County analyzes data, seeks community input for comprehensive growth plan

Key Takeaways

Howard County, Md.’s HoCo By Design comprehensive plan used data analysis and community engagement to steer the focus of the growing county’s future — identifying priorities such as building more affordable housing, mitigating climate change and expanding transportation access — with an equitable lens.

A new comprehensive plan is created each decade and guides how the county will develop over time, detailing areas such as land use, housing and economic development. For its HoCo By Design comprehensive plan, Howard County brought in a consulting team and multiple sub-consultants to help assess existing conditions of key areas — such as agriculture, market economics and ecological health — and provide recommendations for potential policies the county could implement moving forward to improve them, according to Mary Kendall, deputy director of Howard County’s Department of Planning and Zoning. That analysis was then shared with the public for feedback. 

One of the things that sets HoCo By Design apart from previous county comprehensive plans is the level of community engagement, Kendall said. Over the course of three-and-a-half years, Howard County held nearly 100 public meetings, in which people gave feedback on early versions of the plan and shared priorities they wanted the county to invest in moving forward. 

“The socioeconomic demographics in the county continuously change and this is a plan that really does set the path forward for how we grow, where we grow, what we preserve,” Kendall said. “And for anybody who lives here and is planning to live here in the future, they need to be a part of those recommendations, that policy direction. 

“Things like the types of homes that we want to try to encourage we build in the future and who can afford to live there — those are all really important decisions and guidance that we need the public and the community to help inform.”

Priorities identified by the community in feedback sessions included housing affordability, the public school system, climate change resiliency and mitigation and providing more alternative modes of transportation, according to Kendall. 

“We are a maturing suburban county with urban pockets,” Kendall said. “So, there are a lot of residents who really want to improve means of, alternative modes of, transportation, so that they can get from point A to point B safely.”

The final plan recommended improving regional connectivity, and earlier this month, the expansion of the regional Flash Bus Rapid Transit system between Howard and Montgomery counties, which will launch next year, was announced. 

“We are delivering on this vision to deliver strong transit connections that are vital to supporting the needs of our residents, workforce and businesses,” Howard County Executive Calvin Ball said in a press statement. “We know that to build a resilient and inclusive future, we must invest in affordable, efficient and high-quality public transportation that meets the needs of our community.”

Last year, a county Office of Agriculture launched, in response to a recommendation from the general plan to create one to focus more intentionally on the county’s agricultural preservation and production, according to Kendall. 

“Nearly 40% of our land is permanently preserved through an agricultural or preservation easement or an open space or parkland, so out in the western part of the county, a lot of that’s farmland, so we have a very healthy agricultural economy,” Kendall said. “… And in recognition of that, the [Office] relates to the environment and how we operate as a government to better meet the needs of our farming community.”

HoCo By Design outlined the importance of preserving the county’s character, while creating opportunities for more diverse housing types, including more affordably priced town homes, duplexes and multiplexes. Howard County currently has “inclusionary zoning,” requiring a minimum number of affordable units in new residential developments, but the next step is for the county to undergo a rezoning process, so that housing types with two or more units can be allowed in more zoning districts, according to Kendall. The county also established an Affordable Housing Working Group to brainstorm ways to incentivize affordable housing beyond inclusionary zoning requirements.

“Thanks to this policy direction that we have in this general plan, with such an equity lens, what we’ve been able to do is get this policy agenda out there,” Kendall said. “And now we have more advocates in the community that are joining our various committees that are giving recommendations to the council and the executive, and we have county council members who are looking at how they can start to change legislation so that we can all start to advance some of these affordable housing goals.”

Between 2010 and 2022, Howard County outpaced both Maryland’s and the national growth rate, increasing its population by more than 16%. As the county’s population grows, getting creative with land use was identified as a necessity in its path forward. HoCo By Design identifies mixed-use redevelopment opportunities, including single-use shopping centers with large parking lots. An 1,100-acre office park is one of the primary areas the county has identified for mixed-use redevelopment, according to Kendall.

“In the past, we’ve done some mixed-use redevelopment, that might only be realized on one single property or two properties adjacent to each other, but there might not be enough residential density to support the retail,” Kendall said. “So, we tried to find places where you might be able to get a little more development, a little more density, and they’re places that also might only have a single use.”

In addition to its community feedback sessions, Howard County established a planning advisory committee that brought together more than 25 stakeholders, subject matter experts and community members to meet with the Department of Planning and Zoning and share their ideas throughout the planning process. The planning advisory committee helped the department identify target areas for mixed-use development opportunities, according to Kendall. 

HoCo By Design is the first comprehensive plan in Howard County to explicitly bring an equity, diversity and inclusion lens, Kendall said. In the past decade, the county shifted from having a majority white population to its population now being primarily people of color. 

“Ensuring that we had a variety of voices that tried to reflect the diversity that is in this county was really critical to the process,” Kendall said. “We have a very diverse community, and we want to make sure that all those voices are represented and reflected and heard through the planning process.”