Smart Growth is Not New to Maryland, Part 1

Brief History of Planning in Maryland

PlanMaryland is not the first attempt to more wisely manage growth, development, preservation and quality of life in Maryland. The evolution of planning in Maryland begins with the State Planning Commission.

The Maryland State Planning Commission was created by a special session of the General Assembly in 1933 – the first state planning commission in the country.  The Commission was created to coordinate Depression-era public works programs of the National Resources Planning Board and the Works Projects Administration (WPA).  The work of the Commission in such areas as recreation, finance, land use, public welfare, health, conservation, transportation, local and state government, and capital improvements programs established the high standards which characterize state planning in Maryland.

A 1956 State planning report emphasized the need for the state to aid local jurisdictions, establish long range goals, strengthen centralized coordination of planning in the executive branch, and increase the areas of concern, expertise, and size of the state planning staff.  As a result of this report, a new state planning law was enacted, which referenced a State Development Plan for the first time. Chapter 543 of the Laws of 1959 created the State Planning Department.

The new Department led a number of initiatives involving the state’s water resources including the Potomac River Basin Advisory Committee, and preparing an interstate compact for the three-state drainage area Susquehanna River Basin. In addition, the state supported a survey and documentation of historical resources which culminated with the establishment of the Maryland Historical Trust in 1961, the first state agency in the United States created specifically for historic preservation purposes.

Program Open Space (POS), one of Maryland’s most important environmental programs, was established in 1969.  Administered by the Department of Natural Resources, POS is funded by dedicated revenue from the State’s real estate transfer tax. Following the creation of POS, the department began a program of outdoor recreation and open space planning.

The Land Use Act of 1974 authorized the Secretary of Planning to designate areas of critical state concern. Guidelines were published in 1976 and revised in 1978.  Twenty counties, Baltimore City, and twelve municipalities submitted critical area recommendations for over 250 specific areas. In 1981, 57 individual sites where designated by the State.

The General Assembly during the 1970s and 1980s passed other legislation that continues to have a significant impact on land use and the environment in Maryland.  The Tidal Wetlands Act of 1970 requires a State permit for the alteration of tidal wetland and requires mitigation of any wetland loss.  The Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation (MALPF) was created in 1977 and to date has preserved almost 270,000 acres of farm and other agricultural resource lands. The Chesapeake Bay Critical Areas Act of 1984 marked the first time that the state and local governments jointly addressed the impacts of land development on habitat and aquatic resources. The Critical Area Act designated all lands within 1,000 feet of tidal waters or adjacent tidal wetlands as the “Critical Area.”

Other important environmental and land use legislation during the decade included the Stormwater Management Act of 1982, which requires on-site treatment of stormwater on new development sites to prevent on-point source pollution.  The Non-Tidal Wetlands Act of 1989 requires a State permit for alterations of non-tidal wetlands, a buffer between development and non-tidal wetlands, and mitigation for the loss of non-tidal wetlands.

Important historic preservation legislation was enacted in 1985 with the creation of a process for review of State projects, permits, licenses, and financial assistance.  Also in the 1980s, the state asserted its authority over all state sovereignty submerged land with the passage of the Submerged Archaeological Historic Property Act which strengthened its ability to protect underwater archeological resources.

In 1985, the Department published a report that noted that residential uses accounted for 90% of the increase in urban and suburban land in Maryland during the 197O’s. The overwhelming majority of residential development was very low density and the acreage covered by residential development increased nearly three times as fast as population.

In 1987, the Chesapeake Bay Agreement, signed by the Governors of Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia, the Mayor of Washington D.C., the administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the Chairman of the Chesapeake Bay Commission, started the interstate effort to protect and restore the Chesapeake Bay.

The 1989 Barnes Commission identified the relationship between development in the Chesapeake region and pollution of the Chesapeake Bay. The Commission recommended ways to limit the impact of anticipated growth on the Chesapeake Bay watershed including recommending legislation to designate certain areas in the state for growth and others for protection including statewide zoning.

The Forest Conservation Act of 1991 required developers to replace some of the forest cleared on sites larger than one acre and also required that trees be planted on development sites that previous had few or no trees.

In 1992, the Economic Growth, Resource Protection, and Planning Act was adopted.  Central to the Act were the “Seven Visions” to guide development, and preservation (later expanded to eight) and that were to be incorporated into local comprehensive plans and implemented by local zoning and other local regulations and programs.

The “Smart Growth and Neighborhood Conservation” Acts of 1997 were enacted by the General Assembly and ushered in the State’s “Smart Growth” initiative. This included establishing Priority Funding Areas (growth areas where state funds would be targeted), Rural Legacy land and resource preservation program, incentives to clean up brownfields, live near your work, and create jobs).

Maryland House Bill (HB) 1141, from the 2006 session of the General Assembly, required all counties and municipalities that exercise planning and zoning authority to adopt a water resources element and a municipal growth element in their comprehensive plans. HB 2 from the same 2006 session requires counties seeking certification of their farmland preservation programs to designate Priority Preservation Areas (PPAs) and to include a PPA element in their comprehensive plans.

The state took the lead in planning for the challenges and opportunities arriving with the thousands of jobs coming to Maryland as a result of Federal Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) efforts approved by the Federal government in 2005. A 2005 decision by the Department of Defense to close or downsize military bases in New Jersey and elsewhere under BRAC resulted in a relocation of many of these direct and support positions to existing bases in Maryland. Nearly 30,000 military and support jobs and 28,000 new households were anticipated to relocate to Maryland beginning in 2011 and required significant collaborative planning at State, regional and local levels. Governor O’Malley convened a BRAC subcabinet from multiple agencies to coordinate a consolidated approach to address the issues and implications of BRAC. In addition, BRAC zones were designated within growth areas already designated by local communities which became eligible for significant economic and State assistance incentives for use in infrastructure improvements. Considerable harmonization, technical assistance, and planning was provided by the State agencies to local governments to ensure that all were prepared for the new residents through adequate housing, support services, transportation and public infrastructure.

House Bill 773 from the 2007 session of the Maryland General assembly established a 21-member Task Force on the Future for Growth and Development. Prior to the creation of the Task Force, there was no statewide forum where stakeholders could gather to discuss growth and development issues and policies. The Task Force convened its first meeting in January 2008 and presented its initial report to Governor O’Malley in 2009. The report, “Where Do We Grow from Here?,” presented an assessment of current conditions in the State and outlined over 50 recommendations for furthering smart, sustainable growth in Maryland.

In 2008, the Maryland Court of Appeals made a decision in a case known as Terrapin Run, LLC and held that a special exception could be granted by a local legislative body even if the project did not strictly conform to a locally adopted comprehensive plan. This decision was widely believed to relegate local comprehensive plans to a solely advisory role in actual land use decisions and raised concerns about the lack of legal clarity about the requirement for local land use decisions to be consistent with the comprehensive plan.

Governor O’Malley introduced the Smart, Green and Growing legislative package in 2009 which was designed to promote sustainable growth and environmental quality in Maryland. Three major planning related bills were enacted as part of the overall legislation. The legislation explicitly clarified what “consistency” between local comprehensive plans and zoning means, addressing the Terrapin Run issue from the previous year. The legislation also revised the existing State Planning Visions from eight to twelve and required that all members of a planning commission, board, or zoning board of appeals complete an education course by July 2010 and that new members receive a course within six months of appointment.

Smart, Green and Growing also established reporting requirements for both local governments and MDP. Local governments that implement an Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance (APFO) which results in a restriction within the PFA must report biannually to MDP and MDP is required to report to the General Assembly on the statewide impacts of APFOS. It established a requirement that local planning commissions submit an annual report to the local legislative bodies showing what ordinances or regulations were adopted to implement the State Planning Visions. Local reports also need to show smart growth information on a series of indicators within and outside of the PFA and local goals and implementation plans to increase growth within the PFA and decrease it outside of the PFA.

The Sustainable Communities Act was ratified during the 2010 session of the Maryland General Assembly. The law strengthens reinvestment and revitalization in Maryland’s older communities by reinventing an existing rehabilitation tax credit and extending the life of the credit through 2014. The framework for designating a number of existing programs, including Community Legacy, Neighborhood Business Works, and other community revitalization programs, was simplified into a single “Sustainable Communities” designation. The law also establishes a new transportation focus on older communities, and enhances the role of the Smart Growth Subcabinet in the revitalization of communities. The law cuts across existing agencies and programs and simplifies and streamlines many programs to enhance revitalization in Maryland’s communities.

Senate Bill 278 from the 2010 session of the Maryland General Assembly established the Maryland Sustainable Growth Commission. The Maryland Sustainable Growth Commission is a transformation of the previously established Task Force on the Future for Growth and Development into a permanent commission to advise on growth and development issues in the State. The Commission includes additional stakeholders, including representatives of the various regions of Maryland, as well as four additional State agencies whose activities impact Smart Growth, revitalization and quality of life in Maryland communities. Responsibilities of Commission include serving as an advisory board for the Governor’s Smart Growth Subcabinet, making recommendations for changes in State law, regulations, policies, and procedures needed to implement the State Planning Visions, assessing the impact of Smart Growth policies and programs, and advising on the preparation of the State development plan. The commission will sunset in 2020.

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