baltimore county, maryland planning and zoning to protect large landscapes national workshop on...
TRANSCRIPT
Baltimore County, Maryland Planning and Zoning to Protect Large
LandscapesNational Workshop on Large Landscape
Conservation, Washington, DC. October 22-23, 2014
County Executive Kevin Kamenetz
Department of PlanningAndrea Van Arsdale, Director Jeff Mayhew, Deputy Director
Presenter: Wallace Lippincott, Jr.
Location Map - Baltimore County, Maryland
Baltimore County, Maryland is 376,000 acres in size and is one of the oldest Counties in Maryland, established in 1659. It has a rich heritage in settlement and rural economies including agriculture. The County’s excellent soils and typical rainfall patterns are conducive to productive agriculture.
Baltimore County Goes to War!Baltimore County Goes to War!
“temporary” housing
Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard - built Liberty ships• employment grew from 350 (1941) to 46,700 (1943)
Glenn L. Martin Aircraft - built B-26 Marauder bombers• employment grew from 3,500 to 53,000 by 1941
Total War Effort• added >200,000
jobs in Baltimore County and City
• thousands of temporary trailers erected and cottages <700 sq ft built
Subsequent planning for expanded port and heavy industry
610 land development projects
48,594 permitted housing units, including > 30,000 detached units
78,670 total building permits
516 miles of roads, 9 major bridges
383 miles of water mains, 2 pumping stations, 3 elevated storage tanks
168 miles of storm drains
355 miles of sewers, 44 pumping stations
8 major public buildings 71 new schools/major additions (’48)
Baltimore County Development 1951-1957
Plan for the Valleys – 1963Wallace-McHarg Associates
The Prescription:•Create Resource Zoning for the Valleys•Create High Density Zoning on Plateaus•Create a Historic Zone and Historic Commission•Create Cluster Zones•Acquire Development Rights for Public Purpose•Create a Conservation Trust•Use Syndicates to control development and secure equitable distribution of profits from development elsewhere
Photo: Jack Dillon
Urban Growth Boundary - URDLUrban Growth Boundary - URDL
• Urban-Rural Demarcation Line • MD’s first, tightest growth boundary
• adopted in 1967 (gas station bill)
• defines limit of urban services
• reality checks for growth capacity
Inside URDL
Oregon Ridge Park
900 ac. forest
URDL
Outside URDL
Growth Management
ZoningRC 2RC 3RC 4RC 5RC 6RC 7RC 20RC 50
URDL
1975 Rural Zonesand Later Modifications
• RC 2 - Agricultural Preservation• RC 3 – Deferred Planning• RC 4 - Watershed Protection• RC 5 - Rural Residential• RC 6 – Rural Conservation• RC 7 - Resource Preservation Zone• RC 8 - Environmental Enhancement
RESULTS
Zoning
Building Permits
Land Preservation
Farmland Retention
Table 1. Zoning 1996 to 2012
Year RC 2 RC 4 RC 5 RC 6 RC 7 RC 8 Total
1996 76,809 74,737 17,392 --------- -------- ------- 169,008
2000 91,537 60,071 13,262 4,007 168,910
2004 91,954 17,356 9,339 8,907 30,602 11,006 169,198
2008 91,955 16,278 8,837 8,965 31,959 11,010 169,040
2012 91,642 16,759 8,877 8,822 31,695 11,148 169,023
Source: Baltimore County Government, 2014
Down Zoning Study Results(Newburn and Ferris, 2013)
•Development in vicinity positive for probability of additional development
•Number of subdivisions before and after down zoning similar but density decreases
Table 2. Residential Permits2000-2013
Location MF SFA SFD SFSD Sum Percent
Total 9,095 4,668 11,399 266 25,428
Inside URDL 9,095 4,668 7,623 265 21,651 85
Outside URDL 0 0 3,776 1 3,777 15
Inside APPA 0 0 1,217 0 1,217 5
Source: Baltimore County Government, 2014URDL: Urban Rural Demarcation LineAPPA: Agricultural Preservation Priority AreaMF: Multiple-FamilySFA: Single Family attachedSFD: Single Family detachedSFSD: Single Family semi-detached Overall 90% of population of County is within the URDL
Farmland Preservation in Baltimore County, MD
Maryland Environmental Trust
Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation
Local Land Trusts
Cluster Development
Baltimore County Agricultural Land Preservation Program
Federal Farm and Ranch Land Protection Program
Rural LegacyGovernment Funded Purchases
Mandated by County Government
Donations1974
1980 1992
1994 1998
2014
Timeline of Land Preservation
Summary of Planning Milestones
• 1963 Plan for the Valleys• 1967 Urban Rural Demarcation Line (URDL)• 1974 First Easement (MET)• 1975 Resource Conservation Zoning• 1979 Agricultural Zone Density Reduced to 1/50• 1980 Adopt State Ag Program• 1989 Agricultural Preservation Areas in Master Plan• 1992 Rural Cluster Zone• 1996-2004 Down Zoning/ Adopt State Rural Legacy • 2013 Adoption of Growth Tiers
Today 90% of Baltimore County’s population lives within the URDL on 33% of the land
Summary of Results
•Over 62,000 Acres Preserved•Less than 10% County Population lives within the Rural Area (2/3 Co)•Preservation of Large Blocks of Contiguous Land•Maintained Connectivity to Large Regional Landscape
CitationsBrooks, Neil A. and Eric G. Rockel, A History of Baltimore County, Towson, MD 1979McGrain, John W. An Agricultural History of Baltimore County, Maryland. 1990. Accent Printers, Perry Hall, Maryland.Newburn, David A. and Jeffrey S. Ferris. The Effect of Downzoning for Managing Residential Development and Density. University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland. 2013.Wallace-McHarg Associates. 1963. Plan for the Valleys. Philadephia, PA.