In This Issue
Planning Assistance in Action
Resources and Tools
Planning in Progress
From our Partner Agencies
In Case you Missed It!
MPCA Corner
Meet the Planning Staff
Conferences, Webinars, Training, and Funding
Planning Assistance in Action
When Are Forest Fires Not a Disaster? When They Are Prescribed!
Some days it seems like the world itself is burning, with reports of wildfires mostly across the western states increasing in frequency and the fires themselves ever larger and more destructive.
A deadly combination of drought, lightning strikes, human activity – both accidental and malicious – have made wildfires in California, Colorado, and Texas almost daily news. Even eastern states, and now parts of Europe and the UK, are experiencing a sharp increase in deadly and damaging fires in the face of unprecedented heat waves.
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Resources and Tools
HB 90 (2021) Modifies Comprehensive Plan Housing Element Requirements: What Maryland Jurisdictions Need to Know
In June 2020, HB 1045 (2019) required, for the first time, that all Maryland comprehensive plans include a housing element addressing affordable housing for low income and workforce households.
In response to this requirement, the Maryland Department of Planning (Planning), in partnership with the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) and a diverse housing stakeholder group, developed a Housing Element Models & Guidelines website.
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Planning in Progress
We will continue to provide updates about these exciting efforts as they develop in upcoming issues.
Maryland Department of Planning’s 2022 Brownfields Webinars Recordings Now Available Online
As part of the Maryland Department of Planning’s (Planning) ongoing commitment to advancing brownfield assessment, remediation, and redevelopment in the state, the department hosted a three-part webinar series in June. Entitled “From Due Diligence to Redevelopment,” the three-part series provided information and tools to officials and community stakeholders, with sessions about environmental due diligence, the new ASTM Phase I ESA Standard, and revitalization and redevelopment.
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From our Partner Agencies
Maryland Department of Agriculture Announces Recruitment for International Marketing Opportunities
In June, the Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) announced it is recruiting participants for three international trade activities occurring between mid-August and mid-October 2022. Attending the events can help Maryland food and agricultural businesses reach new buyers across the world.
The upcoming opportunities range from the chance for Maryland’s lumber industries to present their yellow pine forest resources to an in-bound delegation of buyers from Asia in August, to participating in pre-eminent food trade shows in Melbourne, Australia in September, and in Paris, France in October.
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Economic Development Collaboration Continues in Maryland
Maryland’s Regional Resources Teams are back in action and touring various projects throughout the state this summer.
The groups were last in-person prior to the pandemic, with a trip through Calvert County and its local businesses. Now in 2022, the teams have gotten together several times to enhance collaboration and tour various economic development projects in Maryland, including Tradepoint Atlantic in the Baltimore metro area, Choice Stairways in the Washington metro area, and the Governor Harry W. Nice Memorial/Senator Thomas "Mac" Middleton Bridge in Southern Maryland.
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In Case you Missed It!
Maryland Permanently Preserves 22 Working Farms
The Maryland Board of Public Works approved 22 new Maryland Agricultural Preservation Foundation (MALPF) easements at their meeting in May. These easements will permanently preserve an additional 3,339 acres of prime farmland in Caroline, Charles, Frederick, Garrett, Queen Anne’s Somerset, St. Mary’s, Talbot, and Worcester counties for an investment of more than $14 million.
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Hogan Administration Announces $5 Million in Grants Awarded to Heritage Projects by the Maryland Heritage Areas Authority
The Maryland Zero Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Plan (NEVI)
The Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) announced this month that it has submitted the Maryland Zero Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Plan (NEVI) to the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation.
Please visit the Maryland Zero Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Plan (ZEVIP) website to view a copy of the plan.
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Funding Opportunity: Partners for Places Mini Grants Now Available!
The Funders Network (TFN), in partnership with the Urban Sustainability Directors Network, has announced a new round of Partners for Places Mini Grants.
These grants are available to help local governments, place-based funders, and frontline community groups build relationships, align around project ideas, and ideally develop a proposal that centers racial equity in water, sustainability, and/or climate action work.
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MPCA Corner
It’s Time to Recognize Maryland’s Citizen Planners
Do you know a citizen planner or entire planning board (planning commission, board of zoning appeals, historic district commission) that deserves recognition for their work in 2021 or 2022?
Maryland’s citizen planners volunteer endless hours to their communities. Unfortunately, this civic dedication often goes overlooked. The Maryland Planning Commissioners Association (MPCA) is recognizing the great work of our citizen planners at its upcoming conference in the City of Frederick on October 25 and 26.
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Meet the Planning Staff
Adam Snyder
Adam Snyder joined the Maryland Department of Planning (Planning) in early May 2022. As Principal Counsel Adam heads up the division of the Maryland Attorney General's Office that provides advice to Planning, the Maryland Historical Trust (MHT), and various other state entities, and represents them in litigation, as necessary. He is currently representing MHT in two lawsuits involving the administration of historic preservation easements in Baltimore City.
Adam worked with the Office of Attorney General for 25 years with his first 13 years representing the Maryland Department of the Environment's (MDE) Wetlands and Waterways Program in cases involving the environmental effects of land development. Over the next six years, Adam served as the Office's "Chief of Opinions" -- a title he says his wife, Alison, always loved – followed by another half-dozen years representing the state of Maryland in federal appellate litigation.
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Continuing Education & Training
In each newsletter, we highlight the most relevant and timely upcoming events. Our website does include many additional events, so please visit it regularly for updates. Listings are searchable by subject.
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Upcoming Conferences and Seminars
Planning related conferences in Maryland and nearby states.
The 8th University of MD Symposium on Environmental Justice & Health Disparities
Online and In-Person Event
August 11-13
For More Information
ARC Conference: One Appalachia
October 17-19
For More Information
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Webinars
Listed webinars are typically free or low cost and cover a wide range of planning related issues. Many include CM credits.
Training Around the State
Workshops and classes offered by state agencies or our partners.
Funding Opportunities
Federal, state and/or non-governmental funding.
Our Town - Placemaking Grant
National Endowment for the Arts - Deadline: August 4
For More Information
The Maryland Historic Revitalization Tax Credit Program, Competitive Commercial Tax Credits
Maryland Histoircal Trust - Deadline: August 31
For More Information
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Planning Practice Wednesday is a service of the Maryland Department of Planning. The Maryland Department of Planning is providing links to training and educational content relevant to planning and growth as a service to its mailing list subscribers. The content and views expressed are not necessarily those of Planning or the State of Maryland.
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