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Maryland Department of Planning(MDP)

Agency overview
Formed	1959
Jurisdiction	Maryland
Headquarters	301 W. Preston St. Suite 1101 Baltimore, Maryland 21201
Agency executives	Richard Eberhart Hall, AICP, Secretary of Planning Matthew J. Power, Deputy Secretary
Parent agency	State of Maryland Executive Department
Website	http://planning.maryland.gov/

The Maryland Department of Planning (MDP) is a cabinet level agency in the government of the State of Maryland. The department is part of the Executive branch of the government and answers to the Governor of Maryland.

The Maryland Department of Planning works with State and local government agencies to ensure comprehensive and integrated planning for the best use of Maryland's land and other resources. To local governments, the Department provides technical expertise, such as surveys, land use studies, and urban renewal plans. Also, the Department compiles data on the State for use in planning, including congressional redistricting. Implementing State planning and smart growth policies also is the responsibility of the Department of Planning.

MDP is part of the Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley's Smart, Green & Growing initiative, which brings State resources together to restore the Chesapeake Bay, preserve land, revitalize communities, create green jobs, improve public transit, conserve energy and address climate change.

The Maryland Department of Planning began in 1933 as the State Planning Commission (Chapter 39, Acts of Special Session of 1933). When the State Planning Department formed in 1959, the Commission became part of the new department (Chapter 543, Acts of 1959). In 1969, the Department reorganized as the Maryland Department of State Planning (Chapter 155, Acts of 1969). The Department was restructured in 1989 to become the Maryland Office of Planning (Chapter 540, Acts of 1989).

Effective July 1, 2000, the Maryland Office of Planning was renamed the Maryland Department of Planning (Chapter 209, Acts of 2000; Code State Finance & Procurement Article, secs. 5-101 through 5-816) and became a cabinet level agency. The Department is the principal staff agency for land use planning matters concerned with the resources and development of the State.

In July 2005, the Division of Historical and Cultural Programs transferred to the Department of Planning from the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD).

In 2007, the Department organized to oversee three main functions: Communications and Intergovernmental Affairs; Planning Services; and Historical and Cultural Programs.

The Maryland Department of Planning, also known by its acronym MDP, promotes growth that fosters vibrant, livable communities, preserves and protects historical, cultural, and natural assets, and makes efficient use of State resources. MDP’s works to discourage growth that results in “sprawl” development. It supports and advances development that meets these four, straightforward goals:

• Support existing communities by targeting resources to support development in areas where infrastructure exists;
• Save our most valuable natural, historical, and cultural resources before they are forever lost;
• Save taxpayers from the high cost of building infrastructure to serve development that has spread far from our traditional population centers; and
• Provide Marylanders with a high quality of life, whether they choose to live in a rural community, suburb, small town, or city.

In short, Smart, Sustainable Growth.

MDP provides data, trend analysis, research assistance, and policy development and implementation support for local governments, communities, businesses, and organizations. The Department provides technical assistance, local program review and planning design services for Maryland's counties and municipalities.

As MDP monitors and forecasts changes in development and land use throughout the state, we create and produce research tools and resources to assist in planning for Maryland’s future. Information on demographic, socio-economic, political, cultural, geographic and land-use trends is collected, analyzed, and distributed in multiple formats. With computer mapping and geographic information systems, MDP supports map display and analysis of census data, satellite imagery, aerial photography, land-use and parcel data to enhance and assist growth management and land-use planning across the State.

As chair of the Smart Growth Subcabinet, the Secretary of Planning and the Department oversee the implementation of Governor O'Malley’s programs working to revitalize Maryland’s existing communities.

The Department has a number of specialized offices, including:

• State Clearinghouse for Intergovernmental Assistance facilitates intergovernmental review and coordinates applications for financial assistance, nominations to the National Register of Historic Places, direct federal development programs, draft environmental impact statements, and State plans requiring gubernatorial review.
• Planning Data Services collects, analyzes, and publishes social, economic, and geographic information relating to the State and its political subdivisions; identifies and evaluates development issues; prepares reports and studies on specific topics; and disseminates U.S. Census and U.S. Department of Commerce information.
• Local Planning Assistance provides technical services to support the planning and management capacity of local governments. The department's Centreville, Cumberland, Salisbury, and Annapolis offices provide technical assistance to local governments, business, organizations, and the public.
• The Division of Historical and Cultural Programs is responsible for the Maryland Historical Trust, the Maryland Advisory Council on Historic Preservation and staff support for the Maryland Heritage Areas Authority. The Maryland Historical Trust oversees Administration, the Jefferson Patterson Historical Park and Museum and three offices: Preservation Planning and Museum Programs; Preservation Services; and Research, Survey, and Registration.
• The Office of Smart Growth works directly with local governments, businesses, and organizations to coordinate the implementation of proven planning strategies. The office helps developers and local officials produce well-planned projects and to educate and inform the public on land-use issues. The office coordinates the Priority Places efforts of the state agencies represented on the Smart Growth Subcabinet.
• MDP is a member of the Interagency Committee for Public School Construction. The Public School Construction program ensures adherence to the principles of comprehensive planning, development management, land use, capital budgeting, policy analysis and smart growth for annual and five-year programs of elementary and secondary school capital improvements. This division helps produce the annual Public School Construction budget for the State of Maryland.

The history of State land use planning in Maryland goes back further than most states in the U.S. Although Maryland is 42nd among the 50 states in size, it is 19th in population and ranks fifth in population density.

As a result, the pressure to use Maryland’s land for a wide range of uses has been intense and ongoing – as has concern for the impact and location of those uses. The issues of uncontrolled growth, premature rural subdivision, loss of productive soils, strip growth, loss of forest land, loss of Bay fisheries, loss of public Bay access, the need to plan for infrastructure and other capital improvements and the need to acquire forest land and set goals for agricultural land preservation have been troubling state planning officials since the late 1930s! This according to the report of the State Planning Commission, entitled Five Years of State Planning, published in 1938.

Excerpt from Maryland's Future: The Next Fifty Years (Maryland Department of State Planning, 1983)

The Maryland State Planning Commission is the oldest state planning commission in the country. The commission was created in the depths of the great depression at the urging of the federal government and the National Resources Planning Board. A special session of the General Assembly enacted the legislation which was signed by Gov. Ritchie on December 15, 1933. On that same day, Gov. Ritchie appointed the first five members of the Commission.

The new commission organized on January 11,1934 with Dr. Abel Wolman serving as the chairman. The other members of the commission were: Joseph I. France, State Department of Health; William L. Galvin, Board of State Aid and Charities; Nathan L. Smith, State Roads Commission; and Helena Stauffer, member at-large. Thomas Hubbard served as executive secretary to the commission from 1934 to 1939.

During its initial years of operation, the commission was staffed by the Works Progress Administration ( WPA) at no cost to the state. The staff averaged between 10 and 15 persons. Office space and equipment were donated by Johns Hopkins University, the University of Maryland, Baltimore City, the State Roads Commission, and the Fidelity and Deposit Company. The value of services and facilities contributed was estimated at $27, 000 per year.

State funding of the commission began in the fall of 1935 at the rate of $3,000 per year.

At the beginning of its work, the Commission chose to investigate problems in obvious need of treatment and to recommend action. This continues to be the principal method of operation by the Department of State Planning.

During its first ten years, the Commission compiled an impressive list of recommendations which were subsequently implemented. As a result of a commission study, the Legislative Council was created to carry on the business of the Legislature during the two-year interim between sessions. The commission instituted the six year Capital Improvements Program which was one of the first of its kind and the country. The Commission- recommended single plane coordinate mapping system covering the entire state was instituted. A program providing medical care for the indigent was established based upon a Commission recommendation.

The studies of the Commission in such areas as recreation, finance, land use, public welfare, health, conservation, transportation, local and state government, and capital improvements programs established in the high standards which characterize state planning in Maryland.

By 1942, the Commission had acquired its first full-time director, Mr. I. Alvin Pasarew. At about this same time, the major funding of the commission was assumed by this state as federal priorities shifted to the war effort. From the establishment of the committee on medical care in 1940 until the early ‘60s, the commission devoted much of its energy to health concerns.

The commission examined the need for integrated and coordinated planning of the Baltimore metropolitan area. In April 1948, the Baltimore Metropolitan District Planning and Coordinating Committee was established. In 1956, the committee gave way to the ad hoc Baltimore Regional Planning Council which was sponsored by and quartered in the offices of the State Planning Commission. The Council with a staff of three was funded under the 701 program and received staff service contributions from its six member jurisdictions and the State.

At the request of the General Assembly, the commission undertook a study of wholesale food marketing in the Baltimore area. Plans for the development of a new wholesale market were submitted to the Governor in October 1948.

The size of the commission was increased from 5 to 9 members in 1947. Five of these members represented state agencies which were concerned with the development of the State and for were members at-large. During the 1940s and 1950s, the commission was deeply involved in capital improvements programming and developed one of the better programs of this nature in the country.

In 1956, the Commission on State Programs, Organization and Finance issued a report entitled Improving State Planning in Maryland. The report emphasized the need to aid local jurisdictions, established long range goals, strengthened centralized coordination of planning in the executive branch and generally increase the areas of concerned, expertise, and size of the state planning staff.

As a result of this report, a new state planning law was enacted. Chapter 543 of the Laws of 1959 created the State Planning Department as the Governor's staff agency in planning matters. The state planning commission became an advisory board to the director of the department. The new legislation provided that seven citizen members would hold no salaried state office. A member of the Senate and a member of the house of delegates completed the new nine member commission.

On July 1, 1959, when the new department began operation, the staff included 14 persons plus the three person staff of the Regional Planning Council. James J. O'Donnell, who had served as a member of the state planning commission, was appointed director of the department.

The new department, upon the advice of the Commission, broadened the areas of concern to which State Planning became involved. During the 1960s , State Planning became deeply involved in water resource planning, outdoor recreation and open space planning, coordination and planning for higher education, and preservation of Assateague Island.

The Department initiated a number of inventories, studies and plans of the water resources in the state. With the creation of the Potomac River Basin Advisory Committee, the Director of State Planning became its first chairman. He also served as the Vice Chairman of the Susquehanna River Basin Advisory Committee which prepared the interstate compact for this three state drainage area. The director also served on a three-member advisory committee established by the Governor to make recommendations for the proper protection, development, and maintenance of Assateague Island. Subsequently, this barrier Island was established as a federally owned national seashore.

In 1968, state planning, in cooperation with other state agencies, completed an inventory of title and inland wetlands. Recognizing the importance of Maryland's wetlands, comprehensive legislation regulating the use of these lands was passed at the 1970 session.

In 1965, the Department produced the first Manual of Federal Aid Programs published in response to the need for a quick and concise reference to sources of federal funding.

The first mass transit study of the Baltimore metropolitan area was completed in 1965. Funded by a $323,560 grant to the department, the study produced a short range bus improvement program and the first plans for a regional mass transit system.

During this period, the department initiated a program of outdoor recreation and open space planning. Every five years, the department revise his and updates the states plan for outdoor recreation and open space.

In 1963, the regional planning council was established under state law. The director served as vice chairman.

Throughout the 1960s and well into the 1970s , state planning worked to actively to promote and assist local planning. The department was the conduit for comprehensive planning assistance (701) funds from the federal government. Approximately $5,000,000 was distributed to the 23 counties, 58 municipalities, and three regional planning agencies under this technical planning assistance program.

In order to better assist local planning, the department established regional field offices in Waldorf , Hagerstown, and Salisbury during 1967. Subsequently, other offices were established and original field locations shifted. The department now has offices in Cumberland, Centreville, Salisbury, and Charlotte Hall.

In 1969, the executive branch of state government was reorganized. The state planning department became a cabinet level agency and was renamed the Department of State Planning. At the time of reorganization, there were 36 persons on the staff of the department.

During the 1970s, state planning engaged in a broad range of planning and programming activities which included a state aviation plan, impact analysis of defense installation phase – out, a plan for the quad County area covering the Baltimore-Washington corridor counties of Anne Arundel, Howard, Montgomery and Prince George's and the City of Laurel, and human resources planning.

In 1969, the State Intergovernmental Assistance Clearinghouse was created within the Department. The Clearinghouse coordinates the review of projects prior to their approval and before work is started. Thus, it provides a means of clearing up possible conflict before rather than after they become a problem. Each year, the Clearinghouse reviews over $1 billion in applications for federally – funded projects.

In 1971, the state began paying for the construction and modernization of public schools. This program, which has resulted in the state financing approximately $1 billion in worth of school construction, is administered by the interagency committee for public school construction. State planning is one of the three agencies comprising this committee.

In 1973, the Department began forecasting the demand for electric energy as part of the State's power plant siting program. Similarly, in support of the public school construction program, the Department provides annual projections of public school enrollment.

In 1974, the Maryland automated geographic information (MAGI) system became operational. This computer – based system has grown to include a vast amount of geographic data which can be rapidly retrieved and analyzed. The MAGI system has been nationally acclaimed and now permits the analysis of census data in relation to the physical characteristics of land.

The Land Use Act of 1974 for expanded responsibilities of the Department in several significant aspects. The secretary was authorized to designate areas of critical state concern. Fifty-seven areas of unique character have been designated for special consideration as areas for preservation, conservation, or utilization.

Another provision of the 1974 land-use act allows the Department to express the State's viewpoint in local land-use decisions. The department may intervene in any administrative, judicial, or other proceedings concerning land-use, development, or construction. The department has become involved in a wide variety of land-use decisions. The Department's right of intervention has been upheld by the Maryland court of appeals.

In 1974, the state instituted the executive planning process (EPP). Working with the Department of Budget and Fiscal Planning, the Department defined and helped establish this annual program of short and long range preparation by the major state agencies.

The department at the request of the governor, initiated a study of the delivery of District Court and other State agency services to the residents of Maryland. This study concluded that the co-location of service delivery systems would reduce duplication, improve coordination and be more economical. Over a $67 million and has been authorized for the design and construction of 15 multi-service centers in 10 counties and Baltimore City.

In 1979, the department was re-organized to more clearly reflect the two principal functions of the department, which are:

1. To plan for state government itself, primarily through the capital budget and through assistance to state agencies; and
2. To plan for the overall growth and development of the state, allocation of resources, and coordination of economic, environmental, and social goals.

In January 1980, the governor created the cabinet-level state development council, chaired by the Secretary of State planning. The council prepared the state's first comprehensive set of development policies and principles. The Governor issued an executive order in May 1982 adopting these six broad principles and 72 policies to guide economic and physical growth of the State.

As the result of a law enacted in 1980, the department has prepared a policy plan for the Patuxent River. This plan was presented to each of the River basin counties in 1983. The Patuxent River planning program served as a model for other basin plans.

In order to provide better access to and use of statistical data, the state data center was created in 1979. This center maintains information in print and one computer tapes from the Bureau of Census and other sources which cover such areas as population, housing, agriculture, construction manufacturing, trade, and government.

State Planning has placed increased emphasis upon master facility planning by each state agency. As a result, the five-year capital improvements program of each agency reflects actual priorities. In this period of severe of fiscal restraints, resources are allocated wisely.

The membership of the State Planning Commission was increased to 13 in 1982 to allow a more complete geographic and cultural representation of the State. In its role as a sounding board for the Department, the Commission recognized the need for increased communication among local planning commission members across the state. The commission also realized that planning at all levels easily support of active constituency.

In the spring of 1982, the commission held four regional workshops for local planning boards and boards of appeals members. At a statewide meeting of 200 planning commissioners in Annapolis, the idea of a state association of citizen planners was raised and received favorably. The Maryland Citizen Planners Association was created at a meeting sponsored by the State Planning Commission on Feb. 7, 1983.

State Planning in Maryland is recognized for its balanced program emphasizing the implementation of plans and programs based upon a realistic assessment of resources and near as well as long – term needs.

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