All new development shall be served by an adequate network of
existing and proposed new roads.
A.
The Planning Commission may exempt from the terms of this article
the subdivision of an original tract of land into no more than five
lots, provided that there exists in the original tract of land 25
acres per each lot subdivided and the road in front of each lot to
be subdivided is no less than 16 feet in width. Any subdivision which
results in the maximum number of lots allowed under this subsection
shall contain a statement on the plat, signed by the owner, that certifies
that any transfer of the remaining lands cannot be developed upon
or subdivided for the purpose of development until such time that
the county road has been improved and determined to be adequate under
the terms of this chapter, nor can said remaining lands be used to
qualify for additional exemptions under this subsection.
B.
The Planning Commission may exempt from the terms of this article
the subdivision of land used for transfer to a member of the immediate
family of the owner(s) of the original tract of land, provided that
the road width in front of the lots to be subdivided is no less than
16 feet. Any such subdivision shall contain a statement on the plat,
signed by the owner, that:
(1)
Certifies the intent of the owner to transfer the land only to a
member of the immediate family; and
(2)
Expressly warrants that no conveyance of the lot will be made to
anyone not a member of the immediate family for a period of 10 years,
except as may be required to satisfy a mortgagee in case of loan foreclosure.
C.
Where the Planning Commission finds that extraordinary hardship will
result from strict compliance with this article because of alteration
to existing historic structures, including bridges, as determined
by the County's Historic District Commission, the Planning Commission
may approve a subdivision so that substantial justice may be done
and the public interest secured.
A.
New public roads to be built as part of the new development shall
be constructed to the standards adopted by the Town or the design
and construction specifications as adopted by the State Highway Administration.
B.
The type of road to be built shall be based on the projected volume
of traffic determined by the Town Engineer and/or the State Highway
Administration that will be generated by the new development in accordance
with the aforementioned standards, as amended.
C.
The Town Engineer, the Planning Commission and/or the State Highway Administration may require a traffic impact study for proposed commercial or residential development to be provided by the developer in order to determine which specification set forth in Subsection A above is applicable to the new development.
Existing public roads that serve the new development shall,
at a minimum, meet either applicable Town standards, if a Town road;
the standards contained in the Washington County Engineering and Construction
Department publication titled "A Policy To Determine Adequacy of Existing
Roadway for Additional Development," as amended, if the existing road
is a county road; or the Guidelines for Traffic Impact Reports/Studies,
as amended, if the existing road is a state highway. Such roads are
to meet the above standards as a condition precedent to approval of
the proposed new development.
A.
The portion of the existing roads required to be adequate for the
proposed new development shall be from its intersection with any new
road in the new development, in the direction of traffic flow determined
by the Planning Commission after receiving a recommendation from the
Town Engineer and/or the State Highway Administration, to the nearest
designated intersection with a road determined by the Planning Commission
to be adequate to support the projected traffic volume generated by
the development.
B.
The portion of the existing roads to be adequate for proposed new
development that does not include the construction of new public streets
shall be the road frontage of all new or existing lots containing
the proposed new development and the remainder of the roads in the
anticipated direction of traffic flow, as determined by the Planning
Commission after receiving the recommendation from the Town Engineer
and/or the State Highway Administration, to the nearest designated
intersection with a road determined to be adequate to support the
projected traffic volume generated by the new development. The Planning
Commission may require that roads be adequate in several directions
or in any one direction from the location of the proposed new development.
C.
In evaluating the adequacy of the existing roads or the improvements
necessary to make the existing roads adequate, the Planning Commission
shall consider the following:
(1)
Existing traffic.
(2)
Traffic projected to be generated by the development.
(3)
Traffic projected to be generated by other approved but not constructed
development.
(4)
Improvements scheduled or approved and funded in the adopted Town
or Washington County capital improvements program to take place within
two years from the anticipated date of final plat approval.
(5)
Improvements with full funding within the six-year schedule in the
Maryland Department of Transportation's Consolidated Transportation
Program.
(6)
Traffic studies that may be required by the Town Engineer and/or
the State Highway Administration.
(7)
Any other information that may reasonably be required by the Town
Engineer, State Highway Administration, or the Planning Commission
to effectively evaluate the road network or information supplied by
the developer.
A.
Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, if an existing road
is determined by the Planning Commission to be inadequate to accommodate
the traffic flow projected to be generated from the new development
when combined with existing traffic flow, the new development shall
not be approved.
B.
In instances where the existing county road is determined to be below the minimum standards as set forth in § 300-15, the person chairing the Planning Commission, or the Code Enforcement Officer of the Town, acting on behalf of the Planning Commission, shall disapprove any proposed application for new development.[1]
