Round One Listening Session - March 13, 2018
Regionalism and Regional Planning ♦ Concerns Over Previous Mandates ♦ Mapping Support and Data ♦ Demographics ♦ Economic Development ♦ Housing ♦ Infrastructure ♦ Community Engagement and Volunteerism ♦ Training and Education ♦ Transportation ♦ Environment ♦ Community ♦ Communication ♦ State Agencies ♦ Technical Assistance ♦ General
The comments below represent the statements or points of view of one or more individuals who participated in the Maryland Department of Planning (MDP) “A Better Maryland” Development Plan Listening Sessions. These comments do not represent any official position or policy of MDP or any other State agency, nor do they represent any official position or policy of any local jurisdiction or local planning agency.
Regionalism and Regional Planning
Need better State coordination on the planning for roads/streets. The regional impact of roads needs to be considered as development traffic impacts neighboring jurisdictions
There is a need for transportation planners and engineers to work together and share information on pending projects and transcend county boundaries
We allow our cost of living to drive people to live in PA and WV
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Concerns Over Previous Mandates
This state development plan effort should not be another land mapping effort like PlanMaryland, but rather should be more an opportunity to share information between state agencies and local governments on a more collaborative basis
Reduce State Involvement in:
Unfunded Mandates
Septics Law
PlanMaryland
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Mapping Support and Data
The State should provide new and better data regarding business and new forms of commerce, such as how many jobs (full or part-time) are generated by employers or how much square footage per employee is needed for e-commerce jobs versus more traditional jobs
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Demographics
The State needs to remain committed to maintaining its data resources, as they are critical to local governments when local planning is done
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Economic Development
Most jurisdictions use CoStar for economic analysis. This is an expensive subscription; the State should consider getting a license that jurisdictions could use
The State approval of business licensing is expensive and time consuming; the State should work on streamlining this process
Since the County doesn’t handle business licenses, it is hard to get good information on the businesses it has
The county has done a pretty good job of making the development process easier. But, there is a need for more infrastructure funding, particularly transportation
Economic development & revitalization is a close 2nd to transportation as the most important issue to address in the Plan:
Brings in tax dollars that can be invested in roads and communities
Many of the county’s road/infrastructure improvements are completed by developers
As important issues to consider in a State Development Plan – Transportation and Economic Development are “chicken & egg” factors – they are very integrated and you need both
Growth is the most pressing issue facing Frederick County. It influences factors such as transportation, schools, and other resource and needs
Economy and jobs are the leading determinants on a high quality of life
Can’t get the other factors of life without a strong economy and jobs
Losing jobs leads to losing people, which leads to blight and decay in the community
Can’t overtax or people will leave
Business investment is most important in making positive change
Brings jobs, money, people, vibrancy, and increases tax base
Enhances cultural resources
Helps with schools
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Housing
The County has a need for affordable housing, but regulations are driving up the cost of housing such as MS4 permits, the rain tax and other regulations
The private sector will provide the housing as long as government gets out of the way
Affordable work force housing is a big issue for the County, the senior population is growing at a rate greater than the State. Need to have a toolbox with as many tools as possible
Housing programs, like the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC), seem to significantly shift credits toward Baltimore, and we have a need here as well
One third of Frederick families fall into the donut hole where they are too wealthy for housing assistance programs, but not wealthy enough to fully afford housing
Additional partnerships would also be helpful in expanding housing opportunities
State should look at alternate ways of providing housing, such as the use of land trusts where a trust owns the land and the cost of the housing is more affordable initially in the purchase price and ongoing taxes. Resale of the units is then more affordable because the cost of land is not a factor in the housing costs
State agencies need to work together on coming up with affordable housing strategies
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Infrastructure
More funding for infrastructure is needed from the State
School construction costs are sky rocketing, we need help to reduce these costs
The State should create some prototype school designs to help reduce construction costs
The State should consider conducting systemwide school utilization studies to determine what standards should be used in designing and building new schools
The private sector could be engaged in public-private partnerships (P3s) or some other mechanisms to build schools faster and more cost-effectively
Computers should be in the school classrooms, and not just in computer labs
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Community Engagement and Volunteerism
The outreach effort for A Better Maryland appears to be similar to Frederick County’s current comprehensive plan update process – Livable Frederick, where the county officials, municipalities, residents and businesses of Frederick County are all working together to implement a new vision of the County.
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Training and Education
The Maryland Department of Planning (Planning) should consider training for Planning Commission members and other boards. Training could be regional, local, or issue oriented
Planning should work on providing papers on topical issues such as solar, medical cannabis, Airbnb, etc
We need to do a better job reaching out to all Marylanders to really educate them about Smart Growth
Every small jurisdiction needs some technical assistance on Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) permit issues. EPA doesn’t care if a small jurisdiction is so small it has limited resources
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Transportation
Transportation is the top issue that needs to be addressed in the new state development plan
Traffic congestion of US 15 is top concern for Frederick. People must be able to get where they need to go
A Better Maryland should tie into the work that Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) are doing, for example autonomous vehicles, electric vehicles, bicycles, and transportation alternatives program. MPO’s are doing good work that could be incorporated into A Better Maryland
It would be helpful to have more information of grant opportunities and to know what federal pass-through grant programs are available for bike and pedestrian projects
More people are living downtown (Frederick) so there is a greater need for transit and transportation alternatives other than roads such as pedestrians, bicycles, Uber, Lyft etc
Funding alternatives for local transportation improvements need to be developed, such as P3s, restoring highway user revenue funding level to local jurisdictions, breaking larger transportation projects into smaller pieces, non-compete clauses
The area still has significant road issues with its major routes – I-270 & US 15
The State needs to increase the local highway revenue funds (mentioned several times)
Transportation funding is key to promoting growth in the State
Update what is happening with the Governor’s improvements to the I-270 corridor and US 15
The primary challenges with neighboring jurisdictions is transportation:
Pass through interstate congestion
Traffic on MD 340 is out of control, and most users are not from Frederick
States can work together on this issue
Rush hour traffic coming into Frederick is just as bad as outgoing
Multi-modal alternatives are not as strong in Frederick. Only three trains in the morning and the last leaves at 7:45 am.
Heavy traffic peaks in the morning and evening are much longer than they used to be
Need to find and use examples of where the transportation problem has been addressed, mitigated, or solved
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Environment
MS4 permits are difficult to obtain and especially if one must work with less than cooperative entities like CSX and the National Park Service. CSX will not respond to our inquiries. We can use the State’s help getting CSX and National Park Service to cooperate with the City of Brunswick to implement its watershed improvement program
Need to balance preservation with people’s rights. Could use more tools like Transfer of Development Rights (TDRs) in this area
Frederick gets penalized for the Bay that we shouldn’t have to pay for. We would rather use local funds for local issues
The County puts more money toward environmental protection than its fair share. The State should consider different standards for the western part of Maryland
The Maryland Department of Environment had a program, “Know your Community”
The county is struggling with natural and cultural resources preservation, while maintaining individual property rights
Environmental protection is another neighboring jurisdiction concern
Pollution in the Potomac River is coming from upstream / outside of the state
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Community
Growth is the most pressing issue facing Frederick County. It influences factors such as transportation, schools, and other resource and needs
The plan should provide and develop tools for preserving neighborhoods and protecting community character, other than using historic preservation standards
We need more mid-level preservation/conservation tools that do not necessarily rise to full historic preservation, yet help maintain the neighborhood’s character
We need to get past the perception that an old dilapidated building must remain as part of any redevelopment effort. Sometimes the cost of the rehabilitation is so much greater than the property will ever return to the property owner or the community
How do we get historic buildings off a list when they need to be razed? This is difficult and time consuming
We need to create quality places, which requires resources to address:
public health concerns – like mental health and the opioid crisis
preserve our cultural resources
promote arts and humanities
provide needed infrastructure – like transportation
Cultural and historical resources are important to Frederick and make us unique
These draw people to Frederick, both to live and visit
Make this area distinct and raise it to another level
Individual citizens can make a difference
They can make government better and strengthen organizations
Help with small business development
Local Government can help improve the community too
Influence desirability of opening a business in a locality based on predictability and reduced permitting process
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Communication
Whatever type of plan A Better Maryland is going to be, a mapping effort or policy document, it should be web based with good access and help local jurisdictions
The Plan needs to stress collaboration
Government is about compromise and we are still all one Maryland
Different places have different needs
Communication is needed to work through the differences
Locals make the best decisions for themselves
Maryland Planning Commissioners Association (MPCA) is a good organization and should be fully utilized to promote good planning
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State Agencies
Maryland Department of Planning is valued as being a facilitator that brings people together, identifying best practices
Planning should get different groups with common interests together, identify strengths and weaknesses of various jurisdictions, and partner with jurisdictions to develop programs and shared opportunities
Planning should work on the horizontal outreach of local governments to bring people and resources together
A Better Maryland should include resources that list all the State grant programs, what they do, how to apply etc. a cafeteria style. State funding sources and information should be coordinated so there is one go-to place to find what is available
APA has a Community Planning Assistance Teams (CPAT) program and UMD has Maryland’s Partnership for Action Learning in Sustainability (PALS) program that provide low cost planning assistance to local jurisdictions. Planning should create similar type programs and assistance
A Better Maryland needs to address and help the County with identifying solutions to public health, mental health, opioid, and cultural resources problems
Planning should be more active in supporting good development plans that are being contested by the community members. Planning could provide a certification based on a quantified review that a project meets Smart Growth criteria and can be scored. This would help local planning staff when they get neighborhood resistance to a proposed development
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Technical Assistance
We can use technical assistance in dealing with code enforcement and blighted properties. It can be very difficult getting some property owners to maintain their property
The State could provide guidance on general standards that local governments can use in preparing plans and regulations
Consider working with the Maryland Municipal League (MML) and the Maryland Association of Counties (MACo) to establish a listing of research projects that can be made available to all jurisdictions. Maybe the subject matters can be integrated into maps, to display best practices and other research associated with different locations in Maryland
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General
Assets
People – incorporates many of the positive factors (volunteers, generosity, etc.)
Location
Small town feel, strong connection to agriculture, countryside vistas
Strategically located between two large urban centers of Washington and Baltimore
Nearby environmental features, i.e. mountains and Potomac River
Strong economic and market forces
Great transportation network
Challenges
Traffic and Transportation Issues
Traffic is tough on business owners who need to travel long distances. Not just a local issue, state as well
Route 15
Short on/off ramps and lots of backups
A lot of passthrough traffic
Increasingly congested roads interfere with
Agricultural economy
Hard to move slow-moving machinery around the county roads, resulted in having to get rid of cows on the farm
Community Character Concerns
The County has an influx of new people that have increased the cost of living and created more traffic on the roads.
The growth has affected the agriculture community and some farms have had to relocate.
New residents want to change Frederick to more like where they came from
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