MPCA Hosts Southern Maryland Regional Workshop in La Plata

MPCA Corner

The Maryland Planning Commissioners Association (MPCA) initiated the regional workshop program in the spring of 2019 to supplement its annual conference and bring citizen and professional planners together to learn from each other and share the unique joys and challenges of planning in their region. Since that time, the MPCA has hosted regional workshops in Hagerstown, Annapolis, Salisbury, Denton, and most recently on January 31, 2023, in La Plata, Charles County.

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Maryland Launches New Tools to Support Military and Community Compatibility

Planning in Progress

by Joseph Griffiths, AICP, Local Assistance and Training Manager

Starting in the mid-2010s, the Maryland Departments of Planning and Commerce, as well as local and military stakeholders, began partnering on planning efforts and resource development aimed to enhance collaboration between Maryland’s military installations and jurisdictions.

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Maryland Department of Planning Publishes the Compatible Use Handbook

Planning in Progress

by Sarah Diehl, AICP, Southern Maryland Regional Planner

Image 1 – Screenshot of Military+Community Compatible Use Handbook cover.

Right before Marylanders settled in for a well-earned Thanksgiving holiday with family and friends, the Maryland Department of Planning (Planning) published the Maryland Military + Community Compatible Use Handbook. Earlier this year, Planning updated Planning Practice Monthly readers about the Compatible Use Website and Handbook User Experience Survey, and introduced the project in 2021.

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Coming Soon! New Tools and Resources for Communities to Assess Compatible Use Issues and Renewable Energy Siting in Maryland

Resources and Tools 

by Kristen E. Humphrey, MLA, Local Assistance and Training Planner and Sarah Diehl, AICP, compatible use Community Planning Liason

In the July 2020 edition of Planning Practice Monthly, we announced the launch of the Phase 2 of the collaboration between the Maryland Departments of Commerce (Commerce) and Planning on the Maryland Military and Civilian Compatible Use Project.  

Phase 2 implements some of the top recommendations of the Statewide Joint Land Use Response Implementation Strategy (SJRIS), completed in 2019 as the main deliverable of the project’s Phase I. 

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The Results Are In! View Insights from the Compatible Use Website and Handbook User Experience Survey

Planning in Progress

by Sarah Diehl, AICP, Compatible Use Community Planning Liaison

In October 2021, Planning Practice Monthly shared a survey in which participants could give feedback on the state’s military installations and their relationship with surrounding communities. The purpose of this survey was to help gain information about how communities interact with, seek information about, and envision development that is compatible with military bases in their area.

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