Tag: Andrew Ratner
Maryland ranks No. 5 among states with the best health care: study
Maryland’s health care system is better than that of the overwhelming majority of states in the nation, according to a recent study.
Read MorePlanMaryland Part 4: Not a done deal, and legislature wants a say
The public comment period on the second draft plan ended last week. The 1974 enacting legislation that required the plan to be written makes PlanMaryland an executive issue, meaning it does not need approval from the General Assembly to take effect. But Senate President Mike Miller, under pressure from rural Republicans and perhaps more importantly, county officials from across the state, has asked for a Senate hearing in January.
Read MorePlanMaryland Part 3: How it would work is still unclear
Most of the draft PlanMaryland document focuses on statistics that show how Maryland has grown and changed in the last several decades, and why a comprehensive development plan is needed. It spends less time going through the nuts and bolts of how land use planning would be done if the plan were put into place – the most significant part of the plan.
Read MorePlanMaryland Part 2: Framework for smart growth or dramatic policy shift?
To listen to the Department of Planning talk about PlanMaryland, the long-term development plan being drafted for the state, it does not represent a major policy change. “With PlanMaryland, we’re just trying to carry out what the whole state has said it wanted,” said Andrew Ratner of the Maryland Department of Planning. But Senate Minority Leader E.J. Pipkin said, “This represents a dramatic policy shift.”
Read MorePlanMaryland Part 1: Why is the state land-use plan so controversial?
Progress has been made in passing legislation and issuing regulations to help the state meet specific land-sue goals, but the comprehensive state land use plan had never been written. Three years ago, Gov. Martin O’Malley started the process to change that, and it’s coming near a conclusion.
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