January
1991 Report of the Governor’s Commission on Growth in the Chesapeake Bay Region
Protecting
the Future
A
Vision for Maryland
Report
of the Governor’s Commission on Growth in the Chesapeake Bay Region
January
1991
SUMMARY
OF THE COMMISSION'S PROPOSAL
Since
October 1989, the Governor's Commission on Growth in the Chesapeake Bay Region
has worked to develop a vision for Maryland's growth over the next 30 years.
Answering a charge from Governor William Donald Schaefer, the Commission has
made recommendations for reconciling rapid economic growth and development with
the conservation of Maryland's natural resources and the preservation of the
State's unique quality of life.
The
Commission recognized an opportunity to change the way land-use has been
managed in the past, and crafted recommendations which carefully consider the
challenge of the Visions prepared by the 2020 Panel of Experts.2 Each Vision
was considered, and the responses blended into five basic recommendations that
are the subject of this report.
1.
Designate suitable areas for growth. Sprawl development devours land, harms the
environment and the Chesapeake Bay, and uses infrastructure inefficiently. The
Commission's proposal would have local governments direct new development to
areas they believe can most efficiently accommodate it.
2.
Protect sensitive areas. From a list of more than 40 environmentally-sensitive
areas, such as den or breeding sites and large contiguous tracts of forest, the
Commission focused on four as being most critical to protect from the impact of
individual development projects. On steep slopes and in stream buffers, in
habitats for endangered species and 100-year floodplains, virtually no
development should be permitted.
3.
Conserve natural resources. Sprawl development encourages inefficient use of
resources. Natural resources such as farmland and forests, once developed, are
difficult to restore. Under the Commission's proposal, development will be
directed away from farms and forests.
4.
Make stewardship of the environment a universal ethic. Mary landers must
understand that each individual's actions have a direct effect on the Bay and
the environment. The Commission has asked that a statewide Stewardship Council
be charged with coordinating existing educational programs and increasing
opportunities for individuals to protect the environment.
5.
Provide funds to achieve the recommendations. Concentrating development depends
on the ability of local governments to fund the planning and
infrastructure. Although local
The
2020 Panel of Experts was convened at the request of the signatories of the
1987 Chesapeake Bay Agreement to study the consequences of population growth
and development for the Chesapeake Bay watershed to the year 2020. Their report described six detailed
"visions" and "actions."
[…]
From
far western Garrett County to the Eastern Shore, the importance of the Bay to
Maryland is virtually inestimable. Each year it gives us millions of dollars of
seafood, billions of dollars of commerce flow through its major ports, and it
is a recreation center for the East Coast. In 1989, the Maryland Department of
Economic and Employment Development estimated the economic value of the Bay to
Maryland and Virginia to be $678 billion.
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Google profile: https://profiles.google.com/kevindayhoff/
E-mail: kevindayhoff(at)gmail.com
My http://www.explorecarroll.com/ columns appear in the copy of the Baltimore Sunday Sun that is distributed in Carroll County: https://subscribe.baltsun.com/Circulation/
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