EXPLANATION: CAPITALS INDICATE MAT TER ADDED TO EXISTIN G LAW.
[Brackets] indicate matter deleted from existing law.
*sb0266*
SENATE BILL 266
C8, L6, M3 5lr0319
(PRE–FILED) CF HB 286
By: Chair, Education, Energy, and the Environment Committee (By Request –
Departmental – Planning)
Requested: October 6, 2024
Introduced and read first time: January 8, 2025
Assigned to: Education, Energy, and the Environment
A BILL ENTITLED
AN ACT concerning 1
Local Comprehensive Planning and State Economic Growth, Resource 2
Protection, and Planning Policy – Planning Principles 3
FOR the purpose of altering the planning visions for local comprehensive planning to 4
consist of certain planning principles; altering the State Economic Growth, Resource 5
Protection, and Planning Policy to consist of certain planning principles; requiring 6
the publisher of the Annotated Code of Maryland, in consultation with the 7
Department of Legislative Services, to correct cross–references and terminology in 8
the Code that are rendered incorrect by this Act; and generally relating to local 9
comprehensive planning and the State Economic Growth, Resource Protection, and 10
Planning Policy. 11
BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 12
Article – Land Use 13
Section 1–201 14
Annotated Code of Maryland 15
(2012 Volume and 2024 Supplement) 16
BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 17
Article – State Finance and Procurement 18
Section 5–7A–01 and 5–7B–05(a)(3) 19
Annotated Code of Maryland 20
(2021 Replacement Volume and 2024 Supplement) 21
SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 22
That the Laws of Maryland read as follows: 23
Article – Land Use 24
2 SENATE BILL 266
1–201. 1
In addition to the requirements of § 3–201(a) and (b) of this article, a planning 2
commission shall implement the following [visions] PLANNING PRINCIPLES through the 3
comprehensive plan described in Title 3 of this article: 4
[(1) quality of life and sustainability: a high quality of life is achieved 5
through universal stewardship of the land, water, and air resulting in sustainable 6
communities and protection of the environment; 7
(2) public participation: citizens are active partners in the planning and 8
implementation of community initiatives and are sensitive to their responsibilities in 9
achieving community goals; 10
(3) growth areas: growth is concentrated in existing population and 11
business centers, growth areas adjacent to these centers, or strategically selected new 12
centers; 13
(4) community design: compact, mixed–use, walkable design consistent 14
with existing community character and located near available or planned transit options is 15
encouraged to ensure efficient use of land and transportation resources and preservation 16
and enhancement of natural systems, open spaces, recreational areas, and historical, 17
cultural, and archaeological resources; 18
(5) infrastructure: growth areas have the water resources and 19
infrastructure to accommodate population and business expansion in an orderly, efficient, 20
and environmentally sustainable manner; 21
(6) transportation: a well–maintained, multimodal transportation system 22
facilitates the safe, convenient, affordable, and efficient movement of people, goods, and 23
services within and between population and business centers; 24
(7) housing: a range of housing densities, types, and sizes provides 25
residential options for citizens of all ages and incomes; 26
(8) economic development: economic development and natural 27
resource–based businesses that promote employment opportunities for all income levels 28
within the capacity of the State’s natural resources, public services, and public facilities are 29
encouraged; 30
(9) environmental protection: land and water resources, including the 31
Chesapeake and coastal bays, are carefully managed to restore and maintain healthy air 32
and water, natural systems, and living resources; 33
(10) resource conservation: waterways, forests, agricultural areas, open 34
space, natural systems, and scenic areas are conserved; 35
SENATE BILL 266 3
(11) stewardship: government, business entities, and residents are 1
responsible for the creation of sustainable communities by collaborating to balance efficient 2
growth with resource protection; and 3
(12) implementation: strategies, policies, programs, and funding for growth 4
and development, resource conservation, infrastructure, and transportation are integrated 5
across the local, regional, State, and interstate levels to achieve these visions.] 6
(1) LAND: OPTIMIZE LAND PRODUC TIVITY WITHIN POPULA TION 7
CENTERS AND IN PROXI MITY TO EXISTING INF RASTRUCTURE AND FACI LITIES; 8
(2) TRANSPORTATION : PRIORITIZE TRANSPORT ATION NETWORKS 9
THAT CREA TE ENERGY EFFICIENT , AFFORDABLE , AND RELIABLE ACCESS TO JOBS, 10
HOUSING, AND SERVICES; 11
(3) HOUSING: ENABLE A MIX OF QUAL ITY HOUSING TYPES AN D 12
AFFORDABILITY OPTION S TO ACCOMMODATE ALL WHO WANT TO LIVE IN THE STATE; 13
(4) ECONOMY: ALLOW FOR ADAPTIVE R EUSE, MIXED–USE, AND 14
CONTEXT APPROPRIATE NEW DEVELOPMENT THAT RESPONDS TO CHANGING 15
MARKETS AND INNOVATI ONS; 16
(5) EQUITY: ENGAGE ALL SECTORS O F THE COMMUNITY IN P LAN 17
DEVELOPMENT TO ENSUR E DIVERSE VOICES ARE HEARD AND THE NEEDS OF 18
UNDERSERVED POPULATI ONS ARE PRIORITIZED; 19
(6) RESILIENCE: INTEGRATE RESILIENCY MEASURES THAT WILL 20
MINIMIZE THE IMPACTS OF RAPID AND UNEXPEC TED NATURAL – AND 21
HUMAN–CAUSED THREATS ON CO MMUNITIES; 22
(7) PLACE: PROVIDE FOR PUBLIC S PACES THAT ENCOURAGE SOCIAL 23
INTERACTION AND VALU E CULTURAL, HISTORICAL, AND NATURAL RESOURCE S; AND 24
(8) ECOLOGY: PROTECT AND RESTORE SENSITIVE ECOLOGICAL 25
SYSTEMS. 26
Article – State Finance and Procurement 27
5–7A–01. 28
The State Economic Growth, Resource Protection, and Planning Policy [is the 29
following] CONSISTS OF THE FOLL OWING PLANNING PRINC IPLES FOR ADVANCING 30
SUSTAINABLE GROWTH I N THE STATE: 31
4 SENATE BILL 266
[(1) quality of life and sustainability: a high quality of life is achieved 1
through universal stewardship of the land, water, and air resulting in sustainable 2
communities and protection of the environment; 3
(2) public participation: citizens are active partners in the planning and 4
implementation of community initiatives and are sensitive to their responsibilities in 5
achieving community goals; 6
(3) growth areas: growth is concentrated in existing population and 7
business centers, growth areas adjacent to these centers, or strategically selected new 8
centers; 9
(4) community design: compact, mixed–use, walkable design consistent 10
with existing community character and located near available or planned transit options is 11
encouraged to ensure efficient use of land and transportation resources and preservation 12
and enhancement of natural systems, open spaces, recreational areas, and historical, 13
cultural, and archeological resources; 14
(5) infrastructure: growth areas have the water resources and 15
infrastructure to accommodate population and business expansion in an orderly, efficient, 16
and environmentally sustainable manner; 17
(6) transportation: a well–maintained, multimodal transportation system 18
facilitates the safe, convenient, affordable, and efficient movement of people, goods, and 19
services within and between population and business centers; 20
(7) housing: a range of housing densities, types, and sizes provides 21
residential options for citizens of all ages and incomes; 22
(8) economic development: economic development and natural 23
resource–based businesses that promote employment opportunities for all income levels 24
within the capacity of the State’s natural resources, public services, and public facilities are 25
encouraged; 26
(9) environmental protection: land and water resources, including the 27
Chesapeake and coastal bays, are carefully managed to restore and maintain healthy air 28
and water, natural systems, and living resources; 29
(10) resource conservation: waterways, forests, agricultural areas, open 30
space, natural systems, and scenic areas are conserved; 31
(11) stewardship: government, business entities, and residents are 32
responsible for the creation of sustainable communities by collaborating to balance efficient 33
growth with resource protection; and 34
SENATE BILL 266 5
(12) implementation: strategies, policies, programs, and funding for growth 1
and development, resource conservation, infrastructure, and transportation are integrated 2
across the local, regional, State, and interstate levels to achieve these visions.] 3
(1) LAND: OPTIMIZE LAND PRODUC TIVITY WITHIN POPULA TION 4
CENTERS AND IN PROXI MITY TO EXISTING INF RASTRUCTURE AND FACI LITIES; 5
(2) TRANSPORTATION : PRIORITIZE TR ANSPORTATION NETWORK S 6
THAT CREATE ENERGY E FFICIENT, AFFORDABLE , AND RELIABLE ACCESS TO JOBS, 7
HOUSING, AND SERVICES; 8
(3) HOUSING: ENABLE A MIX OF QUAL ITY HOUSING TYPES AN D 9
AFFORDABILITY OPTION S TO ACCOMMODATE ALL WHO WANT TO LIVE IN THE STATE; 10
(4) ECONOMY: ALLOW FOR ADAPTIVE R EUSE, MIXED–USE, AND 11
CONTEXT APPROPRIATE NEW DEVELOPMENT THAT RESPONDS TO CHANGING 12
MARKETS AND INNOVATI ONS; 13
(5) EQUITY: ENGAGE ALL SECTORS O F THE COMMUNITY IN P LAN 14
DEVELOPMENT TO ENSUR E DIVERSE VOICES ARE HEARD AND THE NEEDS OF 15
UNDERSERVED POPULATI ONS ARE PRIORITIZED ; 16
(6) RESILIENCE: INTEGRATE RESILIENCY MEASURES THAT WILL 17
MINIMIZE THE IMPACTS OF RAPID AND UNEXPEC TED NATURAL – AND 18
HUMAN–CAUSED THREATS ON CO MMUNITIES; 19
(7) PLACE: PROVIDE FOR PUBLIC S PACES THAT ENCOURAGE SOCIAL 20
INTERACTION AND VALU E CULTURAL, HISTORICAL, AND NATURAL RESOURCE S; AND 21
(8) ECOLOGY: PROTECT AND RESTORE SENSITIVE ECOLOGICAL 22
SYSTEMS. 23
5–7B–05. 24
(a) (3) The Board of Public Works may approve a transportation project under 25
paragraph (1)(ii) of this subsection if the transportation project: 26
(i) maintains the existing transportation system, if the Department 27
of Transportation and the Department of Planning determine the project does not serve to 28
significantly increase highway capacity; 29
(ii) serves to connect priority funding areas, if: 30
1. the Department of Transportation and the Department of 31
Planning determine that adequate access control or other measures are in place to: 32 6 SENATE BILL 266
A. prevent development that is inconsistent with § 1
[5–7A–01(1), (2), and (3)] 5–7A–01 of this title; and 2
B. maintain the viability of the project while concomitantly 3
constraining development which potentially detracts from main street business areas; and 4
2. the Department of Transportation and the Department of 5
Planning have first determined whether alternative transportation modes, such as mass 6
transit and transportation demand management, provide a reasonable alternative to the 7
project and that no reasonable alternative exists; 8
(iii) has the sole purpose of providing control of access by the 9
Department of Transportation along an existing highway corridor; or 10
(iv) due to its operational or physical characteristics, must be located 11
away from other development. 12
SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That the publisher of the 13
Annotated Code of Maryland, in consultation with and subject to the approval of the 14
Department of Legislative Services, shall correct, with no further action required by the 15
General Assembly, cross–references and terminology rendered incorrect by this Act. The 16
publisher shall adequately describe any correction that is made in an editor’s note following 17
the section affected. 18
SECTION 3. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect 19
October 1, 2025. 20