A.
Purpose. The purpose of site plan review is to ensure
that certain uses and associated development conform to the requirements
of this chapter.
B.
When required.
(1)
A site plan is generally not required for minor kinds
of development. Minor development means, generally:
(2)
A site plan is required for the following:
(a)
Any use in the following use categories identified
on the Table of Permitted Uses:[1]
[1]
Aquaculture.
[2]
Commercial retail.
[3]
Commercial, business and personal services.
[4]
Industrial.
[5]
Institutional.
[6]
Maritime.
[7]
Recreational.
[8]
Utilities.
[1]
Editor's Note: See the Table of Permitted
Uses by Zoning District, located at the end of this chapter.
C.
Types of site plan.
(1)
There are two types of site plan: a preliminary site
plan and a full site plan.
(2)
Based on the nature, extent and potential impacts
of the proposed development and the level of review that is needed,
the Director of Planning shall determine whether a preliminary site
plan or full site plan shall be submitted.
(3)
When no site plan is required because of the minor nature of the development pursuant to § 155-41B(1), the Director of Planning, with the concurrence of appropriate agencies and the Chairman of the Planning Commission, may for good reason require that a preliminary site plan be filed for approval by the Planning Commission.
(4)
The Board of Appeals may require that a preliminary
site plan or a full site plan be submitted as a condition of approval
for a matter under its consideration.
D.
Waiver of site plan requirement. Upon written application
stating the reasons and justification for the request, the Director
of Planning, with the concurrence of appropriate agencies and the
Chairman of the Planning Commission, may waive the requirement to
submit a site plan for review. Any decision to waive the requirement
to submit a site plan shall be made in writing stating the reasons
for the decision.
E.
Planning Commission review of site plan. The Planning
Commission shall review the site plan to determine compliance with
the minimum requirements of this chapter. In addition, where the Planning
Commission determines that the purposes of this chapter will be advanced,
they may require the applicant to meet additional requirements which
address concerns relating to:
(1)
Internal vehicular and pedestrian traffic patterns.
(2)
Ingress and egress, particularly on limited access
roads and major collector roads as identified in the Dorchester County
Subdivision Regulations.[2] The Planning Commission may limit the number of access
points along these types of roads, particularly if the property is
also served by another road of a lower classification.
(3)
Landscaping.
(4)
Fencing and vegetative buffers serving as visual and
noise screening.
(5)
Location of outdoor storage of goods and wares for
sale, supplies, raw materials and finished products.
(6)
Outdoor lighting and signage shall not affect public
safety with regard to visibility.
A.
Preparation. Preliminary site plans are not required
to be prepared by a professional engineer, architect, landscape architect
or land surveyor.
B.
Number of copies; drafting standards. The applicant
shall submit three copies of the preliminary site plan to the Director
according to the following drafting standards:
C.
Information required. A preliminary site plan shall
show the following information:
(1)
General.
(a)
Site name and plan number as assigned by the
Director.
(b)
Name, address and telephone number of the owner.
(c)
Name, address and telephone number of the person
preparing the plan.
(d)
Tax Map, block and parcel number.
(e)
Zoning classification.
(f)
Date, North point and scale.
(g)
Signature block for Chairman of the Planning
Commission.
(2)
Existing features and operation.
(3)
Proposed features and operation.
(a)
Description of proposed uses, including, where
applicable, such information as hours of operation and number of employees,
occupants and customers.
(b)
Any areas of proposed grading.
(c)
The size and arrangement of buildings and structures.
(d)
The location of any vehicular roads, drives,
entrances and exits.
(e)
The location of pedestrian walkways.
(f)
Off-street parking and loading spaces, indicating the type of surfacing, and a schedule showing the number of parking spaces provided and the number required in accordance with Article XI of this chapter.
(g)
The location, type, size and height of proposed
fences, walls, screen planting, landscaping and buffer areas.
(h)
The location and size of outdoor storage areas.
(i)
The location, size, height, construction materials,
illumination and orientation of all signs.
(j)
The location and design for outdoor lighting
facilities.
(k)
Other information that will be needed to determine
whether the plan complies with any supplementary regulations for the
use.
(l)
Any other information deemed necessary by the
Director of Planning or the Planning Commission to determine the compliance
of the use or development with the requirements of this chapter.
B.
Number of copies; drafting standards. The applicant
shall submit seven or nine copies of the full site plan, as applicable,
to the Director, according to the following drafting standards:
(1)
The plan shall be drawn in black ink at a scale of
one inch equals 50 feet, one inch equals 100 feet, or one inch equals
200 feet.
(2)
The dimensions shall be in feet and decimal parts
to the nearest hundredth of a foot, and bearings shall be in degrees,
minutes and seconds, to the nearest 30 seconds, on the site boundary.
(3)
Each sheet shall be numbered and shall show its relationship
to the total number of sheets.
(4)
The plan shall bear an adequate legend, to indicate
clearly which features are existing and which are proposed.
(5)
Where any revision is made or when the plan is a revision
of a previously approved plan, dotted lines shall be used to show
features or locations to be abandoned, and solid lines shall be used
to show proposed features.
(6)
The boundary line of the site shall be shown as a
solid heavy line.
C.
Information required. A full site plan shall show
the following information:
(1)
General.
(a)
Site name and plan number as assigned by the
Director.
(b)
Name, address and telephone number of the owner.
(c)
Name, address and telephone number of the person
preparing the plan.
(d)
Tax Map, block and parcel number.
(e)
Zoning classification.
(f)
Current designation of the site in the Comprehensive
Water and Sewerage Plan.
(g)
Date, North point and scale.
(h)
Deed reference.
(i)
A location map showing the relation of the site
to adjoining property and to all streets and municipal boundaries
within the vicinity of the site.
(j)
A list of previous subdivisions or site plans
containing the site.
(k)
Signature block for the Chairman of the Planning
Commission.
(2)
Existing features and operation.
(a)
Physical and cultural features.
[1]
Description of existing uses.
[2]
The location, names and widths of streets or
roads; the location of property lines and the names of the owners;
and the location of wells, sanitary sewers, storm drains and similar
features within 100 feet of the site.
[3]
The location, size and ownership of all utilities
and any rights-of-way within the property.
[4]
Layout of all buildings and structures.
[5]
Historic resources identified on the Maryland
Historical Trust's Inventory of Historic Properties.
[6]
Burial sites.
(b)
Environmental features and information.
[1]
The topography on two-foot or five-foot contours.
[2]
Steep slopes.
[3]
The outline of all wooded areas, marshy areas
and areas subject to flooding.
[4]
Intermittent and perennial streams.
[5]
Nontidal wetlands and required buffers.
[6]
Habitats of threatened and endangered species.
[7]
Forest conservation plan, if required.
(3)
Proposed features and operation.
(a)
Description of proposed uses, including, where
applicable, such information as hours of operation and number of employees,
occupants and customers.
(b)
The size and arrangement of all buildings and
structures, including the proposed density of any residential units.
(c)
The location and dimension of vehicular roads,
drives, entrances, exits, traffic circulation patterns and acceleration
and deceleration lanes.
(d)
The location and dimension of pedestrian entrances,
exits, sidewalks and walkways.
(e)
All off-street parking and loading spaces, indicating the type of surfacing, size, angle of stall, widths of aisles and a schedule showing the number of parking spaces provided and the number required in accordance with Article XI of this chapter.
(f)
The location, size and treatment of all areas
for loading and unloading, outdoor storage areas and refuse collection.
(g)
The location, dimensions, arrangements and proposed
use of all open spaces, yards and buffer yards.
(h)
The location, type, size and height of proposed
fences, walls, screen planting and buffer areas.
(i)
The location of landscaped areas showing the
design and the varieties of plant materials to be planted and provision
for maintenance.
(j)
The location and size of all utilities, including
fire hydrants if required.
(k)
Proposed grading with all pertinent elevations,
proposed contours, drainage areas and stormwater management measures.
(l)
Erosion and sediment control measures.
(m)
The location, size, height, construction material,
illumination and orientation of all signs.
(n)
The location and design of outdoor lighting.
(o)
Other information that will be needed to determine
whether the plan complies with any supplementary regulations for the
use.
(p)
Any other information deemed necessary by the
Director of Planning or the Planning Commission to determine the compliance
of the proposed development with the requirements of this chapter.
Such information may include studies, assessments and analyses of
the impacts of the following:
A.
Director's check. The Director shall check the submission
for completeness. If the submission is incomplete, he shall immediately
return it to the applicant indicating the deficiencies, in writing.
If the submission is complete, he shall accept the plan, application
form and fees, if any.
B.
Distribution and review.
(1)
Preliminary site plans. The Director and the Planning
Commission only shall review preliminary site plans. Agency review
is not required.
(2)
Full site plans. Upon acceptance of a complete submission,
the Director shall distribute copies to the following agencies:
(a)
Planning Commission: two copies.
(b)
County Engineer: two copies.
(c)
Soil Conservation District, if required: one
copy.
(d)
Dorchester County Health Department: two copies.
(e)
Sanitary Commission, if applicable: one copy.
(f)
Recreation and Parks Board, if applicable: one
copy.
(g)
State Fire Marshal, if applicable: one copy.
C.
Planning Commission review and action.
(1)
The Director shall present the full site plan or preliminary
site plan together with reports submitted by review agencies to the
Planning Commission at a meeting within 60 days of accepting a complete
submission.
(2)
The Commission may accept additional comments from
the applicant and the public at the meeting.
(3)
The Commission, either on the same day or at least
within 30 days following the Director's presentation, shall:
(a)
Evaluate the applicant's submission, reports
from the review agencies and any other information submitted.
(b)
Determine whether the plan meets the objectives
and requirements of this chapter and other regulations and ordinances.
(c)
Inform the applicant, in writing, of its decision,
including required changes in the plan, if any, and the reasons for
its decision.
(4)
The Commission may at its discretion refer any new
information received at the meeting for additional agency consideration.
A.
Effect of approval. No building permit shall be issued
until a required preliminary site plan or full site plan is approved.
B.
File copy. A copy of the site plan shall be put on
file by the Director.
C.
Effective period of approval.
(1)
The approval of a site plan shall be effective for
one year from the date of approval by the Planning Commission.
(2)
If the owner does not apply for a building permit
within one year, the site plan shall expire and a new site plan submission
will be required.
(3)
The Planning Commission may grant an extension to
the effective period of approval. All requests for an extension shall
be made to the Director, in writing, prior to the expiration of the
period prescribed. Any extension request that is granted shall not
relieve the applicant from complying with all regulations that may
be in effect at the time a building permit application is submitted.
D.
Appeals. Any person allegedly aggrieved by any decision
of the Planning Commission or its staff in the processing of a site
plan has the right to appeal such decision to the Board of Appeals.
A.
Any preliminary or full site plan may be revised in
the same manner as originally approved.
B.
Based on the nature of the revision, the Director
shall determine how the revision to the originally approved plans
shall be accomplished in order to meet the purpose of site plan review.
This may include revisions to the original site plan sheets, or additional
or replacement plan sheets as necessary.
C.
Because of the nature and extent of the revisions,
the age of the original site plan or other circumstances, the Director
of Planning may require that a completely new preliminary site plan
or full site plan be submitted for approval subject to the current
zoning regulations.
A.
Corner lot. On a corner lot in any district, nothing
shall be erected, placed, planted or allowed to grow in such a manner
as to impede vision between a height of 21/2 and 10 feet above the
center-line grades of the intersecting roads in the area bounded by
the road rights-of-way adjoining such corner lot and a line joining
points along said road rights-of-way 50 feet from their point of intersection.
A.
Entrance size. Any lot with access on a county road,
except single-family and two-family dwellings, manufactured homes
and farms without commercial enterprises, must provide one twenty-five-foot-
to thirty-five-foot-wide entrance for two-way traffic, or two twenty-foot-
to thirty-five-foot-wide entrances for one-way traffic.
B.
Access to sites with multiple uses.
(1)
Lots or sites containing more than one use, including
apartment or single-family attached developments, planned industrial
parks, planned unit developments, shopping centers, etc., shall be
served by internal access roads and shall not directly access adjacent
county or state roads.
(2)
Internal access roads shall have not more than two
entrances onto any county road.
A.
Applicability. This section does not apply to the
planting of vegetated buffers, forests or landscaping done pursuant
to the Dorchester County Forest Conservation Program.
B.
Required landscaping. When landscaping or the planting
of a vegetated buffer is required as a condition of this chapter,
or as a condition of approval by the Board of Appeals or Planning
Commission, the planting or landscaping must either be:
