| Survey:
Smart Growth Listening Session On-Line |
Make
a Difference in Maryland for Future Generations
You
can help chart the future of growth in Maryland’s communities. The
Maryland Department of Planning (MDP) and the Task Force on the Future
for Growth and Development in Maryland invite you to participate
in a survey informing their work on recommendations and strategies
for sustainable growth in the State.
Visit
Listening Session Portal
|
| MDP
PlanCast Multimedia Site is Here! |
MDP
has launched its newest web service for citizens to learn
about the programs of the agency and about
growth issues
facing the State. Called “MDP PlanCast,” this site
includes audio and video recordings of interviews. MDP PlanCast
features the department’s new 15-minute public affairs
radio program, "Smart Planning," which airs Saturday
mornings on Baltimore's WCAO-AM (Heaven 600). The show presents
interviews with the agency’s staff highlighting its programs
and products.
Click
here to visit MDP PlanCast!
|
| MDP’s
FINDER Parcel Map Program Receives Write-up in The Maryland
Surveyor Magazine |
Mr.
Gary Ganjon, a professional land surveyor in Carroll County,
published an article describing the way
he uses MDP’s FINDER in his practice. The article, entitled “SOFTWARE
REVIEW: MdProperty Map FINDER Software,” was printed
in the “The Maryland Surveyor,” the journal of
the Maryland Society of Surveyors.
Mr. Ganjon
writes, “FINDER is a very powerful tool to
retrieve tax map and parcel data without learning the intricacies
of [complicated GIS software]. The ability to add some of your
own data sets can turn FINDER into a great tool for evaluating
possible project sites and to track your own work. The half
day of free training is well worth the time. I recommend this
tool for your review.”
Click here to read the full article
|
| Task
Force on the Future for Growth and Development |
The
next meeting of the Task Force on the Future for Growth and
Development in Maryland will be held on Wednesday, November
12, 2008. Please visit the Task Force portal for upcoming
meeting dates
and information from past meetings.
The Task Force was formed under House Bill 773 and was signed into law
in 2007. The 21-member Task Force is charged with studying a wide range
of smart growth and land use issues effecting Maryland. A final report
is due by December 1, 2008. Meetings of the Task Force will be held monthly, Click
here to visit the Portal Page
|
| 25th Anniversary meeting of the Maryland Planning Commissioners Association/a> |
The
25th Anniversary meeting of the Maryland Planning Commissioners Association
(formerly MCPA) will be held October 30 and 31 at the Hilton
Garden Inn on Kent Island. A Thursday evening dinner gathering
at Fisherman’s
Inn will honor past MPCA president and veteran Thomas Beyard,
MPCA staff Nancy Ancel and Weldon Freeman, and former state
planning director Connie Lieder. The Friday program will
be a full day of sustainable planning sessions, training
for planning
commissioners and an update on state planning initiatives.
Registration Form and Program
Register
Online!
A special MPCA room rate of $119 is available at the Hilton Garden Inn .
This is available for Thursday night only.
Dinner on Thursday will be at the
Fisherman's Inn,
right next to the hotel.
|
| Maryland
Historical Trust Provides 53 Grants to Assist Museums and
Historic Preservation Organizations |
| Museums,
non-profit groups and local governments around Maryland have
received 53 grants totaling over $2 million
through three Maryland Historical Trust (MHT) financial assistance
programs. The MHT Grant Fund provides support for Capital and
Non-Capital Historic Preservation Grants as well as Museum Advancement
Grants. Click here to view Press Release. |
| MDP
Publishes 27th in its Models & Guidelines Series |
| Supporting
Governor Martin O’Malley’s efforts to distinguish
Maryland’s Smart Sustainable Growth initiatives, the
Maryland Department of Planning (MDP) issued its 27th publication
of Models and Guidelines today. This guide, entitled "Smart
Growth, Community Planning and Public School Construction," focuses
on Maryland’s Public Schools Construction Program, supporting
sustainable schools within planned growth and Priority Funding
Areas across the state. Click for August 14, 2008 Press Release
Click
to download Models & Guidelines #27
|
| Maryland
Heritage Areas Authority Provides 58 Grants to Heritage
Tourism Sites, Activities, and Organizations Across Maryland |
Non-profit groups, museums, and governments across Maryland
received 58 grants totaling over $3.1 million from the Maryland
Heritage Areas Authority (MHAA) for projects and activities
that support economic development through heritage tourism.
Click here for press release. |
| Maryland Sustainable Communities Initiative to Promote Smart Growth |
|
The Maryland Sustainable Communities Initiative is a joint program of the Maryland Departments of Planning (MDP), Housing and Community Development (DHCD), and Business and Economic Development (DBED). The initiative is a new program to advance Maryland’s efforts toward smart sustainable growth. This unique interagency initiative coordinates existing State resources to provide funding and technical assistance to eligible municipalities to assist them in meeting the increased standards for comprehensive planning, especially those required by House Bill 1141, passed by the 2006 Maryland General Assembly.
By providing resources and technical assistance, the Maryland Sustainable Communities Initiative supports towns, such as Leonardtown, with limited resources to balance economic, environmental and social needs by developing plans that meet State and local goals.
Click here for details of the Maryland Sustainable Communities Initiative
Click for the July 17th Press Release
|
| Maryland
Planning Directors Roundtable – Summer 2008 Meeting |
The
next quarterly meeting of Maryland Planning Directors’ Roundtable
will be held Thursday, July 31, 2008 at the University of Maryland
Baltimore County. The theme is “Sustainability:
Green and Smart Growth.” Click here for details. |
| July
Events at Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum |
Click
here to view July’s calendar of events at the Jefferson
Patterson Park and Museum (JPPM).
JPPM,
a state museum of archaeology and home to the Maryland Archaeological
Conservation Laboratory, is a program of the
Maryland Historical Trust, a division of the Maryland Department
of Planning. It is located on 560 scenic acres along the Patuxent
River and the St. Leonard Creek in St. Leonard, Calvert County,
Maryland. For more information about JPPM, visit www.jefpat.org
|
| Did
You Know? |
| It
is projected that more than one million additional people will
call Maryland home by 2030, a 20% population increase. As the
state prepares for these new residents, its communities will
face many growth and preservation challenges. The Maryland
Department of Planning is providing ten vital facts and
estimates that you should know. Click
here to visit “Did
You Know?” |
| MDP’s
State Data Center Preps for 2010 Census; Adds More Than
120 Thousand New Addresses U. S. Census Bureau Mailing
List |
| The
State Data Center participated in the U. S. Census Bureau’s
Local Update of Census Addresses (LUCA) Program. To date, Maryland
is one of a few states that
participated on a statewide basis. This measure leverages the
State for a more complete count in the 2010 decennial census.
Click here to view the Press Release |
| Maryland
Heritage Areas Authority to Hold Hearing on Request to
Enlarge the Boundaries of the Stories of the Chesapeake
Heritage Area |
| The
Maryland Heritage Areas Authority will hold a public hearing
on a proposal to expand the boundaries
of the Stories of the Chesapeake Heritage Area to include the
Towns of Denton (Caroline County); Preston (Caroline County);
Queen Anne (Queen Anne’s and Caroline Counties); Queenstown
(Queen Anne’s County); and Oxford (Talbot County). Click
here to view the press Release |
| MDP
Releases Report on Future of Growth and Development on
Eastern Shore |
Maryland’s
Eastern Shore has faced rapid growth in recent years. Over
the last three
decades, the Eastern Shore has experienced substantial losses
in agricultural and forest lands, large increases in developed
lands, worsening water quality, increased commuting times and
distances and a growing population that has strained public
services.
This nine county region is projected to grow by nearly 160,000
people over the next 25 years. If the Eastern Shore Region is
to maintain its traditional landscape, vibrant communities and
resource-based economies, visionary planning and land management
must occur.
MDP’s publication, A Shore for Tomorrow, was spurred by
these trends and the impact they will have on historic and cultural
resources and the region’s unique character. Click
here to download the report (in Adobe PDF)
|
| February
Issue of the BayStat Newsletter: Your Link to the Chesapeake
Bay |
One
of the O'Malley Administration's first actions after coming
into office was to create BayStat, an innovative program
to help the State better track, target and increase accountability
for its efforts to restore the Chesapeake
Bay. Less than a year later, this exciting tool has already
improved the way our government programs work for Bay health.
BayStat will help target the allocation of $50 million in
new funding under the Chesapeake Bay 2010 Trust Fund to provide
the most cost-effective water quality benefits.
The
BayStat public website was launched in September to
allow for a more transparent process and to afford every
citizen access to information about our Bay's health and
our work to improve it. The monthly BayStat newsletter
was created to keep you up to date on our progress and
to inspire you to join us in our shared work to revive
the Bay that we love. Check out the February issue of the
BayStat Newsletter. |
| First
in a series of Planning Guidance Bulletins |
| MDP released today the first in a series of Planning
Guidance Bulletins. This publication is intended to provide general
guidance to counties drafting the new sensitive areas and priority
preservation elements. House Bill 1141 requires that agricultural
and forest lands intended for resource protection or conservation
be included as part of the sensitive areas element of county
comprehensive plans. House Bill 2 requires that counties seeking
state certification of their agricultural land preservation program
designate Priority Preservation Areas (PPAs) and add a PPA element
to their comprehensive plan. Click here to open the Planning
Guidance Bulletin. |
| Maryland
Real Property Process |
Maryland
state government agencies often own and manage a huge portfolio
of real property. In some cases, this portfolio consists of
a large number of parcels. When these holdings no longer prove
to be productive assets for the state, it becomes necessary
to declare them surplus property – a designation that
can lead to transfer or disposition. When this occurs, the
State Clearinghouse for Intergovernmental Assistance, or the “Clearinghouse,” steps
in to administer a process that protects Maryland’s
natural resources and its investments in real property by applying
Smart Growth principles.
Please
click here for more information. |
| Maryland
Green Buidling Task Force Publishes Final Report |
| The
19-member Green Building Task Force delivered its final report
to Governor Martin O’Malley, Lt. Governor
Anthony G. Brown, President of the Senate Thomas V. “Mike” Miller,
Jr., Speaker of the House Michael E. Busch, Senator Joan Carter
Conway, Chair of the Senate Education, Health and Environmental
Affairs Committee and Delegate Maggie McIntosh, Chair of the
House Environmental Matters Committee. The report includes a
summary of Maryland’s green building efforts and offers
over 35 well-informed recommendations to address this vital challenge
to Maryland’s environmental sustainability. Click here
for the full report |
| MDP
Releases 2007 Annual Report |
The
Maryland Department of Planning released it's 2007 Annual
Report today. To view the complete report
click here.
Excerpt
from report:
The
mission of the Maryland Department of Planning (MDP)
is to promote “growth that fosters vibrant, livable
communities, preserves and protects the environment, and makes
efficient use of State resources.” Everything that
we do is guided by these principles of Smart Growth. |
| MDP
Launches a New Website for Public Access to Comprehensive
Plans |
| The
Department is proud to unveil a new site today that provides
access to the proposed comprehensive plans of local
jurisdictions and our comments to those plans. This new website
is responsive to Governor O’Malley’s initiative to
provide Marylanders open access to the workings of state government
and the public process. Providing access to these plans, also
known as master plans or master development plans, makes a somewhat
complicated and often closed process more open to the general
public. This site explains what comprehensive plans are, how
they are adopted, the importance to Smart Growth and the role
of the State in the process. Click
here to visit the Site To
view the press release (11/13/07) click here
|
| Maryland
Public Schools Interactive Map |
| As part of MDP's online BRAC resources, this online
tool can assist individuals relocating to Maryland to view public
school locations throughout the 23 counties and Baltimore City.
Users of this site can view proficiency scores and enrollment
for each school as well as overlay median residential home prices
for the year 2006 by census tract. Click here to enter MDP's
Maryland Public Schools Interactive Map. |
| Maryland
Launches Chesapeake BayStat Website |
| Maryland's
BayStat website, an innovative new tool that will afford citizens
greater, more immediate access to information on the health
of
Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries, and the status of related
State programs and decision making was launched on September
12,
2007. BayStat was created to advance accountability and coordination
among key government agencies. The Mayland Department of Planning
joins forces with the Departments of Agriculture, the Environment
and Natural Resources, as well as University of Maryland, to
meet
monthly with the Governor and his staff to review efficiencies
of the state's Bay Restoration programs. This new website is
the
public face of BayStat, and will continue to be added to in the
coming months. Please
click here to visit BayStat |
