There are three special planning areas in the County. These are the designated Town Centers of Glen Burnie, Parole and Odenton. These Town Centers have been designated on the County’s GDP since it was first adopted in 1968. Town Centers are areas where a mix of residential, retail, office, employment and cultural uses are encouraged to locate close to one another and where there is existing or planned infrastructure to serve these various uses. Glen Burnie Glen Burnie is the Town Center serving the northern part of the County. The Glen Burnie Urban Renewal Plan was adopted by ordinance in 1980. The mixed use development plan establishes the boundaries, goals and design objectives for the Glen Burnie Town Center. The Town Center consists of approximately 44 acres and focuses on the intersection of Baltimore-Annapolis Boulevard and Crain Highway in Northern Anne Arundel County. The area has undergone substantial revitalization since 1980. Efforts of local business and community leaders, supported by major investment by the County and State have resulted in a major upgrade of Glen Burnie's commercial core. Over $24 million in public investment has resulted in more than $25 million in private investment. The vibrant, mixed-use Town Center includes the State multipurpose center, the north county campus of Anne Arundel Community College, a municipal parking garage, new retail facilities including a 38,000 sq. ft. grocery store, market-rate and senior housing complexes, offices and restaurants. Parole Parole is the Town Center serving central and southern Anne Arundel County. In the Parole Town Center, a growth management area was created in 1990 to help direct and manage future development there. The Parole Growth Management Area (PGMA) encompasses approximately 1,500 acres, with its core being the old Parole Plaza shopping Center and the Annapolis Mall. The PGMA extends southwest along Riva Road to the Heritage Office Complex, along MD 450 west in the vicinity of Housley Road, east along Bestgate Road (mostly south side) just past the Annapolis Mall, and south along MD 2, (mostly west side) to Lake Shore Drive. An Urban Design Plan was adopted for the Parole Growth Management Area in 1994 and helps direct the type and intensity of development within this area by recommending preferred uses and identifying design guidelines for development within subareas of the Plan. Major goals of the Parole Urban Design Plan are to encourage connections between its various subareas, to encourage a greater variety of activities, including more residential uses, and to improve the overall quality of design. Odenton Odenton is the Town Center for West Anne Arundel County. Development in the Odenton Town Center is governed by the Odenton Town Center Master Plan. The Odenton Growth Management Area (OGMA) was established in 1990. It is a 1,600 acre area encompassing major commercial and industrial zoned portions of Odenton. The OGMA had contained four sub-areas which include the Odenton Industrial sub-areas along MD 170 north of MD 175, the East Odenton Commercial area along MD 175 between Sappington Station Road and MD 170, the Odenton Town Center sub-areas between MD 170 and MD 32, and the Odenton North sub-areas along MD 175 north of MD 32 to Reece Road. The Odenton Town Plan is the guide for the future development of the Odenton Growth Management Area. It was adopted in 1995. The Odenton Town Plan identifies where new roads and community facilities should be located as well as the type and intensity of future development in the different sub-areas. >> Odenton Town Center Master Plan | 
