Economic Impact of Growth Management Policies Surrounding the Chesapeake Bay

Where land-use controls are advanced for use in environmental protection programs, strong political objections usually arise. To reduce this threat, Maryland's Critical Area Law was structured to provide landowners with equity preserving options and to present jurisdictions with the opportunity for future development. This paper studies the subject real estate markets during a six-year period before and after the law was implemented. The findings show that these objectives were achieved. Vacant land values did not decline; residential values grew significantly.