Howard County: Thomas G. Harris, Jr„
for Mr. Cochran; Ruth U. Keeton, for
Mr. Yeager.
Robert N. Young, Executive Director
Walter J. Kowaiczyk, Assistant Director
and Director of Administrative Services
Thomas J. Ellwood, Director,
Intergovernmental Services and
Public Safety
Alfred P. Gwynn, Director, Resource
Management
C. William Ockert, Director,
Transportation Planning
James F. Rose, Director, Economic
Research and Information Systems
701 S Paul Street,
Baltimore 21202 Telephone: 383-5838
The Regional Planning Council was cre-
ated by Chapter 753, Acts of 1963, as the
official successor to the Baltimore Regional
Planning Council, which was terminated in
August 1964. The prior agency had been
operating as an arm of the State Planning
Department since 1956. By Chapter 7, Acts
of 1967, the requirements for membership
on the Council were changed so as to pro-
vide that a majority of the Council members
must be "elected officials." By Chapter 497,
Acts of 1971, the Secretary of State Plan-
ning, the Secretary of Transportation, the
Secretary of Natural Resources, and the
Secretary of Health and Mental Hygiene
were made non-voting ex officio members
of the Council. By Chapter 699, Acts of
1975, the Council also includes a represen-
tative of a municipal corporation within the
regional planning area appointed by the
Governor on the advice of the chief execu-
tives of all the municipalities in the area.
By Executive Order on February 7, 1972,
the Governor assigned the Regional Plan-
ning Council to the Department of State
Planning for certain administrative matters.
Basic responsibility for policy, direction and
operations remains with the membership of
the Council.
The Council's area of jurisdiction covers
all of Baltimore City and Anne Arundel,
Baltimore, Carroll, Harford and Howard
Counties, and encompasses an area of 2,259 |
square miles The 1970 Census shows that
this metropolitan area has a population of
2,070,670. The Regional Planning Council
is in effect a council of local governments
with State participation. Its voting member-
ship of twenty-three persons consists of
three representatives from each of these six
member jurisdictions, a member of the State
Senate, a member of the House of Dele-
gates, an elected municipal official, and two
members at large. The last five members
are appointed by the Governor. Of the
three members from each of the six juris-
dictions, the following are members: the
Mayor of the City of Baltimore, the County
Executives of Baltimore and Anne Arundel,
Harford and Howard Counties, the Presi-
dent of the Baltimore City Council, the
Chairman of the County Council in Balti-
more, Anne Arundel, Harford and Howard
Counties, the President and a member of
the Board of County Commissioners from
Carroll County, and a member of the Plan-
ning Commissions or Advisory Boards of
each of the six member jurisdictions. The
elected officials representing the six member
political subdivisions have the right to des-
ignate an alternate to act in their absence.
The Regional Planning Council provides
an opportunity for its member governmental
units to work together and with the State
in dealing with common problems and plan-
ning for the future development of the
region.
By law, the Council is required to reex-
amine, revise if necessary, readopt and re-
publish the General Development Plan for
the region every five years, with the next
revision scheduled in 1977 Criminal jus-
tice, transportation, housing, recreation,
water/sewer, solid waste and environmental
planning are all facets of the RPC program.
RPC's work also encompasses socio-eco-
nomic analysis and evaluation of regional
problems and opportunities. Housing, man-
power training, job placement, regional
economy and coordination of statistical data
resources are included (Code 1957, 1969
Repl. Vol., 1975 Supp., Art. 78D).
Staff: 1975, 92; 1976, 93; 1977, 93. |
