Greener Acres

Prince George's should give further consideration to a program that would spur smart growth.

THE ECONOMIC downturn has helped drag down a bill that would steer Prince George's County toward responsible development. The County Council postponed land-preservation legislation Tuesday that would require developers to purchase a certain number of transferable development rights (TDR) credits, which help preserve land in rural parts of the county, in exchange for the right to build projects of higher density. Critics of the bill, including developers, some council members and County Executive Jack B. Johnson (D), argue that it is unwise for the county to put up any barriers to development during a financial crisis. These concerns are understandable, as is criticism that the bill has some rough edges. But a TDR program is unlikely to worsen county finances in the short term and can help promote long-term economic growth. It's good that the proposal made it out of committee for the first time in the four years it has been studied; we hope the council considers an improved version of the bill in its next term.

The bill, introduced by council members Thomas E. Dernoga (D-Laurel) and Marilynn Bland (D-Clinton), is based, in part, on a groundbreaking program implemented by Montgomery County in the early 1980s. The program allowed farmers to be compensated for giving up the right to have developers build on their land. It helped secure Montgomery's widely admired agricultural reserve, more than 90,000 acres of farmland less than an hour away from the District. Local officials believe the land in reserve has improved residents' quality of life and been a boon for the economy; farming contributes more than $250 million to the county's economy annually, for example.

A scenic swath of farms, woodlands and streams east of Route 301 could play a similar role in Prince George's. The county is fortunate that one-third of its land, known as the rural tier, is mostly untouched. But Prince George's has been slow to implement policies that control sprawl, and development is encroaching on parts the rural tier. A program of transferable development rights would help preserve the county's remaining rural land and secure sustainable economic growth for the future.