Governor O'Malley Introduces 2009 Smart, Green and Growing Legislative Initiatives
Statewide Task Force presents report on smart growth in Maryland
ANNAPOLIS, MD (January 12, 2009) – Governor Martin O’Malley today unveiled a series of initiatives comprising part of the O’Malley-Brown Administration’s 2009 legislative agenda. Today’s legislative announcements served to further Maryland’s Smart, Green and Growing initiative, and also included a presentation of the Task Force on the Future for Growth and Development in Maryland report and recommendations.
“Our Smart, Green and Growing legislative agenda is focused on protecting Maryland’s precious, yet limited, land resources in every region of our State, so that our families and children will someday to be able share these natural treasures with their own kids in the same way that our parents and grandparents shared them with us, said Governor Martin O’Malley. “It’s time to move from twenty years of treading water to twenty years of cleaner water and more sustainable growth.”
The O’Malley-Brown Administration’s Smart, Green and Growing legislative agenda includes a number of smart growth initiatives, including protecting the integrity of Comprehensive Plans, modernizing the State’s Planning Visions, and developing Smart Growth Markers for state and local governments. In addition, Governor O’Malley is proposing measures to revise and reauthorize and the Maryland Heritage Structure Rehabilitation Tax Credit Program and reinforce the Transit Oriented Development (TOD) bill from the 2008 legislative session.
Governor O’Malley, joined by Maryland Department of Planning Secretary Richard E. Hall, announced 6 related bills that would:
- Strengthen local government Comprehensive Plans to protect communal investment in the plans and maintain their integrity by overturning the Terrapin Run case;
- Modernize the State’s Planning Visions to address current challenges and expand them to include priorities such as economic development, housing, and public participation;
- Collect good information on how Maryland is growing to inform local, regional and state planning through Smart Growth Measures or Markers;
- Reauthorize, green, and enhance the Maryland Heritage Structure Rehabilitation Tax Credit Program; and
- Broaden public revenue sources that can be used for Tax Increment Financing for Transit Oriented Development.
- Provide regulatory authority to establish Aquaculture Enterprise Zones while revising shellfish leasing terms, streamlining the process for aquaculture businesses to flourish in Maryland.
“These legislative initiatives represent responsible steps the O’Malley-Brown Administration can take toward a sustainable future for Maryland – a future that is smart, green and growing,” said Secretary Richard E. Hall of the Maryland Department of Planning. “I am proud to work closely with Governor O'Malley and the Maryland General Assembly as seek to move these proposals forward in Maryland.”
The Task Force on the Future for Growth and Development in Maryland also delivered its report to Governor O’Malley. The 21-member task force, created under HB 773 in the 2007 legislative session, began meeting in January 2008 with 13 specific charges to fulfill. The Task Force continues until December 2010. The 89-page report entitled “Where Do We Grow from Here?” presents an assessment of current conditions in the State and outlines 52 recommendations for furthering smart, sustainable growth in Maryland.
“Maryland has long been a national leader in progressive land use policy, from the creation of the first state planning commission in 1933 to the well-known Smart Growth legislation of 1997. More than a decade after the advent of Smart Growth, however, we continue to face significant land use challenges,” said Jon Laria, Chair of the task force. “Maryland is a wonderful place to live, but expected population growth promises increased pressure on farmlands, forests, and waterways, including our precious Chesapeake Bay and the window of opportunity to confront and solve these challenges is shrinking.”
