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Howard County presents Gateway Master Plan to create 1,100‑acre innovation district; council raises traffic, brownfield and school capacity concerns
Summary
County planners presented a legislative draft of the Gateway Master Plan proposing an 'innovation district' on 1,100 acres with new open‑space networks, nodes, transit connections and zoning tools. Council members questioned traffic impacts on I‑95, environmental constraints on brownfields and school capacity assumptions.
Howard County planning staff and a multidisciplinary consultant team presented the Gateway Master Plan to the Council at its September monthly meeting, outlining a long‑term vision to transform the 1,100‑acre Columbia Gateway area into a mixed‑use innovation district focused on cybersecurity, defense contracting, AI and supporting industries.
The plan — developed by county staff with consultants HOK (landscape/urban design) and Stiletto (market/placemaking) — frames Gateway around an interconnected open‑space network, a central “Woonerf” shared street spine, nodes for higher intensity development, a re‑use of a 3.1‑mile CSX rail corridor as a multimodal path, and a proposed new vehicular access point from Maryland 175. Mary Kendall, deputy director of planning, described the concept: “The Gateway Innovation District will be a major hub for cybersecurity, defense, technology, artificial intelligence, quantum, and other emerging industries that offer residents and visitors a connected, vibrant, and thriving community in which…
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