The following words have the following meanings for the purposes
of implementing the Critical Area Ordinance and the Princess Anne
Zoning Ordinance,[1] and the singular always includes the plural, and vice
versa, except where such construction would be unreasonable:
The act of putting an end to a land alteration or development
activity or reducing the degree or intensity of the alteration or
activity.
A structure that is detached from the principal structure,
located on the same lot and clearly incidental and subordinate to
a principal structure, or if there is no principal structure on the
lot, a structure that is customarily incidental and subordinate to
a principal structure.
Newly constructed area that increases the size of a structure.
The establishment of a tree crop on an area from which it
has always or very long been absent, or the planting of open areas
which are not presently in forest cover.
A nonpossessory interest in land which restricts the conversion
of use of the land, preventing nonagricultural uses.
All methods of production and management of livestock, crops,
vegetation, and soil. This includes, but is not limited to, the related
activities of tillage, fertilization, pest control, harvesting, and
marketing. It also includes, but is not limited to, the activities
of feeding, housing, and maintaining of animals such as cattle, dairy
cows, sheep, goats, hogs, horses, and poultry and handling their by-products.
Fish that travel upstream (from their primary habitat in
the ocean) to freshwater in order to spawn.
Those streams that are tributary to the Chesapeake Bay and
Atlantic Coastal Bays in which the spawning of anadromous species
of fish (e.g., rockfish, striped bass, yellow perch, white perch,
shad, and river herring) occurs or has occurred. The streams are identified
by the Department of Natural Resources.
Farming or culturing of finfish, shellfish, other aquatic
plants or animals, or both, in lakes, streams, inlets, estuaries,
and other natural or artificial water bodies or impoundments; activities
include hatching, cultivating, planting, feeding, raising, and harvesting
of aquatic plants and animals and the maintenance and construction
of necessary equipment, buildings, and growing areas; and cultivation
methods include, but are not limited to, seed or larvae development
and grow-out facilities, fish ponds, shellfish rafts, rack and longlines,
seaweed floats and the culture of clams and oysters on tidelands and
subtidal areas. For the purpose of this definition, related activities
such as wholesale and retail sales, processing and product storage
facilities are not considered aquacultural practices.
Conservation practices or systems of practices and management
measures that control soil loss and reduce water quality degradation
caused by nutrients, animal waste, toxics 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.
Area that, based on conditions at the time of development,
is immediately landward from mean high water of tidal waterways, the
edge of bank of a tributary stream, or the edge of a tidal wetland;
and the area exists in, or is established in, natural vegetation to
protect a stream, tidal wetland, tidal waters or terrestrial environments
from human disturbance. The Buffer includes an area of at least 100
feet, even if that area was previously disturbed by human activity
or is currently developed, and also includes any expansion for contiguous
sensitive areas, such as a steep slope, hydric soil, highly erodible
soil, nontidal wetland, or a nontidal wetland of special state concern
as defined in COMAR 26.23.01.01.
An area officially mapped by the Town of Princess Anne and
approved by the Critical Area Commission as a Buffer Management Area,
where it has been sufficiently demonstrated that the existing pattern
of residential, industrial, commercial, institutional, or recreational
development prevents the Buffer from fulfilling its water quality
and habitat functions, and where development in accordance with specific
Buffer Management Area provisions can be permitted in the Buffer without
a variance.
Includes a major Buffer management plan, a minor Buffer management
plan, and a simplified Buffer management plan.
A tree that, when mature, commonly reaches a height of at
least 35 feet.
A residential development in which dwelling units are concentrated
in a selected area or selected areas of the development tract so as
to provide natural habitat or other open space uses on the remainder.
Herons, egrets, terns, and glossy ibis. For the purposes
of nesting, these birds congregate (that is "colonize") in relatively
few areas, at which time the regional populations of these species
are highly susceptible to local disturbances.
The Code of Maryland Regulations, as from time to time amended,
including any successor provisions.
The Critical Area Commission for the Chesapeake and Atlantic
Coastal Bays.
Boat-docking facilities associated with subdivisions or similar
residential areas, and with condominium, apartment and other multiple-family
dwelling units. Private piers are excluded from this definition.
A compilation of policy statements, goals, standards, maps
and pertinent data relative to the past, present and future trends
of the local jurisdiction, including, but not limited to, its population,
housing, economics, social patterns, land uses, water resources and
their use, transportation facilities and public facilities prepared
by or for the planning board, agency or office.
A nonpossessory interest in land which restricts the manner
in which the land may be developed in an effort to reserve natural
resources for future use.
A combination of any legal parcel of land or recorded legally
buildable lot into fewer lots or parcels than originally existed.
An application for consolidation may include a subdivision, lot line
abandonment, boundary line adjustment, replatting request, or lot
line adjustment.
All lands and waters defined in § 8-1807 of the
Natural Resources Article, Annotated Code of Maryland. They include:
All waters of and lands under the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic
Coastal Bays and their tributaries to the head of tide as indicated
on state wetland maps;
All state and private wetlands designated under Title 16 of
the Environment Article, Annotated Code of Maryland;
All land and water areas within 1,000 feet beyond the landward
boundaries of state or private wetlands and the heads of tides designated
under Title 16 of the Environment Article, Annotated Code of Maryland;
and
Modification to these areas through inclusions or exclusions
proposed by local jurisdictions and approved by the Commission as
specified in § 8-1807 of the Natural Resources Article,
Annotated Code of Maryland.
The number of dwelling units per acre within a defined and
measurable area.
An area of trees or of trees and natural vegetation that
is interspersed with residential, commercial, industrial or recreational
development.
A person who undertakes development activity as defined in
this chapter; or a person who undertakes development activity as defined
in the criteria of the Commission.
The construction or substantial alteration of residential,
commercial, industrial, institutional or transportation facilities
or structures.
An alteration or change to the land. It includes any amount
of clearing, grading, or construction activity. Disturbance does not
include gardening or maintaining an existing grass lawn.
Forested areas where the occurrence of interior dwelling
birds, during the breeding season, has been demonstrated as a result
of on-site surveys using standard biological survey techniques.
A single unit providing complete, independent living facilities
for at least one person, including permanent provisions for sanitation,
cooking, eating, sleeping, and other activities routinely associated
with daily life. "Dwelling unit" includes living quarters for a domestic
or other employee or tenant, an in-law or accessory apartment, a guesthouse,
or a caretaker residence.
A more or less self-contained biological community, together
with the physical environment in which the community's organisms
occur.
Any species of fish, wildlife, or plants that have been designated
as endangered by regulation by the Department of Natural Resources.
Designation occurs when the continued existence of these species as
viable components of the state's resources are determined to
be in jeopardy. This includes any species determined to be an endangered
species pursuant to the federal Endangered Species Act, 16 U.S.C.
§ 1531 et seq., as amended.
The planting or regeneration of native vegetation throughout
the Buffer.
All increases in stormwater resulting from:
An increase in the imperviousness or lot coverage of the site,
including all additions to buildings, roads, and parking lots;
Changes in permeability caused by compaction during construction
or modifications in contours, including the filling or drainage of
small depression areas;
Alteration of drainageways or regrading of slopes;
Destruction of forest; or
Installation of collection systems to intercept street flows
or to replace swales or other drainageways.
A performance bond, letter of credit, cash deposit, insurance
policy, or other instrument of security acceptable to the Town of
Princess Anne.
Commercial water-dependent fisheries facilities, including
structures for the parking, 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 aquacultural operations.
A biological community dominated by trees and other woody
plants covering a land area of 10,000 square feet or greater. "Forest"
includes areas that have at least 100 trees per acre with at least
50% of those trees having two-inch or greater diameter at 4.5 feet
above the ground and forest areas that have been cut, but not cleared.
"Forest" does not include orchards.
Species of birds which require relatively large forested
tracts in order to breed successfully (for example, various species
of flycatchers, warblers, vireos, and woodpeckers).
The protection, manipulation, and utilization of the forest
to provide multiple benefits, such as timber harvesting, water transpiration,
wildlife habitat, etc.
The Buffer contains as much diverse, native vegetation as
necessary to support a firm and stable riparian habitat capable of
self-sustaining growth and regeneration.
A parcel of land that was created or a lot created through
the subdivision process and recorded as a legally buildable lot prior
to December 1, 1985.
The number of acres of land in the Critical Area that the
Town of Princess Anne may use, or the county may allocate to use,
to create new Intensely Developed Areas and new Limited Development
Areas. Growth allocation is 5% of the total Resource Conservation
Area acreage in Princess Anne at the time the Critical Area Commission
approved Princess Anne's original Critical Area Program, not
including tidal wetlands or land owned by the federal government,
plus additional acres that may be subtracted from the county's
calculated amount (5%) of county Resource Conservation Area that existed
when the Critical Area Commission approved Somerset County's
original Critical Area Program (that the Town may request and the
county may allocate).
A plan that provides for the protection and conservation
of the species and habitats identified as Habitat Protection Areas
in the Critical Area. The plan shall be specific to the site or area
where the species or its habitat is located and shall address all
aspects of a proposed development activity that may affect the continued
presence of the species. These include, but are not limited to, cutting,
clearing, alterations of natural hydrology, and increases in lot coverage.
In developing the plan, an applicant shall coordinate with the Department
of Natural Resources to ensure that the plan is adequate to provide
for long-term conservation and can be effectively implemented on the
specific site.
Those soils with a slope greater than 15%; or those soils
with a K value greater than 0.35 and with slopes greater than 5%
An area of open water and adjacent marshes where waterfowl
gather during migration and throughout the winter season. These areas
are historic in the sense that their location is common knowledge
and because these areas have been used regularly during recent times.
Soils that are wet frequently enough to periodically produce
anaerobic conditions, thereby influencing the species composition
of growth, or both, of plants on those soils.
Those plants cited in "Vascular Plant Species Occurring in
Maryland Wetlands" (Dawson, F. et al., 1985) which are described as
growing in water or on a substrate that is at least periodically deficient
in oxygen as a result of excessive water content (plants typically
found in water habitats).
A father, mother, son, daughter, grandfather, grandmother,
grandson, or granddaughter.
The replacement of a structure with another structure that
is smaller than or identical to the original structure in footprint
area, width, length, and use.
An area of at least 20 acres or the entire upland portion
of the Critical Area within a municipal corporation, whichever is
less, where residential, commercial, institutional, or industrial
developed land uses predominate, and a relatively small amount of
natural habitat occurs. These areas include an area with a housing
density of at least four dwelling units per acre and/or an area with
public water and sewer systems with a housing density of more than
three dwelling units per acre.
A species that is nonnative or alien to the ecosystem under
consideration whose introduction causes or is likely to cause economic
or environmental harm or harm to human health.
The soil erodibility factor in the Universal Soil Loss Equation.
It is a quantitative value that is experimentally determined.
Any activity that removes the vegetative ground cover.
A shrub that, when mature, reaches a height of at least six
feet.
All physical improvements to a property that existed before
Critical Area Commission approval of a local ordinance, or were properly
permitted in accordance with the provisions of the local ordinance
in effect at the time of construction.
An area:
With a housing density ranging from one dwelling unit per five
acres up to four dwelling units per acre;
With a public water or sewer system;
That is not dominated by agricultural land, wetland, forests,
barren land, surface water, or open space; or
That is less than 20 acres and otherwise qualifies as an Intensely
Developed Area under the definition in this chapter.
A suite of stabilization and erosion control measures that
preserve the natural shoreline and are designed to minimize shoreline
erosion, maintain coastal process, and provide aquatic habitat. Measures
must include marsh plantings and may include the use of sills, sand
containment structures, breakwaters, or other natural components.
Development of a minor scale, which causes environmental
or economic consequences that are largely confined to the immediate
area of the parcel of land on which it is located; does not substantially
affect the Critical Area Ordinance of the Town of Princess Anne; and
is not considered to be major development as defined in this chapter.
The percentage of a total lot or parcel that is occupied
by a structure, accessory structure, parking area, driveway, walkway,
or roadway; or covered with a paver, walkway gravel, stone, shell,
impermeable decking, a paver, permeable pavement, or any other man-made
material. Lot coverage includes the ground area covered or occupied
by a stairway or impermeable deck, but does not include a fence or
wall that is less than one-foot in width that has not been constructed
with a footer; a walkway in the Buffer or expanded Buffer, including
a stairway, that provides direct access to a community or private
pier; a wood mulch pathway; or a deck with gaps to allow water to
pass freely.
Any facility for the mooring, berthing, storing, or securing
of watercraft, but not including community piers and other noncommercial
boat-docking and storage facilities.
Development of a scale that may cause state-wide, regional,
or interjurisdictional environmental or economic effects in the Critical
Area, or which may cause substantial impacts to the Critical Area
of a local jurisdiction. This development includes, but is not limited
to, airports, powerplants, wastewater treatment plants, highways,
regional utility transmission facilities, prisons, hospitals, public
housing projects, public beaches, and intensely developed park and
recreation facilities.
The average level of high tides at a given location.
An action taken to compensate for adverse impacts to the
environment resulting from development, development activity, or a
change in land use or intensity.
A species that is indigenous to the physiographic area in
Maryland where the planting is proposed.
Any community of plants or animals which are considered to
be among the best state-wide examples of their kind, and are designated
by regulation by the Department of Natural Resources.
The natural establishment of trees and other vegetation with
at least 400 free-to-grow seedlings per acre, which are capable of
reaching a height of at least 20 feet at maturity.
Those plant communities that develop in the absence of human
activity.
For purposes of implementing specific provisions of this
chapter, "new development" (as opposed to redevelopment) means a development
activity that takes place on a property with pre-development imperviousness
(in Intensely Developed Areas) or lot coverage (Limited Development
Areas and Resource Conservation Areas) of less than 15% as of December
1, 1985.
Pollution generated by diffuse land use activities rather
than from an identifiable or discrete facility. It is conveyed to
waterways through natural processes, such as rainfall, storm runoff,
or groundwater seepage rather than by deliberate discharge. Nonpoint
source pollution is not generally corrected by end-of-pipe treatment,
but rather by changes in land management practices.
Those areas regulated under Subtitle 9 of the Environment
Article that are inundated or saturated by surface water or groundwater
at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under
normal circumstances does support, a prevalence of vegetation typically
adapted for life in saturated soil conditions, commonly known as "hydrophytic
vegetation." The determination of whether an area is a nontidal wetland
shall be made in accordance with the publication known as the "Federal
Manual for Identifying and Delineating Jurisdictional Wetlands," published
in 1989, and as may be amended. Nontidal wetlands do not include tidal
wetlands regulated under Title 16 of the Environment Article of the
Annotated Code of Maryland.
Structures or actions that compensate for undesirable impacts.
Land and water areas retained in an essentially undeveloped
state.
An individual, partnership, corporation, contractor, property
owner, or any other person or entity.
The soils, topography, land slope and aspect, and local climate
that influence the form and species composition of plant communities.
Any pier, wharf, dock, walkway, bulkhead, breakwater, piles
or other similar structure. "Pier" does not include any structure
on pilings or stilts that was originally constructed beyond the landward
boundaries of state or private wetlands.
A community of plants commonly identifiable by the composition
of its vegetation and its physiographic characteristics.
A facility or area established or designated by the state
or local jurisdictions for purposes of waterborne commerce.
The primary or predominant structure on any lot or parcel.
For residential parcels or lots, the principal structure is the primary
dwelling.
Any change or proposed change to an adopted ordinance that
is not determined by the Chairman of the Critical Area Commission
to be an ordinance refinement.
Any change or proposed change to an adopted ordinance that
the Chairman of the Critical Area Commission determines will result
in a use of land or water in the Chesapeake Bay Critical Area or Atlantic
Coastal Bays Critical Area in a manner consistent with the adopted
ordinance, or that will not significantly affect the use of land or
water in the Critical Area. Ordinance refinement may include:
A change to an adopted ordinance that results from state law;
A change to an adopted ordinance that affects local processes
and procedures;
A change to a local ordinance or code that clarifies an existing
provision; and
A minor change to an element of an adopted ordinance that is
clearly consistent with the provisions of state Critical Area law
and all the criteria of the Commission.
A person holding title to a property or two or more persons
holding title to a property under any form of joint ownership.
Shore-dependent recreation facilities or activities provided
by public agencies that are available to the general public.
The reasonable rehabilitation of disturbed land for useful
purposes, and the protection of the natural resources of adjacent
areas, including waterbodies.
A change of the configuration of an existing lot or parcel
line of any legal parcel of land or recorded legally buildable lot.
An application for reconfiguration may include a subdivision, a lot
line adjustment, a boundary line adjustment, a replatting request,
or a revision of acreage to increase density.
The process of developing land which is or has been developed.
For purposes of implementing specific provisions of this chapter,
redevelopment (as opposed to new development) means a development
activity that takes place on property with pre-development imperviousness
(in Intensely Developed Areas) or lot coverage (in Limited Development
Areas and Resource Conservation Areas) of 15% or greater.
The establishment of a forest through artificial reproduction
or natural regeneration.
An area that is characterized by nature-dominated environments,
such as wetlands, surface water, forests, and open space; and resource-based
activities, such as agriculture, forestry, fisheries, or aquaculture.
Resource Conservation Areas include areas with a housing density of
less than one dwelling per five acres.
Any and all activities associated with the utilization of
natural resources such as agriculture, forestry, surface mining, aquaculture,
and fisheries activities.
The act of returning a site or area to an original state
or any action that reestablishes all or a portion of the ecological
structure and functions of a site or area.
A habitat that is strongly influenced by water and which
occurs adjacent to streams, shorelines, and wetlands.
A condition where surface water is present for extended periods,
especially early in the growing season, and when surface water is
absent, the water table is often near the land surface.
The removal of single, scattered, mature trees or other trees
from uneven-aged stands by frequent and periodic cutting operations.
Those structures or measures constructed or installed to
prevent or minimize erosion of the shoreline in the Critical Area.
Areas that erode two feet or more per year.
A shrub that, when mature, reaches a height no greater than
six feet.
Those fish and wildlife whose continued existence as part
of the state's resources are in question and which may be designated
by regulation by the Department of Natural Resources as in need of
conservation pursuant to the requirements of Natural Resources Article
§§ 10-2A-06 and 4-2A-03, Annotated Code of Maryland.
Slopes of 15% or greater incline.
Building or construction materials, or a combination of those
materials, that are purposely assembled or joined together on or over
land or water. "Structure" includes a temporary or permanent fixed
or floating pier, piling, deck, walkway, dwelling, building, boathouse,
platform, gazebo, or shelter for the purpose of marine access, navigation,
working, eating, sleeping, or recreating.
Any repair, reconstruction, or improvement of a principal
structure, where the proposed footprint equals or exceeds 50% of the
existing principal structure.
A forest practice used to accelerate tree growth of quality
trees in the shortest interval of time.
Any species of fish, wildlife, or plants designated as such
by regulation by the Department of Natural Resources that appear likely,
within the foreseeable future, to become endangered, including any
species of wildlife or plant determined to be a threatened species
pursuant to the federal Endangered Species Act, 16 U.S.C. § 1531
et seq., as amended.
The existing configuration of the earth's surface, including
the relative relief, elevation, and position of land features.
A plant community whose species are adapted to the diverse
and varying environmental conditions that occur along the boundary
that separates aquatic and terrestrial areas.
Anything that is built, installed, or established to provide
a means of transport from one place to another.
A perennial stream or intermittent stream within the Critical
Area that has been identified by site inspection or in accordance
with local ordinance procedures approved by the Critical Area Commission.
The layer of forest vegetation typically located underneath
the forest canopy.
A tree that, when mature, reaches a height between 12 and
35 feet.
That without a variance, an applicant would be denied reasonable
and significant use of the entire parcel or lot for which the variance
is requested."
The landward edge of a tidal wetland or nontidal wetland.
Fixed structures that convey or distribute resources, wastes,
or both, including but not limited to electrical lines, water conduits
and sewer lines.
The raising of fish and shellfish in any natural, open, free-flowing
water body.
Those structures or works associated with industrial, maritime,
recreational, educational, or fisheries activities that require location
at or near the shoreline within the Buffer. An activity is water-dependent
if it cannot exist outside the Buffer and is dependent on the water
by reason of the intrinsic nature of its operation. Such activities
include, but are not limited to, ports, the intake and outfall structures
of power plants, water-use industries, marinas and other boat-docking
structures, public beaches and other public water-oriented recreation
areas, and fisheries activities.
Birds that frequent and often swim in water, nest and raise
their young near water, and derive at least part of their food from
aquatic plants and animals.
An industry that requires location near the shoreline because
it utilizes surface waters for cooling or other internal purposes.
A strip of land having vegetation that provides habitat and
safe passage for wildlife.
Those plant communities and physiographic features that provide
food, water, cover, and nesting areas, as well as foraging and feeding
conditions necessary to maintain populations of animals in the Critical
Area.
