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Economic development delegates return from Huntsville, urge faster permitting and market clarity
Summary
A trade delegation from St. Mary's County visited Huntsville, Ala., to study its diversified defense-and-tech economy. Delegation members said Huntsville’s rapid permitting, strong chamber role and workforce data offer lessons for accelerating local business development.
A St. Mary's County trade delegation that visited Huntsville, Alabama reported back Oct. 28, 2015, saying Huntsville’s mix of government, industry and university partnerships — and a faster permitting process — helped the city grow and diversify its economy.
Delegates said the two-day trip included meetings with the Huntsville Chamber of Commerce, Mayor Tommy Battle, NASA’s Payload Operations Integration Center, Cummings Research Park and local companies. Chris, who led the delegation briefing to the Economic Development Commission, said the research park hosts roughly 300 companies and that Huntsville has “about 50 percent military, 50 percent nonmilitary” economic balance centered on Redstone Arsenal.
Why it matters: Commission members said St. Mary's County could adapt parts of Huntsville’s approach to attract private-sector investment and speed project delivery. Delegates singled out two practical levers: clearer marketing of local workforce strengths and shortening local permitting timelines so startups and expanding firms can begin operations faster.
Members described three specific takeaways. First, Huntsville’s Chamber of Commerce played a central, active role in attracting firms while local government focused on clearing permitting barriers once interest existed. Second, Huntsville used labor-force analysis (a Deloitte study delegates referenced) to identify concentrations of engineers and pitch that workforce to recruiters. Third, delegation members reported incentives and state support were often used to close deals, citing a large GE announcement and rapid construction timelines.
Jeremiah, who attended part of the trip, said the city’s “history of diversification and growth” and the coordinated presentation of assets made the pitch to businesses persuasive. Local developer John Parlett told the delegation that rapid approvals in Huntsville enabled developers to break ground within months, a pace several members contrasted with local permitting timeframes in St. Mary's County.
Delegates emphasized that St. Mary's County has different assets — including extensive shoreline and proximity to the Patuxent River base — and should not try to copy Huntsville wholesale. Instead, they said, county leaders should identify and market local competitive advantages and consider administrative changes that reduce approval times for new and expanding firms.
Next steps: Delegation participants said they would meet the following week to debrief and document lessons for the county’s economic strategy. Commission members also discussed feeding the trip’s findings into work already underway with University of Maryland consultants and the county’s Strategic Economic Development Strategy (SEDS).
