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 term of the transition period is as follows:
- Existing Designated Neighborhoods will automatically become Sustainable Communities
effective June 1, 2010. The designation will continue for a period of 24 months,
during which time local governments will have the opportunity to apply for continued
Sustainable Communities designation.
- Community Legacy Areas designated prior to January 1, 2008 will become Sustainable
Community for 24 months after June 1, 2010.
- Existing Community Legacy Areas designated on or after January 1, 2008 will be considered
Sustainable Communities for a period of 36 months after June 1, 2010.
Local governments may apply for continued Sustainable Communities designation 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 Zones
(TOD’s) 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 actio 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, ALL areas
that formerly were designated as Designated Neighborhoods and Community Legacy areas
prior to January 1, 2008 must renew their designations by June 1, 2012.
Designations that are not renewed will no longer be recognized. Local governments
that are interested in renewing their designation are strongly encouraged to apply
during Round III.
Application deadlines are as follows:
Round I: September 1, 2011
Round II: January 6, 2012
Round III: April 10, 2012
Round IV: July 2, 2012
NOTE: Applications submitted after the deadline indicated above will be automatically
considered in the next application Round. For example applications submitted after September 1, 2011 will not
be considered until January 6, 2012; applications submitted after January 6, 2012 will not be considered until
April 2, 2012 and so on.
Only complete applications received by the closing date of each round will be reviewed
by inter-agency State teams. 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. Registration for the mandatory application training is available
now – click here to register. 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