Maryland's Growing Pains: The Need For State Regulation

Over the past two decades, much of Maryland's landscape has been rapidly developed into residential uses. This rapid growth has been largely unanticipated and unplanned. This article reviews the current local regulatory process of land use and growth control and reveals the need for changes in the regulatory process with a case study of Montgomery County, Maryland. The author concludes that greater state involvement in the land use regulatory process is necessary in order to manage growth effectively.