The following terms have the meanings indicated:
The establishment of a forest on an area from which forest cover
has been absent for longer than five years by planting of open areas which
are not presently in forest cover; or the establishment of a forest according
to procedures set forth in the Wicomico County Forest Conservation Manual.
Any person acting on behalf of the property owner or an options holder.
Farming activities, including plowing, tillage, cropping, installation
of best management practices, seeding, cultivating and harvesting for production
of food and fiber products, except commercial logging and timber harvesting
operations, the grazing and raising of poultry or livestock, aquaculture,
sod production, orchards, nursery and other products cultivated as part of
a recognized commercial enterprise.
Undeveloped areas with densities of less than or equal to one dwelling
unit per five acres.
A person who is applying for subdivision or project plan approval
or a grading or sediment control permit or who has received approval of a
forest stand delineation or forest conservation plan.
A document approved by the Department of Natural Resources forester
assigned to the county in which the property is located and which operates
as a protective agreement for forest conservation as described in § 5-1607,
Subsections (e) through (f), of the Natural Resources Article of the Annotated
Code of Maryland.
The use of land and structures for the farming, hatching, cultivating,
planting, feeding, raising, shedding, harvesting and culturing of finfish,
shellfish, crustaceans, mollusks, other aquatic plants or animals, or both,
in lakes, streams, inlets, estuaries, ponds and other natural, artificial
or man-made, enclosed or impounded ponds, water bodies or water-containing
structures. Cultivation methods include, but are not limited to, seed or larvae
development and growout facilities, fish pens, shellfish floats or rafts,
racks and longlines, seaweed floats and the culture of clams and oysters on
tidelands and subtidal areas.
The diameter measured at two inches above the root collar.
A document issued by the Department certifying that a proposed regulated
activity has met the requirements of this chapter.
A document issued by the Department certifying that a property is
exempt from the provisions of this chapter.
The largest tree of its species within the United States, the state,
county or municipality.
A tree which appears in the State Forest Conservation Manual list
of state champion trees.
Manufacturing operations, office complexes, shopping centers and
other similar uses and their associated storage areas, yarding and parking
areas, corresponding to the C-1 Select Commercial, C-2 General Commercial,
Regional Commercial, Light Industrial, Industrial and Industrial Park Zoning
Districts.
The cutting and removing of tree stems from a site for commercial
purposes, leaving the root mass intact, unless the removal of the root mass
is included as a part of a forest management plan.
A critical habitat for an endangered species and its surrounding
protection area. A critical habitat area shall:
A habitat occupied by an endangered species as determined or listed
under the Natural Resources Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland, §§ 4-2A-04
and 10-2A-04.
A signed statement by a landowner or the landowner's agent having
a power of attorney certifying that:
The activity on the landowner's property is exempt from the requirements
of this chapter.
The activity on the landowner's property does not circumvent the
requirements of this chapter.
No activity requiring a forest conservation plan will occur on the site,
without Department approval, within five years of the date of completion of
the exempt activity.
The activity on the landowner's property does not conflict with
the purposes of any other approved declaration of intent.
The Wicomico County Department of Planning, Zoning and Community
Development.
The grading or construction activities occurring on a specific tract
that is 40,000 square feet or greater. Development project includes redevelopment.
For the purposes of implementing afforestation and reforestation
requirements or completing payment into a fund:
A biological community dominated by trees and other woody plants
covering a land area of 10,000 square feet or greater. The term forest includes
areas that have at least 100 live trees per acre with at least 50% of those
trees having a two-inch or greater diameter at 4.5 feet above the ground and
larger; and areas that have been cut but not cleared. Forest does not include
orchards, tree nurseries or Christmas tree farms.
The Forestry Board created for each State Forestry Conservancy District
under the Natural Resources Article, of the Annotated Code of Maryland, §§ 5-601
through 5-610.
The retention of existing forest or the creation of new forest at
the levels set by the state or Department.
An agreement as stated in the Tax-Property Article of the Annotated
Code of Maryland, § 8-211.
The technical manual, incorporated by reference, used to establish
standards of performance required in preparing forest stand delineations and
forest conservation plans.
A plan approved in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
The area of a site meeting the definition of "forest."
A plan establishing best conservation and management practices for
a landowner in assessment of the resource values of forested property.
The methodology for evaluating the existing vegetation on a site
proposed for development as provided in the Wicomico County Forest Conservation
Manual.
The period of consecutive frost-free days as stated in the current
soil survey for Wicomico County, published by the National Cooperative Soil
Survey Program.
Areas with densities greater than one dwelling unit per acre, including
both existing and planned development and their associated infrastructure,
such as roads, utilities and water and sewer service.
A father, mother, son, daughter, grandfather, grandmother, grandson
or granddaughter.
Schools, colleges and universities, military installations, transportation
facilities, utility and sewer projects, government offices and facilities,
golf courses, recreation areas, parks and cemeteries, and corresponding with
the Light Business and Institutional, Light Business and Residential and Institutional
and Select Industrial Zoning Districts.
A stream in which surface water is absent during a part of the year
as shown on the most recent seven-and-five-tenths-minute topographic quadrangle
published by the United States Geologic Survey, as confirmed by field verification.
A plan:
Each unit in the executive, legislative or judicial branch of a county
or municipal government, including an office or department of public works.
A unit of land, parcel or tract, the boundaries of which have been
established as a result of a deed or previous subdivision of a larger parcel
and which will not be the subject of further subdivision without complying
with the requirements of this chapter.
The short-term management agreement associated with afforestation
or reforestation plans required under the Natural Resources Article of the
Annotated Code of Maryland, § 5-1605, and this chapter.
Areas with densities greater than one dwelling unit per five acres
and less than or equal to one dwelling unit per acre, including both existing
and planned development and their associated infrastructure, such as roads,
utilities and water and sewer service.
A project which is:
A single, relatively high-density development project.
The natural establishment of trees and other vegetation, with at
least 400 woody, free-to-grow seedlings per acre, which are capable of reaching
a height of at least 20 feet at maturity.
The total area of a site, including both forested and nonforested
areas, to the nearest 1/10 acre, reduced by the area found to be within the
boundaries of the one-hundred-year floodplain; and the part of the total tract
which will be used for primarily agricultural activities for a period of not
less than five years.
An area that is:
Inundated or saturated by surface or ground water at a frequency and
duration sufficient to support and which, under normal conditions, does support
a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions,
commonly known as "hydrophytic vegetation"; and
Considered a nontidal wetland in accordance with the publication known
as the "Federal Manual for Identifying and Delineating Jurisdictional Wetlands,"
as may be amended and interpreted by the United States Environmental Protection
Agency.
Nontidal wetlands does not include tidal wetlands regulated under the
Natural Resources Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland, Title 9.
Outside of the limits of the area encompassed by the tract.
A flood which has a one-percent chance of being equaled or exceeded
in any given year. Except for Class III water natural trout streams, a body
of water with a watershed of less than 400 acres is excluded.
An area along or adjacent to a stream or body of water, except tidal
waters, that is capable of storing or conveying floodwaters during a one-hundred-year-frequency
storm event, or a one-hundred-year flood.
Within the limits of the area encompassed by the tract, including
an area classified as a one-hundred-year floodplain.
A stream containing surface water throughout an average rainfall
year, as shown on the most recent seven-and-five-tenths-minute topographic
quadrangle published by the United States Geologic Survey, as confirmed by
field verification.
The federal government, the state, a county, a municipal corporation or other political subdivision of the state, or any of their units, or an individual, receiver, trustee, guardian, executor, administrator, fiduciary or representative of any kind or any partnership, firm, association, public or private corporation or any of their affiliates, a public utility which is not exempt under § 126-4A(4) or (5) or any other entity.
A development comprising a combination of land uses of varying densities
or intensities of the same land use in accordance with an integrated plan
that provides flexibility in land use design with at least 20% of the land
permanently dedicated to open space.
A site plan, construction plan or a grading or sediment control plan
for any activity on an area of 40,000 square feet or greater.
Any:
Reforestation or reforested means the:
Creation of a biological community, dominated by trees and other woody
plants, containing at least 100 live trees per acre with at least 50% of those
trees having the potential of attaining a two-inch or greater diameter, measured
at 4.5 feet above the ground, within seven years; or
Establishment of a forest according to procedures set forth in the Forest
Conservation Manual.
Reforestation or reforested includes landscaping of areas under an approved
landscaping plan establishing a forest at least 35 feet wide and covering
2,500 square feet or more of area.
Any of the following activities, when that activity occurs on a parcel
of land that is 40,000 square feet or greater: activity that requires a building
permit, a stormwater management plan, a subdivision plat, a grading permit,
a sediment control permit or a project plan of a local agency.
The deliberate holding and protecting of existing trees, shrubs or
plants on the site according to established standards as provided in the Wicomico
County Forest Conservation Manual.
The authorization of an activity regulated under a sediment control
plan as provided in the Environment Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland,
Title 4.
An unbranched woody plant, less than 24 inches in height and having
a diameter of less than 1/2 inch measured at two inches above the root collar.
The careful and planned removal of trees, shrubs and plants using
specific standards and protection measures under an approved forest conservation
plan.
A detailed plan of development showing the arrangement of any buildings
in relation to parking, streets, entrances, exits, open space and adjoining
properties, with all information relevant to size of area, number of parking
spaces and square footage of buildings, etc., inscribed thereon in addition
to any other pertinent information as may be required by this chapter.
All lands lying within 50 feet, measured from the top of each normal
bank of a perennial or intermittent stream.
Any division of a unit of land into two or more lots or parcels for
the purpose, whether immediate or future, of transfer of ownership, sale,
lease or development.
Property or unit of land subject to an application for a grading
or sediment control permit, subdivision approval or project plan approval
or areas subject to this chapter.
The entire property subject to a planned unit development.
A large, branched woody plant having one or several self-supporting
stems or trunks that reach a height of at least 20 feet at maturity.
Relief from the requirements of this chapter as may be granted by
the County Board of Appeals.
All land lying within an area described as a subbasin in water quality
regulations adopted by the Department of the Environment under COMAR 26.08.02.08.
An unbranched woody plant greater than 24 inches in height and having
a diameter of less than one inch measured at two inches above the root collar.
The control of undesirable species through fire, chemical, mowing
or other methods while maintaining the basic criteria or definition of a forest
as specified herein.
