ELLICOTT CITY, MD – Howard County Executive Calvin Ball today announced the release of a Request for Proposal (RFP) for a qualified consultant to facilitate the forthcoming New Town Task Force. The Task Force will evaluate present regulations and develop recommendations for improving the New Town zoning framework that governs land use in much of the master-planned community of Columbia. The consultant will facilitate dynamic, informative, and collaborative meetings with County-appointed Task Force members. The project, managed by the Department of Planning & Zoning (DPZ), will begin in March with the appointment of members. The consultant should have experience facilitating similar committees and understanding of local planning and zoning. The RFP can be found here.
Columbia is a vibrant and unique community, nationally-recognized for its unparalleled quality of life. Supported by this consultant, the New Town Task Force will provide much-needed insights on the zoning requirements that make Columbia the one-of-a-kind place that we know today while encouraging its evolution for generations to come.
The Task Force process will integrate recommendations from Howard County’s newly adopted General Plan, HoCo By Design. A National Association of Counties (NACO) award winning plan, HoCo By Design establishes a clear, long-range vision on how and where the County will develop and grow as it adjusts to evolving economic, environmental, and social conditions over the next 20 years. The facilitation process will culminate in a comprehensive report that outlines the Task Force’s work, featuring zoning, land development, and design recommendations that advance the New Town vision.
The New Town Zoning District consists of 268 approved Final Development Plans (FDPs), a structure that was designed to provide significant flexibility to the master developer and majority landowner of this planned community as it was developing. The zoning is governed by a regulatory framework that establishes minimum and maximum proportions of open space, residential, commercial, industrial, and other land uses in addition to an overall density cap.
The regulations remained relatively unchanged until 2009 and 2010, when they were updated to encourage village center redevelopment and Downtown Columbia revitalization. More specifically, these changes resulted in establishing the 2009 Village Center Revitalization zoning process and the 2010 Downtown Columbia Master Plan, which added residential units above the density cap and established different land use percentages for Downtown.
“I put the requirement for this taskforce into HoCo By Design because Columbia has a unique structure in which the lienholders are the trustees of the community’s development plan,” said Councilwoman Deb Jung. “I wanted to make sure that any future changes to Columbia’s New Town zoning, which balances development with open space, receives the residents’ full input and cooperation.”
New Town Columbia stands out as a carefully planned community with a unique zoning regulatory framework, known as New Town Zoning. The New Town Zoning District represents more than 14,000 acres and 28,000 parcels in Columbia. Created by a visionary developer over 50 years ago, it is frequently cited as one of the best places to live in the country today. HoCo By Design highlights Columbia’s unique sense of place, which its residents want to preserve, enhance, and strengthen. New Town embodies much of the General Plan’s intended goals: walkability, diverse housing options, and equitable access to open space. However, the general plan acknowledges that there are opportunities to improve efficiencies in zoning administration and evaluate New Town’s character defining elements that are important to New Town’s future regulatory framework.
“This project will be a significant undertaking, requiring a consultant with a diverse set of skills,” said Lynda Eisenberg, Director of DPZ. “Experience with zoning, regulations, and design guidelines shaped by government policy knowledge is essential, while proven meeting facilitation and community engagement will provide a dynamic, informative, and empowering atmosphere for consensus building by the Task Force members.”
A pre-proposal meeting will be held virtually via WebEx on Tuesday, January 14th at 2 p.m. A link to the meeting can be found here. Questions regarding the RFP are to be submitted no later than 12:00 p.m. on Wednesday, January 15th via Howard County’s eProcurement system which can be found here.