Initial Community Outreach Opportunities

In June of 2005, a Regional Planning Conference kicked off the planning process.  The conference featured Ed McMahon and Thomas Hylton as key speakers.  Nearly 175 people registered for this half-day conference.

By August of 2005, a website (www.carrollpathways.org), dedicated solely to the Pathways Plan and process, was online and ready to offer information and participation activities.  During the planning process, the website offered downloadable materials, online surveys, a community meeting calendar, and results of the various meetings and events.  Information was quick and easy to access, and allowed the participation of those who are unable to attend meetings.

In early fall of 2005, participants attended the first set of community outreach meetings.  Twenty-three Grassroots Gatherings, four Perennial Partnerships, and the Council of Governments were introduced to the process and shared their special places.

The Youth Participation page on the website offered several Special Places activities at this time.  A Special Places survey was available online.

Participants at the community outreach meetings heard background information on the county related to each pathway during the late fall 2005 set of meetings.

In all, over 200 people participated in at least one meeting during the fall 2005 meeting series.  Many participants expressed appreciation for the chance to attend meetings in their own local communities.

The Cultivating Concepts Conference in January 2006 featured expert speakers on several topics pertinent to the key pathways.  Close to 150 people gathered for this day and a half conference, which ended with a Visual Preference Survey. 

Staff hosted a youth planning charrette during the conference.  This hands-on exercise engaged kids in mapping activities, and allowed them to share their vision of an ideal community. 

The Visual Preference Survey was available on the Pathways Plan website.  Over 600 participants ranked individual images in several categories based on how they felt a pattern or design of development in Carroll County would look in the future. 

A third set of Community Outreach meetings in the spring of 2006 addressed potential concepts for future directions.  An additional 100 people were new to the Grassroots Gatherings meetings.

In May of 2006, nearly 80 people joined staff for final participation in an event called Map It Out!  Small groups directed future residential growth by placing Legos® on a countywide map.

A fourth set of community outreach meetings, held in March 2007, provided participants with the preliminary broad concepts that could help the community go in the key directions identified by the community through prior participation efforts and sought initial feedback. 

Information Opportunities

Throughout the initial planning process, an abundance of materials and mediums kept participants abreast of progress.

Newsletters were available for interested citizens who wanted updates on the progress of the planning process.  Meeting dates, participation opportunities results, and a description of key planning legislation passed in the 2006 State legislative session were also published.

Topic Papers, posted on the website, provided readers with brief descriptions of ideas and topics new to participants and that could impact the plan’s recommendations. 

Other opportunities for community input included:  presentations to civic groups, displays at community events, quick reference contact information cards, and materials available at public locations.

Additional Things to Consider

ommunity input during the initial stage of the process, and results of the employment land needs study, represent just some of the factors that need consideration when identifying options for our future path.  Other considerations include requirements of state legislation and national and local trends that influence the communities’ needs for the future.

Legislation

In the spring of 2006, the Maryland General Assembly passed new legislation that would bring significant changes for planning at the local level.  Many of these changes must be incorporated into the Pathways Plan, and will substantially shape the range of choices to be evaluated.

Several new elements for local comprehensive plans were included in the legislation. 

The Water Resources Element is a new requirement imposed by House Bill (HB) 1141.  It requires local jurisdictions to address water quality and quantity from a broader, more fundamental perspective than the current Water and Sewer Master Plan requirements.  

HB 2 created a requirement for a Priority Preservation Areas Element.  The County must adopt this element to remain eligible for Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation funds.  The element may require counties to further target their preservation efforts.

HB 1141 amends State law to require a Municipal Growth Element in municipal plans.  While it is not an element required for county plans, it will be required of Carroll’s eight incorporated towns.  The legislation calls for an element that identifies a municipality’s areas for future growth.

HB 1160 established a Workforce Housing Grant Program.  For a local government to be qualified to participate in the program, a Workforce Housing Element must be developed and adopted by the jurisdiction.

State law already requires local jurisdictions to adopt a Sensitive Areas Element.  HB 1141 requires agricultural and forest lands intended for resource protection or conservation to be added to those resources included in Carroll County’s 1997 Environmental Resources Element.

Global, National, and Local Trends and Influences     

The decisions people make in their daily lives are often influenced by global, national, and local trends occurring around them.  These trends also impact the directions our communities will take in the future.

• The Global Trends Project estimates that, in the next 50 years, the world’s population will increase by one to four billion people.  The majority of these people will live in developing countries.
• The World Bank states that developing economies grew faster over the last decade (1995–2005) than in the two previous decades and faster than high-income countries. 
• The World Health Organization states that that number of deaths from global warming will double to 300,000 people a year in just 25 years.
• The American Association for the Advancement of Science predicts that, if water consumption rates remain at the rate they are at today, by 2025 the world will use 70 percent of the annual available freshwater.
• According to the American Planning Association’s Policy Guide on Sustainability, the world population grows by 385,000 each day, with about 98 percent occurring in developing countries.

Consider these national and local trends, grouped below by pathway.  Many of these trends actually impact multiple pathways.

Directing & Designing Growth

• We are an aging population; life expectancy has increased by 7 years and the median age rose almost 7 years since 1967.  This changing demographic has implications for needs related to housing, public services, and access to healthcare and transportation.
• According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the suburban portion of metropolitan areas, rather than central cities, accounted for most metropolitan growth during the century. By 2000, half of the U.S. population lived in suburban areas.
• According to the Maryland Association of Realtors, housing affordability will continue to decrease due to population growth, house-value appreciation, income growth, increased real estate taxes, and rising energy costs.  The result is continued difficulty for even moderate-income households to purchase a home. 
• Based on 2005 zoning, potentially another 28,000 to 37,000 lots remain to be developed in the county.  Over 12,000 of those lots could be located outside planned growth areas.  Where and how these lots develop will have significant implications for the character of the community as well as how and when services need to be provided.
• Approximately 60,000 new residents are expected in Maryland as a result of the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) 2005
• The U. S. Census Bureau lists housing starts in April of 2007 were up 2.5 percent from March but down 16.1 percent from April of 2006. Housing permits were down 8.9 percent from March and down 28.1 percent from one year ago.
• Kiplinger Forecasts predicts the United States will see the average house price decline by about 4-5 percent this year.

Taking Care of Business

• According to the Lt. Governor’s Office, BRAC will create about 45,000 jobs in Maryland over the next 15 years.
• The Baltimore Metropolitan Council predicts 19,000 new households will be related to the BRAC process.
• According to the Fort George G. Meade Regional Growth Management Committee, roughly 95 percent of new jobs transferring to Fort Meade will require at least a Bachelor’s degree or other education beyond high school.  The Baltimore Metropolitan Council breaks down the jobs created by BRAC into three categories:  Direct jobs will include all positions civilian and military that will be on the base itself.  Indirect jobs such as contractors that provide direct support to the base mission will also be included in the job creation prediction.  Lastly, induced employment, such as retail, service, or any field that provides goods or services to the employees in the area.
• The Fort George G. Meade Regional Growth Management Committee expects BRAC to generate $11.6 million in income tax revenue to the state and $18.5 million in property tax revenue.
• Carroll County is expected to be most impacted by the gain of 22,000 positions on or near Fort Meade by 2011 based on Fort George G. Meade Regional Growth Management Committee projections. 
• Kiplinger Forecasts also predicts that U.S. retail sales are will increase by 3.5 percent this year after a 4 percent increase in 2006.
• The Department of Commerce indicates the trade deficit will decline this year to about $740 billion and 5.4 percent of U.S. gross domestic product.
• The unemployment rate will reach about 5 percent this year according to Kiplinger Forecasts.
• According to Business for Social Responsibility, by 2010, the U.S. workforce is projected to experience a 1 percent decline in the 18-44 age group, a 29 percent increase in the 45-64 age group, and a 14 percent increase in the 65+ age group from current levels.

Sustaining our Natural Systems

• Energy costs are increasing.  Recent increases in electric rates were significant for many Marylanders.  Communities will need to apply new ways to address energy conservation and efficiency as decisions are made about the future.
• The Global Trends Project states that biodiversity is declining from climate change, land conversion, and unsustainable harvest.
• One third of the world lives in an area with constrained water sources according to the Global Trends Project.
• The U.N. Millennium Ecosystem Assessment states that 60 percent of the World’s ecosystems are degraded or are being used unsustainably.
• The Environmental Protection Agency listed Carbon Dioxide (CO2) as the largest greenhouse gas (84.6%) being released into the atmosphere.  55 percent of the total greenhouse gases that are released come from using fossil fuels and cement.

Connecting with our Heritage

• The increased cost of purchasing development rights, and the speed land in these areas is being developed, will make it nearly impossible to achieve the County’s goal of 100,000 acres preserved through a purchase of development rights program.
• The average price per acre paid to purchase development rights on farmland in Carroll County nearly doubled from 2000 to 2005.  Based on 2007 dollars, and an average cost of $6,300 per acre that the County is paying for permanent easements, it would cost roughly $315 million to purchase the easements on the remaining 50,000 acres needed to achieve the goal of 100,000 acres preserved.
• According to the USDA, global climate change during the next century is not likely to imperil food production for the world as a whole.
• The USDA predicts an increase in the total corn production in the next five years to meet the growing need for ethanol production.

Networking Transportation

• Forbes.com says that gas prices are not expected to decline dramatically in the foreseeable future, but will depend greatly on supply and international relations.  With rising fuel costs, communities will need to find ways to reduce reliance on the automobile.
• Between 20 to 25 percent of drivers on Carroll’s roads at peak hours are commuters passing through the county to get to work.  Based on the 2002 study conducted by Jacob France Institute on behalf of Carroll County Government, around 62 percent of our workforce commutes out of the county to work each day as well.  This impacts how land uses are planned, where economic development efforts are focused, and which transportation options need to be considered.