http://www.yesmagazine.org/new-economy/local-economies-close-the-distance-between-us

Mandatory Adoption

Every municipality in Maryland is required to adopt a “municipal growth element” as part of its comprehensive plan.  The initial deadline for meeting this requirement was October 1, 2009.  For good cause shown, the Maryland Department of Planning may grant up to two six month extensions of this deadline — to either April 1, 2010 or October 1, 2010.

The Maryland Legislature has provided for the suspension of zoning authority in any municipality that fails to adopt a municipal growth element within the prescribed time limits.  By establishing this extraordinary penalty, the Legislature has underscored its commitment to sound planning at the municipal level.

Download the Municipal Growth Element Fact Sheet here.

Purpose

In developing its growth element, a municipality must, among other things, evaluate and disclose the potential impacts of its planned growth on county-wide services and facilities (e.g. roads; schools; water and sewer; parks; fire and emergency services etc.).  This information, in turn, will enable the county to project the likely costs of accommodating proposed municipal growth plans.

Mandatory Consultation

A municipal corporation is required to consult with the county in developing a municipal growth element.  In the course of this consultation, the county may provide the municipality with information related to the cost to the county of accommodating proposed municipal growth.

Mandatory Period of Review and Comment

A municipal corporation is also required to provide a copy of its proposed municipal growth element to the county and, for a period of 30 days thereafter, to accept comments from the county.  In its comments on the municipal growth element, the county may request additional information on the impacts of planned growth on county-wide services and facilities.  The county may also request that the municipality decrease the size of its planned growth area where (i) county-wide services and facilities are not sufficient to accommodate municipal growth plans; and (ii) the county will not in the foreseeable future have the resources to expand its infrastructure to accommodate this planned municipal growth.

Mandatory Meeting of County and Municipal Officials

Within 30 days following the close of the comment period, the county and the municipal corporation “shall meet and confer regarding the municipal growth element.”

This meeting provides the county and municipality an opportunity to resolve differences of opinion regarding (i) the likely costs to the county of municipal growth, as proposed; and (ii) the appropriate size of the planned growth area.  According to the Maryland Department of Planning, “HB 1141 mandates that jurisdictions meet and confer on this subject before the municipal growth element can be adopted.”

Mediation by the Maryland Department of Planning

Following this meeting, “on the request of either party”, the county and the municipality shall employ the mediation and conflict resolution office of the Maryland Department of Planning to resolve any remaining differences of opinion.  The Maryland Department of Planning has stated that:

Good planning dictates that the municipality and county agree on those land areas that will someday become part of the municipality.

After 18 months of careful review, the Frederick County Commissioners have adopted a new Comprehensive plan for the New Market Region. This new plan takes aim at the traffic congestion and school overcrowding that brought thousands of voters to the polls in November 2006. The development “pipeline” in New Market was the largest in the county and threatened to overwhelm roads, schools, parks and police and emergency services in the region. In reviewing its options, the board conducted a series of region-wide traffic studies, consulted with the State Highway Administration, conferred with the board of education and Parent/Teachers’ Association, and took testimony from hundreds of citizens and property owners in the area. In the end, the board confirmed existing plans for significant growth in the region, even as it scaled back some major developments to relieve traffic congestion, reduce school overcrowding and safeguard other public services and facilities in the area. In striking this right balance, the board has laid a strong foundation for revising the countywide comprehensive plan under its ongoing growth management initiative. By this initiative, the board has provided the citizens of Frederick County with a once-in-a-generation opportunity to plan for the future of their communities. We invite you to share your ideas for this plan in the survey that may be found at www.we-draw-the-line.org. Your ideas will be incorporated into a Citizen’s Plan for the Future and reflect for the board’s consideration the views of those who live, go to school, work, recreate, take pride and simply enjoy the quality of life in Frederick County.

JIM JAMIESON

Friends of Frederick County

On January 7th FoFC asked the BOCC to include considerations in their analysis and to reduce the number of residential units in Linganore to avoid failure of the road network in the New Market Region (<a href=’http://friendsoffrederickcounty.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/jan-7-08-letter.pdf’ title=’Linganore Traffic Analysis’>Linganore Traffic Analysis</a>). Attend the January 14th Administrative Session (1 pm Winchester Hall) for discussion of this issue. Please let the BOCC hear from you. (<a href=’http://friendsoffrederickcounty.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/frederick-county-delegati.pdf’ title=’Board of County Commissioners contact information’>Board of County Commissioners contact information</a>) Resurrection of the Smith/Cline annexation proposal, soundly defeated by residents last year, has been reintroduced. The Concerned Neighbors of New Market express their opinon <a href=’http://friendsoffrederickcounty.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/concerned-neigh-nm-ltr-1_08.pdf’ title=’in this letter’>in this letter</a> to the BOCC.

The waterbody protection ordinance was designed to reduce sediment and nutrient pollution from entering the 200+ miles of streams in the watershed that flow into Lake Linganore, by maintaining wider distances between streams and land grading, clearing and construction activities. The ordinance was a key recommendation contained in the 2006 Linganore Source Water Protection
Action Plan. (http://www.co.frederick.md.us)

The buffer requirements apply to all new pending and future subdivision lots as of July 20, 2007. The waterbody setbacks are 100 feet, 150 feet or 175 feet, depending on specific topographic characteristics within the stream corridor.

For more information, contact Tim Goodfellow at 301-600-2508 or tgoodfellow@FrederickMD.gov
(source: http://www.co.frederick.md.us/archives/58/PlanNews_0807.pdf)

Consensus has it that the election of the current Board of Frederick County Commissioners was a response to the previous board’s pro-growth decisions and what they spelled for the county in coming years.Two slow-growth candidates from the previous board, John L. Thompson Jr. and Jan Gardner, were joined by like-minded Kai Hagen and David Gray. Throughout the campaign, the previous board’s decisions concerning future growth of the New Market region were a central issue. The slow-growth incumbents and their soulmates made it clear that, if elected, one of their first orders of business would be revisiting — and rewriting — the New Market Region Plan hammered out by their predecessors.