First Round Listening Session - January 23, 2018
Regionalism and Regional Planning ♦ Public Services ♦ Mapping Support and Data ♦ Economic Development ♦ Housing ♦ Infrastructure ♦ Community Engagement and Volunteerism ♦ Training and Education ♦ Transportation ♦ Environment ♦ Community ♦ Neighboring Jurisdictions ♦ State Agencies ♦ Technical Assistance ♦ Planning ♦ 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
A Better Maryland could be organized by regions. The Maryland Department of Planning is in a unique position to analyze input regionally
MDP should provide best practices on a regional level, which would help local government address issues
Good examples of regional planning
Laurel Park development and the Laurel Race Track are good examples of regional cooperation between Howard County, the City of Laurel, and Anne Arundel County
The Patapsco Heritage Greenway
The Patuxent River Commission
There are a lot of good plans. MDP should help facilitate/mediate issues related to growth and development and preservation
The State could play a key role in solving issues that cross County borders – DNR, MDE, MDOT need to bring local jurisdictions together. It is hard for local jurisdictions to know who at the State agencies they should contact
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Public Services
Schools
Poorly planned. Land development companies need to know if school facilities will be adequate
School capacity – need to plan in advance of development and have schools ready when development occurs. The CB-1 housing moratorium, Adequate Public Facility Ordinances (APFOs) reducing school capacity is not the answer
Howard County needs the Talbot Springs Elementary school to be replaced
Howard County could use information on APFO’s. Not just what other jurisdictions are doing but an explanation of how they function and operate. MDP should provide periodic updates say every 2 years so these documents stay current
Patapsco State Park
Limited parking
Needs a walking bridge
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Mapping Support and Data
State should provide more data to jurisdictions for support with tough issues
Elkridge development is a good example
School district capacity
APFO (schools and traffic)
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Economic Development
Route 1 corridor is a key redevelopment area
Positive development is a combination of business and government working together and not against each other. The work of local government can attract business investment
More parity of job availability across the state is needed
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Housing
Because Howard County is viewed as a wealthier jurisdiction, it isn’t getting its fair share of State resources
Response to the 2016 Ellicott City flood is a good example of best practices for emergency response and rebuilding
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Infrastructure
Infrastructure should precede development, not follow it. Need a mechanism to allow
jurisdictions to borrow money from the State to fund infrastructure and pay back later
Funding should be made available for inland sewer plant upgrades. They need this to attract development to Town Centers and other growth areas
Quality of life depends on having good infrastructure – roads, schools etc.
More funding is needed to provide public access to waterfronts
Sewer infrastructure
Bay Restoration Fund went to major direct discharge facilities first
Would like to use some of the grant money on inland plants
County needs help paying infrastructure development costs for Town Centers
Could use State loans or grants to assist with this
This will allow Calvert to put density where it (and presumably the State) wants it
5G towers don’t work in the woods
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Community Engagement and Volunteerism
Howard is very proud of recent, increased stakeholder engagement
Example projects
Ellicott City Master Plan
Two phase code update
County maintains a robust web interface with preceding documents and studies
Citizens Academy was a huge success
Started as narrowly focused
Very popular
Used an adult education model
Establishing planning leaders in the community
Asking graduates to be planning ambassadors
Might eventually fill board and commission positions
There is a need for increased public and stakeholder engagement, especially from under represented populations
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Training and Education
Need training academies for citizens, staff, and commission members
Specific training for new Planning Board/Commission members is needed and should include issues such as ex-parte communications
Planning Forums on general and specific topics should be considered. Specific forums might include how State and jurisdictions respond when development occurs on border and affects adjoining jurisdiction
Flexible education assistance addressing local needs
One size does not fit all
Best practices
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Transportation
Local plans need to recognize and coordinate with transit
There isn’t much of a local bus system in the County
Columbia to Laurel takes a long time
Paratransit available
No rail service
Commuter bus service is robust however
County wants more multi-modal transportation and transit
How will A Better Maryland address this?
Education and advocacy for transit riders needed
A Better Maryland should promote uniformity in transportation across state and between jurisdictions
Road design and speed
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Environment
Land preservation programs and strategies don’t want a top down approach
Collaboration with other county agencies and Maryland’s Department of Natural Resources
Improved communication
Fewer state, top down requirements
Stormwater management is a big issue. We need to prepare and educate communities on why we are doing things – public needs to understand the reasoning behind the actions, which will make them more willing to support the requirements
Maryland Heritage areas need to tie specific projects together such as Patapsco Greenway
Open Space and the environment are very important to quality of life
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Community
Proud of the work of the Design Advisory Panel, which helps make infill projects more palatable to neighboring landowners and improves project design
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Neighboring Jurisdictions
By working together, jurisdictions could get more money and projects would benefit both jurisdictions
Environmental protection is a macro issue and should be handled in partnership with neighboring jurisdictions
Water and sewer panning
Drinking water resources could be the next crisis
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State Agencies
Need better cooperation and coordination among State agencies
More collaboration between state and local jurisdictions is also needed
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Technical Assistance
Howard County is currently undergoing a code revision to combine its development and zoning regulations
State should act as a convener
Establish forum for jurisdictions to discuss tricky issues
Informational exchange and dialogue
Bring jurisdictions together
Help with regional issues
Laurel Park Station example, in which many different counties were involved
Organizer, mediator, facilitator
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Planning
Howard County should be more proactive, rather than reactive, in planning for new development
Infill and redevelopment
County is transferring from a greenfield development based code to one supportive of infill and redevelopment. This is tricky because of all the interrelated impacts (APFOs, trees, neighbors)
Management of infill development and ensuring it meets the County’s goals is a challenge. (i.e. Highway 1 redevelopment)
Infill not so much an issue as is redevelopment – assembling parcels, owner participation etc. State participation and partnership is critical
Land assembly
Tax incentives
Viable existing businesses
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General
A Better Maryland should:
Discuss the successes of the 2016 Ellicott City Flood recovery effort and try to make those best practices more readily available for other jurisdictions
Promote more uniformity of land uses and transportation across county lines.
Councils of Government may be able to help with this
Develop greater state and local collaboration
Assets
Reliability – leadership, government processes
Safety – reduced crime
Recreation – good amenities
Challenges
Excessive growth – Route 1 Elkridge
Traffic
Workforce – obtaining good workers
Taxes
Workforce housing – affordable housing
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