Baltimore County Maryland Planning and Zoning to Protect

Baltimore County, Maryland Planning and Zoning to Protect Large Landscapes National Workshop on Large Landscape Conservation, Washington, DC. October 22 -23, 2014 County Executive Kevin Kamenetz Department of Planning Andrea 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! 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 “temporary” housing Subsequent planning for expanded port and heavy industry

Baltimore County Development 1951 -1957 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)

Plan for the Valleys – 1963 Wallace-Mc. Harg 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 - 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 Outside URDL Oregon Ridge Park 900 ac. forest Inside URDL

Growth Management

1975 Rural Zones and 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 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 4, 007 Source: Baltimore County Government, 2014 168, 910

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 Permits 2000 -2013 Location MF SFA SFD 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 1, 217 5 0 SFSD Sum Source: Baltimore County Government, 2014 URDL: Urban Rural Demarcation Line APPA: Agricultural Preservation Priority Area MF: Multiple-Family SFA: Single Family attached SFD: Single Family detached SFSD: Single Family semi-detached Overall 90% of population of County is within the URDL Percent

Farmland Preservation in Baltimore County, MD

Timeline of Land Preservation 197 1980 Maryland Trust 4 Environmental Local Land Trusts Donations 19 1994199 92 8 Mandated by County Government Cluster Development Government Funded Purchases 2014 Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation Rural Legacy Baltimore County Agricultural Land Preservation Program Federal Farm and Ranch Land Protection Program

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

Citations Brooks, Neil A. and Eric G. Rockel, A History of Baltimore County, Towson, MD 1979 Mc. Grain, 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-Mc. Harg Associates. 1963. Plan for the Valleys. Philadephia, PA.