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NEWS RELEASE

August 25, 2008

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Howard County Sharpens its Focus on the Environment and Community Planning

ELLICOTT CITY, MD – Howard County’s Department of Planning and Zoning has announced that the Division of Environmental and Community Planning has been restructured into two new separate divisions: the Resource Conservation Division and the Division of Comprehensive and Community Planning.

According to Howard County Executive Ken Ulman, “Now, more than ever, we need to focus our attention on protecting and preserving the environment, our farmland and our history. I also believe community planning and the revitalization of our older communities, village centers, the Route 1 and Route 40 corridors deserve the very same attention and focus. This reorganization will help us sharpen our focus and improve the way we serve our community and our citizens.”

The new Resource Conservation Division (RCD) will focus on environmental protection, agricultural land preservation and historic preservation. Led by Elmina Hilsenrath, ASLA, the Division will work closely with the Office of Environmental Sustainability and assume staffing of the County’s Historic District Commission. The division will also oversee a water resources plan, guidance for green neighborhoods, inter-jurisdictional watershed planning, a revised Forest Conservation Manual, a Cool Cities initiative, and environmental outreach and education, including collaboration with other County agencies on the annual GreenFest. The Historic District Commission’s historic sites survey and related oversight activities will be reassigned from the Public Service and Zoning Administration Division to the new RCD, while the Agricultural Land Preservation program will continue to oversee and strategically expand easement holdings.

The new Division of Comprehensive and Community Planning (DCCP) will focus on increasing revitalization efforts in the Route 1 Corridor, Downtown Columbia, the Route 40 Corridor and Columbia’s village centers. Led by William Mackey, AICP, the Division will staff the newly created Design Advisory Panel (DAP) that will provide guidance for projects along the Route 1 Corridor. DCCP also elevates comprehensive planning to division-level status, and the new Division anticipates preparing a General Plan Monitoring Report within the next year. Current pilot projects such as the planning for Robert Oliver Place Enhancement (ROPE) in Oakland Mills will continue and could act as a model for future small-scale, community-based initiatives.

Marsha McLaughlin, Director of the Department of Planning & Zoning who oversees the two new divisions, said, “In order to meet the planning and development challenges the county is facing, we felt the timing was right for this reorganization and the creation of these two new divisions. Mina is a registered landscape architect with over 30 years of planning and design experience. Bill is a certified national planner with over 14 years of experience and has been the County’s project manager for the Downtown Columbia vision plan. They are both highly-qualified, talented professionals who will help us move forward and support the County Executive’s goals for enhancing the quality of life in Howard County.”