Planners getting smart training
Cumberland Times-News
CUMBERLAND — Phil Hager thinks the three newest members to the Allegany County Planning and Zoning Commission have “mastered the learning curve.”
But a new, mandatory online training course, coordinated by the Maryland Department of Planning, will enhance their knowledge even more on topics such as the role of the comprehensive plan and standards for special exceptions and variances, among other elements. The agency’s goal is to strengthen the link between local development and comprehensive plans, which MDP Secretary Richard Hall said was weakened in the March 2008 state Court of Appeals ruling in the case of Trail, et al, vs. Terrapin Run.
The education course was part of House Bill 297 and Senate 280 — the Smart and Sustainable Growth Act of 2009 — which lawmakers voted overwhelmingly to approve in March. The Senate passed its version unanimously, 47-0, while the House passed its version 122-16. Delegates Wendell Beitzel and LeRoy Myers both voted against the measure.
Hager, county planning coordinator, said recently that he was “very, very pleased” with Dwight Perrin, Steve MacGray and Kimberly Heaver, all of whom were appointed to the Planning Commission in 2009. “We threw them right into the fire right away.”
The law dictates those three, as well as the other five members of the planning commission and the county’s Board of Zoning Appeals must complete the online course by July 1. It became available on Wednesday, just two days ahead of Friday’s deadline. The course comes at no direct cost to Allegany County or board members and is expected to take a planning commissioner about six hours to complete and about four hours for a board of zoning appeals member.
The training material was developed in conjunction with the Task Force on the Future for Growth and Development with input from the Maryland Association of Counties, the Maryland Municipal League and the Maryland Planning Commissioners Association. Board members have the alternate option of completing a locally developed curriculum but Hager said Allegany County does not have a formal program.
Bill DuVall, president of the county planning commission, said he was recently informed of the education course being available and had not yet reviewed the material. Still, any more information is good information, he said.
“Absolutely” it’s a good thing, DuVall said. “Anything to help out that’s educational is beneficial, especially for new members.”
Hagerstown attorney William Wantz feels the same way. Wantz represented property owner David Trail and other opponents of Terrapin Run, the planned major subdivision in eastern Allegany County. He said the concept of developing and following smart growth plans begins with a well-trained volunteer planning commission.
The material is not a pass/fail method but for commission members there is an online review. The general public also can access the complete course material at www.planning .maryland.gov.
