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Maryland a National Leader in Farmland Preservation
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The September 2009 issue of Farmland Preservation Report lists five Maryland Counties among the top ten nationally for farmland preservation:
| #1. | Lancaster (PA) | 82,118 acres |
| #2. | Montgomery (MD) | 71,469 acres |
| #3. | Berks (PA) | 65,126 acres |
| #4. | Chester (PA) | 56,711 acres |
| #5. | Carroll (MD) | 54,858 acres |
| #6. | Burlington (NJ) | 50,954 acres |
| #7. | Baltimore (MD) | 49,377 acres |
| #8. | Harford (MD) | 44,926 acres |
| #9. | York (PA) | 43,936 acres |
| #10. | Frederick (MD) | 43,653 acres |
This land remains in private hands and can be farmed or sold but the right to develop has been sold or donated to a government or non-profit entity. Farmland Preservation Report asked survey respondents to only include acreage that was preserved for agriculture and not primarily for natural resource protection. In addition to acres preserved, the ranking criteria also include “political leadership and professional administration” and “significant funding.”
According to the Maryland Department of Planning, privately owned land in Maryland preserved by easement, for both agriculture and natural resource protection, totals over 675,000 acres. This total does not include the almost 700,000 acres that are publicly owned for such uses as recreation, wildlife sanctuaries and resource protection.
Farmland Preservation Report is an independent information and networking source serving professionals in planning, conservation and agriculture and all those working to protect farmland in urbanizing regions. (www.farmlandpreservationreport.com)
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Secretary Richard E. Hall, AICP and Assistant Attorney General Shelley Wasserman Published in APA’s Planning & Environmental Law Journal, Terrapin Run a Year Later
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For almost two decades, Maryland has been considered a leader in the smart growth movement by professional planners, the environmental community, and others interested in the intersection of land planning, land use, and zoning. Maryland passed major land use legislation in both 1992 and 1997, hoping to reverse the rate of conversion of farms and forests into low-density sprawl and to support the continued vitality of existing communities.
Since that time, the progressive action by the executive and legislative branches did not result in any court decisions acknowledging these fundamental changes in Maryland's land planning and land use laws. [A] complete disconnect came to the fore in a 2008 case decided by the Maryland Court of Appeals, the state's highest court, in David Trail, et al. v. Terrapin Run, LLC, et al.
Click here to read article from Planning & Environmental Law (September 2009, Vol. 61, No. 9, pp. 11-12)...
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Secretary Hall to Participate in “Metropolitan Council and State Perspectives – Smart and Sustainable” Panel at 6th Mid-Atlantic Regional Planning Roundtable (October 1, 2009)
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Secretary Hall will participate in the Metropolitan Washington Council of Government’s 6th Mid-Atlantic Regional Planning Roundtable taking place at the Cultural Arts Center of Frederick County in Frederick, MD on September 30th – October 1st. He will be part of the Metropolitan Council and State Perspectives – Smart and Sustainable panel on Thurday, October 1st from 11:00 a.m. to Noon. For more information on the regional planning roundtable click here. |
| MDP Releases the “Smart, Green & Growing Planning Guide”
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| As a service to residents of Maryland, MDP created this new publication to provide an overview of recent trends and key planning tools that help keep our State Smart, Green & Growing. The guide features a section devoted to planning legislation passed by the 2009 Maryland General Assembly and signed into law by Governor O’Malley, the most significant planning enhancements in over a decade. Click here to download the Smart, Green & Growing Planning Guide. |
| Maryland
Planning Directors Roundtable – Summer 2009 Meeting |
The
next quarterly meeting of Maryland Planning Directors’ Roundtable
will be
held Thursday,July 23, 2009. Click
here for details. |
| Maryland's 2009 Land Preservation, Parks & Recreation Plan Now Available for Download |
| The 2009 Land Preservation, Parks, and Recreation Plan examines how well Maryland’s programs are preserving those lands and resources and providing recreational opportunities to its citizens. Click here to read the report. |
| Secretary
Hall's Message on Smart, Green & Growing Legislation |
Secretary Richard E. Hall is pleased to join Governor O’Malley in  announcing that three key planning bills from the Administration’s Smart, Green & Growing legislative package passed the 2009 General Assembly. The Governor signed these bills into law on May 7, 2009.
Click
here for more details.
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| MDP's
Website Enhancement Survey |
Over
the next few months, the Maryland Department of Planning
(MDP)  will
be refocusing its website design to better serve customer
needs. This is the perfect opportunity for you, a Maryland
growth and preservation stakeholder, to help us shape how
our website works, how information is served and how we
can provide better service to website users.
Please participate in our survey. It only takes 5 minutes and will help us
serve you better.
Click here or on the image to the right.
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| "What
We Learned From Our Citizens” Added to the Smart
Growth Listening Sessions Page |
The Maryland Department of Planning has summarized
the main themes learned from the Smart Growth Listening
Sessions held last fall.
To
view “What
We Learned From Our Citizens,” click
here.
Click here to find out more about listening sessions |
| Maryland
Prepares for 2010 Census |
In
preparation for the 2010 decennial Census, Governor O’Malley
has directed the Maryland  Department
of Planning (MDP) the office of the Secretary of State (SOS)
and the Governor’s Office of Community Initiatives (GOCI)
to collaborate with the U. S. Census Bureau to enable a complete
count of Marylanders. To adequately inform all Marylanders
of the importance of the 2010 Census, which takes place April
1 next year, this group is planning creative and productive
tools to implement the Governor’s Census 2010 Outreach
campaign, an effort to educate Marylanders and encourage everyone
to return census forms when they are issued next year. The
campaign theme, “The Success of the Census -
It’s In Our Hands, Maryland!” guides the statewide
partnership. Click here to read the full press release.
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| MDP
2008 Annual Report and Maryland Smart Growth Sub-Cabinet’s
2008 Report on the Implementation of the Smart Growth
Areas Act Released |
Highlighting
statewide accomplishments toward Governor O’Malley’s vision for Maryland as smart,
green and growing, the Maryland Department of Planning (MDP)
today published both its 2008 Annual Report and the Maryland
Smart Growth Sub-Cabinet’s 2008 Report.
MDP’s 2008 Annual Report summarizes the department’s
accomplishments over the past year to help improve the quality
of life in Maryland, while protecting Maryland’s
precious, yet limited, land resources in every region
of our State.
The Smart Growth Sub-Cabinet’s report, entitled “2008
Annual Report on the Implementation of the Smart Growth Areas
Act,” summarizes the budgetary commitments of State
agencies in fulfillment of Maryland’s premiere
Smart Growth law.
Click here for Press Release.
Click here to download MDP’s 2008 Annual Report (PDF)
Click
here to read the Maryland Smart Growth Sub-Cabinet’s
Annual Report (PDF)
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| Online
Listening Sessions Survey Results |
Over
1200 Marylanders from all 23 counties and Baltimore City
participated in MDP’s online survey.
The survey, modeled after the  interactive questions at the
nine Smart Growth Listening Sessions held throughout the state,
gave respondents an opportunity to provide their opinions
on the future of smart growth and
development in the State.
The Maryland Department of Planning
(MDP) and the Task Force on the Future for Growth and Development
in Maryland sponsored this survey to allow citizen input to
inform their ongoing work.
For a report of the survey results, please
click here. Click here to find out more about
listening sessions
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| New
Resource Allows Local Government to See the Impact of
Census Counts on Federal Funding |
The Brookings
Institution has prepared a series
of tables showing Fiscal Year 2007 Federal Funds based on
census data that were distributed to Maryland, its 23 counties
and Baltimore City. These tables include federal programs
that rely on data from the U. S. Census Bureau and data produced
by other federal agencies that are derived from census statistics.
Click
here to enter Maryland's 2010 Census Outreach page.
Then scroll down to the Resource Tools for Outreach
Efforts in Maryland section and select a report from the drop-down
menu under the Federal Funds Distributed to Maryland
and Its Jurisdictions, FY2007 heading. |
| Take
the “Smart, Green & Growing” Survey |
Governor
O’Malley launched
Maryland’s “Smart, Green & Growing" Initiative
in December 2008.
Projected growth Maryland will bring new
households and jobs to our state but also
impact our transportation systems,
energy use, housing needs, land development, and natural
resources.
Take
the Smart, Green & Growing Online Survey.
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| MDP’s “Smart,
Green & Growing” Initiatives Page |
The
O’Malley Administration introduced five planning
bills in the Maryland State Senate on January 27th that
aim to advance the Governor’s Smart, Green & Growing
Initiative.
“ Our Smart, Green and Growing legislative agenda is focused on protecting
Maryland’s precious, yet limited, land resources in every region of our
State, so that our families and children will someday to be able share
these natural treasures with their own kids in the same way that our parents
and grandparents shared them with us, said Governor Martin O’Malley. “It’s
time to move from twenty years of treading water to twenty years of cleaner water
and more sustainable growth. ”
Click here to view the page and
learn more about Governor O’Malley planning bills
Click
here to read the Governor’s full press release
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| Report
Released from The Task Force on the Future for Growth
and Development |
The
Task Force presented its report to Governor O’Malley at his “Smart, Green & Growing” press
conference on January 12, 2009. The 89-page report entitled “Where
Do We Grow from Here?” presents an assessment of current
conditions in the State and outlines 52 recommendations for
furthering smart, sustainable growth in Maryland.
The 21-member task force, created under HB 773 in the 2007
legislative session, began meeting in January 2008 with 13
specific charges to fulfill. The Task Force continues until
December 2010.
Click here to download the report and appendices
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