Last month, the Maryland Department of Planning (Planning) announced the official launch of a new online tool, called the Transit Station Area Profile Tool (TSAPT). The TSAPT, developed in partnership with the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT), is designed to assist both the planning community as well as a variety of stakeholders with an interest in development trends spurred by Transit Oriented Development (TOD) across the state.

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We hear so much these days about humanity’s negative environmental impact, from our contribution to climate change, the dumping of plastic in oceans, and the reduction of species diversity across the globe, ushering many into extinction through the deforestation of jungles and the poaching of exotic animals for trophies. Some also fear the uncertainty around federal environmental regulations may threaten to send us backward in our domestic and global efforts to keep the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the land we cultivate safe from contamination.

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Planning, in conjunction with the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) is stepping up efforts to remediate and reduce the number of brownfields (contaminated or potentially contaminated parcels of land) across Maryland through a new initiative called the Brownfield Redevelopment Outreach Program.

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In this issue of Planning Practice Wednesday, we highlighted some common ground between two seemingly disparate initiatives: Planning’s Transit Station Area Profile Tool (TSAPT) and the Brownfield Redevelopment Outreach Program. Both articles discuss the Westport/Cherry Hill neighborhoods located in south Baltimore as being potential places where Transit Oriented Development (TOD) and brownfield redevelopment projects could occur. In an exciting coincidence, the winners of a design competition to revitalize the adjacent Middle Branch waterfront in Baltimore City were announced last month.

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The Maryland Department of Planning is starting a new initiative called Land Use Law Chat, through which we will publish—with the assistance of counsel to the Department of Planning—a series of white papers on legal topics of interest in areas of land use, planning, and community development. 

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Registration is now open for the 36th Annual Maryland Planning Commissioners Association (MPCA) Conference in Aberdeen, to be held November 6-7, 2019. The theme for this year is Meeting the Trends, Embracing the Future, and the agenda will be filled with sessions on timely topics that Maryland's citizen planning boards currently face and will likely face in the future.

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Ellen Mussman joined the Maryland Department of Planning (Planning) in February 2019 as a GIS Planner in the Geospatial and Data Analysis Unit. Her primary responsibilities include updating the statewide generalized zoning map and the water and sewer plan maps.

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Maryland Planning Association Maryland Chapter 2019 Biennial Conference
Rocky Mount, MD
October 6
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Maryland Planning Commissioners Association 36th Annual Conference
Aberdeen, MD
November 6-7
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Zoning, Housing, and Economic Growth in San Francisco
Wednesday, August 28 @ 2 p.m.
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T3 Webinar: Transportation Management Centers Streaming Video Sharing and Distribution
Thursday, September 5 @ 1 pm
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Vacancy to Vibrancy Brownfield Boot Camp
Tuesday, September 24, Easton, MD
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Southern Maryland Planning Commissioner Training Course-Workshop
Wednesday, September 25, Leonardtown, MD
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Community Grants
South Baltimore Gateway Partnership - Deadline: August 30
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Maryland GEAR UP Workforce Employability and Leadership Skills Program (WELSP) 
Maryland HIgher Education Commission - Deadline: September 5
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