Citizens Encouraged to Attend Tonight’s Evening Meeting at the Stembridge Community Center on Stemmers Run Road in Essex
(April 10, 2018) Baltimore, MD - The Maryland Department of Planning (Planning) is currently engaging local officials, staff, and residents in the new state development planning process, A Better Maryland.
Planning will host a listening session tonight at 6:30 p.m. at the Stembridge Community Center, located at 99 Stemmers Run Road, across the street from Al’s Seafood, just south of the intersection of Stemmers Run Road and Eastern Blvd in Essex.
Tuesday, April 10
Baltimore County Listening Session
Stembridge Community Center – 6:30 p.m.
Parking is available at the entrance to the Fields at Renaissance Park
99 Stemmers Run Road, Essex
The purpose of the outreach and overall statewide dialogue is to connect with stakeholders and solicit feedback about the plan and how it can help local governments and state agencies better meet local planning needs.
“Governor Hogan signed an Executive Order in August 2017, providing a great opportunity for all of us to work together on a new state development plan,” said Special Secretary of Smart Growth Wendi Peters. “The feedback we are receiving from citizens, local governments and other stakeholders is providing valuable insight and information for A Better Maryland.”
At the listening sessions, attendees view a short presentation and interact with planning staff and other stakeholders using an instant polling exercise and discussion questions.
The overall effort consists of a series of 24 outreach events in every Maryland county and Baltimore City through spring 2018.
"We appreciate the feedback and we encourage both in-person and online participation as we continue to meet with additional jurisdictions over these next few months," said Acting Secretary of Planning Rob McCord. "Each meeting brings a unique local perspective and we look forward to hearing from Marylander's across the State."
As part of this initiative, the ABetter.Maryland.gov website was launched, where stakeholders can review the project purpose and methodology, find out about upcoming listening sessions, read summaries of session input, and complete a survey to participate in the A Better Maryland plan.
The survey remains open and is an excellent way for citizens to become involved if they cannot attend a listening session or they prefer to provide an online comment. The outreach is designed to provide convenient and frequent access to make engagement meaningful and consistent.
The next listening sessions include Montgomery County on April 16 and Charles County on April 17.
For additional information, including meeting times and locations, please visit abetter.maryland.gov. The website also includes notes and discussions from the prior listening sessions.
A Better Maryland is a two-year project initiated by Governor Hogan’s Executive Order 01.01.2017.18 in July 2017, with an anticipated completion date in July 2019. Planning is working closely with the public, local governments, state agencies and other stakeholders, the Maryland Sustainable Growth Commission, the Maryland Municipal League, and the Maryland Association of Counties to develop and maintain a productive dialogue throughout the effort.
For questions about A Better Maryland or to find out when Planning is visiting your community, please contact Chuck Boyd, Director of Planning Coordination, (chuck.boyd@maryland.gov) at 410-767-1401.
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