[Added 10-20-1988 by Ord. No. O-88-11]
Definitions applicable to terms not already contained herein shall be the same as those contained in the Chesapeake Bay Critical Area Criteria, COMAR Section 14.15.01.
AFFORESTATIONThe 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.
ANADROMOUS FISHFish that travel upstream (from their primary habitat in the ocean) to freshwater in order to spawn.
BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES (BMPs)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 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.
BUFFER (spelled with a capital "B")An existing, naturally vegetated area or an area established in vegetation and managed to protect aquatic, wetlands, shoreline and to terrestrial environments from man-made disturbances. In the Critical Area, 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 width to include certain sensitive areas as per requirements established in Chapter
290, Zoning. The Buffer may also be expanded 10 feet beyond the minimum width in conjunction with all development activities to provide an additional building restriction line (which shall include any other building restriction setbacks), at the discretion of the reviewing authority, to provide pollution and sediment control, if necessary, and to prevent incidental grading in the Buffer. Whenever "Buffer" is referred to in this chapter, such Buffer shall not apply to any area that has been exempted pursuant to Section IV, Buffer Exemption, of the Chesapeake Beach Critical Area Protection Program for the Town of Chesapeake Beach, as shown on the Critical Area Overlay Zone Maps, as may be amended from time to time.
[Amended 12-21-1989 by Ord. No. O-89-17]
Boat docking facilities associated with subdivisions and similar residential areas, and with condominium, apartment, and other multiple-family dwelling units. Private individual piers are excluded from this definition.
CONSERVATION EASEMENTA 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.
CRITICAL AREAAll lands and waters defined in §
8-1807 of the Natural Resources Article, Annotated Code of Maryland, including:
A. All waters of and lands under the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries to the head of the 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 of 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 Chesapeake Beach and approved by the Critical Area Commission as specified in §
8-1807 of the Natural Resources Article, Annotated Code of Maryland.
DENSITYThe number of dwelling units per acre of gross area of a development tract.
DEVELOPED WOODLANDSAn area or areas one acre or more in size that predominantly contain trees and natural vegetation and that also include residential, commercial, or industrial structures and uses.
DEVELOPMENT or DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIESAny 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.
DEVELOPMENT PADThe area of a lot, within a larger overall lot area, that is devoted to structures and septic systems. In general, where a development pad is prescribed, the remaining area of the lot must be maintained in natural vegetation.
DRAINAGEWAYSMinor watercourses that are defined either by soil type or by the presence of intermittent or perennial streams of 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 7.5 quadrangle sheets covering the incorporated areas of Chesapeake Beach.
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENTA 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.
EXCLUSIONAn act of the Town Council approved by the Critical Area Commission that excepts an area of Chesapeake Beach from the Zoning Ordinance and Subdivision Regulations applicable only to the Critical Area.
EXEMPTIONAn act of the Town Council approved by the Critical Area Commission that relieves an area of Chesapeake Beach from the Buffer provisions of the Critical Area.
FISHERIES ACTIVITIESCommercial 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, crab shedding, off-loading docks, shellfish culture operations, and shore-based facilities necessary for aquaculture operations.
FORESTA biological community dominated by trees and other woody plants covering a land area of one acre or more. This also includes forests that have been cut but not cleared.
FOREST MANAGEMENTThe protection, manipulation, and utilization of the forest to provide multiple benefits, such as timber harvesting, wildlife habitat, etc.
FOREST PRACTICEThe alteration of the forest either through tree removal or replacement in order to improve the timber, wildlife, recreational, or water quality values.
GRANDFATHEREDDescribes the status accorded certain properties and development activities that are of record prior to the date of adoption of these regulations.
GROWTH ALLOCATIONA. An area of land calculated as 5% of the total resource conservation area of Calvert County, including Chesapeake Beach (excluding tidal wetlands and federally owned land), that the Town may convert to more intense land use management classification to accommodate land development; and
An act of the Town Council, approved by the Critical Area Commission, and pursuant to agreement between Calvert County and the Town, that provides for conversion of a property or properties located in Resource Conservation Areas (RCAs) and/or Limited Development Areas (LDAs) in the Critical Area District to another land use management classification that allows an increase in the permitted density.
HIGHLY ERODIBLE SOILSSoils with a slope greater than 15% or soils with a K value greater than 0.35 and slopes greater than 5%.
HYDRIC SOILSSoils that are wet frequently enough to periodically produce anaerobic conditions, thereby influencing the species composition or growth, or both, of plants on those soils.
LAND CLEARINGAny activity that removes the vegetative ground cover.
MARINAAny facility for the mooring, berthing, storing, or securing of watercraft, but not including community piers, private or individual piers, and other noncommercial boat docking and storage facilities.
NATURAL FEATURESComponents and processes present in or produced by nature, including but not limited to soil types, geology, slopes, vegetation, surface water, drainage patterns, aquifer, recharge areas, climate, floodplains, aquatic life, and wildlife.
NONTIDAL WETLANDSRefers to lands in the Critical Area (excluding tidal wetlands regulated under Title
9 of the Natural Resources Article, Annotated Code of Maryland), farm ponds, and other man-made bodies of water whose purpose is to impound water for agriculture, water supply, recreation, or waterfowl habitat where the water table is usually at or near the surface, or lands where the soil or substrate is covered by shallow water at some time during the growing season, and that are usually characterized by one or both of the following:
A. At least periodically, the lands support predominantly hydrophytic vegetation; and/or
The substrate is predominantly undrained hydric soils.
OFFSETSStructures or actions that compensate for undesirable impacts.
OPEN SPACELand and water areas retained for use as active or passive recreation areas in an essentially underdeveloped state.
OPEN WATERTidal waters of the state that do not contain tidal wetlands and/or submerged aquatic vegetation.
PHYSIOGRAPHIC FEATURESThe soils, topography, land slope and aspect, and local climate that influence the form and species composition of plant communities.
REDEVELOPMENTThe process of substantially altering previously developed property by the improvement or alteration of the property in a manner that increases the value of the property by more than 50% or that increases the total impervious area of the property by more than 25%.
REFORESTATIONThe establishment of a forest through artificial reproduction or natural regeneration.
SHORE EROSION CONTROL MEASURESAny number of structural and nonstructural methods or techniques for controlling the erosion of shoreline areas. More specifically the term refers to:
A. Nonstructural: creation of an intertidal march fringe channelward of the existing bank by one of the following methods:
(1) 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.
Structural:
(1) Revetment: facing laid on a sloping shore to reduce wave energy and contain shore materials;
Bulkhead: excluded due to adverse impacts to the near-shore marine environment, except in the following special cases:
(a) Where erosion impact is severe and high bluffs and/or dense woodland preclude land access, bulkheads can be installed by shallow-draft barge and pile driver; and
In narrow, man-made lagoons for activities that require frequent interchange between boats and land.
SOIL CONSERVATION AND WATER QUALITY PLANSLand use plans for farms that show farmers how to make the best possible use of their soil and water resources while protecting and conserving those resources for the future. A plan is a document containing a map and related plans that indicate:
A. How the landowner plans to treat a farm unit;
Which best management practices the landowner plans to install to treat undesirable conditions; and
The schedule for applying best management practices.
TIDAL WETLANDSState 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 that are defined as any land not considered "state wetlands" bordering or lying beneath tidal waters, that are subject to regular or periodic tidal action and support aquatic growth. Private wetlands includes 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, not influenced by the wind or any other circumstance.
The existing configuration of the earth's surface, including the relative relief, elevations, and position of land features.
TRIBUTARY STREAMSPerennial and intermittent streams in the Critical Area that are so noted on the most recent U.S. Geological Survey 7.5 foot topographic quadrangle maps (scale 1:24,000) or on more detailed maps or studies.
WATER-DEPENDENT FACILITIESStructures or works associated with industrial, maritime, recreational, educational, or fisheries activities that require location at or near the shoreline within the Buffer.
WATER COMPOUNDA body of water, such as a pond or lake, confined by a dam, dike, or floodgates or other man-made barrier that:
A. Captures drainage from an area in excess of 640 acres; or
Has a normal depth of water greater than 15 feet; or
Has a normal surface area of water in excess of 12 acres.
WILDLIFE CORRIDORA strip of land having vegetation that provides habitat and a safe passageway for wildlife.