MPCA Corner 

by Joseph Griffiths, AICP, Local Assistance and Training Manager

Do you know a citizen planner or entire planning board (planning commission, board of zoning appeals, historic district commission) that deserves recognition for their work in 2021 or 2022?  

Maryland’s citizen planners volunteer endless hours to their communities. Unfortunately, this civic dedication often goes overlooked. The Maryland Planning Commissioners Association (MPCA) is recognizing the great work of our citizen planners at its upcoming conference in the City of Frederick on October 25 and 26.

Efforts deserving praise include, but are not limited to:  

• Comprehensive planning 
• Zoning code update or rewrite  
• Engaging the community in planning efforts or education  
• Economic development initiatives  
• Focused neighborhood revitalization  

• Historic preservation   
• Collaboration with professional planners and the planning community  
• Interjurisdictional coordination   

Please consider the important contributions of your colleagues and citizen planners this year and submit suggestions to Joe Griffiths, Local Assistance and Training Manager for the Maryland Department of Planning, at joseph.griffiths@maryland.gov by September 16. In your submission, please include the following information, as applicable. 

• Name of nominator 
• Name of jurisdiction 
• Name or names of citizen planners to be recognized, as well as the name of any board or commission on which they sit 
• Title of plan or project for which they deserve recognition 
• Brief abstract (no more than 200 words) about why the citizen planner(s) deserve recognition 

• Attachment or link to any product resulting from the citizen planner(s) work 

The MPCA will dedicate a portion of its conference this fall to recognizing the volunteers that give so much of their energy to the quality of life, community development, and sustainable growth of Maryland’s jurisdictions. 

And don’t forget to register for the 39^th Annual MPCA Conference. This year’s theme is Planning for Challenges on the Horizon, and the agenda will be filled with sessions on timely topics and issues facing Maryland’s citizen planning boards today, as well as those that will fill planning board agendas for decades to come.