Kentlands Community Foundation history
History and Purpose
The Kentlands Community Foundation was established in 1993, when Kentlands was still a new and innovative development that challenged conventional suburban design. At the forefront of the New Urbanism movement, the vision was to foster a vibrant, interconnected, and walkable community within Kentlands and the adjacent Lakelands neighborhoods, bringing together a diverse mix of housing, businesses, and residents. The Foundation serves as an educational resource on the history and vision of Kentlands, one of the oldest and most successful New Urbanist communities, as well as a platform for various programs and events that build community and enrich the lives of residents and visitors.
The community is built on a former farm estate, which had its origins in a 1723 land grant. In 1942, a Washington lawyer and conservationist, Otis Beall Kent, purchased the estate and renamed it Kentlands. He expanded the farm, enlarged the mansion, and created the chain of lakes that surrounded his property. In the 1980s a portion of the land was annexed into the city of Gaithersburg and was sold in 1988 to Joseph Alfandre, a local developer who is largely credited for the specific vision of the Kentlands.
Alfandre brought in Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk (partners in what was then called DPZ), urban planners credited with designing the town of Seaside, Florida. After a series of June 1988 planning meetings with the various stakeholders, known as a ‘charrette,’ several historic buildings were donated to the city. The neighborhood was built in a process that involved several additional charrettes. Construction started in 1989, and the first model homes opened in mid-1990. The first Kentlands residents moved into new homes in 1991. As the project was nearing completion the Lakelands was built adjacent to Kentlands, sharing the central business district. Lakelands also was designed in a charrette process including the DPZ team, the city staff, and local residents.
What is New Urbanism?
“New Urbanism is a planning and development approach based on the principles of how cities and towns had been built for the last several centuries: walkable blocks and streets, housing and shopping in close proximity, and accessible public spaces. In other words: New Urbanism focuses on human-scaled urban design.
The principles, articulated in the Charter of the New Urbanism, were developed to offer alternatives to the sprawling, single-use, low-density patterns typical of post-WWII development, which have been shown to inflict negative economic, health, and environmental impacts on communities.
These design and development principles can be applied to new development, urban infill and revitalization, and preservation. They can be applied to all scales of development in the full range of places including rural Main Streets, booming suburban areas, urban neighborhoods, dense city centers, and even entire regions.” From the Congress of New Urbanism
The KCF — Perfecting the Art of Community
The concept for the Kentlands Community Foundation was always part of the vision for Kentlands. In fact, a Community Foundation is referenced in the original Kentlands Charter that established the Kentlands Citizens Assembly (KCA), the community’s homeowners association, and is partially funded from an assessment all new titleholders pay when they purchase their homes.
Alfandre’s vision was that communities are constructed of more than roads and buildings. He and the original planners of the Kentlands saw the Foundation as a way to develop a real “spirit of community” that grows out of the relationships, shared goals and civic involvement of those who live and work in the neighborhood.
Alfandre was committed to three ideas:
that through participation in the arts, including civic arts, life-long learning occurs;
that each generation can and must guide and enrich the others;
and that strong involvement at the neighborhood level will lead to active participation in our democratic society
The Kentlands Community Foundation manifests Alfandre’s vision in its three-pronged Mission as a community-based, not-for-profit organization rooted in Kentlands. The KCF’s mission is:
to build community by supporting local arts and cultural programs
to provide opportunities for volunteerism and community outreach and
to serve as an educational resource on the landmark New Urbanist community that is the Kentlands
Relationship with the Kentlands Citizens Assembly
The Kentlands Citizen Assembly, the neighborhood homeowners association, handles the day-to-day operations and governance of the community, including garbage collection, landscaping, snow removal and facilities management. They are also responsible for community property such as the pool, tennis courts, tot lots and the Kentlands Clubhouse, and for coordinating social activities for Kentlands residents. The KCA handles the building and approved material list and manages and Board of Code Compliance to ensure visual consistency throughout the neighborhood and proper upkeep of homes. (In contrast, the Lakelands does not maintain or enforce strict building and appearance codes.)
The KCF is a separate 501(c)(3) nonprofit with its own budget, funding, management and programing. The overlap and much of the long-standing confusion among residents between the two organizations stems, in part, from the aforementioned funding that the Foundation has historically received from the KCA. The Foundation makes an annual funding request for monies distributed from the Kentlands Titleholders Initial Contribution (TIC) Fund. As specified in the Kentlands Charter, each Titleholder pays to the KCA an initial assessment that equals four (4) months of their monthly homeowners association dues upon closing on the title to their home.
“The purpose of such initial contributions shall be for the funding of programs determined to be beneficial to the qualities of the social and cultural life in Kentlands. Such funds may be used for contributions to the Kentlands Foundation, and other similar causes. “
Another source of potential confusion is the close and overlapping relationship between the KCA Board of Trustees and the Foundation Board. The KCA Board of Trustees appoints four (4) of the Foundation’s 12 Board members, including one sitting member of the KCA Board of Trustees, who also acts as liaison between the two Boards.
Key Stakeholders — The KCA and the City of Gaithersburg
As evidenced by a Board seats reserved for Kentlands citizens and at least one a member of the City government (typically held by a sitting member of the City Council), the Foundation has a special relationship with two of its key stakeholders. In addition to the annual funding request to the KCA, the Foundation enjoys no-cost access to KCA facilities, scheduling permitting, including housing the Foundation office in the Kentlands Carriage House, and holding our Board meetings and other program functions in the Kentlands Clubhouse at no charge.
The City of Gaithersburg has been a very generous partner in numerous programs, particularly those that bring the arts to City facilities like the Gaithersburg Arts Barn and the Kentlands Mansion. Without the City’s close cooperation on our largest annual fundraiser, the Kentlands/Lakelands 5K Race, this great event would not have run so smoothly (and raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for worthy beneficiaries) over these past 30+ years.
