Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission

The Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission manages public land in Montgomery and Prince George's Counties. It is responsible for 25,000 acres of land containing 25 historic sites, including 7 museums.

The commission is divided into two groups, one focusing on parks, the other on planning. The parks side is concerned with historic sites located on parkland, such as the Riversdale House Museum, dating to 1801. The planning side deals instead with archaeology and preservation as they relate to development and buffer zones on county land. Preservation issues concerning development on state land, such as the construction of state highways, do not fall under the jurisdiction of the commission, but are instead addressed by the Maryland Historical Trust

The planning side of the commission has recently been requiring more and more of developers in terms of historical preservation. Before starting construction, developers are now required to hire a professional archaeology firm to do background research on the area they are developing. If anything of historical significance is found, the developers must then either work out an avoidance plan or conduct a full excavation of the area. Though this is raising the cost of developing in Prince George's County, it is essential if we wish to preserve the county's rich history. Specifically, the planning board is very interested in preserving the history of African Americans in Prince George's county, as the tobacco-centered county was home to a large slave population before the Civil War.

Links

• Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission
• Maryland Historical Trust