by Geoff Fox
Washington County Commissioners have officially adopted the 2040 Comprehensive Plan, the long-range strategic document that will serve as the blueprint for the county’s growth, development, and preservation efforts over the next 20 years.
The Washington County Planning Commission started looing for information and feedback on land issues within the county in 2019 in order to update the County Plan.
However, beginning in 2015, the Department of Planning and Zoning held public input meetings in various locations within the county, including one in Hancock.
Those efforts included focus groups, stakeholder meetings, workshops, and public meetings.
Comments made as part of those outreach efforts were reviewed, deliberated, and where appropriate, included in a draft of the plan.
A Planning Commission public hearing was held on January 13, 2025, to receive public comment on the Comprehensive Plan and by unanimous vote, the Planning Commission forward the plan to County Commissioners with a recommendation of adoption.
Commissioners held a public hearing six months later on June 13, to get public testimony on the document.
The plan was adopted on August 26, and became effective on September 1. Officials released a copy of the 494-page document on October 1.
The plan provides a aspirational vision for the county’s future and addresses key areas like land use, housing, transportation, economic development, natural resources, infrastructure, and community services.
The county said the plan is designed to guide decision-making and investments to make sure Washington County remains a thriving, inclusive, and sustainable community for generations to come.
The document covers visions, goals, and objectives of the county; the existing conditions; the county’s history; transportation; community facilities; economic development; mineral resources; agriculture and forestry; sensitive areas; water resources; growth management and land use; and implantation of the plan.
There are also a number of maps in the index of the document.
Charts throughout the document show various areas of interest including population totals from 1990 to 2020 and how the population of Washington County is broken down over the last 30 years; housing and land use, including units of housing structures, housing costs, owner occupied home values, median rent, and other housing numbers along with projections for 2020 through 2045; transportation and how it’s broken down; jobs from 1970 to 2040, changes, total labor force, unemployment, and other labor related charts; non-coal mining; agriculture use; tree coverage; land use from 1973 to 2011, developed vs. undeveloped areas and in growth areas; and a look at bicycle transportation.
There’s also maps showing various aspects of the county including protected lands, forests, stream health, 2011 land use and land cover, among others.
The document also includes a number of tables showing growth, use, and a variety of other topics.
The full 494-page document can be viewed at https://www.washco-md.net/planning-zoning/comp-plan-2040/.
