Preservation Maryland’s Director of Government Relations Elly Cowan joined Senator Katie Fry Hester and Isaac Meyer from Compass Government Relations Partners in Annapolis May 16, 2022 as the Historic Revitalization Tax Credit – Funding and Extension (SB289/HB27) was signed into law by Governor Hogan, Senate President Ferguson, and Speaker of the House Adrienne Jones.
Much of Smart Growth Maryland’s work involves advocacy at the local level. In Maryland, where and how a jurisdiction grows – and does not grow – is decided locally through a comprehensive planning process. Public involvement is a critical part of that process, with plans reflecting the vision and goals for the community’s future expressed by residents. Local elected officials adopt these plans and implement them through a variety of means including zoning, so local elections can play a large role in the future of smart growth issues in a county.
The 2022 Legislative Session of the Maryland General Assembly will come to a close on Monday, April 11, 2022. After 90 days of championing key bills and testifying on many other pieces of important legislation, it is safe to say that Preservation Maryland had one of its busiest legislative sessions in the organization’s history. With Session adjourned until January 2023, we are proud to report that we were able to make significant policy advances for preservation and smart growth in Maryland, while also securing an unprecedented amount of funding for preservation across the state.
In December, the Civil War Trust and Institute for Advanced Study announced a compromise to expand the Princeton Battlefield and provide additional housing for the Institute – ending a battle over the future of this historic site that dragged on several years.
Rendering of Princeton Battlefield. Graphic from Civil War Trust.
While the proposed project, which would have reduced a key Revolutionary War battlefield to new housing, fell beyond Maryland’s physical borders, Maryland soldiers fought for American Independence and shed their blood on the hallowed Princeton Battlefield. As a result, Preservation Maryland made the extraordinary decision to take a stand on this issue and formally announced their opposition to a project that would dishonor Maryland’s Revolutionary veterans.
Under the latest plan, the Civil War Trust, through its Campaign 1776 initiative to protect Revolutionary War battlefields, will purchase 14.85 acres of land from the Institute for $4 million, to be conveyed to the State of New Jersey as an addition to the existing Princeton Battlefield State Park. The acquisition includes approximately two-thirds of the Maxwell’s Field property in questions, along with an additional 1.12-acre tract north of the property that has been identified by historians as part of the battlefield.