ANNAPOLIS — The O’Malley administration is expected today to introduce a major change to Maryland’s land-conservation program, after several questionable deals during its first seven months in office.
Program Open Space will prioritize how the state buys land and will establish new criteria for rating land purchases, said Olivia Campbell, a spokeswoman for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
“Different administrations have dealt with land acquisition differently,” she said. “The criteria is to be strategic with the limited state dollars we have so that we get the maximum benefit.”
Gov. Martin O’Malley will review the policy this morning with the other members of the Board of Public Works, Comptroller Peter Franchot and Treasurer Nancy K. Kopp. All are Democrats.
The state spent $271 million on land purchases and preservation through the program in the budget year that ended in June, but took criticism this summer for how money was spent on two Eastern Shore deals.
In June, the state purchased land in Queen Anne’s County, known as the Kudner property, for about a $1 million more than it typically would pay for an open-space parcel. A state employee was fired the day after discussing the price to the press.
Natural Resources Secretary John R. Griffin, who approved the deal, had worked for the seller, David Sutherland.
The Easton Star Democrat reported this week that Mr. Sutherland sold to Maryland only land he could not develop. He plans to develop the rest of the property through a series of subsidiary companies.
The state is considering whether to purchase the development rights to an additional 575 acres of land owned by Mr. Sutherland.
Last month, members of the Board of Public Works questioned the value of land on the northern tip of Kent Island and its ability to be used for outdoor recreation. About 12 acres of the 74-acre parcel were used as an industrial dumping site and another 12.5 acres were under water, part of a lake on the property.
A deal was approved pending a review by the attorney general on whether the state already owned the land.
Program Open Space has preserved more than 800,000 acres of land and created more than 4,000 parks since its inception in 1969.
The program is funded through the real estate transfer tax, but money from the fund often has been transferred to the state’s general fund.
Program supporters say Maryland has always prioritized projects but the new criteria should be an improvement.
“This is just updating. They had the green infrastructure plan back in 2001,” said Marcia Verploegen Lewis, director of Partners for Open Space, a statewide coalition seeking to secure, save and protect Maryland’s land conservation programs.
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