In their interpretation and application, the
provisions of this chapter shall be held to be minimum requirements,
adopted for the promotion of the public health, safety, morals and
general welfare. Wherever the requirements of this chapter are at
variance with the requirements of any other lawfully adopted laws,
rules, regulations, ordinances, deed restrictions or covenants, the
most restrictive or that imposing the highest standard shall govern.
[Amended 9-14-2004 by Bill No. 2004-12]
A. Interpretation and enforcement. It is the intent of
this chapter that all questions of interpretation and enforcement
shall be first presented to the Director of Planning and that such
questions shall be presented to the Board of Appeals only on appeal
from the decision of the Director of Planning and that recourse from
the decisions of the Board of Appeals shall be the courts.
B. Duties of Commissioners. It is further the intent of this chapter that the duties of the County Council in connection with this chapter shall not include hearing and deciding questions of interpretation and enforcement that may arise. Under this chapter, the County Council shall have only the duties of considering and adopting or rejecting proposed amendments to the text and the maps or the repeal of this chapter as stated in §
155-5 of this chapter; establishing a schedule of fees, charges and expenses as stated in §
155-4 of this chapter; creation of the Planning Commission and appointment of its members as stated in Article
III of this chapter; and creation of the Board of Appeals and appointment of its members as stated in Article
IV of this chapter.
[Amended 9-14-2004 by Bill No. 2004-12]
The County Council shall establish a schedule
of fees, charges and expenses and a collection procedure for applications
for special exceptions, variances, amendments, appeals, permits and
other matters pertaining to this chapter. Such schedule shall be posted
in the office of the Director of Planning and may be altered or amended,
from time to time, without a public hearing, only by the County Council
upon the recommendations of the Planning Commission. Until all applicable
fees, charges and expenses have been paid in full, no action shall
be taken on any application or appeal pertaining to this chapter.
[Amended 9-14-2004 by Bill No. 2004-12]
A. General amendment requirements.
(1) Amendments authorized. The regulations, restrictions,
definitions, districts, classifications and boundaries set forth in
this chapter may, from time to time, be amended, supplanted, modified
or repealed by the County Council. The reclassification of any property
and the relocation of any district boundary shall be deemed amendments
to this chapter and subject to the provisions of this section.
(2) Initiation. Proposals for amending the Zoning Ordinance
text or Official Zoning Maps may be made by any governmental agency
or by an individual with a committed financial, contractual or proprietary
interest in real property located within the county's zoning jurisdiction.
Such proposals for text amendments shall be in the form as prescribed
by the Director of Planning and shall be addressed to and filed with
the County Council. Such proposals for map amendments shall be in
the form as prescribed by the Director of Planning, shall be addressed
to and filed with the County Council and, if the proposal is made
by an individual other than the owner of record of the property, shall
be cosigned by the owner.
(3) Procedure.
(a)
Any officially filed amendment or other change
shall first be referred by the County Council to the Planning Commission
for an investigation and recommendation. The Planning Commission shall
make such investigations as it deems appropriate or necessary and
may direct the Director of Planning to make such other investigations
as the Planning Commission deems appropriate or necessary and, for
these purposes, may require the submission of pertinent information
by any persons concerned and may hold such formal or informal public
hearings as are appropriate in the Planning Commission's judgment.
In addition, the Planning Commission shall formulate its recommendation
on said amendment or change and shall submit its recommendation and
pertinent supporting information to the County Council within 60 days
after the Planning Commission's first regular meeting after receipt
of said amendment from the County Council, unless an extension of
time is granted by the County Council.
(b)
After the County Council receives the recommendation of the Planning Commission, the County Council shall determine whether or not the proposal is suitable to warrant the introduction of legislation pursuant to Section
303 of the County Charter, and unless the bill is rejected by an affirmative vote of at least four Councilmembers, the County Council shall hold a public hearing in reference thereto in order that parties of interest and citizens shall have an opportunity to be heard. The County Council shall give public notice of such hearing in accordance with the provisions of §
155-6 of this chapter.
(c)
No change in or departure from the proposed
amendment as recommended by the Planning Commission shall be made
by the County Council until said change or departure has been resubmitted
to the Planning Commission for its further review and recommendation
and the County Council has received said additional recommendation.
However, this provision will not apply to proposed sectional or comprehensive
map and text amendments.
(d)
A majority vote of the entire body of the County
Council shall be required to pass any amendment to this chapter.
(e)
A complete record of the public hearing and
the votes of all members of the County Council in deciding all questions
relating to the proposed amendment shall be kept.
B. Map amendments.
(1) Findings.
(a)
Where the purpose and effect of the proposed
amendment is to change the zoning classification of property, the
County Council shall make findings of fact in each specific case,
including but not limited to the following matters: the population
change, the availability of public facilities, the present and future
transportation patterns, the compatibility with existing and proposed
development and the compatibility with the county's Comprehensive
Plan. The County Council may grant the reclassification based upon
a finding that there was a substantial change in the character of
the neighborhood where the property is located since the last rezoning
of the property or that there was a mistake in the last zoning classification
and that a change in the zoning would be more desirable in terms of
the objectives of the Comprehensive Plan.
(b)
The fact that an application for reclassification
complies with all of the specific requirements and purposes set forth
in this chapter shall not be deemed to create a presumption that the
proposed reclassification and resulting development would, in fact,
be compatible with surrounding land uses and is not, in itself, sufficient
to require the granting of the application.
(2) Application requirements.
(a)
Applications generally. Every application for
a map amendment shall be accompanied by a plat, drawn to scale, showing
the existing and proposed district and property boundaries and such
other information as the Director of Planning may need in order to
locate and plot the amendment on the Official Zoning Maps. Such plat
shall not be required for sectional or comprehensive reclassifications.
No application for map amendments shall be accepted for an I district
unless the area contains 10 acres or more.
(b)
Application for reclassification. No application
for reclassification shall be accepted for filing by the County Council
if the application is for the reclassification of the whole or any
part of land for which the County Council have denied reclassification
within 12 months from the date of the decision of the County Council.
However, the County Council may allow an applicant to withdraw an
application for a map amendment at any time, by resolution, without
prejudice, provided that, if the request for withdrawal is made after
publication of the notice of a public hearing, no application for
reclassification of all or any part of the land which is the subject
of the application shall be allowed within 12 months following the
date of the resolution of the County Council approving such withdrawal.
(3) Changing the Official Zoning Maps. It shall be the
duty of the Director of Planning to change the Official Zoning Maps
forthwith upon the adoption of any map amendment, in order that said
maps shall always be an up-to-date public record of the districts
in the county.
(4) Reversion clause.
(a)
In all map amendment cases, the County Council
shall be satisfied that the applicant for the rezoning intends to
use or begin construction for the purpose of using the requested zoning
within two years of the date of approval of the change in zoning.
For the purposes of this subsection the term "use or begin construction"
means either:
[1]
Submission to the county of a site plan;
[2]
Application for a building permit for structures
comprising a substantial portion of the improvements; or
[3]
Substantial completion of construction.
(b)
If the applicant should fail to use or begin
construction of the project within two years of the approval of the
change in zoning or complete the construction within a reasonable
period, the approval shall become void, and the land shall revert
to its original zoning classification.
(c)
The County Council may extend the deadline for
compliance with this section for up to one year upon petition of the
applicant showing a good faith effort to meet the deadline. Application
to the County Council must be made prior to the expiration of the
change in zoning.
[Amended 9-14-2004 by Bill No. 2004-12]
Unless otherwise expressly provided by law,
all notices to the general public required by the terms of this chapter
shall be made as follows:
A. Posting. By posting the property affected or to be
affected by the pending proceeding. Such posting shall be made at
least 15 days prior to the public hearing on such proceeding by the
erection of a sign to be furnished by the Director of Planning. Such
sign shall be erected by the applicant, within 10 feet of whatever
boundary line of such land abuts the most traveled public road so
as to be clearly visible to the public and, if no public road abuts
thereon, then facing in such a manner as most readily may be seen
by the public in the judgment of the Director of Planning. The bottom
of the sign shall be not less than 2 1/2 feet from the ground,
and shall bear the words: "Notice zoning application pending, for
more information call 410-228-3234." Any sign required to be posted
by this provision shall be maintained in a visible location and free
from obstruction by brush, weeds or other growth until after the public
hearing is held. At the hearing, it shall be the duty of the applicant
to prove by affidavit that he or she has fully complied with the provision
and has continuously maintained the sign or other posting in compliance
with this provision up to the time of the hearing. Such posting of
the site shall not be required for sectional or comprehensive amendments
procedures.
[Amended 9-28-2004 by Bill No. 2004-22]
B. Advertising. All proceedings under the terms of this
chapter requiring a public hearing shall be advertised by the governmental
body conducting the hearing once a week for two successive weeks in
a newspaper of general circulation in the county not less than 14
days prior to the date such proceeding is scheduled for hearing, which
advertisement shall state the following:
(1) The date, time and place of such hearing.
(2) A summary of the purpose of the proceeding in sufficient
detail to inform the public of the nature of the proceeding and the
relief sought by the initiator of the proceeding.
(3) The location of the property involved, its area, the
name of the owner and the file or case number of the proceeding and
the name of the governmental body before which such proceeding is
to be conducted.
(4) Any other information deemed necessary by the Director
of Planning to adequately inform the public of the proceeding.
C. Mailing. Except in cases of a proposed amendment to
the text of this chapter or a proposed sectional or comprehensive
Zoning Map amendment, whenever the application of this chapter requires
the holding of a public hearing, the governmental body conducting
such hearing shall give at least 15 days' notice of the time and place
of such hearing, to be mailed by regular United States mail, first
class postage prepaid, to the initiator of the proceeding and to the
owners of all property contiguous to the property with which the hearing
is concerned and of all properties opposite said property, measured
at right angles to any intervening road or body of water less than
1,000 feet in width. Said mailed notice shall be directed to the address
to which the real estate tax bill for the property is sent. Said notice
shall contain the same information as the published notice required
by this section of this chapter. Notification of property owners shall
not be required for proposed sectional or comprehensive map amendment
procedures or for proposed amendments to the ordinance text. Failure
of a person to receive the notice prescribed in this section shall
not impair the validity of the hearing.
No building, structure, land or part thereof
shall hereafter be used, occupied, altered, erected, constructed or
reconstructed, unless in conformity with this chapter. Activities
not in compliance with this chapter shall be expressly prohibited.
It is the intention of this chapter that it be interpreted as excluding
any use that is not expressly permitted whether as a permitted, accessory
or special exception use.
Essential services shall be permitted in any
district, it being the intent hereof to exempt such essential services
from the application of this chapter.
[Amended 9-14-2004 by Bill No. 2004-12]
A. Except as provided for below in Subsection
B, this chapter shall apply to all lands, structures and buildings within Dorchester County, including all submerged lands, water areas and islands, but not including lands, buildings, waters and properties lying within the zoning jurisdiction of the county's incorporated municipalities, unless a municipality has, by resolution, requested the county to exercise such authority over its jurisdiction and the County Council, by resolution, have accepted such authority, in which case this chapter shall also apply to all lands, buildings, waters and property within such requesting municipality.
B. This chapter shall not apply to:
(1) Land, structures and buildings owned by the County
Council of Dorchester County or by any agency of the county, including
the Dorchester County Board of Education.
(2) Land, structures and buildings leased to the County
Council of Dorchester County or by any agency of the county, including
the Dorchester Board of Education, for so long as such lease is in
effect.
(3) Land, structures and buildings under contract with
the County Council of Dorchester County or by any agency of the county,
including the Dorchester County Board of Education, to provide a public
service for so long as such contract is in effect.