Land, Growth and Stewardship Agenda in the Chesapeake Bay Region

  Options for a Land, Growth and Stewardship Agenda in the 

Chesapeake Bay Region

(These recommendations are a compilation of those proposed during outreach meetings held prior to the Chesapeake Bay Program’s  “Quality Landscape Conference”,  held on November 30 and December 1, 1995,  and those resulting from jurisdictional break-out sessions held on Day 2 of the Conference.  This summary has been prepared by the Land, Growth and Stewardship Subcommittee for comment and review .)

1. Educate the public on their local connection to the Chesapeake Bay.

• Through community visioning processes

• Using economic valuation to demonstrate the importance of protecting our resource

• Through use of environmental indicators and GIS maps

• Tie socio-cultural issues to Chesapeake Bay Program issues/ educate diverse communities on urban revitalization and Bay issues

• Educate legislators and elected officials on land use/planning issues

• Educational programs should have an interdisciplinary

approach and a grassroots focus

2. Strengthen and expand the Chesapeake Bay Program partnership structure to support implementation and provide assistance

• Include federal agencies which represent land management, transportation and utilities in the partnership

• Strengthen partnerships and encourage cooperation within the private sector - business, planners, developers, Realtors, homebuilders, land trusts

• Include more local government representation

• Build constituencies of support

3. Broaden Communication and Outreach

• Listen to stakeholder perspectives at annual association meetings - use these meetings as an opportunity to discuss Bay issues

• Create forums for policy discussions

• Market local success stories

• Present case studies at group forums

• The CBP should continue dialogue and provide forums for stakeholders such as developers, Realtors, home buyers, elected officials, non-profit and civic organizations and local government representatives

• Provide Internet access to stakeholders and communities/local government

• Focus on alternative dissemination and participation pathways to reach diverse communities

• Obtain hard data on land issues to which can be presented in creative ways

• Encourage and facilitate communication between stakeholders

4. Regulatory Re-invention

• Examine economic incentives and pollution taxes to encourage sustainable development patterns

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• Encourage planning which considers cooperation for regional economics and development patterns 

• Promote a level playing field between regulators, developers, planners and local government officials

• Encourage grassroots approaches to conservation over command and control

• Analyze existing land use and preservation laws and regulations (including tax policy) to provide guidance on improving effectiveness

• Promote streamlining the regulatory process for developers to reduce housing costs

• Foster intergovernmental cooperation to achieve quality stewardship

5. Encourage development patterns which balance environmental protection and economic health.

Revitalization

• Encourage redevelopment within existing infrastructure/growth should be relative to treatment capacity

• Focus on urban issues to spur revitalization

• Limit new development as a way to encourage revitalization

• Provide hard data on the costs of various development rehabilitation projects

Preventing sprawl

• Encourage higher density, compact, contiguous and intermixed development patterns

• Quantify the impacts of future and past development

• Establish balance between commercial and residential development - make the rural/urban link

• Analyze the costs of sprawl before development occurs

• Promote open space subdivisions, cluster development alternatives

• Focus on and integrate transportation issues

Fostering a sense of place

• Set up  frameworks to protect heritage

• Encourage cooperation between planners and citizens to create a vision of their future community

Promote Economic Viability

• Assist communities to re-define economically viable growth

• Ensure low-income housing is available

• Stimulate local economies through revitalization efforts

• Help localities to plan for long-term economic stability

6. The Chesapeake Bay Program should develop clear goals and criteria or measurement milestones for quality stewardship (appropriate development patterns)

7. Provide assistance to communities to balance environmental protection and economic health

• The Chesapeake Bay Program should identify and communicate a full range of flexible tools and techniques for sustainable development standards

• Transferable models for sustainable development are necessary to inspire communities

• Technical expertise should be made available to communities and local governments

• Possible funding for local projects should be identified and communicated to community organizations and local governments

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• Provide assistance to address urban issues (schools, safety, environmental justice)

8. Legislative Needs

• Local innovations in land, growth and stewardship should be legally reinforced

• Legislation is needed to encourage “Brownfield” redevelopment instead of subsidizing private developers

• We need legislation with incentives for appropriate development

• Legislation should encourage intergovernmental cooperation for joint planning and zoning

• Legislation is needed to change the contemporary zoning patterns which have facilitated the pattern of sprawl

For more information about the Land, Growth & Stewardship Subcommittee or the “Quality Landscape Conference” contact Barbara Butler at 410-267-5718.