HoCo By Design final version now is online
Howard County’s long-range, visionary plan for development and conservation in the county through the year 2040 is now available online.
“HoCo By Design advances a long-term vision for how the county will develop and grow alongside evolving land use, economic, environmental and social conditions over the next 20 years,” according to a news release from the county. “Since most of the county has already been conserved or developed, the plan focuses much of the county’s future growth into mixed-use activity centers.”
A mixed-use area includes both residential and commercial development in an urban area.
The 327-page plan states that the county will continue to be a welcoming and inclusive community, with a vision that accommodates future growth in a manner that retains and improves upon the county’s unique and diverse community character.
Planning for HoCo By Design started in 2020, and included input from the community, with opportunities for the public to provide feedback, including surveys, focus groups, virtual workshops and online mapping activities.
The plan updates the previous PlanHoward2030, adopted in 2012.
The Route 1 Corridor Plan for Washington Boulevard also was adopted concurrently with HoCo By Design.
“This plan envisions supporting and retaining the corridor’s industrial and manufacturing base while targeting two strategic activity center locations for new commercial, light industrial and residential development,” the county said in the news release. “It also features a future civic district for South Elkridge.”
Route 1, also known as Washington
Boulevard, extends nearly 12 miles through Howard County. The county’s vision for the Route 1 Corridor focuses on preserving Washington Boulevard as an industrial employment and transportation corridor. It would include a series of targeted and redeveloped activity centers with a mix of uses connected to regional transit.
The plan also addresses challenges in the Route 1 Corridor.
“Decades of transportation and land use policies that prioritized the automobile and truck traffic along Route 1 have left many neighborhoods in the corridor disconnected and isolated,” the plan states. “The corridor has an absence of safe and well-designed travel options for pedestrians and cyclists of all ages and abilities.”
The plan states that a revitalization strategy is much-needed. This includes preserving historic communities, evaluating and possibly expanding the current tax credit program to encourage new businesses, and establishing activity centers to concentrate on new retail, service and light industrial uses along the corridor.
Launched in 2014, the Route 1 Tax Credit Program encourages revitalization along the corridor by helping owners of commercial and industrial properties renovate and improve the appearance of their properties. But many commercial properties fronting Washington Boulevard have residential units in the upper stories, making them ineligible for participation in the program.
“The county should allow commercial properties that include a small number of residential units to participate in the Tax Credit Program,” the plan states.
To view the Route 1 Corridor Plan, go to www.howardcountymd.gov/ planning-zoning/route-1.
The final HoCo By Design plan can be found at www.howardcountymd.gov/ planning-zoning/general-plan.