Caroline County, MD Article II Road Construction, Maintenance and Inspections

§ 152-7 Right of entry.

The Director of Public Works and/or his or her designees, while engaged in official duties, may, after presentation of proper credentials, enter on private land in the County at reasonable times for the purposes of inspecting and performing work on any County road or right-of-way or any areas adjacent to any County road or right-of-way. A person may not hinder, obstruct or refuse entry to the Director or the Director's authorized representatives. The Director of Public Works and/or his or her designees may not enter private land outside of an area adjacent to County infrastructure without prior permission from the property owner. The County shall request permission in accordance with the notice provisions of Chapter 92 of the Code.

§ 152-8 Specifications and design standards for County roads.

A. The Director of Public Works is authorized to develop, maintain and enforce a manual of specifications and design standards for County roads and rights-of-way. Such manual shall be adopted by resolution of the County Commissioners and be made available to the public. All construction and maintenance of and all repairs to all County roads shall conform to the manual of specifications and design standards. Any road for which approval is sought from the County to have the road accepted as a County road shall conform to the design manual before the road may be accepted by the County as a County road.

B. Modifications from the standards.

[Added 5-14-2019 by Bill No. 2019-2]

(1) Modifications from the provisions of the Manual of Specifications and Design Standards for County Roads may be granted where:

(a) There is a proposed new use of land or a material change to an existing use of land that requires:

[1] The development of new on-site roads that will be conveyed to the County;

[2] The improvement of existing on-site roads that will be conveyed to the County; or

[3] The modification or improvement of existing on-site or off-site County roads; and

(b) Some geographic (e.g., wetland, critical area, water crossing), geologic, or right-of-way issue presents a substantial practical difficulty in achieving compliance with the Manual of Specification and Design Standards for County Roads.

(2) Such modifications may be granted by the Planning Commission as part of the site plan approval process subject to the following conditions:

(a) The modification from the standards shall be the minimum necessary to accommodate the substantial practical difficulty referenced under Subsection B(1)(b) of this section; and

(b) No modification shall be granted without prior review and written recommendation by the Technical Advisory Committee, as defined in § 162-12 of the Code and as may be amended from time to time, that the proposed modification is acceptable from a public health and safety perspective.

§ 152-9 Requirements for permits and bonds.

A. No person shall perform any road construction, as defined in this chapter, on any County road or right-of-way unless he or she first obtains a permit from the Department of Public Works and provides a performance bond or letter of credit or cash escrow account as provided in this Article. Agricultural access as defined in § 152-2 of this chapter shall not require a permit or bond.

B. Before starting any construction or making any cuts into the surface of any County road or right-of-way or the curbing, gutters, culverts, bridges, shoulders or ditches of such roads, every person, firm, company or corporation, including any public utility, shall:

(1) Permit. Obtain a permit by making application to the Department of Public Works, setting forth, in writing, the nature of the planned construction, including the location, the extent of any proposed cuts and the estimated length of time for the construction.

(2) Bond. Post with the Department of Public Works, in a form and amount acceptable to the Roads Board, a cash escrow account, letter of credit or performance bond. At the discretion of the Director, after taking into consideration the best interests of the County, this requirement may be waived for any construction project with a total estimated completion cost of less than $25,000.

§ 152-10 Emergency repairs; responsibility for condition.

A. The County Commissioners may determine that an emergency situation or condition exists which requires immediate improvements, repairs or alterations to a County road or right-of-way. If such determination is made, the Commissioners may authorize the Director to proceed with immediate repairs and/or corrective action to protect public health, safety, and welfare.

B. When an emergency situation occurs, the Director shall proceed with appropriate corrective action and shall further determine whether any person was responsible for the situation or condition which required emergency action. If the Director's inquiry determines a person is responsible, the Director shall make a full report to the County Commissioners. Any person deemed responsible for causing or creating a situation or condition requiring emergency repairs may be found in violation of this chapter, charged for the cost of the emergency repairs and/or issued civil citations pursuant to this chapter.