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House amends statewide planning principles; delegates seek clarification on rural impact
Summary
Delegates adopted amendments to House Bill 2-86 to update state and local planning principles; members from rural districts pressed sponsors for assurances the changes won't undermine working landscapes or shift funding away from rural needs. The bill was special-ordered for further consideration tomorrow.
House Bill 2-86, a departmental bill to modernize Maryland's State Economic Growth, Resource Protection and Planning Policy (the set of planning principles the Maryland Department of Planning uses), drew extended questioning on March 4 over whether the changes would favor development in population centers at the expense of rural working landscapes.
The bill's committee amendments add intent language that residents should be active participants in planning, expand the definition of working landscapes to explicitly include farms and fisheries, and adjust ecology and land principles to emphasize conservation of forests and waterways. Sponsors said the changes merely update principles last reviewed many years ago and are intended as guidance for state planning work and for jurisdictions developing comprehensive plans.
Why it matters: Delegates from rural and Eastern Shore districts pressed the committee chair about how the principles would be interpreted and whether they could produce a new, top-down tiering similar to Plan Maryland's prior mapping that some rural delegates opposed. The chair repeatedly said the Department of Planning is a resource, not an implementer, and that the principles are intentionally broad to apply statewide.
Debate and outcomes: The delegate from Caroline County asked for a special order to allow time for amendments and more detail; the sponsor acknowledged the bill is "double drafted" so the principles apply both statewide and in local comprehensive plan guidance, and accepted the special order. The House then approved a motion to special-order HB 2-86 to an appropriate time the next day.
Next steps: Sponsors and committee members agreed to accept a special order and continue discussions about the language and any needed clarifications. The bill was not finally passed on March 4.
