1.1 
Title and effective date.
A. 
This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Talbot County Zoning, Subdivision, and Land Development Ordinance" or "Chapter 190."
B. 
The effective date of this amended Chapter 190 is November 10, 2018.
1.2 
Statutory authority. Talbot County is organized pursuant to Art. XI-A of the Maryland Constitution and derives its authority for planning, zoning, and subdivision from the Land Use Article, Annotated Code of Maryland.
1.3 
Critical Area. The County's local Critical Area Program is adopted pursuant to Natural Resources Article § 8-1801, et seq., Maryland Annotated Code. The Code of Maryland Regulations (COMAR) Title 27, Critical Area Commission for the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays, also applies to the Critical Area.
2.1 
Land use decisions. The Planning Commission and Planning Director shall consider and advance the purposes of this chapter when making land use and subdivision decisions.
2.2 
General.
A. 
The general purposes of this chapter are to:
1. 
Protect and promote public health, safety, and welfare;
2. 
Implement zoning and subdivision controls that govern land use, growth, and development in accordance with the duly adopted County Comprehensive Plan and Critical Area program;
3. 
Preserve the County's existing rural character and quality of life;
4. 
Protect the County's economic stability and local economy;
5. 
Avoid undue concentration of population;
6. 
Provide for adequate light, air, and privacy, and secure safety from fire, flood, and other danger;
7. 
Protect and conserve the value of land, buildings, and improvements, and minimize conflicts among their differing uses;
8. 
Secure the most beneficial relationship between uses of land and buildings and circulation of traffic, avoid congestion in the streets and highways, address pedestrian traffic movements appropriate to the various uses of land and buildings, and provide for the proper location and width of streets and building lines;
9. 
Encourage orderly and beneficial development through appropriate growth management, including timing and sequencing of development and infill in areas with adequate public facilities;
10. 
Provide adequate and efficient roads, water, sewerage, drainage, schools, parks, playgrounds, recreation, and other public infrastructure and facilities;
11. 
Ensure that public infrastructure, facilities, and services are adequately planned, sized, and made available concurrently with new development;
12. 
Ensure that developers will bear the cost of providing the necessary infrastructure, facilities, and services caused by their development through exactions, fees, land dedication, and mitigation of the effects of the development;
13. 
Conserve and encourage wise use and management of natural resources, safeguard groundwater, and prevent air and water pollution;
14. 
Protect environmentally sensitive areas;
15. 
Preserve agricultural lands;
16. 
Preserve the natural beauty and topography of the County, and ensure appropriate development with regard to these natural features;
17. 
Establish reasonable design standards and procedures for subdivision and property line revisions, and ensure proper legal descriptions and monumenting of subdivided land;
18. 
Provide for open space and working lands through clustering development and efficient design and layout of subdivisions;
19. 
Prevent and resolve problems from inappropriately subdivided lands, including premature subdivision, excess subdivision, partial or incomplete subdivision, and scattered and poorly designed subdivision;
20. 
Minimize conflicts between incompatible land uses by requiring separation and adequate buffers and screening;
21. 
Protect and conserve historically and archaeologically significant sites and structures.
3.1 
Where applied. This chapter applies to all lands, submerged lands, waters, and islands within the unincorporated areas of Talbot County.
3.2 
Prior ordinances. All previously enacted zoning ordinances and subdivision ordinances are hereby repealed.
3.3 
Minimum requirements. This chapter establishes minimum requirements that apply in addition to conditions, restrictions, or limitations imposed by the Planning Director, Planning Commission, or Board of Appeals on any approval, plat, or permit, and in addition to other requirements of this Code, or other laws, rules, or regulations.
3.4 
Compliance required.
A. 
Land development or subdivision.
1. 
No land may be developed without compliance with this chapter.
2. 
No land may be subdivided through the use of any legal description other than a plat recorded in the Talbot County land records in accordance with this chapter.
3. 
No part of any lot or parcel shall be sold or transferred unless the part to be sold or transferred is first divided in accordance with this chapter.
B. 
Structures. No structure may be constructed, created, altered, moved, approved, developed or permitted without compliance with this chapter.
C. 
Use or occupancy.
1. 
No land or structure may be used or occupied except in accordance with this chapter.
2. 
A use not specifically allowed in this chapter is prohibited unless the Planning Director makes an interpretation that it is permitted pursuant to § 190-25.1.
D. 
Permits issued in error. If a building or structure was constructed or reconstructed under a permit that is otherwise valid except for the failure to comply with the setback requirements, the County may not initiate an action or proceeding that arises out of a failure of the building or structure to comply with a setback requirement more than three years after the date on which the violation first occurred. For purposes of this subsection, the date on which the violation first occurred shall be deemed to be the date on which the final building inspection was approved.
3.5 
Relationship to other laws or regulations.
A. 
Whenever any provision of this chapter conflicts with any other provision of law, rule, or regulation covering the same subject matter, whether set forth in this chapter or elsewhere, that provision which is more restrictive or imposes the higher standard or requirement shall govern.
B. 
Whenever this chapter refers to a law, rule, or regulation that is later amended, reenacted, or superseded, such reference shall be deemed to refer to the amended or reenacted provision, or the one that most nearly corresponds to the superseded provision.
3.6 
Private agreements or restrictions. If the provisions of this chapter are more restrictive or impose higher standards than an easement, covenant or other private agreement, the requirements of this chapter shall govern. If the provisions of an easement, covenant or other private agreement are more restrictive or impose higher standards than this chapter, the private agreement shall govern. The County will not be responsible for enforcing a private agreement.
3.7 
Right to farm. Chapter 128, Right to Farm, Talbot County Code, protects agricultural operations on all agricultural land in the County. There is no recourse against the inherent effects of agricultural operations as permitted in this chapter and conducted in accordance with commonly accepted agricultural practices. These effects may include, but are not limited to, noise, odor, vibration, fumes, dust or glare.
3.8 
Existing special exceptions and variances.
A. 
Special exceptions and variances approved by the Planning Director, Planning Commission, or Board of Appeals prior to adoption or amendment of this chapter may continue, subject to the terms, conditions or restrictions imposed on the approval.
B. 
Modifications to existing special exceptions will be subject to the provisions of this chapter as enacted or amended. An approved special exception that is no longer allowed by right or by special exception is subject to the nonconforming use provisions of Article VI.
Should any application or provision of this Zoning Ordinance be held invalid for any reason in a court of competent jurisdiction, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or any other application of this ordinance which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and for this purpose the provisions of this ordinance are severable.