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This GIS dataset contains growth tier maps adopted by local (county and municipal) jurisdictions under SB236. Data are generally collected from local jurisdictions by the Maryland Department of Planning (MDP) or digitized by MDP in coordination with local jurisdictions. For more information about SB236, see MDP’s Septics Law Implementation Website at https://planning.maryland.gov/Pages/OurWork/RRP/envr-planning/SB236Implementation.aspx. MDP generally requests updated GIS data once a jurisdiction notifies MDP that a growth tier map has been amended. Aggregated data may be outdated or incomplete if MDP has not yet received or processed GIS updates from jurisdictions. MDP does not have GIS data for all municipal tier maps. MDP generally does not alter geometries received from the local jurisdictions except to divide municipal tiers at the county boundary. This dataset may contain overlap where multiple jurisdictions designate tiers in the same area. Only the adopted tier maps, as depicted in county or municipal legal documents, are the official tier maps. To ensure correct interpretation of this dataset, users should review column (attribute) descriptions in the metadata file.
Fields include:
Acres (GIS Acres) – GIS acres calculated by Planning in NAD83 Meters (EPSG 26985)
County – Full name of the jurisdiction represented by the JURSCODE.
TIER_CODE (Tier Code)– Integer field containing the growth tier standardized by MDP: 1 (Tier I); 11 (Tier IA or any other annotated version of Tier I, such as IB, etc.); 2 (Tier II), 22 (Tier IIA or any other annotated version of Tier II, such as IIB, etc.); 3 (Tier III); 4 (Tier IV); 44 (Areas annotated as Tier IVA for municipal greenbelts or any other annotated version of Tier IV); 99 – Areas included in the jurisdiction’s growth tier GIS data that are not assigned a tier, such as rights-of-way or water.
JURSCODE (County Code)– Four letter county code or Baltimore City code. For tiers designated by counties, this is the jurisdiction responsible for designating the growth tier. For tiers designated by municipalities, this is the jurisdiction in which the growth tier is physically located. Municipal tiers that cross counties are divided at the county boundary so this field can be populated. See the MUNI field for the municipality responsible for designating a municipal tier. ALLE (Allegany), ANNE (Anne Arundel), BACI (Baltimore City), BACO (Baltimore County), CALV (Calvert), CARO (Caroline), CARR (Carroll), CECI (Cecil), CHAR (Charles), DORC (Dorchester), FRED (Frederick), GARR (Garrett), HARF (Harford), HOWA (Howard), KENT (Kent), MONT (Montgomery), PRIN (Prince George’s) QUEE (Queen Anne’s), SOME (Somerset), STMA (St. Mary’s), TALB (Talbot), WASH (Washington), WICO (Wicomico), WORC (Worcester).
Adopt_Date (Adoption Date)– Date growth tier map was adopted or amended. When a local jurisdiction updates its growth tier map, MDP generally requests a comprehensive GIS update to replace all existing data for the jurisdiction.
MUNI (Municipality)– The name of the municipality responsible for designating the tier. This field will be blank (‘ ‘) if the tier has been designated by a county. The MUNI field is formatted consistently with municipality names in the MDP’s municipal boundary datasets. When municipalities adopt tier maps by concurring with county tiers instead of submitting tier data independently, the MUNI field remains blank within the entire county tier map dataset. Depending on internal needs, an independent municipal tier dataset may or may not be generated by MDP and included within the aggregated tiers.
TIER (Tier)– Growth tier identifier used by the source jurisdiction and standardized as Tier 1, Tier 1A, Tier 2, Tier 2A, Tier 3, and Tier 4. May include additional alphabetical annotations used by the jurisdictions such as Tier 2B. If the TIER_CODE field is 99, the TIER field retains the descriptor provided by the jurisdiction, which may be a blank or null value.
GIS_SRC (Source) – The original source of the GIS spatial and attribute information MDP obtained, which concatenates the JURSCODE field (or MUNI field for municipal tier maps), followed by a space, followed by the name of the shapefile or feature class received from the jurisdiction. Field contains “MDP” if tiers were digitized by MDP, and is blank (‘ ‘) for historical data.
SRC_DATE (Source Date) – The date (YYYYMMDD) the GIS data were obtained by Planning from the local jurisdiction. If the month or day is unknown, the date is YYYY0000. If MDP digitized the growth tier map in coordination with a local jurisdiction, this should be the date MDP’s edits are verified by the jurisdiction. This field will be blank (‘ ’) if MDP’s edits have not been verified or if the dataset is historical and the source is unknown.
NOTE (Notes)– Text field containing additional notes about the data.
Disclaimer: The Maryland Department of Planning cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information contained in this resource. Each user is responsible for determining its suitability for his or her intended use or purpose. The Maryland Department of Planning or the State of Maryland has no liability from any damages or interpretations caused by this resource. Any errors or omissions should be reported to Deborah Sward at [email protected].
Date Last Updated: June 2026