The 2025 Maryland Sustainable Growth Awards was held on April 3, 2025 at the Governor's Reception Roon in the State H0use, Annapolis. Governor Wes Moore and the Maryland Sustainable Growth Subcabinet presented three recipients with 2025 awards. Peter Claggett, USGS (Leadership), the Baltimore Street Revitalization in Cumberland, and Retool Gaithersburg (Policy) were honored at the ceremony led by the Governor and Department of Planning Secretary Rebecca Flora, AICP.
The awards recognize and celebrate significant achievements by individuals, businesses, organizations, and local governments throughout Maryland for their efforts to advance sustainable growth policies, practices and projects that are models for duplication by others.
2025 Award Recipients
Peter Claggett - USGS Geographer, Chesapeake Bay Watershed
Leadership Category
The Leadership category recognizes individuals and organizations that undertake advocacy, education or other outreach to advance public support for sustainable growth methods.
Since 2002, Peter Claggett has focused his research on land use issues to inform conservation and restoration decisions in the Chesapeake Bay and Delaware River watersheds. He was an active member of the Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) Land, Growth, and Stewardship Subcommittee, where he developed methods to simulate urban development and worked on alternative land use scenarios for Maryland. From 2012 to 2023, Peter coordinated the CBP’s Land Use Workgroup, developed the Chesapeake Bay Land Change Model, and helped integrate land use and conservation policies into state Watershed Implementation Plans (WIPs) to address the Bay’s Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL).
More recently, Peter authored a new CBP land use strategy that emphasizes monitoring, forecasting, and sustainable growth policies. He currently leads the CBP’s Healthy Watershed Goal Implementation Team, working to maintain healthy small watersheds throughout the region. Peter also oversees the CBP’s Land Data Team, producing high-resolution land use data used by local governments and organizations for conservation and restoration planning through 2029.
Baltimore Street Redevelopment Project (Cumberland, MD)Project Category
The Project category showcases the application of best practices in sustainable design and construction of physical buildings, places, infrastructure or landscapes.
The Baltimore Street Redevelopment project represents a transformative $17 million investment aimed at revitalizing both the above and below-grade design along Baltimore Street in Cumberland, Maryland. This generationally important initiative holds significance not only for Maryland but also for Appalachia and the nation, serving as a replicable model for the adaptive reuse of historically important architecture. The project team integrated strategic infrastructure investments with a focus on ecological sustainability, resilience, and equitable community engagement, while fostering long-term economic growth.
At its core, the project team embraced every key principle of sustainable growth, including land optimization, multimodal transportation, housing accessibility, and contextually appropriate economic development. It also prioritizes the creation of vibrant public spaces that promote social interaction and celebrate the region’s cultural, historical, and natural resources.
Matt Miller, Executive Director, Cumberland Economic Development, accepted the award on behalf of the Baltimore Redevelopment Street Team.
Retool Gaithersburg
Policy Category
The Policy category features the adoption and/or implementation of public policies, regulations and/or plans supporting sustainable land use planning and development practices.
Retool Gaithersburg is a comprehensive overhaul of the city’s zoning code, which had not been fully updated since 1965. The initiative, launched in 2023 and adopted 2024, aimed to modernize the code to better align with Gaithersburg's evolving goals and policies. Key objectives included improving the organization of the code, incorporating visual aids to enhance readability, and revising sections to reflect the city’s vision, including the recently adopted Housing Element recommendations. Additionally, the update modernizes terminology and promotes equity and equality.
The project involved extensive community engagement and collaboration with the city’s Mayor & City Council, Planning Commission, and the consultant ZoneCo. Through research and joint work sessions, the revised code is designed to foster resilience, expand opportunities, and support sustainable growth. Retool Gaithersburg aims to create a regulatory framework that empowers residents, businesses, and workers, while reflecting both local and state goals for the city’s future development.
Greg Mann, Planning Director of the City of Gaithersburg, accepting the award on behalf of the City of Gaithersburg
Previous Maryland Sustainable Growth Awardees can be found at this at the links to the left.
