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Planning department asks steady capital for land preservation, while directing grants to neighborhood improvements
Summary
Megan Benjamin, the county land preservation administrator, told the Planning Board Subcommittee that Baltimore County has about 71,593 acres protected in permanent conservation easements and is working to reach an 80,000-acre preservation goal.
Megan Benjamin, the countyland preservation administrator in the Department of Planning, told the Planning Board Subcommittee on the Capital Improvement Budget and Program that Baltimore County is continuing a long-term push to protect rural and agricultural lands and that the department needs steady capital funding to seize opportunities when landowners are ready to sell conservation easements.
Benjamin said the county is working toward an overall target of 80,000 protected acres and that, as of the end of calendar 2024, the county has about 71,593 acres protected in permanent conservation easements across multiple programs. She told the subcommittee those acres are protected through a mix of state and local tools, including the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation (MALPF), county agricultural-preservation purchases, state and county rural legacy easements and donated easements to land trusts and the Maryland Environmental Trust.
"We work towards this goal through a number of programs," Benjamin said, and she told the subcommittee the county is just above 63% of the target to protect prime agricultural and forest lands inside the county's agricultural priority preservation areas (APPs). The department described how county capital leverages state matching funds in MALPF cycles and provides a fallback option when state cycles are limited.
Because MALPF matching accelerates easement creation, Benjamin said the Planning Department proposes continuing an annual $2,000,000 county contribution to the MALPF category to maximize state matches and benefit from state-held easementswhich provide processing and long-term stewardship efficiencies. She added that county-funded easements and the county agricultural program remain important when state cycles are restricted.
Benjamin summarized 2024 activity: 698 acres and 15 projects closed in the year across programs, with county funds used in seven of those closings. She said 26 easements representing roughly 1,800 acres remain in the pipeline.
On the department's other capital responsibilities, Director Steven Lafferty reviewed the Community Improvements program and a range of recent projects the department has administered or supported. Lafferty highlighted neighborhood-scale investments, cultural and nonprofit building renovations, facade grants, interpretive signage, the Pikesville Armory redevelopment and the county's recent acquisition of additional Security Square Mall acreage from Macy's.
Lafferty said the county purchased about nine additional acres at Security Square Mall, adding to roughly 30 acres the county previously owned, and that county staff have engaged Redgate Financial Advisors to advise on a developer solicitation and strategy to reposition the property. He said several mall-property owners remain partners in planning a larger-site repositioning effort and that the county does not yet control the entire parcel.
The department also described a $1.2 million community improvement grant program created last year: two funding tracks (smaller grants and larger grants) distributed to local organizations for facade and building improvements, community-center renovations and placemaking. Lafferty said the department allocated $500,000 in 2024 to nine organizations for facade work and that project managers in the field distributed more than $17,000,000 in capital grants via 130 grants to 73 organizations across recent cycles (including some federal funds).
Committee members asked whether land-preservation funding would decline after the county reaches the 80,000-acre goal. Benjamin said that, once goals are reached, capital needs for easements would naturally change, and the department would consider reallocating resources. Members also asked for data on the agricultural sector's economic output and how many local acres support food production; Benjamin said she would follow up with the Office of Agriculture and Economic and Workforce Development to provide further detail.
Ending: The department closed by asking the subcommittee to continue steady contributions to state and county land-preservation mechanisms and to support community improvement grant refinements that will prioritize projects that align with place-based plans and sustainability goals.
