Thoughts on Climate Exactions

• Date: 01 August 2017

47 ELR 10678 ENVIRONMENTAL LAW REPORTER 8-2017

C O M M E N T

Thoughts on Climate Exactions

by Gwen Wright

Gwen Wright is the Director of the Montgomery County Planning Department of

the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission.

I. Introduction

Montgomery County, Maryland, has a long h istory of

progressive land use policies that are aligned with the

overall goal of addressing climate change and its nega-

tive eec ts. Preser vation of large areas of open space and

environmentally sensitive areas, as well as a strong focus

on transit-oriented development to reduce vehicle miles

traveled are at the core of the county’s planning strategy.

In add ition, a sophisticated development review proces s,

including an adequate public facilities ordin ance, ensures

infrastructure is in place to accommodate sc hool and

transportation capacit y through a series of exactions tied

to these public interest s.

For all of these reasons, Montgomery County is in an

excellent position to assess the viability of the Climate

Exactions paper prepared by authors J. Peter Byrne and

Kathryn A . Zyla regarding the potential for implementing

exactions on the local government level to address climate

change impacts.

II. Background

e Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Com-

mission (M-NCPPC) is a bi-county agency tasked with

planning for the physical development of the two coun-

ties surrounding the District of Columbia: Montgomery

and Prince George’s Counties. e Montgomery Planning

Department is the part of M-NCPPC focused on land use,

transportation, and environmental sustainability issues

for Montgomery County. e county is a jurisdiction of

more than 1 million residents and is home to a number of

important “edge cities” such as Bethesda and Silver Spring.

Montgomery County has grown from a suburban commu-

nity of commuters into a regional job center. Land use poli-

cies are oriented toward concentrating development along

designated transportation corridors, protecting stream val-

leys, wetlands and forests, and preserving agricultural land.

Guiding documents, such as the 1964 General Plan of

Wedges and Corridors, and the 1980 Functional Plan for

the Preservation of Agriculture and Rural Open Space—

which protects more than 93,000 acres of land in the

county, a re the foundation for more environmental sus-

tainability eorts to minimize suburban sprawl, preserve

land, and concentrate highest densities along major thor-

oughfares and transit routes. Ou r current planning poli-

cies and tools aim to reduce carbon emissions by achieving

compact, transit-oriented, and mixed-use development.

e county has set a goal of reducing county wide carbon

emissions to year 2005 levels by 2050.

III. Existing Policies and Tools

e following policies and tools provide a comprehensive

planning strategy for Montgomery County. ey not only

create a blueprint for more sust ainable development, but

also advance the county’s goals of greenhouse gas reduction.

A. Agriculture Reser ve: is designated land use

zone is intended to preserve agriculture and rural

open space in the northern and western parts of

the county by permitting a density of no greater

than one dwelling unit per 25 acres. A system of

transferring development rights to other parts of the

county with the infrastructure to support growth

is an important tool that allows the Agricultural

Reserve to succeed. In addition, the county has

created the Building Lot Termination program —

which is funded by development requirements in

other parts of the county—to f urther reduce the

impact of development in the Agricultural Reserve.

e Agricultura l Reserve creates a de facto growth

boundary, limiting vehicle miles travelled.

B. Forest Conservation Law: e law aims to protect,

maintain and plant forest areas, especially in stream

buers w ithin the county. It a lso protects trees of

30-inches in diameter or greater. e law ensures

that tree canopy goals and forest preservation and

planting requirements are adhered to closely.

C. Grow th Policy and Adequate Public Facilities:

e county’s growth policy is entitled the “Sub-

division Staging Policy” (SSP) and is the guiding

document that ensures public facilities, such as

schools, transport ation infrastructure, and other

vital public serv ices, are adequate to meet new

development. e 2016 SSP encourages t he devel-

Copyright © 2017 Environmental Law Institute®, Washington, DC. Reprinted with permission from ELR®, http://www.eli.org, 1-800-433-5120.