[Amended 5-4-2010]
State law created the Critical Area regulations. The Critical Area Act recognizes that the land immediately surrounding the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries has the greatest potential to affect water quality and wildlife habitat and thus designated all lands and water areas within 1,000 feet of tidal waters or adjacent tidal wetlands and all waters of and lands under the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries to the head of the tide as indicated on State wetlands maps as the "Critical Area." General regulations are defined in Section
8-1.02. State law requires that the Critical Area be divided into three types of development areas based on land uses in existence when the regulations were adopted in 1985: Intensely Developed Areas, Limited Development Areas, and Resource Conservation Areas. Descriptions of and regulations for each of these three subareas are outlined in Sections
8-1.03,
8-1.04 and
8-1.05, respectively.
The following regulations apply to all lands in the Critical
Area. Also see Section 2-10.03.A, Purpose and Section 2-10.03.B, District
Boundaries.
A. Limitation on Uses in the Critical Area
1. Agriculture in the Critical Area is permitted subject to the following:
a. The creation of new agricultural land in the Critical Area District
shall not be accomplished:
i.
By diking, draining, or filling of any class or subclass of
palustrine wetland, which have a seasonally flooded or wetter water
regime, unless the wetlands are mitigated on a one-to-one basis and
the appropriate permits are obtained from the Maryland Department
of the Environment;
ii.
By clearing of forests or woodland on soils with a slope greater
than 15 percent; or on soils with a "K" value greater than 0.35 and
slope greater than five percent;
iii.
If the clearing will adversely affect water quality or will destroy plant and wildlife habitat as defined in Sections
8-1.08 and 8-2 of the Zoning Ordinance; or
iv.
By the clearing of existing natural vegetation within the Critical Area Buffer as defined in Section
8-1.08 of the Zoning Ordinance.
b. The drainage of non-tidal wetlands for the purpose of agriculture
shall be done in accordance with a Soil Conservation and Water Quality
Plan, approved by the Soil Conservation District.
c. Best Management Practices for the control of nutrients, animal wastes,
pesticides, and sediment runoff shall be used to protect the productivity
of the land base and enhance water quality. These practices shall
minimize contamination of surface and groundwater and, further, shall
minimize adverse effects on plants, fish, and wildlife resources.
d. Animal feeding operations, including retention and storage ponds,
feed lot waste storage, and manure storage shall minimize the contamination
of water bodies.
e. Agricultural activity permitted within the Critical Area shall use
Best Management Practices in accordance with a Soil Conservation and
Water Quality Plan approved by the Soil Conservation District.
2. Non-Agricultural Uses in the Critical Area
a. The following new development or redevelopment activities or facilities,
because of their intrinsic nature, or because of their potential for
adversely affecting habitats or water quality, are only permitted
in the Intensely Developed Area and only after the applicant has demonstrated
to all appropriate local and State permitting agencies that there
will be a net improvement in water quality of the adjacent body of
water. These activities include:
i.
Non-maritime heavy industry;
ii.
Transportation facilities and utility transmission facilities,
except those necessary to serve permitted uses, or where regional
or interstate facilities must cross tidal waters (utility transmission
facilities do not include power plants) or
iii.
Permanent sludge handling, storage and disposal facilities,
other than those associated with wastewater treatment facilities.
However, agricultural or horticultural use of sludge under appropriate
approvals when applied by an approved method at approved application
rates may be permitted in the Critical Area, except in the 100-foot
Buffer.
b. Certain new development activities or facilities, or the expansion
of certain existing facilities, because of their intrinsic nature,
or because of their potential for adversely affecting habitat and
water quality, may not be permitted in the Critical Area unless no
environmentally acceptable alternative exists outside the Critical
Area, and these development activities or facilities are needed in
order to correct an existing water quality or wastewater management
problem. These include:
[Amended 5-4-2010]
i.
Solid or hazardous waste collection or disposal facilities;
or
c. Existing, permitted facilities of the type noted in 2(a) and (b)
of this sub-section shall be subject to the standards and requirements
of the Maryland Department of the Environment.
[Amended 5-4-2010]
B. Critical Area Text and Map Amendments
[Amended 5-4-2010]
1. The requirements of Section
1-6.01 of the Zoning Ordinance shall be met.
2. The Critical Area District provisions of the Zoning Ordinance and
the Critical Area maps shall be comprehensively reviewed at least
every six years.
3. An amendment to the LDA, LDA-3, RCA, or IDA boundaries may be granted only upon proof of a mistake in the zoning existing at the time of adoption of the Critical Area law in 1985 (Critical Area Law, Section 8-1809(h) or by the use of Growth Allocation as per Section
8-1.06.
4. For Critical area Program Refinements (pertains
to Section 8-1 of the Zoning Ordinance, Critical Area Maps and other
County regulations and programs that are pertinent to the Critical
Area Program). The County shall not adopt the refinements until the
Chairman of the Critical Area Commission has approved them.
5. For Critical Area Program Amendments (pertains to
Section 8-1 of the Zoning Ordinance, Critical Area Maps and other
County regulations and programs that are pertinent to the Critical
Area Program), a panel of the Critical Area Commission will hold a
public hearing in the County. The panel will then make a recommendation
to the full Critical Area Commission. The County shall not adopt the
amendments until the Critical Area Commission has approved them.
6. When the County submits a request for review and approval of changes
to any element of the County's Critical Area Program including, but
not limited to, the Zoning Ordinance, subdivision regulations, or
Critical Area Maps, the request shall include all relevant information
necessary for the Chairman of the Critical Area Commission, and as
appropriate, the Critical Area Commission, to evaluate the changes.
The Chairman, and as appropriate, the Critical Area Commission, shall
determine if the requests for program changes are consistent with
the purposes, policies, goals, and provisions of the Critical Area
Law and all criteria of the Critical Area Commission.
7. In accordance with the determination of consistency as outlined in
Section 7 above, the Chairman of the Critical Area Commission, or
as appropriate, the Critical Area Commission shall:
[Amended 5-4-2010]
a. Approve the proposed program refinement or amendment and notify the
County;
b. Deny the proposed program refinement or amendment;
c. Approve the proposed program refinement or amendment subject to one
or more conditions; or
d. Return the proposed program refinement or amendment to the County
with a list of changes to be made.
C. Public and Critical Area Commission Notification
[Amended 5-4-2010]
1. Public Notification
a. For all State and County Government major development projects and
other State and County projects not exempt as provided in Section
c, below, shall, as part of a project submittal to the Commission,
provide proof of the following:
i.
Public notice published in a newspaper of general circulation
in the area where the proposed development activity would occur;
ii.
A minimum 14 day comment period in the local jurisdiction in
which the proposed development activity will occur was provided; and
iii.
Certification that the property was posted.
b. Proof of public notice and public comment shall include the following
minimum documentation:
i.
A copy of the notice as it appeared in the newspaper;
ii.
The name of the newspaper in which the notice appeared;
iii.
The date the notice appeared in the newspaper;
iv.
All copies of correspondence received as a result of the public
notice; and
v.
A list of any neighborhood associations contacted, if applicable.
c. The following classes of development activities of State and local
governments in the Critical Area of the Chesapeake Bay are exempt
from the notice and comment requirement in Section 1 of this regulation:
i.
Any State or local agency development activity of local significance
on private lands or lands owned by local jurisdictions that have been
determined by the Commission to be consistent with the local Critical
Area Program as provided by COMAR 27.02.02 and for which the local
agency has submitted a consistency report relative to its Critical
Area Program;
ii.
Any State or local government development activity that is included
in a General Approval as provided by COMAR 27.02.03; and
iii.
Any State development activities on State lands for which the
Commission has approved a Memorandum of Understanding including notice
requirements.
2. Critical Area Commission Notification
a. Significant Actions in the Critical Area require Critical Area Commission
staff review. Any activity listed in Table 8-1.1 and indicated with
a "Y", is considered a Significant Action.
b. Minor Actions in the Critical Area do not require Critical Area Commission
staff review. Any activity listed in Table 8-1.1 and indicated by
either an "N" or "NA" is considered a minor action.
c. Significant actions in the Critical Area by the County require Critical
Area Commission staff review and a "Consistency Report" from the County.
d. For activities that require notification, notification consists of
copies of preliminary site plans and subdivisions, grading and building
permit applications for activities that are not a site plan or subdivision
and complete variance applications. If comments are not received from
the Critical Area Commission within 30 days of notification to the
Commission, the County shall proceed with the review and potential
approval of these projects. The County will also submit copies of
final Site Plans and Subdivision to the Critical Area Commission.
No permits shall be issued until at least 30 days after the approval
of final site plans, subdivisions and variances.
Table 8-1.1
Require Notification to the Critical Area Commission (Yes/No/Not
Applicable)[Amended 5-4-2010]
|
---|
Type of Application
|
IDA
|
LDA
|
RCA
|
---|
Disturbance to Habitat Protection Areas*
|
Y
|
Y
|
Y
|
Physical disturbance to Buffer*
|
Y
|
Y
|
Y
|
Variance from Critical Area Regulations*
|
Y
|
Y
|
Y
|
Less than 5,000 sf disturbance
|
N
|
N
|
N
|
Between 5,000 and 15,000 sf of disturbance
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Greater than 15,000 sf of disturbance*
|
Y
|
Y
|
Y
|
Subdivision of three lots or fewer*
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Subdivision of four to ten lots*
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
Subdivision of greater than ten lots*
|
Y
|
Y
|
Y
|
Use of growth allocation
|
NA
|
Y
|
Y
|
Intrafamily transfer*
|
NA
|
NA
|
Y
|
Rezoning that occurs wholly or partially within the Critical
Area*
|
Y
|
Y
|
Y
|
Special exception or conditional use for industrial, commercial,
institutional, non-residential or multi-family*
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
Substantial alteration to applications previously submitted
to the Critical Area Commission
|
Y
|
Y
|
Y
|
Lot consolidation or reconfiguration
|
Y
|
Y
|
Y
|
* For columns in these rows indicated with a "Y", final subdivision
plats, final site plans, final decisions or orders shall be submitted
to the Critical Area Commission within 15 days of the decision.
|
Note: Shore erosion control measures and private piers that
do not involve disturbance to the Buffer, are constructed solely from
the water, including all construction related and staging activities,
and are permitted by MDE do not require Commission notification.
|
D. Delay of Critical Area Permits for Approved Variances
[Amended 5-4-2010]
1. Permits for activities that require a Critical Area variance shall
not be issued until at least 30 days have passed beginning from the
date the Critical Area Commission receives notice of the decision
of the Board of Appeals.
E. Lot Consolidation and Reconfiguration in the Critical Area
1. The provisions of COMAR 27.01.02.08 shall be met for lot consolidation
and reconfiguration (replatting) in the Critical Area.
[Amended 5-4-2010]
Enforcement of the Critical Area regulations is pursuant to
the requirements of the Maryland Natural Resources Article 8 subtitle
18, and the provisions of COMAR Title 27 subtitle 01, notwithstanding
any provision in a County law or ordinance or the lack of a provision
in a county law or ordinance.