General Plan
Once each decade, Howard County updates its General Plan, a long-range, visionary document that guides land use, growth, and development decisions. The County’s Department of Planning & Zoning is leading a community outreach effort to create a new General Plan, called HoCo By Design.
Amendments to the General Plan will be prefile at noon on September 25, 2023 and posted under CB28-2023.
Click here for the most recent version of HoCo By Design as filed in CB28-2023 before the Council for consideration.
General Plan Meeting Calendar
For a printable PDF of this calendar, click on General Plan Calendar in the Related Links menu.
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• Introduction (Chapter 1)
• Growth Conservation (Chapter 2) & Future Land Use Map (FLUM)
• Character Areas (Appendix B)
• Fiscal Impact Analysis
• Supporting Infrastructure (Chapter 9)
• Managing Growth (Chapter 10)
• Public School Facilities (Chapter 8)
• Ecological Health (Chapter 4)
• Environment (Appendix A)
• Quality by Design (Chapter 7)
• Focus Areas (Appendix C)
• Dynamic Neighborhoods (Chapter 6)
• Economic Prosperity (Chapter 5)
• Rt. 1 Corridor (excluding transportation policies and actions)
• County in Motion (Chapter 4) and Route 1 Transportation
• Implementation (Chapter 11)
• Public Hearing #3
• Public Hearing, continuation
- General Plan Amendments
County's General Plan (1990 - 2012)
Once each decade, Howard County updates its General Plan, a long-range, visionary document that guides land use decisions. The County’s current General Plan, PlanHoward2030, was adopted in 2012.
HoCo By Design
As Howard County's next General Plan update, HoCo By Design will be a visionary document reflecting a process that encourages the community to think big about its long-term future.