See revised Land Use element in Attachment B of Planning Board Resolution No.14-10 wetlands–decreased by 6.3 percent. As our existing development trends indicate, the county continues to lose prime agricultural and resource land to residential development; primarily low- to medium-density residential development. Map 8 shows the changes in major land use categories as identified by the Maryland Department of Planning. Land consumption refers to the amount of land that is used to create new residential development. This data provides an indicator on how efficient land is being used when creating new development. For example, in areas that are less dense, such as the Rural Area, the data will generally indicate that more land is being used to create new residential development. Data on residential building permits from 2002-2011 indicate that our more urban areas inside the beltway received 25% new growth but only consumed 5% of the land. Developing at higher residential densities requires less land. The suburban areas saw 73 percent growth and consumed 59% of land. The Rural Area saw a 2 percent growth and required 36 percent of land.
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PLAN Prince George’s 2035