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.