A.
Submission procedure.
(1)
If more than 500 trips per day are proposed for a
residential subdivision or special development, a concept plan shall
be submitted to the Department of Planning and Zoning.
B.
Information required. At a minimum, the concept plan
shall include all items as specified on the most recent checklist
provided by the Department of Planning and Zoning which is incorporated
by reference and made a part hereof as though it were fully stated
herein.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: The checklist is on file in
the County offices.
C.
Review and approval procedure.
(3)
concept plans. Concept plans are valid for a period
of 5 years or for the validity period of any subsequent preliminary
plan approval. Upon expiration of any concept plan approval, a new
concept plan must be submitted to the Department following all the
applicable procedures prior to submitting a preliminary plan.
A.
Submission procedure.
(1)
Preliminary plans and site plans shall be submitted
to the Department of Planning and Zoning for all proposed subdivisions.
Preliminary plans for residential subdivisions of more than 5 lots
and commercial/industrial subdivision and site plans for nonresidential
and multifamily housing uses shall be distributed to the members of
the Development Advisory Committee for review.
B.
Information required. At a minimum, preliminary plans
and site plans shall include all items as specified on the most recent
checklist provided by the Department of Planning and Zoning which
is incorporated by reference and made a part hereof as though it were
fully stated herein.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: The checklist is on file in
the County offices.
C.
Review and approval procedure.
(1)
The Development Advisory Committee (DAC) is established
to advise the Director of Planning regarding major subdivisions and
other large-scale developments. Representatives from County agencies
shall be members of the Development Advisory Committee. Each County
agency that is represented on the Development Advisory Committee shall
submit oral or written comment at each Committee meeting expressing
the agency's recommendation or opinion regarding each development
plan reviewed by the Committee. Members of state agencies and other
supporting agencies in the region will be provided copies of plans
and an opportunity to submit oral or written comments expressing the
agency's recommendation or opinion regarding each development plan,
when appropriate.
(a)
Membership shall include, but not be limited
to:
(b)
State agencies and other supporting agencies
that will receive copies of plans submitted to DAC for review and
comment include, but are not limited to:
(c)
If a major subdivision or other large-scale
development is proposed within a 1-mile radius of a municipality,
the following departments or entities within that municipality shall
receive copies of the plan and shall receive notice of the DAC meeting
for the purpose of providing an opportunity to provide oral or written
comments regarding the plan:
(2)
The Development Advisory Committee shall adopt bylaws
to facilitate the review process. Meetings of the Development Advisory
Committee shall be open to the general public and include an opportunity
for comments from attending citizens. Plans submitted for DAC shall
be available for review by the public in a timely and convenient manner.
(3)
Comments regarding the plans shall be provided to
the Department of Planning and Zoning in writing and discussed at
the Development Advisory Committee meeting.
(4)
At least 2 weeks prior to a Development Advisory Committee meeting
on a preliminary plan or site plan, the Director of Planning shall
ensure that the property that is the subject of the plan has been
posted with a notice stating the date, time and location of the meeting
and the telephone number for the Department of Planning and Zoning.
The notice shall be on a sign measuring at least 2 feet by 3 feet.
The notice shall be conspicuously placed on the property near the
right-of-way line of each public road that the property has frontage
on at such locations so that the notice shall be visible, if possible,
from each public road on with the property fronts. The Department
of Planning and Zoning may assess a fee, not to exceed the cost of
materials and labor for printing and posting, to the applicant. Following
the posting, the applicant shall use reasonable efforts to maintain
the notice in a condition visible to the public until the date of
the meeting.
[Amended by Bill No. 14-26]
(5)
Notice of the date, time and place of the Development
Advisory Committee meeting, as well as the information about the type
of subdivision, proposed use and number of units requested in the
plan shall be published once a week for 2 consecutive weeks in at
least 2 newspapers generally circulated in Harford County. The second
publication shall not be less than 1 week before the meeting. The
Department of Planning and Zoning shall use reasonable efforts to
contact by certified mail each adjoining property owner with a notice
stating the date, time and place of the meeting. If an adjoining property
is a condominium regime established under state law, notice of the
meeting may be send to the representative of the unit owners. The
applicant shall reimburse the County for the cost of the mailing.
(6)
The Department of Planning and Zoning shall provide
a citizen information guide to inform citizens of the rules of procedure
of the Development Advisory Committee, the purpose of the DAC meeting
and those issues generally discussed at the meeting. The information
guide shall be mailed by the Department of Planning and Zoning to
any adjoining property owner who receives a notice about a Development
Advisory Committee meeting. The Department of Planning and Zoning
shall provide the information guide free of charge to any citizen
who requests a copy.
(7)
Any citizen attending the Development Advisory Committee
meeting may make any comment regarding a development plan and each
comment shall be addressed by a County agency. If a representative
of a County agency is unable to address the comment at the meeting,
the citizen's name and address shall be- obtained, and a representative
of the appropriate County agency shall address the citizen's comment
by written response to the Director of Planning within 2 weeks of
the meeting. The Director of Planning shall be responsible for ensuring
that all responses are forwarded to the appropriate citizens. The
Director of Planning shall be responsible for ensuring that the responses
are forwarded to the appropriate citizens within 30 calendar days
after the meeting.
(8)
A project designated for fast track review by the
County Executive shall be exempt from the notice and posting requirements
of this section provided that:
(a)
The proposed use is not one of the uses listed
in the Harford County Zoning Code in the Permitted Use Charts under
the categories of amusements, motor vehicles and related services,
residential and retail trade;
[Amended by Bill No. 09-32]
(b)
The Director of Planning ensures that a notice
stating the date, time and place of the DAC meeting for the project
is sent to the County Council President at least 1 week prior to the
scheduled date of the meeting; and
(c)
The Director of Planning ensures that a notice
stating the date, time and place of the DAC meeting for the project
is posted at a convenient public location at or near the site of the
meeting.
(9)
If the Director of Planning determines that there
has been substantial compliance with the notice and posting requirements,
approval of a development plan may not be revoked by the County on
the basis of a failure to strictly comply with the posting and notice
requirements of these subsections.
(10)
Approval of the preliminary plan and/or site plan shall be set forth in a letter mailed by the Department of Planning and Zoning. This letter may include such conditions as are necessary to meet the standards of the Zoning Code, Subdivision Regulations and Chapter 131, Floodplain Management Regulations, and must be countersigned by the developer and returned to the Department of Planning and Zoning within 60 calendar days. For any plan approval located within the Chesapeake Bay Critical Area Overlay District, the final signed letter and the approved plan shall be sent to the Critical Area Commission within five days of receipt of the countersigned letter.
[Amended by Bill No. 11-06]
(12)
Tenure of preliminary and site plans.
[Amended by Bill Nos. 11-13; 13-37]
(a)
A preliminary plan approval is valid for 3 years. The Department of Planning and Zoning may grant an extension of the plan in accordance with § 268-19C(13) (Review and approval procedure) of the Subdivision Regulations, as amended.
(b)
Site plans shall be valid for 2 years. A one-time, 1-year extension
may be granted if the site plan is in compliance with applicable adequate
public facilities standards, upon a written request for an extension
filed with the Department of Planning and Zoning at least 60 calendar
days before the date on which the plan's previous approval will expire.
(13)
Extension of preliminary plan. A written request for an extension
of a preliminary plan must be filed with the Department of Planning
and Zoning at least 60 calendar days before the date on which the
plan's previous approval will expire. A one-time, 2-year extension
of the preliminary plan may be granted by the Director of Planning
subject to the following conditions:
[Amended by Bill Nos. 09-32; 13-37]
(a)
The subdivider has executed an agreement with the County for
off-site and/or on-site facilities improvements beyond the required,
standard on-site roads and utilities agreements, and
(b)
A performance bond for the additional/agreed to facilities improvements
has been posted by the subdivider, or
(14)
Upon expiration of any preliminary plan approval,
any remaining unrecorded lots on any portion of the area covered by
the preliminary plan shall be deemed null and void and shall meet
the requirements established in the Zoning Code prior to again obtaining
preliminary approval.
(15)
Phasing for preliminary plans. For any development
exceeding 200 lots or units, a phasing schedule shall be submitted
by the subdivider. Such phasing schedule shall be incorporated in
the preliminary plan approval.
(16)
Waiver of site plan application. The Director
of Planning may waive the requirement for site plan approval where
there is a change in use or occupancy and no extensive construction
or improvement is proposed. The waiver may be granted only upon a
determination by the Director of Planning that the use will not affect
existing drainage, circulation, relationship of buildings to each
other, landscaping, buffering, lighting and other considerations of
site plan approval, and the existing facilities do not require upgraded
or additional site improvements. The application for a waiver of site
plan shall include a discussion of the prior use of the site, the
proposed use and its impact.
A.
Prior to submission of a concept plan, preliminary
plan or site plan, for any developments generating 250 or more trips
per day, as determined by the most recent version of the I.T.E. Trip
Generation Manual, or determined to be a nontransient noncommunity
water system, the developer shall hold a community meeting.
B.
The community meeting shall be held near the site
of the proposed development, preferably in a public or institutional
building with adequate parking. The meeting shall be scheduled to
start between 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. on a weekday evening, or scheduled
between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on a Saturday, the meeting shall not
be scheduled within 5 calendar days before or after a federal holiday.
[Amended by Bill No. 14-33]
C.
At least 2 weeks prior to the community meeting, the
developer shall ensure that notice of the date, time and location
of the community meeting, as well as information about the type of
subdivision, including the proposed number of units, has been provided
to the following:
D.
At least 2 weeks prior to the community meeting, the
developer shall ensure that the property that is the subject of the
proposed development is posted with a notice, obtained from the Department
of Planning and Zoning, stating the date, time and location of the
community meeting. The notice shall briefly describe the proposed
development, specifying the type of subdivision and number of proposed
units, and include the Department's website address. The notice shall
be on a sign measuring at least 2 feet by 3 feet. The Department of
Planning and Zoning may assess a fee, not to exceed the cost of materials
and labor for printing and posting, to the applicant. The notice shall
be conspicuously placed on the property, near the right-of-way line
of each public road that the property has frontage on, at such location
that the notice shall be visible, if possible, from each public road
on which the property fronts. Following the posting, the developer
shall use reasonable efforts to maintain the notice in a condition
visible to the public until the date of the community meeting.
[Amended by Bill No. 14-26]
E.
At least 2 weeks prior to the community meeting, the
developer shall ensure that notice of the community meeting is published
once a week for 2 consecutive weeks, in at least 2 newspapers generally
circulated in Harford County.
F.
The purpose of the community meeting is for the developer
to provide information to the community regarding the proposed development
and to allow citizens to ask questions and to make comments and suggestions.
G.
At the community meeting, the developer shall present
draft plans for the site layout.
H.
The developer shall ensure that a certification of
mailed meeting notices and a certification of the newspaper advertisements
are included with the preliminary plan or site plan when the plan
is submitted to the County.
I.
Within 45 calendar days of the community meeting,
the developer shall submit a list of attendees, a transcript prepared
by a court reporter of the community meeting, and the developers response
to the County Council and to the Department.
[Amended by Bill No. 14-33]
J.
If the developer does not submit a concept plan, preliminary
plan or site plan to the Department within 1 year of the community
meeting, or if the plan submitted is substantially different from
the plan presented at the community meeting, another community meeting
and notification, as specified under this section, shall be required.
