Smart Growth

This wasn't supposed to be a big year for the environmentalist movement in Annapolis, and that may yet prove to be the case. Program Open Space funds are under assault from the state Senate, millions of cap-and-trade dollars from power plants are being diverted from alternative energy and efficiency programs, and some important environmental programs have had their budgets cut (as many state government functions have). But with just a week left in the legislative session, the greenies are in a surprisingly good position to pull off some significant wins.

Laurel Park to appeal ruling on slots Laurel Park will appeal a court ruling rejecting the horse track's attempt to get back into the bidding for a slots gambling license, officials said yesterday. This week, an Anne Arundel Circuit Court judge upheld a state decision to toss out Laurel's application for a slot machine license because of its failure to pay $28.5 million in required license fees. The track contends that its literal reading of the gambling statute led it to conclude that the fees were not legally refundable and were therefore an unconstitutional seizure by the state.

Perched on a slope just west of Baltimore, near the intersection of Interstate 70 and the Baltimore Beltway, is a sprawling office park that houses the headquarters of the Social Security Administration and its 9,800 workers. Last week, the agency's director sketched out plans for a new $750 million data center to be built within 40 miles of the Woodlawn complex. Most of its funding is from the president's economic stimulus package, and that puts the project on the fast track - a significant asset and economic opportunity for the Baltimore region.

It's become fashionable for politicians to talk green these days, but Gov. Martin O'Malley has generally shown a willingness to back it up with money and policy initiatives. Despite the recession, he was at it again during last week's State of the State address. But if his aim is to protect the Chesapeake Bay, it's become apparent he's not yet willing to go far enough - at least not if it threatens how local governments make development decisions. What does the governor do right? First, there's his decision to fully fund Program Open Space next year.

'Smarter Growth' already state policy In response to "Smarter Smart Growth" (Commentary, Jan. 1), I would argue that the O'Malley administration is working very hard to do just that - make Smart Growth smarter. Maryland is rich with Smart Growth successes at the state and local levels and in the private and nonprofit sectors as well. Yet we still face challenges on both sides of the Smart Growth coin: protecting areas we don't want to grow from sprawl development and creating compact, attractive development in areas we do want to grow.

After vowing to invigorate Maryland's toothless Smart Growth program, Gov. Martin O'Malley plans to ask the legislature for only modest changes - far short of the overhaul that activists say is needed to curb suburban sprawl and halt the decline of the Chesapeake Bay. The governor intends to seek legislation reversing a court ruling that freed local officials from having to heed their own master plans when making growth decisions. He also wants to add new goals to the state planning law, and to require local governments to track more information on how growth is occurring in their communities.

Most Marylanders remain blissfully unaware of how growth and development occur around them or affect their daily choices. They probably don't know about last summer's round of "listening sessions" sponsored by the Maryland Department of Planning, or the draft report from the Task Force on the Future for Growth and Development in Maryland - or that the General Assembly expects to see legislation this year to "revise and re-energize" Maryland's Smart Growth...

Many thanks to The Baltimore Sun for the editorial calling for more action on Smart Growth ("Responsible growth," Dec. 7). With our economy in such terrible shape, we must stop spreading houses over cornfields in patterns that maximize public service costs while also maximizing the pollution of the Chesapeake Bay. The Eastern Shore Land Conservancy has been working for 20 years for conservation and sound land-use planning on Maryland's Eastern Shore....

Last week, Gov. Martin O'Malley offered some welcome news for Maryland's environmental future - the acquisition of more than 9,200 acres of forest, farm and waterfront to be preserved as parks and open space. He also announced the creation of a Web-based interactive map called GreenPrint that makes it easier to track such conservation efforts across the state. As promising as these developments are (a willingness to spend $72 million for land conservation at a time when state employees face mandatory furloughs is no small gesture)

Participants in a state-organized planning forum at Aberdeen High School were each given one blue dot and one red one to place on a map of Harford County. The blue would denote an area to be preserved, while the red would show where growth should occur. After about 50 residents placed their markers, the result was a near replica of a county planning map. Nearly all the reds lined the Interstate 95 and Route 40 corridors. Most of the blues filled the northern area of the county. The exercise was one part of a listening session, organized by the Maryland Department of Planning and the Task Force on the Future for Growth and Development in Maryland.