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.
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.
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.
