ANNAPOLIS — Gov. Martin O'Malley on Monday launched a statewide plan designed to reduce sprawl that could affect how the state funds such projects as road and school construction in local jurisdictions.

If jurisdictions choose to follow local planning policies that aren't in line with PlanMaryland's goals, the state would be reluctant to fund growth-related capital projects there, O'Malley (D) said at a news conference during which he and other state officials unveiled the plan — which for months has drawn the ire of some who say it wrests local control from municipalities.

“Increasingly, you will see capital funding decisions being very much in line with PlanMaryland,” O'Malley said.

The plan seeks to coordinate the work of state agencies around a “smart growth” philosophy that targets development in designated areas, while protecting farmland and natural resources. The plan also seeks to improve the coordination of long-term planning between the state and local jurisdictions to achieve “smart growth” goals.

State planning officials say PlanMaryland will save the state $1.5 billion annually during the next 20 years in the cost of building roads, schools and other infrastructure by reducing uncoordinated development. It also will save more than 300,000 acres of farmland and forested land during the next quarter-century, officials said.

O'Malley noted Maryland is consuming land at three times the rate of its population growth.

“That's not sustainable,” he said. “We have to figure out better and smarter ways to grow.”

Some legislators, including Senate Minority Leader E.J. Pipkin (R-Dist. 36) of Elkton, have said the plan will usurp local land-use authority and is part of a wider assault on the authority of Maryland's rural counties to self-govern.

But state officials say the plan cannot take away local zoning authority or impose a comprehensive plan on local jurisdictions.

Maryland officials will spend roughly the next year coordinating the plan's goals within state agencies and working with local jurisdictions to determine how their comprehensive plans match PlanMaryland. That process will yield the identification of areas statewide targeted for growth or preservation, said Andrew Ratner, the director of communications in the Maryland Department of Planning.

Pipkin said he thinks the General Assembly should approve the plan before it is allowed to take effect, adding he will introduce a bill in the upcoming legislative session to require such approval.

Former governors Harry Hughes and Parris N. Glendening appeared at the news conference to praise the plan. O'Malley thanked the pair for laying the groundwork for PlanMaryland through championing legislation to protect the Chesapeake Bay and Maryland's natural lands.

skelly@gazette.net