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Smart Growth

Smart Growth:

Together We Can Plan For a Better Future

Population growth

We have heard the figures: 1.5 million new Marylanders are coming in the next 25 years.  We must make tough decisions today to ensure that future development will be an asset to our quality of life, not a burden.  But, for the past 50 years much of our growth and development was not only poorly planned but was actually responsible for many of the serious problems facing the environment: the degradation of the Chesapeake and Coastal Bays, our poor air quality, and threats to our drinking water supply. 

The good news is that we can design a future in which growth is environmentally, economically and socially robust. Maryland has been a leader in forging innovative polices to encourage well-designed communities.  It is time to become this leader once again.                

Sprawl and Global Warming

Four steps to take in the 2007 Legislative Session

1.      Applying planning requirements to the counties

Last year the legislature established important new planning requirements for cities and some counties.  These planning elements include stronger policies for annexation, a requirement to consider water quality and quantity when planning for growth, and stricter policies for planning growth in environmentally sensitive areas.  Unfortunately, the element that requires analyzing past and current growth trends as well as the land and infrastructure available to support future growth applies only to towns.  We support expanding that important provision to apply to the counties.

2.      Encouraging regional cooperation

Currently there is little to no cooperation between counties and municipalities, or counties and their neighbors.  This leads to serious problems for transportation planning, environmental protection, and agricultural preservation.  It is critical that we improve regional cooperation to ensure better results for the citizens of Maryland and so that scarce tax resources are efficiently deployed.  

3.      Create a Planning fund for smaller jurisdictions

Many communities do not have the staff capacity to provide the planning needed in this market. A fund is needed to help local jurisdictions have new capacity to plan better for their future.  This fund should be granted on competitive bases to those that would use the funds for smart growth planning, including working cooperatively with neighboring jurisdictions. 

4.      Laying the groundwork to overhaul our planning regulations

      Counties and cities are required to submit comprehensive plans to the state every six years, but there are numerous problems with these plans. They are not enforceable and are too-often ignored. Many jurisdictions are years behind schedule for updating their plans. They often are not linked to zoning changes and are frequently changed. There is no requirement for housing in these plans and certainly no requirement that the local jurisdictions plan for housing for all members of the community. Many counties do not have agricultural zoning that truly protects agricultural uses or other open spaces.  A legislative task force established in 2006 will be meeting to look at current growth policies and see where changes can be made.  We support clear instructions from the task force that recommend significant changes to these policies. Strong enabling legislation this year will ensure that the task force comes back with strong legislation next year.

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