This article of the zoning chapter is enacted pursuant to the
authority of § 7-302 of the Land Use Article of the Annotated
Code of Maryland, as amended (hereafter in this article referred to
as the "Maryland Agreements Statute").
This article is intended to grant to specified public bodies
of the Town (each hereafter in this section referred to as a "public
principal") the authority, and to establish the procedural requirements,
to execute development rights and responsibilities agreements (hereafter
in this section referred to in the singular as "agreement" and in
the plural as "agreements") to accomplish the following purposes:
A.
To provide a developer, and to its successors and assigns having
an ownership interest in the real property of the developer that is
the subject of the agreement (hereafter in this section referred to
as the "subject property"), with a level of security over a period
of time that the development plan, and the accompanying design details,
for the subject property that is approved by the Town may be completed
without substantial changes or impediments; and thereafter to preserve
property values by protecting against individual lot owners deviating
from the development plan, and the accompanying design details; caused
or permitted by future amendments to the Town laws, rules, regulations,
and policies governing the use, density and/or intensity of development
by an agreement granting to the developer, and to its successors and
assigns having an ownership interest in the subject property, qualified
vested rights in the existing laws, rules, regulations, and policies
governing the use, density and/or intensity of development of the
subject property ("qualified vested rights") without the developer
having to immediately make substantial improvements to all portions
of the subject property; and
B.
To provide a public principal with the authority and procedures to
accept from a developer, and to bind a developer and its successors
and assigns to, the consideration offered by the developer without
the necessity of an analysis of the nexus and/or rough proportionality
between the consideration offered by the developer and the impacts
on the Town from the development of the subject property; provided
that:
(1)
The consideration offered by the developer and accepted by the
public principal shall be solely and exclusively for the benefits
to the developer, and its successors and assigns, of the qualified
vested rights; and
(2)
The consideration offered by the developer and accepted by the
public principal shall not be for any impacts on the Town from the
proposed development of the subject property.
C.
To provide an alternative Town entity authorized to contract with
a developer so that the ultimate zoning authority of the Town concerning
a development may avoid the actuality and the appearance of contracting
for zoning with the developer.
A developer of real property located in the Town, or of real
property for which a petition for annexation to the Town is pending,
and who proposes to develop that real property pursuant to the land
use laws of the Town, may petition the Town to enter into an agreement
with respect to the real property of the developer identified in the
agreement. Such a petition shall be entirely voluntary on the part
of the developer, and shall not be required by the Town, any of its
agencies, or a public principal of the Town, as a condition of any
land-use classification, designation, permit or approval.
A.
Authorization of public principals. The Town Commissioners and the
Planning Commission are each hereby independently designated as a
public principal of the Town, authorized, subject to the procedural
requirements and qualifications of this article, to:
(1)
Consider petitions for agreements relating to real property
located in the Town or real property for which a petition for annexation
to of such property the Town is pending;
(2)
Execute agreements with the developers of real property located
within the Town;
(3)
Execute agreements with the developers of real property for
which a petition for annexation of such property to the Town is pending,
conditioned upon such annexation, which agreements shall become effective
and binding only upon, and simultaneous with, the annexation of the
subject property to the Town; and
(4)
In an agreement in which the Planning Commission is the executing
public principal, the Town may be included as a third-party beneficiary
or as a direct party to the agreement, giving the Town the right to
enforce the agreement.
B.
Authority of the Town Commissioners.
(1)
The authority hereby granted to the Town Commissioners to execute
agreements shall be independent of the authority of the Planning Commission
to execute agreements. However, this provision is not intended to
negate or circumvent any procedure by the Planning Commission that
is required by the Maryland Agreements Statute as a condition precedent
to the Town Commissioners executing an agreement.
(2)
The execution of an agreement by the Planning Commission, pursuant
to the procedures required by the Maryland Agreements Statute, shall
immediately and automatically revoke and terminate all powers and
authority by the Town Commissioners to execute an agreement, or to
take any action having the effect of replacing, expanding, supplementing,
amending, limiting or terminating all or any part of an existing agreement,
involving all or any portion of the same land as was the subject of
an agreement previously executed by the Planning Commission.
C.
Authority of the Planning Commission.
(1)
The authority hereby granted to the Planning Commission to execute
agreements shall be independent of the authority of the Town Commissioners
to execute agreements. However, this provision is not intended to
negate or circumvent any procedure by the Town Commissioners that
is required by the Maryland Agreements Statute as a condition precedent
to the Planning Commission executing an agreement.
(2)
The execution of an agreement by the Town Commissioners, pursuant
to the procedures required by the Maryland Agreements Statute, shall
immediately and automatically revoke and terminate all powers and
authority by the Planning Commission to execute an agreement, or to
take any action having the effect of replacing, expanding, supplementing,
amending, limiting or terminating all or any part of an existing agreement,
involving all or any portion of the same land as was the subject of
an agreement previously executed by the Town Commissioners.
(3)
A vote of the Town Commissioners in which a majority of the
Town Commissioners vote against executing an agreement shall immediately
and automatically revoke and terminate all powers and authority by
the Planning Commission to execute an agreement with the same developer
involving all or any portion of the same land.
A.
At a minimum, an agreement shall contain the following:
(1)
A legal description of the subject property;
(2)
An attorney's certification as to the nature of the petitioning
developer's interest in the subject property;
(3)
The names of all parties having an equitable or legal interest
in the subject property, including lien holders;
(4)
The duration of the agreement;
(5)
The permissible uses of the subject property;
(6)
The density or intensity of uses on the subject property;
(7)
The maximum height and size of structures on the subject property;
(8)
A description of the permits required or already approved for
the development of the subject property;
(9)
A statement that the proposed development of the subject property
is consistent with the Comprehensive Plan and development regulations
of the Town;
(10)
A description of the conditions, terms, restrictions, or other
requirements determined by the Town Commissioners to be necessary
to ensure the public health, safety, or welfare;
(11)
A description, and all other terms, of all consideration, including
concessions, transfers of property, and payments, if any, given by
the petitioner for the agreement; and
(12)
To the extent applicable, provisions for:
(a)
Dedication of a portion of the subject property for public use;
(b)
Protection of sensitive areas on the subject property;
(c)
Preservation and restoration of historic structures on the subject
property;
(d)
Construction or financing of public facilities on and/or leading
to the subject property;
(e)
The responsibilities of the petitioner according to the terms
of the agreement shall be binding on its successors in interest and
shall run with the subject property;
(f)
Whether an amendment of the agreement related to only a portion
of the subject property shall require the consent of only the owners
of the portions of the subject property directly affected by the amendment,
or shall require the owners of all of the subject property; and
(g)
Responsibility for attorneys' fees, costs, and expenses incurred
by the Town in the event the agreement is abandoned or breached by
the petitioner or its successors in interest.
C.
An agreement shall be void five years after the day on which the
parties execute the agreement unless:
The procedures required before a public principal may execute
an agreement shall be as follows:
A.
A petition for an agreement shall be submitted by a developer to
a public principal;
B.
A petition for an agreement received by the Town Commissioners shall
be referred to the Planning Commission;
C.
After the Planning Commission receives a petition, and before the
executing public principal shall be permitted to execute a proposed
agreement, the Planning Commission shall determine whether the proposed
agreement is consistent with the Comprehensive Plan of the Town.
D.
Before the executing public principal may execute a proposed agreement,
it shall conduct a public hearing. A public hearing by the executing
public principal that is required relating to the approval process
for the proposed development of the subject property satisfies this
public hearing requirement.
E.
Recording.
(1)
An agreement shall be void if not recorded in the land records
of Talbot County within 20 days after the day on which the last of
the executing public principal and the petitioner execute the agreement.
(2)
The parties to an agreement, and their successors in interest
are bound to the agreement after the agreement is recorded.
The parties to an agreement may amend that agreement by mutual
consent after the following procedures:
A.
The parties to an agreement may terminate the agreement by mutual
consent.
B.
If the Town Commissioners or the executing public principal determines
that suspension or termination of an agreement is essential to ensure
the public health, safety, or welfare, the Town Commissioners or the
executing public principal having made such determination may suspend
or terminate that agreement after public notice of a public hearing
and such public hearing.
A.
Qualified vested rights. Except as provided in Subsection B of this section, the laws, rules, and regulations and policies governing the use, density, and/or intensity of development of the subject property shall be the laws, rules, regulations, and policies in force at the time the executing public principal and the petitioning developer execute the agreement.
B.
Qualification of vested rights. If the Town Commissioners determine
that compliance with laws, rules, regulations, and policies enacted
or adopted after the effective date of an agreement is essential to
ensure the health, safety, or welfare of residents of all or part
of the Town, the agreement may not prevent the Town Commissioners
from requiring any person, including the executing public principal
and the developer, and its successors and assigns, to comply with
those laws, rules, regulations, and policies.
Unless an agreement is terminated under § 340-208 of this chapter, the parties to an agreement, any third-party beneficiary named therein, or their respective successors in interest, may enforce the agreement.
