Maryland voters want stronger state policies and more public control over managing growth, according to a poll by advocacy group 1000 Friends of Maryland.
“Marylanders are saying they want the state to step in and really keep the localities honest in planning for growth and development,” said Douglas Stewart, communications director at 1000 Friends of Maryland, which works to protect open space and improve urban development and public transportation.
The poll found 88 percent of respondents want increased coordination between towns and counties to plan for growth.
Most respondents said state government should be active in coordinating growth statewide, according to the poll, which was a telephone survey of 1,000 registered voters.
“I don?t think elected officials always acknowledge how important the growth issue is to voters,” said Stewart Schwartz, executive director for the D.C.-based Coalition for Smarter Growth.
The problems respondents identified as the most serious facing the state, such as traffic, housing and pollution of the Chesapeake Bay, are all related to managing growth, Schwartz said.
A key to balancing growth and ensuring community support is through communication, advocates say. When residents are involved, they will remember they have named open space as a priority and are more likely to agree with compact developments, Schwartz said.
Officials should be “involving the community in planning, and letting the residents wrestle with the trade-offs,” such as increased development in their communities, Schwartz said.
The poll reflects this, as 80 percent of respondents said the public doesn?t have enough control over local growth plans.
“When people feel like they have a say in growth and development, and there is a fair, predictable and transparent process for approving development, you get more receptive response toward the kind of development we would like to see,” Stewart said.
