Sustainable Communities

Sustainable Communities seek to conserve resources; provide green spaces and parks for recreation and agriculture; offer many options for transportation; use natural and cultural resources wisely for future generations and consider the social and economic needs of all residents.

In 2010, Governor O’Malley signed into law Smart, Green & Growing legislation (House Bill 475, 2010 session, “The Sustainable Communities Act of 2010”) passed by the Maryland General Assembly to enhance the future of growth, development and sustainability in Maryland. This law established the “Sustainable Communities” designation in order to strengthen reinvestment and revitalization in Maryland’s older communities. The Sustainable Communities law enhanced an existing rehabilitation tax credit into the Sustainable Communities Tax Credit Program. It also simplified the framework for designated revitalization target areas in the Community Legacy (CL) and Neighborhood BusinessWorks (NBW) programs, establishing a new transportation focus on older communities and enhancing the role of the Smart Growth Subcabinet (SGSC) in the revitalization of communities.

The new law promotes equitable, affordable housing by expanding energy-efficient housing choices for people of all ages, incomes, races, and ethnicities to increase mobility and lower the combined cost of housing and transportation. Because the law favors transit-oriented development, Maryland citizens are afforded more transportation choices, which will decrease household transportation costs, reduce our nation's dependence on foreign oil, improve air quality, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and promote public health.

Sustainable Communities Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Designation and Financing Law

The 2013 TIF law, passed by the Maryland General Assembly as House Bill 613 (Sustainable Communities – Designation and Financing) and signed into law by Governor O’Malley, authorizes municipalities and counties to finance the cost of infrastructure improvements in a Sustainable Community (SC) in the same manner as an MDOT designated TOD. This legislation was the result of recommendations of the Maryland Sustainable Growth Commission to enable local governments to make important infrastructure and asset investments in their SC areas to spur smart growth, economic development and to ensure quality of life and livable communities.

The TIF law is “enabling” to local governments – they are not required to use it in their Sustainable Community areas. It provides for new uses for TIF funding that include historic preservation, environmental remediation, demolition, site preparation, parking lots, facilities, highways or transit that support SC areas, schools and affordable or mixed use housing. The law directs state funding to be prioritized in a specific SC when a jurisdiction has taken advantage of this expanded TIF funding or provided other infrastructure funding to support revitalization of that Sustainable Community.

By enabling local government to use an enhanced TIF they can fund much needed infrastructure and amenities in Sustainable Communities necessary for revitalization and economic prosperity.

Municipalities and counties with Sustainable Community areas are granted greater access to bonding alternatives through the Maryland Economic Development Corporation (MEDCO). MEDCO has the ability to structure transactions to contemplate life cycle capital cost and operating costs such that the expense is funded on a timely basis through the project.

2013 Sustainable Communities Tax Credit

Governor Martin O’Malley announced the recipients of the latest round of Sustainable Communities Tax Credits, which will help create 500 construction jobs in projects designed to revitalize communities and promote green building practices. Five projects that scored highest in the application process received a total of $6,992,341 in tax credits to leverage construction projects with a total cost of $31,836,476 (In all, 12 applicants had sought a total of $21,961,619 in tax credits for construction projects having a total estimated cost of $116,624,795).

2012 Sustainable Communities Tax Credit

Governor Martin O'Malley announced the recipients of the latest round of Sustainable Communities Tax Credits, which will help create 500 construction jobs in projects designed to revitalize communities and promote green building practices. Six projects that scored highest in the application process received a total of $6,958,000 in tax credits to leverage construction projects with a total cost of $36,516,871.

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Quotes about Sustainable Communities Act



2011 Sustainable Communities Tax Credit

Governor Martin O'Malley announced the recipients of the latest round of Sustainable Communities Tax Credits, which will help create 740 construction jobs in projects that will revitalize communities and promote green building practices around the state. Ten projects that scored highest in the application process received a total of $11 million in tax credits to help leverage construction projects with a total estimated cost of $82,430,000. The Sustainable Communities Tax Credit and its predecessor, the Heritage Structure Rehabilitation Tax Credit, have invested more than $358 million in Maryland revitalization projects in the past 15 years, supporting 15,000 jobs and revitalizing communities.

Maryland Planning on YouTube

Video on YouTube

Video from WJZ, Feb. 11

For detailed information about the Sustainable Communities Tax Credit, click here.

 

Principles of Sustainable Communities

Photograph of two female pedestrians walking along Cumberalnd storefronts.MDP is working side-by-side with State agencies, the Task Force on the Future for Growth and Development, local government agencies and a variety of stakeholders to coordinate a statewide approach to applying the principles of Sustainable Communities in Maryland.  There are:

  • Provide more transportation choices.  Develop safe, reliable, and economical transportation choices to decrease household transportation costs, reduce our nation’s dependence on foreign oil, improve air quality, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and promote public health.
  • Promote equitable, affordable housing.  Expand location- and energy-efficient housing choices for people of all ages, incomes, races, and ethnicities to increase mobility and lower the combined cost of housing and transportation.
  • Enhance economic competitiveness.  Improve economic competitiveness through reliable and timely access to employment centers, educational opportunities, services and other basic needs by workers, as well as expanded business access to markets.
  • Support existing communities.  Target federal funding toward existing communities—through strategies like transit oriented, mixed-use development, and land recycling—to increase community revitalization and the efficiency of public works investments and safeguard rural landscapes.
  • Coordinate and leverage policies and investment.  Align policies and funding to remove barriers to collaboration, leverage funding, and increase the accountability and effectiveness of all levels of government to plan for future growth, including making smart energy choices such as locally generated renewable energy.
  • Value communities and neighborhoods.  Enhance the unique characteristics of all communities by investing in healthy, safe, and walkable neighborhoods—rural, urban, or suburban.

This page was last updated: 2013-05-07