[Adopted 12-19-2002 by Ord. No. O-02-11 (Ch. 37, Art. III,
of the 1997 Town Code)]
For the purposes of this article, the following terms shall
be defined as follows:
Includes all artificial constructs of materials placed in,
on or under the road, including the placement of natural items in
a particular order.
All public roads which have been developed and opened to
the public for common access and traversal. Open roads include all
public roads which have been developed with gravel, asphalt or concrete.
Open roads shall include public roads which have been developed but
which are temporarily blockaded by a traffic control device or other
means of restricting the public access to the road, often based upon
time, manner and method.
Include, but shall not be limited to, all public roads, highways,
streets, alleys, ways, courses, sidewalks, or rights-of-way. Public
roads shall include the entire right-of-way for opened, developed
roads.
All public roads which have never been developed or opened
to the public for common access and traversal, yet remain platted
right-of-ways which the Town could, at some future date, develop into
an open road. Unopened roads do not include public roads or portions
thereof which have been formally abandoned by the Town through a road
closing ordinance, as those roads are no longer public roads.
Except as specifically provided in this article, it shall be
unlawful to place, construct, or maintain improvements to real property
on or under the public roads of Chesapeake Beach, Maryland.
Improvements placed, constructed, or maintained in strict accordance with the following shall constitute exceptions to the general prohibition of § 240-5:
A.
A public works agreement with the Town of Chesapeake Beach, Maryland.
B.
A license or easement agreement executed by the Town of Chesapeake
Beach, Maryland.
C.
A franchise granted by the Town of Chesapeake Beach, Maryland.
D.
Improvements specifically authorized pursuant to other provisions
of the Town Code of Chesapeake Beach, state, or federal law if said
law provides that permission of the municipal officials is unnecessary
to allow such improvements to be placed, constructed or maintained
on public roads or rights-of-way.
E.
Improvements made by, or under the direction of, the Town of Chesapeake
Beach, Maryland, whether made by Town personnel or independent contractors.
A.
Property owners who own land adjacent to a public road may petition
the Town to seek permission to construct certain improvements in,
on or under a public road, and the Mayor may grant said permission,
upon all of the following conditions being met:
(1)
The petitioner completes and submits to the Mayor an application in the form required by § 240-8.
(2)
The petitioner establishes to the satisfaction of the Town that petitioner
has legal title to property adjacent to the public road.
(3)
The Mayor determines, in his sole and absolute discretion, that it
is in the public interest to allow such improvements.
(6)
The petitioners agree to be responsible for all costs associated
with the placement and construction of the proposed improvements.
For some improvements, maintenance obligations may be required of
the petitioners.
(7)
The petitioners agree to hold harmless and indemnify the Town of
Chesapeake Beach, Maryland from all losses, damages and claims made
against it, arising from proposed improvements.
B.
Nothing in this section shall remove the necessity of the petitioner
obtaining all other permits required for the construction of an improvement,
including but not limited to any zoning permits and building permits.
C.
Certain improvements must be, at the discretion of the Mayor, dedicated
to public use and ownership after construction.
A.
A petition to allow improvements in, on or under a public road required by § 240-6 shall be made in writing, shall be signed and dated by all petitioners, and shall include the following information:
(1)
The name, telephone number and property address of the petitioners.
(2)
An accurate identification of the public road upon which the petitioners wish to place improvements, including an identification of whether the public road is opened or unopened as defined by § 240-4.
(3)
A map or drawing sufficient in scale and detail to identify the public
road's connections to other public roads, so that access to the
public road from other public roads can be readily determined.
(4)
A list of all property owners, and their addresses, who own property
adjacent to the public road between the closest access points which
connect the subject public road to other public roads.
(5)
A description of the requested improvements and the reasons why the
petitioner(s) seeks to place, construct or maintain such improvements
in the public road.
(6)
Two sets of plans, of black or blue line on white stock, which show
the improvements to be placed, constructed or maintained on the public
road. The plans must:
(a)
Be drawn to scale and be accurately dimensioned.
(b)
Show parcel dimensions with bearings, distances, and showing
any easements. Physical reference points for location of property
lines should be identified.
(c)
Show existing and proposed topographical contours within 30
feet of the proposed improvements, to an accuracy that is available
from the topographical records of Calvert County, Maryland.
(d)
Show road right-of-way lines, curblines or pavement edge, curb
cuts, and sidewalks.
(e)
Show all other improvements within a radius of 30 feet of the
proposed improvements.
(f)
Show the tree trunk location, dripline, circumference and species
of all trees having a trunk circumference of 50 inches (measured 36
inches above grade) within a radius of 30 feet of the proposed improvements.
(g)
Contain detailed drawings of the proposed improvements.
(7)
An identification of whether the petitioner(s) intends the improvements
to become public property.
B.
Petitions shall be filed with the Office of the Mayor in Town Hall.
C.
Petitioners or their agents are encouraged to contact the Town Engineer
prior to submitting the petition, to review the feasibility of the
request, the history of similar proposals, Town policies with respect
to such requests, environmental factors, the required petition data
and information, and procedures to be followed.
A.
To obtain permission for improvements to be located in opened public
roads, petitioners must establish that the improvement meets all of
the following conditions:
(1)
The placement, construction or maintenance of the improvement will
not impede public access to, along or through the public road, including
both pedestrian and vehicular access.
(2)
The placement, construction or maintenance of the improvement shall
be consistent with the Maryland State Highway Manual, as amended from
time to time.
(3)
The improvement cannot include signs for the purpose of facilitating
commerce.
(4)
Stormwater management regulations have been met, if applicable.
(5)
The improvement will not inhibit or interfere with the operation
of any public utility or facility, including but not limited to storm
drains.
(6)
The improvement will not inhibit or interfere with a designated parking
area unless the Mayor determines that the parking area should be redesignated
or removed.
A.
To obtain permission for improvements in unopened public roads, petitioners
must establish that the improvement meets all of the following conditions:
(1)
The placement, construction or maintenance of the improvement will
not prevent public access to, along or through the public road. This
provision is not intended to expand the rights of public access in
the unopened road or to open the road. The public's access to
the road remains subject to the limitations imposed by the Town by
keeping the road unopened.
(2)
Stormwater management regulations have been met, if applicable.
(3)
The improvement will not inhibit or interfere with the operation
of any public utility or facility, including but not limited to storm
drains.
(4)
The improvement will not inhibit or interfere with a designated parking
area unless the Mayor determines that the parking area should be redesignated
or removed.
A.
Petitions received by the Mayor shall be referred to the Town Engineer
and Town Attorney for comments, at the discretion of the Mayor. Upon
a referral to the Town Engineer, the petitioner shall work with the
Town Engineer to assist him or her in identifying all facts necessary
to ensure that the design, construction practices and methods to be
employed are satisfactory and that any maintenance obligations for
the improvements are established. Upon a referral to the Town Attorney,
the Attorney shall prepare the necessary license agreement or easement
agreement.
B.
After comments from the Town Engineer and Town Attorney, if requested, the Mayor shall determine whether the improvement is in the public interest and determine if he or she wishes to approve the proposed improvements and any conditions upon such approval as he or she deems necessary. Said determination shall be provided to the petitioner in writing. All approvals shall include, as a condition, that an agreement required by § 240-12 be approved by the Town Council as set forth in Subsection C below.
C.
For all improvements approved under this section, the petitioner
must execute and deliver a written license agreement or easement agreement
to the Mayor for submission and approval by the Town Council. Upon
the effective date of the approval by the Town Council, the Mayor
shall execute the document and a copy shall be forwarded to the petitioner.
A.
All private improvements in public roads approved under this article
require the petitioner(s) to execute either a license agreement or
an easement agreement, upon a determination of which is most appropriate
by the Town Attorney. Easement agreements shall not be given for any
public road for which the Town has acquired rights-of-way by public
dedication but does not own the fee-simple interest. License agreements
shall be the preferred form of agreement. License agreements shall
be used exclusively when the improvements are to become property dedicated
to the Town after construction.
B.
All easement and license agreements shall identify which party shall
be responsible for maintaining the improvements upon completion. Certain
improvements may require a performance bond and/or a maintenance bond,
as determined by the Mayor. All agreements shall provide for indemnification
and holding the Town harmless from all claims arising from the improvements.
A.
Because of the potential adverse consequences of private development of erosion control and land support improvements on adjacent properties and the public road itself, all improvements designed to provide erosion control or land support functions must, in addition to the requirements of this Article III, meet the requirements of Subsection B.
B.
The Town Engineer must be provided with the following additional
information in order for the petition to be processed:
(1)
For all erosion control devices and retaining walls (over four feet
in height), said improvements are to be designed and sealed by a licensed
professional engineer. The engineer must have experience in the design
of erosion control devices and/or retaining walls, as applicable to
the proposed development. The design must be based upon good engineering
practices and judgment and be designed to protect the health, welfare
and safety of the general public. The engineer must take into consideration
and certify the effect of the proposed erosion control device and/or
retaining wall on the adjacent properties. This certification must
evaluate the impact of erosion and slope failure of and on any adjacent
property for the following potential instances:
(2)
The owner must submit, along with the petition, two sets of design
computations and plans. Chesapeake Beach will review this information
as a condition of approval, but will not certify that the design meets
minimum structural standards as that certification must be made by
the private professional engineer required by this section.
