In the interpretation of this Chapter 14:1, the provisions and rules of this section shall be observed and applied, except when the context clearly requires otherwise:
A.Â
Words used or defined in one tense or form shall include
other tenses and derivative forms.
B.Â
Words in the singular number shall include the plural
number, and words in the plural number shall include the singular
number.
C.Â
The masculine gender shall include the feminine, and
the feminine gender shall include the masculine.
D.Â
The word "shall" is mandatory.
E.Â
The word "may" is permissive.
F.Â
In case of any difference of meaning or implication between the text of this Chapter 14:1 and any caption, illustration or table, the text shall control.
G.Â
The words "include" and "including" mean include or
including by way of illustration and not by way of limitation.
When used in this Chapter 14:1, the following terms shall have the meanings herein ascribed to them.
The establishment of a tree crop on an area from which it
has always or very long been absent, or the planting of open areas
that are not presently in forest cover.
A nonpossessory interest in land which restricts the conversion
of use of the land, preventing nonagricultural uses.
Fish that travel upstream (from their primary habitat in
the ocean) to fresh water in order to spawn.
The farming or culturing of finfish, shellfish,
other aquatic plants or animals, or both, in lakes, streams, inlets,
estuaries, and other natural or artificial water bodies or impoundments.
Includes:
The hatching, cultivating, planting, feeding,
raising, and harvesting of aquatic plants and animals and the maintenance
and construction of necessary equipment, buildings, and growing areas;
and
Cultivation methods including, but not limited
to, seed or larvae development and grow-out facilities, fish pens,
shellfish rafts, racks and longlines, seaweed floats, and the culture
of clams and oysters on tidelands and subtidal areas.
"Aquaculture" does not include related activities
such as wholesale and retail sales, processing, and product storage
facilities.
Unmanaged land having sparse vegetation.
Conservation practices or systems of practices
and management measures that control soil loss and reduce water quality
degradation caused by nutrients, animal waste, toxic substances, and
sediment.
Agricultural best management practices (BMPs)
include, but are not limited to, strip cropping, terracing, contour
stripping, grass waterways, animal waste structures, ponds, minimal
tillage, grass and naturally vegetated filter strips, and proper nutrient
application measures.
The Board of Appeals of Queen Anne's County.
(Spelled with a capital “B”) a naturally vegetated area or vegetated area established or managed to protect aquatic, wetland shoreline, and terrestrial environments from man-made disturbances. In the Critical Area District, the minimum Buffer is a continuous area located immediately landward of tidal waters (measured from the mean high water line), tributary streams in the critical area, and tidal wetlands and has a minimum width of 100 feet. The Buffer shall be expanded beyond the minimum depth to include certain sensitive areas as per requirements established in this Chapter 14:1.
Specifically designated portions of the critical area Buffer
that are exempted from certain requirements for Buffers because the
pattern of residential, industrial, commercial, or recreational development
present as of December 1, 1985, prevents the Buffer from fulfilling
its intended purposes.
A plan designed for the management of the Buffer tailored
for an individual lot or subdivision. It may include, among other
things, planting plans, vegetation management and/or provisions for
access to the water.
The removal of the entire stand of trees in one cutting with
tree reproduction obtained by natural seeding from adjacent stands
or from trees that were cut, from advanced regeneration or stump sprouts,
or from planting of seeds or seedlings by man.
A residential development in which dwelling units are concentrated
in a selected area or selected areas of the development tract so as
to provide natural habitat or other open space uses on the remainder.
Herons, egrets, terns, and glossy ibis. For purposes of nesting,
these birds congregate (that is, colonize) in relatively few areas,
at which time, the regional populations of these species are highly
susceptible to local disturbances.
A commercial operation that would alter the existing composition
or profile, or both, of a forest, including all commercial cutting
operations done by companies and private individuals for economic
gain.
The Queen Anne's County Board of Commissioners.
Any open space, private road, or other land,
structure, or improvement which is designed or reserved for the common
use or benefit of the owners of two or more lots.
"Common area" does not include any public road
or other land, structure, or improvement owned by the County or the
State of Maryland or any other governmental agency.
A nonpossessory interest in land that restricts the manner
in which the land may be developed in an effort to conserve natural
resources for future use.
Queen Anne's County, Maryland.
The establishment of a vegetative cover to protect soils
from erosion and to restrict pollutants from entering the waterways.
Cover crops can be dense, planted crops of grasses or legumes, or
crop residues, such as corn, wheat, or soybean stubble, which maximize
infiltration and prevent runoff from reaching erosive velocities.
All lands and waters within Queen Anne's County
as defined in § 8-1807 of the Natural Resources Article,
Annotated Code of Maryland.
Includes:
All waters of and lands under the Chesapeake
Bay and its tributaries to the head of tide as indicated on the state
wetlands maps, and all state and private wetlands designated under
Title 9 of the Natural Resources Article, Annotated Code of Maryland;
All land and water areas within 1,000 feet beyond
the landward boundaries of state or private wetlands and the heads
of tides designated under Title 9 of the Natural Resources Article,
Annotated Code of Maryland; and
Modification to these areas through inclusions
or exclusions proposed by Queen Anne's County and approved by the
Critical Area Commission as specified in § 8-1807 of the
Natural Resources Article, Annotated Code of Maryland.
The Maryland Chesapeake Bay Critical Area Commission.
The number of dwelling units per acre of gross area of a
development tract, unless otherwise specified.
Those areas of one acre or more in size which predominantly
contain trees and natural vegetation and which also include residential,
commercial, or industrial structures and uses.
General descriptive designations that characterize
the types and intensity of land use in existence on December 1, 1985,
and as may be permitted under growth allocation at a later date.
The three types of development areas are intensely
developed area (IDA), limited development area (LDA), and resource
conservation area (RCA).
Any construction, modification, extension or expansion of
buildings or structures; placement of fill or dumping; storage of
materials; land excavation; land clearing; land improvement; or any
combination thereof, including the subdivision of land or action that
results in construction, modification, extension or expansion of buildings
or structures; placement of fill or dumping; storage of materials;
land excavation; land clearing; land improvement; or any combination
thereof, including the subdivision of land.
A forested area where the occurrence of interior dwelling
birds, during the breeding season, has been demonstrated as a result
of on-site surveys using standard biological survey techniques.
A minor watercourse that is defined either by soil type or
by the presence of intermittent or perennial streams or topography
that indicates a swale where surface sheet flows join, including the
land, except where areas are designated as floodplain, on either side
of and within 50 feet of the center line of any intermittent or perennial
stream shown on the U.S. Geological Service's 7Â 1/2 minute quadrangle
sheets covering the unincorporated areas of Queen Anne's County.
A more or less self-contained biological community, together
with the physical environment in which the community's organisms occur.
Fire, rescue, ambulance, and police services, including related
structures and activities.
Any species of fish, wildlife, or plants which have been
designated as such by regulation by the Secretary of the Department
of Natural Resources. Designation occurs when the continued existence
of these species as viable components of the state's resources are
determined to be in jeopardy. This includes any species determined
to be endangered species pursuant to the federal Endangered Species
Act, 16 U.S.C. § 1531 et seq., as amended.
A comprehensive report that describes the natural features
and characteristics of a proposed development site, the changes that
will occur as the result of proposed development activities on the
site, the anticipated environmental impacts and consequences of the
proposed development, and mitigation measures to be taken to minimize
undesirable impacts to the environment.
Any utility facility needed to provide basic services, such
as water, sewer, telephone, and cable television, to the individual
users.
All increases in stormwater resulting from:
An increase in the imperviousness of the site,
including all additions to buildings, roads, and parking lots;
Changes in permeability caused by compaction
during construction or modifications in contours, including the filling
or drainage of small depression areas;
Alteration of drainageways, or regrading of
slopes;
Destruction of forest; or
Installation of collection systems to intercept
street flows or to replace swales or other drainageways.
Commercial water-dependent fisheries facilities including
structures for the packing, processing, canning, or freezing of finfish,
crustaceans, mollusks, and amphibians and reptiles and also including
related activities, such as wholesale and retail sales, product storage
facilities, crabshedding, off-loading docks, shellfish culture operations,
and shore-based facilities necessary for aquaculture operations.
Species of birds which require relatively large forested
tracts in order to breed successfully (for example, various species
of flycatchers, warblers, vireos, and woodpeckers).
The protection, manipulation, and utilization of the forest
to provide multiple benefits, such as timber harvesting, wildlife
habitat, etc.
The alteration of the forest either through tree removal
or replacement in order to improve the timber, wildlife, recreational,
or water quality values.
An area of land calculated as 5% of total resource conservation
area designated land within the critical area (excluding tidal wetlands
and federally owned land), that the County Commissioners may convert
to more intensely developed areas.
Threatened and endangered species habitat, plant and wildlife
habitats, anadromous fish spawning propagation waters and species
in need of conservation habitat, as defined in the Queen Anne's County
Critical Area Program. When not otherwise indicated by the text, habitat
protection areas also include the critical area Buffer.
A land use category that includes manufacturing and extraction
activities, a significant part of which may be conducted outdoors.
Soil with a slope greater than 15% or those soils with a
K value greater than 0.35 with slopes greater than 5%.
An area of open water and adjacent marshes where waterfowl
gather during migration and throughout the winter season. These areas
are historic in the sense that their location is common knowledge
and because these areas have been used regularly during recent times.
Soil that is wet frequently enough to periodically produce
anaerobic conditions, thereby influencing the species composition
or growth, or both, of plants on the soil.
Those plants cited in Vascular Plant Species Occurring in
Maryland Wetlands (Dawson, F., et al, 1985) which are described as
growing in water or on a substrate that is at least periodically deficient
in oxygen as a result of excessive water content (plants typically
found in water habitats).[1]
An area of at least 20 adjacent acres except as provided in § 14:1-76D(5)(a) and (b) or the entire upland portion of the critical area within the boundary of a municipality, whichever is less, where residential, commercial, institutional, and/or industrial developed land uses predominate, and where relatively little natural habitat occurs. An intensely developed area shall have at least one of the following features as of December 1, 1985:
[Amended 1-28-2014 by Ord. No. 13-16]
Housing density equal to or greater than four
dwelling units per acre;
Industrial, institutional, or commercial uses
are concentrated in the area; or
Public sewer and water collection and distribution
systems are currently serving the area and housing density is greater
than three dwelling units per acre.
The soils erodibility factor in the universal soil loss equation.
It is a quantitative value that is experimentally determined.
Any activity that removes the vegetative ground cover.
The raising of fish or shellfish in any natural or man-made,
enclosed or impounded, water body.
Features of the earth's surface created by natural causes.
An area which is currently developed in low- or moderate-intensity
uses which contains areas of natural plant and animal habitats, and
in which the quality of runoff has not been substantially altered
or impaired. A limited development area shall have at least one of
the following features as of December 1, 1985:
Housing density ranging from one dwelling unit
per five acres up to four dwelling units per acre;
Areas not dominated by agriculture, wetland,
forest, barren land, surface water, or open space;
Areas having public sewer or public water, or
both; or
Areas meeting the definition of intensely developed
areas above, less than 20 acres in size.
The percentage of a total lot or parcel that is:
[Added 7-12-2011 by Ord. No. 11-01]
Occupied by a structure, accessory structure, parking area,
driveway, walkway or roadway; or
Covered with gravel, stone, shale, impermeable decking, a paver,
permeable pavement, or any man-made material.
Lot coverage does not include:
A fence or wall that is less than one (1) foot in width that
has not been constructed with a footer.
A walkway in the Buffer or expanded Buffer, including a stairway,
that provides direct access to a community or private pier;
A wood mulch pathway; or
A deck with gaps to allow water to pass freely.
Impermeable decks: Lot coverage includes the ground area covered
or occupied by an impermeable deck, even when that deck does not directly
touch the ground surface.
Stairways: Lot coverage does not include walkways or stairways
in the Buffer that provide direct access to a community or private
pier; all other stairs or walkways are considered lot coverage.
Stormwater management and erosion control measures: Lot coverage
does not include these practices when they are approved only for the
specific purpose of performing stormwater management or erosion control.
A person, including a covenantor, who, at any time when the identity of a lot owner is to be determined for purposes of this Chapter 14:1 or any covenant, is the owner of any lot within a subject area.
"Lot owner" does not include a mortgagee, the
holder of any other security interest in the property, the County,
or any governmental agency.
The average level of high tides at a given location.
Components and processes present in or produced by nature,
including, but not limited to, soil types, geology, slopes, vegetation,
surface water, drainage patterns, aquifers, recharge areas, climate,
floodplains, aquatic life, and wildlife.
Any communities of plants or animals which are considered
to be among the best statewide examples of their kind, and are designated
by regulation by the Secretary of the Department of Natural Resources.
The plant communities that develop in the absence of human
activities.
A condition where landform or biological communities, or
both, have developed by natural processes in the absence of human
intervention.
Pollution generated by diffuse land use activities rather
than from an identifiable or discrete facility. It is conveyed to
waterways through natural processes, such as rainfall, storm runoff,
or groundwater seepage rather than by deliberate discharge. Non-point
source pollution is not generally corrected by end-of-pipe treatment,
but rather by changes in land management practices.
Resources that are not naturally regenerated or renewed.
A structure or action that compensates for undesirable impacts.
Undeveloped land used primarily for resource protection or
recreational purposes. Land and water areas retained for use as active
or passive recreation areas in an essentially undeveloped state or
land areas retained in natural cover, agricultural, or commercial
forestry use.
The strata or material in its natural state, before its removal
by surface mining, overlying a mineral deposit, or in between mineral
deposits.
Includes individuals, firms, corporations, associations,
trusts, and any other similar entities.
The soils, topography, land slope and aspect, and local climate
that influence the form and species composition of plant communities.
The Queen Anne's County Planning Commission.
The Planning Director of Queen Anne's County.
A facility or area established or designated by the state
or local jurisdictions for purposes of waterborne commerce.
The cutting and removal of trees for personal use.
The approval of development and redevelopment,
other than development and redevelopment by a state or local government
agency, in the Chesapeake Bay critical area by the appropriate local
approval authority.
Includes approval of subdivision plats and site
plans; inclusion of areas within floating zones; and issuance of variances,
special exceptions, and conditional use permits.
"Project approval" does not include building
permits.
Uses or structures for the public purpose of power transmission
and distribution (but not power generation); fuel transmission and
distribution (but not manufacturing or storage); water treatment and
distribution; sewage collection and treatment; telephone service facilities
(but not utility truck terminal facilities); radio and television
facilities (not including broadcasting studios); and rail or highway
rights-of-way (not including stations or terminals).
Shore-dependent recreation facilities or activities provided
by public agencies which are available to the general public.
The reasonable rehabilitation of disturbed land for useful
purposes, and the protection of the natural resources of adjacent
areas, including water bodies.
The Queen Anne's County Clerk of the Circuit Court.
The process of developing land that is or has been developed.
The establishment of a forest through artificial reproduction
or natural regeneration.
A resource that can renew or replace itself and, therefore,
with proper management, can be harvested indefinitely.
An area characterized by nature-dominated environments (that
is, wetlands, forests, abandoned fields) and resource-utilization
activities (that is, agriculture, forestry, fisheries activities,
or aquaculture). A resource conservation area shall have at least
one of the following features as of December 1, 1985:
A habitat that is strongly influenced by water and which
occurs adjacent to streams, shorelines, and wetlands.
A condition where surface water is present for extended periods,
especially early in the growing season, and when surface water is
absent, the water table is often near the land surface.
The removal of single, scattered, mature trees or other trees
from uneven-aged stands by frequent and periodic cutting operations.
Any of a number of structural and nonstructural methods or
techniques for controlling the erosion of shoreline areas. More specifically
the term refers to:
Nonstructural: creation of an intertidal marsh
fringe channelward of the existing bank by one of the following methods:
Vegetation: planting an existing shore with
a wide band of vegetation;
Bank sloping/vegetation: sloping and planting
a nonwooded bank to manage tidal water contact, using structures to
contain sloped materials if necessary; and
Contained beach: filling along shore with sandy
materials, grading, and containing the new beach to eliminate tidal
water contact with the bank.
An annual rate of erosion of two feet or greater.
A land use plan for a farm that shows a farmer how to make
the best possible use of the farmer's soil and water resources while
protecting and conserving those resources for the future. It is a
document containing a map and related plans that indicate:
Personal or business social engagement or activities conducted
at a bed-and-breakfast, single-family residence, or on a farm where
guests assemble for parties, wedding events, reunions, birthday celebrations,
or similar uses for compensation, during which food and beverages
may be served to guests and music and other entertainment is provided
to guests. This definition shall not include places of worship.
[Added 8-13-2013 by Ord. No. 13-02]
Those fish and wildlife whose continued existence as part
of the state's resources are in question and which may be designated
by regulation by the Secretary of Natural Resources as in need of
conservation pursuant to the requirements of §§ 10-2A-06
and 4-2A-03 of the Natural Resources Article, Annotated Code of Maryland.
The overburden and reject materials as piled or deposited
during surface mining.
Slopes of fifteen-percent or greater incline.
An area which is restricted or otherwise affected by a covenant.
If an area restricted or otherwise affected by a covenant is a common
area, "subject area" includes both the common area and all other land
within the site plan, subdivision, or zoning approval which has any
rights or duties with respect to the common area.
A forest practice used to accelerate tree growth of quality
trees in the shortest interval of time.
Any species of fish, wildlife, or plants designated as such
by regulation by the Secretary of the Department of Natural Resources
which appear likely, within the foreseeable future, to become endangered,
including any species of wildlife or plant determined to be threatened
species pursuant to the federal Endangered Species Act, 15 U.S.C.
§ 1531 et seq., as amended.
State wetlands that are defined as any land under the navigable
waters of the state below the mean high water line, affected by the
regular rise and fall of tide, and private wetlands defined as any
land not considered state wetlands bordering or lying beneath tidal
waters, that is subject to regular or periodic tidal action and supports
aquatic growth. Private wetlands include wetlands transferred by the
state by a valid grant, lease, patent, or grant confirmed by Article
5 of the Declaration of Rights of the Constitution to the extent of
the interest transferred. The term "regular or periodic tidal action"
means the rise and fall of the sea produced by the attraction of the
sun and moon uninfluenced by the wind or any other circumstance.
A plan designed to detail the commercial harvesting by cutting
and removing of tree stems from a site for commercial purposes. These
plans shall be prepared by a registered forester or landscape architect.
The existing configuration of the earth's surface, including
the relative relief, elevations, and position of land features.
A plant community whose species are adapted to the diverse
and varying environmental conditions that occur along the boundary
that separates aquatic and terrestrial areas.
Anything that is built, installed, or established to provide
a means of transport from one place to another.
A woody perennial plant having a single, usually elongated,
main stem, generally with few or no branches on its lower part; a
perennial shrub or herb of arborescent form.
Perennial and intermittent streams in the critical area that
are so noted on the most recent U.S. Geological Survey 7Â 1/2
minute topographic quadrangle maps (scale 1:24,000) or on more detailed
maps or studies at the discretion of Queen Anne's County.
Fixed structures that convey or distribute resources, wastes,
or both, including, but not limited to, electric lines, water conduits,
and sewer lines.
A facility where sand and gravel is washed during processing.
The raising of fish and shellfish in any natural, open, free-flowing
water body.
A structure or work associated with industrial,
maritime, recreational, educational, or fisheries activities that
requires location at or near the shoreline within the required critical
area Buffer.
An activity is water-dependent if it cannot
exist outside the Buffer and is dependent on water by reason of the
intrinsic nature of its operation. These activities include, but are
not limited to, ports, the intake and outfall structures of power
plants, water-use industries, marinas, and other public water-oriented
recreation areas and fisheries activities.
Birds which frequent and often swim in water, nest and raise
their young near water, and derive at least part of their food from
aquatic plants and animals.
An industry that requires location near the shoreline because
it utilizes surface waters for cooling or other internal purposes.
A strip of land having vegetation that provides habitat and
a safe passageway for wildlife.
[1]
Editor's Note: The definition of "impervious coverage," which
immediately followed this definition, was repealed 7-12-2011 by Ord.
No. 11-01. See now the definition of "lot coverage."
