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La Plata planning director to leave; annual 2023 report submitted late to Maryland Department of Planning
Summary
Planning Director Janine Harrington announced May 21 that it was her last meeting with the Town of La Plata; staff will forward the town’s 2023 annual planning report to the Maryland Department of Planning after a late submission and minor edits.
Janine Harrington, La Plata’s director of planning, told the Planning Commission on May 21 that the meeting would be her last with the town and that she is preparing transition materials for staff and council. Harrington said she had coordinated with the Maryland Department of Planning about a late annual report filing and that the 2023 annual report (calendar year 2023) will be forwarded, signed by Planning Commission Chair Sampson, to the Maryland Department of Planning for inclusion in the state’s records.
Harrington summarized the annual report draft and long-form materials required under the Maryland Land Use Article. She said the long form is required when a jurisdiction issues more than 50 residential building permits in a year; the town’s permit-recording conventions list multifamily building permits by building rather than by unit, so staff adjusted the report to reflect permitted units versus issued permits. The planning director said the town issued a total of 1,444 permits in 2023 and that the town council allocated 253 school seats during the year; she included appendices with permit data and school-seat breakdowns.
Harrington described work reflected in the report: annexations, code amendments, the urban tree canopy plan (completed in 2023 by Davey Resource Group in partnership with the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, funded in part by a National Fish and Wildlife Foundation grant), progress on the Radio Station shared-bike path, and transportation initiatives including a Southwest Quadrant access-management plan and Charles Street design work. She noted the town does not have a stand-alone bicycle/pedestrian plan; elements are included in the comprehensive plan and transportation studies.
Commissioners reviewed the draft and asked only minor edits; one correction noted in the meeting was a missing submission date under the sustainable-communities section. Harrington said she would make that edit and transmit the report for signatures.
Harrington also told the commission she is assembling “planning director” binders and a development-process guide to assist staff and applicants during the transition. She said the town manager will advertise the planning director vacancy alongside the town manager search and that existing staff (including the assistant town manager and technical review team) will handle ongoing projects during the interim.
