapp became the first county lawmaker Tuesday to publicly oppose levying a special tax on Clarksburg residents to pay for improvements needed in the rapidly developing community.

Knapp’s comments gave thousands of Clarksburg residents an early victory in a five-year struggle against a special tax for infrastructure they say the developers had already agreed to provide.

“Rather than try to figure out a way to jerry-rig something that maybe some people would be OK with, sometimes you have to cut your losses,” Knapp, a Democrat whose district includes Clarksburg, said Tuesday. “We have a dark cloud that hangs over Clarksburg.”

He said he plans to introduce a resolution at next Tuesday’s council meeting that would prevent the community’s development district from going forward.

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The news pleased Clarksburg resident Lynn Fantle, who bought her home in 2002.

“That would be a step in the right direction,” Fantle said. “[Developers] did not follow the law out here.”

The council, including Knapp, passed a resolution in 2002 giving preliminary approval to the tax district but never approved a final resolution.

The tax could cost residents, many of whom say they were not notified of it when they bought their homes, between $1,500 and $2,000 annually.

An Office of Legislative Oversight report on Clarksburg’s development district issued in September said the county legally approved it but urged it to re-evaluate its policies. That caused some council members, including Knapp, to question whether they should use the districts in the future. Knapp said Tuesday he is not opposed to the idea in general.

“I think as the state, local governments, and federal government looks at way to try to finance infrastructure, we need to have access to as many financial opportunities as we can,” Knapp said.

cmabeus@dcexaminer.com