Gov. Martin O?Malley is reviving the state?s strategy for controlled development by upping the staff at what he said had become a “dormant” Office of Smart Growth.
“We have suffered from a lack of a coordinated strategy,” O?Malley said Wednesday, at Columbia?s 40th birthday celebration hosted by the Howard County Chamber of Commerce. “We have not addressed the pressures on our infrastructures and communities.”
O?Malley tapped David Costello, former director of the Mayor?s Office of Community Investment in Baltimore City, to serve as the assistant secretary for the Office of Smart Growth within the Department of Planning.
The office had dwindled to one person when O?Malley took the helm. Now there will be five staff members and more dedicated resources from the department, Planning Secretary Richard Hall said.
Costello will focus on infill development, or building within established neighborhoods, specific developments and the broader state Smart Growth strategy.
The state?s Smart Growth push aims to preserve open space, focus development in existing communities and create walkable communities.
The office will encourage developers to build in the so-called priority funding areas, which are existing communities where the state focuses money for growth, Hall said.
Costello also will work closely with local jurisdictions and developers and across agencies.
“A lot of it is about reinfusing across the state Smart Growth ethics and principles to guide the strategy,” Costello said.
AT A GLANCE
» The state legislation that created the Smart Growth strategy is now 10 years old, and officials plan to review what?s working and what can be done better.
» Maryland is the fifth-most densely populated state and faces much more growth, including the base realignment measure that is expected to bring thousands of jobs to Fort Meade in Anne Arundel and Aberdeen Proving Ground in Harford.
