DPS Director and Division Chiefs
Rabbiah Sabbakhan
DPS Director
Rabbiah Sabbakhan is the director of the Department of Permitting Services. He comes to the department with a mixture of government, management and private sector experience.
Before joining Montgomery County, Sabbakhan spent six years as the chief building official with the City of Rockville in the Department of Community Planning and Development Services where he helped transform the Inspection Services Division into a high-performing, customer-focused and solution-oriented operation that engaged extremely well with all permitting stakeholders, plus delivered timely and accurate plan reviews and inspections. Under his leadership in Rockville, the FAST (Faster, Accountable, Smarter, Transparent) initiative was created as well as the Customer Bill of Rights; he also helped launch the Compliance Engine Fire Prevention program.
In addition, Sabbakhan spent seven years at the District of Columbia with the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA) as permitting chief, chief building official and interim director. In addition to creating permitting streamlining measures at the DCRA, he led the Paperless Permitting movement with transitioning of permit applications online and the launch of electronic plan review program ProjectDox. Through his vision for professionalizing the department, he initialized the work that would eventually lead to IAS accreditation. While at DCRA, he served on the D.C AIA Board of Directors, Washington D.C. Economic Partnership (WDCEP), D.C. Construction Codes Coordinating Board, Green Building Advisory Council, DDOT/Planning Public Space Committee and the Signage Working Group.
He has worked in the private sector with a national developer on The Yards project in southeast Washington, D.C.
Earlier in his career, Sabbakhan spent 12 years with the City of Richmond as an inspector, plan reviewer and special inspections program manager and was responsible for the successful completion of many of the city’s major economic development projects.
Sabbakhan has a degree in Architecture from the University of Virginia, and he was the first UVA architecture student to study abroad at the American University in Cairo, Egypt during his fourth year at UVA.
Ehsan Motazedi
DPS Deputy Director
Ehsan Motazedi is the deputy director for the Montgomery County Department of Permitting Services and oversees the daily duties of the five DPS divisions: Residential and Fire Code Compliance; Commercial Building Construction; Land Development; Zoning and Code Compliance; and Customer Support and Outreach. He is responsible for ensuring the mission of the Department is coordinated among all divisions and carried out throughout the County in accordance with codes, regulations and performance measure objectives. Ehsan’s background is in civil engineering spanning more than three decades and with more than 16 years of service at DPS in various capacities. Ehsan’s focus on customer service, and his knowledge and understanding of the County’s laws and regulations help DPS maintain its high quality of service delivery in a cost effective and efficient manner to our customers.
Rick Merck
Division Chief - Commercial Building Construction
The Commercial Building Construction Division is responsible for ensuring public safety through the effective application of commercial building, structural, electrical, mechanical, fire-safety, accessibility and sustainability conservation codes and standards. As “First Preventers,” this is accomplished through plan review and construction site inspections to facilitate compliance with approved plans and regulations. This program processes applications for and issues Building, Mechanical, Fire Protection and Electrical Permits. The program also handles construction complaints during natural and other disasters and assists in disaster recovery.
Gail Lucas
Division Chief - Customer Support and Outreach
The Customer Support and Outreach Division is responsible for all administration and issuance of Building, Land Development and Zoning related permits, applications and licenses, information requests, predesign consultations and other specialty services. This Division was formed to provide a multiprong approach to enhance the methods in which DPS services are delivered and to provide enhanced communication for our clients. This heightened focus on customer service will include empowerment of staff to act as facilitators rather than regulators.
Linda Kobylski
Division Chief - Land Development
The Division of Land Development is responsible for ensuring the protection of the County's land and water resources, the protection of the environment, the safety of residents and businesses through its engineering and inspection functions related to stormwater management; sediment control; floodplain management; special protection areas; storm drain design and construction; well and septic; roadside tree protection; tree canopy enhancement; record plat approval; and work in the public right-of-way.
George Muste
Division Chief - Residential Construction & Fire Code Compliance
The Residential Construction staff is responsible for ensuring public safety through the effective application of residential building, structural, electrical, mechanical, and energy conservation codes. This is accomplished through technical plan review and inspection processes.
The Fire Code Compliance staff is responsible for ensuring compliance with adopted National Fire Codes and Standards, the Montgomery County Fire Code, and the Maryland State Fire Prevention Codes in existing buildings. This is accomplished through reviews and preventive inspection processes for businesses, schools, multi-family buildings, healthcare facilities, places of worship, and all other commercial buildings or occupancies.
The Division staff respond to and investigate code violations and aid in recovery during natural disasters and other disasters and incidents.
Victor Salazar
Division Chief - Zoning & Code Compliance
The Zoning and Code Compliance Division protects the quality of life, public health, safety and welfare, of Montgomery County residents. This is accomplished through the effective application and enforcement of the Montgomery County Zoning Ordinance development standards; Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission certified site plan requirements; and emergency vehicle access. Division Staff perform zoning reviews of plan applications prior to permit issuance which includes coordinating with the Sign Review Board governing the placement of signs on commercial buildings and the Telecommunication Tower Committee regulating the placement of communication towers throughout the county.
Zoning Code Compliance Staff investigate and respond to constituent complaints to ensure property owners maintain compliance with the zoning standards established by Chapter 59 of the Montgomery County Code. This program regulates the size, shape, height, and mass of a building; the uses that are allowed on the property; and signage. Additionally, they regulate Chapter 47 of the Montgomery County Code governing Vendor Licensing and Operations. Lastly, they perform annual inspections of over 800 Conditional Use and Special Exception Properties ensuring that the terms and conditions issued by the Montgomery County Board of Appeals and Office of Administrative Hearings are adhered too.