Maryland's Governor Elect To Revive Smart Growth Policies
Governor-elect Martin O'Malley wants to redirect the state down the path of smart growth charted by former Governor Parris Glendening.
"With O'Malley taking office, Marylanders could see a push for mass transit and state control over where new houses go for the thousands expected to move here because of a hot job market and military realignment. And state residents should expect the revival of the concept of Smart Growth, popularized by former Democratic Gov. Parris Glendening.
The idea -- that government should use resources to steer growth to urban areas and away from rural vistas -- was a favorite of Glendening's, but it fell out of favor when [Republican Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr.] took office four years ago.
Ehrlich dismantled the cabinet-level Office of Smart Growth started by Glendening, a move Ehrlich said would spread the concept to all state agencies but critics said indicated a reluctance to implement Smart Growth ideas."
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And the pendulum swings again...
As good as this is for now, it just goes to show that governments aren't consistent enough to produce long term sustainability. Just as Measure 37 has in Oregon...
David Renkert, Founder
Landpool Partners
www.landpooling.com
Pendulum too far to the other side in OR
Dave, you can't mean M37 has introduced anything sustainable to OR, right?
Oh, sure: sustainable growth for development, maybe [last count: 622 farm parcels due to be lost to subdivisions (1493 total apps, 113K total farm acres), 3611 apps, 246K acres in total state claims.].
Best,
D
The Pendulum
Dano:
He seems to mean that the changes in MD prove that government is not consistent enough to produce anything sustainable, just as M37 in OR proved that government is not consistent enough to produce anything sustainable.
But I am not sure that is true. While the public's thinking is changing, then policies change back and forth like a swinging pendulum. But once the public's thinking has shifted, then we can expect policies to be more consistent.
Charles Siegel
Consistency.
Ah, I see now Charles.
I'd say that OR gov't was completely consistent in applying its LU laws.
Unfortunately, (as many said in their post-mortems) it was also consistent in not listening go its constituents' requests for some flexibility or relief from same laws, hence M37. Which, BTW, the majority of the OR public now regrets voting for (no, folks, despite what some tell you it's not a push-poll).
In this case, I'd argue the LU law's pendulum swing came from the initiative system, but the swing should be dampened now that folks can see the result is not as advertised. Let's hope another side effect will be acceptance of CNU/TND principles [not to be confused with cheap knock-offs].
Best,
D
Agreed, but...
Sustainability requires conservation, preservation and development to be worked together. They are interconnected and forever will be. Ideological wars keeps the pendulum in motion, why not let local people resolve local issues?
Take a minute to read this - http://landpooling.com/docs/LandpoolingRPI.pdf - if you haven't already.
David Renkert, Founder
Landpool Partners
www.landpooling.com
This is why elections are so
This is why elections are so important - it really matters who is in office at every level. It's good to see things headed in the right direction in Maryland.