Smart Growth Advocates Prepare for Battle

Annapolis – Advocates from 1000 Friends of Maryland are ready for a fight this legislative session. The enemy? The high costs and increased pollution from sprawling development. 

“We must stop sprawling into our rural lands. This development costs taxpayers money, paves over farmland and open spaces, and adds even more pollution to local waters,” explained Dru Schmidt-Perkins, Executive Director of 1000 Friends of Maryland. 

“Our agenda is all about being fiscally smarter. It begins by recognizing the high costs that result from poorly planned development,” said Schmidt-Perkins.  “We know smart growth pays, and we are going to fight for Maryland’s citizens to protect them from the burdens that current patterns of development create.”

1000 Friends’ top priority is a package of legislation that would fund clean water investments in communities and set clearer limits on sprawling subdivisions.  The legislation focuses on limiting new subdivisions on septic systems, which are a hidden subsidy for costly and polluting sprawl.

“For decades we have grown without regard to the pollution impact development has on local waters, borrowing from our future to pay for our immediate development needs.  We must aggressively pay down this debt because the cost of clean water will only rise the longer we wait.  We must also stop the new sources of pollution caused by sprawling into our rural lands.”

Specifically, 1000 Friends will:

• Clean our communities and curb costly sprawl – support legislation that would clean up our existing communities and save taxpayers money by curbing expensive sprawl development especially reducing new development on highly polluting septic systems;
• Strengthen our communities – support full funding for programs that invest in and strengthen our communities, and making those programs as effective as possible;
• Preserve undeveloped lands – oppose any efforts to divert dedicated funds from our nationally recognized land conservation programs;
• Keep farmers farming – support legislation to end the estate tax on family farms;
• Protect smart planning – oppose efforts to impose higher tax burdens, destroy rural lands, and pollute our air and water by rolling back basic smart growth and environmental protections;
• Spend limited state dollars wisely – demand that any increased funding for infrastructure, particularly transportation infrastructure, be connected to strong smart growth limitations on how and where the money can be spent.

“One group hit particularly hard by sprawl is farmers,” said Kelly Carneal, Director of Rural Lands.  “We have fought for several years to end the estate tax on family farms. We are optimistic that this is the year we will win that fight.” Unless farmers can afford to keep farming, we will continue to lose this important part of our economy.

The organization is prepared to defend smart planning.  “Planning ensures that our most valuable agriculture lands are not growing stripmalls; that new development is not polluting our waterways or draining aquifers; that our communities are not seeing a continued pattern of disinvestment; and that our transportation dollars are being spent to create the most efficient system that gives people choices in how they get around,” said Jennifer Bevan-Dangel, Deputy Director. 

“Smart growth pays,” Bevan-Dangel explained.  “Vibrant town centers in urban and rural areas and working rural lands provide more in tax revenues than they require in services. Sprawl, however, costs more to taxpayers than it pays back.”

For more information on 1000 Friends’ work, or their legislative agenda, visit their website at www.friendsofmd.org.