Showing posts with label MD Dept of Planning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MD Dept of Planning. Show all posts

Friday, January 16, 2015

January 1991 Report of the Governor’s Commission on Growth in the Chesapeake Bay Region

January 1991 Report of the Governor’s Commission on Growth in the Chesapeake Bay Region

Protecting the Future

A Vision for Maryland

Report of the Governor’s Commission on Growth in the Chesapeake Bay Region

January 1991

SUMMARY OF THE COMMISSION'S PROPOSAL

Since October 1989, the Governor's Commission on Growth in the Chesapeake Bay Region has worked to develop a vision for Maryland's growth over the next 30 years. Answering a charge from Governor William Donald Schaefer, the Commission has made recommendations for reconciling rapid economic growth and development with the conservation of Maryland's natural resources and the preservation of the State's unique quality of life.
The Commission recognized an opportunity to change the way land-use has been managed in the past, and crafted recommendations which carefully consider the challenge of the Visions prepared by the 2020 Panel of Experts.2 Each Vision was considered, and the responses blended into five basic recommendations that are the subject of this report.

1. Designate suitable areas for growth. Sprawl development devours land, harms the environment and the Chesapeake Bay, and uses infrastructure inefficiently. The Commission's proposal would have local governments direct new development to areas they believe can most efficiently accommodate it.

2. Protect sensitive areas. From a list of more than 40 environmentally-sensitive areas, such as den or breeding sites and large contiguous tracts of forest, the Commission focused on four as being most critical to protect from the impact of individual development projects. On steep slopes and in stream buffers, in habitats for endangered species and 100-year floodplains, virtually no development should be permitted.

3. Conserve natural resources. Sprawl development encourages inefficient use of resources. Natural resources such as farmland and forests, once developed, are difficult to restore. Under the Commission's proposal, development will be directed away from farms and forests.

4. Make stewardship of the environment a universal ethic. Mary landers must understand that each individual's actions have a direct effect on the Bay and the environment. The Commission has asked that a statewide Stewardship Council be charged with coordinating existing educational programs and increasing opportunities for individuals to protect the environment.

5. Provide funds to achieve the recommendations. Concentrating development depends on the ability of local governments to fund the planning and infrastructure.  Although local

The 2020 Panel of Experts was convened at the request of the signatories of the 1987 Chesapeake Bay Agreement to study the consequences of population growth and development for the Chesapeake Bay watershed to the year 2020.  Their report described six detailed "visions" and "actions."

[…]

From far western Garrett County to the Eastern Shore, the importance of the Bay to Maryland is virtually inestimable. Each year it gives us millions of dollars of seafood, billions of dollars of commerce flow through its major ports, and it is a recreation center for the East Coast. In 1989, the Maryland Department of Economic and Employment Development estimated the economic value of the Bay to Maryland and Virginia to be $678 billion.

Saving the Chesapeake Bay MUST be an overriding priority for all Marylanders and their governments.  Economic Importance of the Chesapeake Bay. 1989.
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Monday, October 31, 2011

ERIC JAFFE - The Atlantic Cities: Maryland's Governor Explains his War on Sprawl


Maryland's Governor Explains his War on Sprawl

Maryland's Governor Explains his War on Sprawl
Flickr/Governor Martin O'Malley
Maryland is running out of space. For decades now, a trend toward low-density development - in a word, sprawl - has created a lifestyle threatens the state's farmland, cities, and the Chesapeake Bay. An antidote has arrived in the form of PlanMaryland, a statewide smart growth plan that encourages the development of high-density residential pockets along established lines of infrastructure. The hope is that this effort will produce a  stronger Baltimore-Washington mega-region, and a more sustainable quality of life.
Over the past three years the state's Department of Planning has collected comments from thousands of residents and produced two drafts of the plan. The public feedback period will endin early November, at which point the department will prepare a final version for submission to Gov. Martin O'Malley. On the eve of this long-awaited step forward, O'Malley spoke to Atlantic Cities about the perils of sprawl, the promise of density, and the state's city-centric future.
"This is kind of wonky stuff," he says. All the more reason to get to it...
Eric Jaffe is a contributing writer to The Atlantic Cities and the author of The King's Best Highway: The Lost History of the Boston Post Road, the Route That Made America. He lives in New York. All posts »

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My http://www.explorecarroll.com/ columns appear in the copy of the Baltimore Sunday Sun that is distributed in Carroll County: https://subscribe.baltsun.com/Circulation/

Saturday, October 29, 2011

Eric Jaffa: Maryland's Governor Explains his War on Sprawl



Maryland's Governor Explains his War on Sprawl


Maryland's Governor Explains his War on Sprawl
Flickr/Governor Martin O'Malley
Maryland is running out of space. For decades now, a trend toward low-density development - in a word, sprawl - has created a lifestyle threatens the state's farmland, cities, and the Chesapeake Bay. An antidote has arrived in the form of PlanMaryland, a statewide smart growth plan that encourages the development of high-density residential pockets along established lines of infrastructure. The hope is that this effort will produce a  stronger Baltimore-Washington mega-region, and a more sustainable quality of life.
Over the past three years the state's Department of Planning has collected comments from thousands of residents and produced two drafts of the plan. The public feedback period will endin early November, at which point the department will prepare a final version for submission to Gov. Martin O'Malley. On the eve of this long-awaited step forward, O'Malley spoke to Atlantic Cities about the perils of sprawl, the promise of density, and the state's city-centric future.
"This is kind of wonky stuff," he says. All the more reason to get to it... http://www.theatlanticcities.com/politics/2011/10/marylands-governor-explain-war-sprawl/369/#.TqqmrIMGuo0.facebook


Eric Jaffa: Maryland's Governor Explains his War on Sprawl

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My http://www.explorecarroll.com/ columns appear in the copy of the Baltimore Sunday Sun that is distributed in Carroll County: https://subscribe.baltsun.com/Circulation/

Thursday, October 27, 2011

MarylandReporter.com: Groups share opinions on tax hikes



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Thursday, October 27, 2011  

Increased tax proposals get mixed reception

Proposals to raise the gas tax and flush tax are getting a mixed reaction, with business groups divided and other groups saying they are reasonable, but shouldn't preclude tax hikes for other needs.
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Today's State Roundup: Strategizing against PlanMaryland

Rural politicians to strategize against PlanMaryland; proposals for tax hikes and new fees to pay for roads and Bay cleanup continue to make news; massive new State Police facility near Hagerstown almost complete; Ehrlich takes the stand for Currie; and Charles County focuses on light rail line to D.C.

Have you checked out our new Government Meetings Schedule? It might save you a few clicks.

Editor and Publisher: Len Lazarick; Associate Editor: Megan Poinski; Roundup Editor: Cynthia Prairie
  
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Kevin Dayhoff Soundtrack: http://www.kevindayhoff.net/ Kevin Dayhoff Art: http://www.kevindayhoffart.com/
My http://www.explorecarroll.com/ columns appear in the copy of the Baltimore Sunday Sun that is distributed in Carroll County: https://subscribe.baltsun.com/Circulation/