New! Compatibility Review Mapping Tool Launched  

/ Maryland Department of Planning

Mapping tool designed to help users understand military activities in their communities

Resources and Tools   

by Sarah Diehl, AICP, Southern Maryland Regional Planner  

The Maryland Department of Planning’s (MDP’s) Compatible Use Website helps to raise awareness of the economic impact of the U.S. military’s mission in Maryland. It provides resources and tools to advance compatible use planning and coordination.1  

Fig. 1 – Screenshot showing Compatibility Review Mapping Tool layers.

This month, MDP is excited to launch the Compatibility Review Mapping Tool, adding to a toolkit with a variety of resources for state and local leaders, military communities, and the public to use in promoting compatibility between military operations and community needs. The mapping tool utilizes a series of GIS data layers related to military operational areas as well as various state and local programs. Being able to map these criteria can aid users in understanding the proximity of military activities to communities and identify opportunities for increased communication and collaboration.  

Fig. 2 – Cover of the User Guide and Layer Descriptions, for the Compatibility Review Mapping Tool

Layers of the tool displaying military data illustrate elements such as installation and facility footprints, military training routes, noise zones, and local military ordinances that influence planning and development. Users can overlay this information with statewide datasets, including growth and incentive areas, and/or environmental/climate resilience and conservation areas, for example, to visualize areas of opportunity for preservation or development that are compatible with the military mission. 

The mapping tool’s User Guide explains additional features of the application and provides an overview of each layer with a description of how jurisdictions can use the data in their own compatible land use planning practices.  

Those interested in planning in and around the state’s military installations are encouraged to check out the tool and explore ways in which communities and federal facilities spatially interact. Feedback on the mapping tool can be provided using this form. 

Interested in learning more? Explore the importance of military and community compatibility on the Maryland Department of Planning’s Compatible Use Website or contact Southern Maryland Regional Planner, Sarah Diehl at: [email protected].   

1 Compatible use planning (also called compatibility planning) means working to ensure that both existing and planned land uses and activities are carefully considered to reduce or eliminate adverse effects on – or in the best case scenario, to actually enhance and support – neighboring or nearby land uses. Planning Practice Monthly, October 19, 2020. 

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