More ideas for developing questionnaires and agendas for the candidate election cycle

1. Baltimore County created one of the earliest "urban growth boundaries," in 1967. While the line has been tweaked every so often since then, 90% of the county's 800,000+ residents live in the urban section of the county. The North County Preservation organization of Baltimore County is a watchdog group, focused on preserving the rural landscape.

This is from the latest newsletter:

From the Board
The NCP Board has posed questions to the candidates for County Executive and Council Council for the 3rd district on subjects important to the preservation of the North County. We will post the answers on our web site and in a future newsletter to help our readers decide during this important upcoming election.

We have posed the following questions:

1. URDL
Give us details about your record in maintaining the integrity of the Urban Rural Demarcation Line. Will you commit to continuing the prohibition of any and all residential or commercial development north of the URDL not already grandfathered in?

2. CZMP
Will you maintain the current practices of the Comprehensive Zoning Map Process, including the right of community associations to identify properties for zoning changes with fees at their current level? Will you commit to instructing the appropriate county departments to add all applicable environmental data for the North County to the county public GIS website as soon as practical so citizens can be better informed in their participation?

3. Agriculture
How do you see the future of agriculture in Baltimore County? Considering that for many small family farms in Baltimore County, on-farm processing and marketing are the only ways to make a fair income from their land, do you support regulations that enable these activities for small family farms?

4. Open Space
Government funds for Open Space, just as many other budget categories, have been curtailed at all levels. How does this line item rank in your short term priorities? What is your view on using Open Space funding to build facilities, including buildings and parking lots?

5. Preservation
What policy tools would you use to encourage preservation of private land and historic structures?

6. Environment
What are your priorities to protect the environment of the North County, especially the reservoirs and watersheds which provide drinking water for close to 2 million residents?
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WalkBoston is a pedestrian advocacy group in Boston, Massachusetts. They have a wide variety of programs and advocacy initiatives. Their three-page Pedestrian Walk Agenda for Massachusetts lays out a specific set of actions concerning:

- Leadership
- Policies and plans
- Programs
- Capital investments