Harford County Department of Planning and Zoning Wins Green Star Award for Incorporating Sustainability Into Land Use Plan

From Harford County Government:

The 2012 Master Plan and Land Use Element Plan update not only incorporates sustainability as a theme within the plan but also within the way the plan is being written and reviewed. The Department of Planning and Zoning incorporated sustainability into the plan through the use of an online community and paperless review process. The online community engages the residents of Harford County via Spigit as a new virtual way to share comments and meeting summaries.

Using Spigit also minimizes the carbon footprint of the process associated with driving to the meetings and printing materials for each event; as well as creating a more sustainable and interactive participation process allowing residents to communicate and develop ideas. In addition, the paperless review process eliminates printing a 200 page document as part of the technical advisory process which contributes to setting the example that sustainability is not only a theme of the plan but how the Department of Planning and Zoning operates.

In 2008, County Executive David R. Craig formed the Energy Management Steering Committee, otherwise known as the Green Team, as one of his Environmental Stewardship Initiatives. The goal of the Green Team is to guide energy and resource efficiency practices within the County. To foster a culture of sustainability, in June 2010 the Green Team created the Green Star Program to recognize actions by county employees that demonstrate a commitment to environmental stewardship, promote energy efficiency and resource management.

The Green Star of the Quarter (July – September 2011) was awarded to Pete Gutwald, Janet Gleisner, Denise Lynch and Theresa Raymond of the Department of Planning and Zoning for incorporating sustainability into the Master Plan and Land Use Element Plan update process.

To learn more about the Green Star Program and to see all of our Green Stars, please visit our new Sustainability Office webpage at http://www.harfordcountymd.gov/Green.