Sustainable Communities
As a result of the Sustainable
Communities Act of 2010, effective June 1, 2010, all previously designated Community Legacy Areas
and Designated Neighborhoods will be known as Sustainable Communities. This new, consolidated
designation will be easier to understand for program users and will simplify program administration
for state and local governments.
The interim Sustainable Communities designation will continue for a transition period
and local governments will have the opportunity to apply for continued designation.
The transition period will continue until December 31, 2013 for all existing
Community Legacy Areas and Designated Neighborhoods.
Local governments may apply for continued Sustainable Communities designation both during and beyond
the transition period using the
application posted in “related links” above. Applications must be submitted on-line (see
application submission below). The Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD)
is currently accepting applications. Applications for Sustainable Communities designation will be
reviewed by an interagency panel led by DHCD and must be approved by the Governor’s Smart Growth
Subcabinet. Once approved, newly designated Sustainable Communities (those that apply after June 1,
2010) will retain their designation for a period of five years.
Sustainable Communities also include designated Transit Oriented Development (TOD)
and Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Zones. These areas are automatically
considered Sustainable Communities effective June 1, 2010 and do not need to reapply
for continued designation, but are required to submit a Sustainable Communities Action Plan to be
eligible to apply for Sustainable Communities resources.
Application Submission
Local governments (municipal or county) are eligible to apply for designation as
a Sustainable Community. Per the Sustainable Communities Act,
the Sustainable Communities' interim designations expired on June 1, 2012. However, in the 2012 legislative
session,
HB 1327 was passed, which extended the interim Sustainable Communities designations until December 31, 2013
for all former Community Legacy Areas and Designated Neighborhoods.
Local governments that are interested in renewing their designation are strongly encouraged to
apply now.
Sustainable Community applications can be submitted at any time by a local government applicant, but will
be reviewed in rounds. The upcoming deadlines for each round are listed below:
Round V: Thursday, November 15, 2012 and Friday, November 16, 2012
Round VI: Tuesday, April 2, 2013 and Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Round VII: Wednesday, June 26, 2013 and Thursday, June 27, 2013
Round VIII: Tuesday, October 1, 2013 and Wednesday, October 2, 2013
NOTE: Applications may be submitted at any time within rounds. Applications submitted after
the deadline indicated above will be automatically considered in the next application round. For example,
applications submitted after November 16, 2012 will not be considered until April 3, 2013; applications submitted
after April 3, 2013 will not be considered until June 27, 2013, and so on.
Only complete applications received by the closing date of each round will be reviewed
by State inter-agency teams. Pending no need for application revisions or modifications, recommendations will be
presented to the Secretary of the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development and then to the
Smart Growth Sub-cabinet within approximately three months.
Applications must be submitted on-line. Each question will be limited to approximately
4000 characters (one page) in length. It is recommended that applicants review the
Sustainable
Communities Application in advance and prepare responses prior to completing
the online version.
To schedule a mandatory Sustainable Communities application training, please contact Mary
Kendall at 410-209-5810. Local governments that have not attended a training may not submit a Sustainable
Community designation application.
For more information contact
John Papagni
Division of Neighborhood Revitalization
410-209–5807
Papagni@mdhousing.org
OR
Mary Kendall
Division of Neighborhood Revitalization
410-209–5810
kendall@mdhousing.org