The General Assembly already has a pile of 47 bills that have been prefiled so members can get right to work when they convene next month. On the House of Delegates side, nobody has prefiled more than Del. Michael Smigiel.
Read MoreComments have been heard, changes have been incorporated, and now PlanMaryland is an official state policy. Gov. Martin O’Malley received the final draft of the planning document from Planning Secretary Richard Hall at a State House ceremony Monday morning. O’Malley issued an executive order declaring that the plan will now be recognized as the official state development plan.
Read MoreThe torrid rhetoric about PlanMaryland cooled down on Monday into a discussion about who really understands the controversial state land-use plan, and what it’s doing before the public at this point anyway.
Read MoreThe 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 MoreMost 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 MoreTo 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 MoreProgress 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.
Read MoreSome of the deeper issues underlying PlanMaryland – like problems with the economic and environmental issues cited in the comprehensive state development plan proposed by Gov. Martin O’Malley – took center stage at a forum sponsored by the Carroll County Board of Commissioners in Pikesville.
Read MoreYielding to pressure from local officials, the state is putting more time – and more feedback – into its comprehensive smart growth plan. The Maryland Department of Planning announced on Thursday that it will allow about two more months for people to review and comment on the final version of PlanMaryland.
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