The standards and requirements outlined herein shall be considered minimum standards and requirements for promoting public health, safety, morals, and general welfare.
A. 
The Planning Commission may modify or waive the requirements of one or more provisions of Articles IV and V if the literal enforcement will create an undue hardship because of peculiar conditions on the land in question, provided that such waiver or modification will not be contrary to the public interest and that the purpose and intent of this chapter are observed. The Planning Commission may not modify or waive any requirement that does not emanate from a design standard created in this chapter, including but not limited to requirements under Chapter 281, Stormwater Management, or Chapter 340, Zoning.
B. 
All requests for a modification or waiver shall be in writing and shall accompany and be a part of the development application. The request shall state in full the grounds and facts of unreasonableness or hardship on which the request is based, the provision or provisions of Articles IV and V involved, and the minimum modification necessary.
C. 
The Planning Commission shall keep a written record of all action on all requests for waivers or modifications.
D. 
In granting any waiver or modification from the terms of these regulations, the Planning Commission may prescribe such conditions and safeguards as it shall deem necessary to fulfill these regulations' purpose and intent.
A. 
Land being subdivided shall be taken up in lots, streets, public lands, or other proposed uses so that no areas are landlocked and accessible only by crossing the privately owned land of another person.
B. 
Where trees, groves, waterways, scenic points, historic spots, or other Town assets and landmarks are located within a proposed subdivision, such features shall be preserved to the greatest extent practicable. The subdivision shall not adversely impact riparian rights.
C. 
Land subject to flooding or deemed to be topographically below sea level shall not be subdivided or developed for residential occupancy or such other uses as may endanger health, life, or property, or aggravate erosion or flood hazards until all such hazards have been eliminated and unless the final plats provide adequate safeguards against such hazards. Such land within a subdivision shall be set aside on the plat for uses that will not be endangered by periodic or occasional inundation or will not produce unsatisfactory living conditions.
A. 
The arrangement, character, extent, grade, and location of all streets shall be acceptable to the Planning Commission. The Planning Commission shall consider their relation to existing and planned streets, topographical conditions, public convenience and safety, and their proper relation to the proposed uses to be served by such streets.
B. 
Proposed streets shall further conform to state plans for streets and highways.
C. 
Where appropriate, proposed streets shall be continuous and in alignment with existing, planned, or platted streets with which they are to connect.
D. 
Residential streets shall be so laid out so that through traffic will be discouraged.
E. 
Streets that are extensions of or obviously in alignment with existing streets shall bear the names of existing streets.
F. 
If a portion of a tract is not subdivided, suitable access to street openings for the entire tract's eventual subdivision shall be provided.
G. 
Where stub streets are provided abutting unsubdivided acreage, temporary easements for turnarounds shall be provided at the boundary line.
H. 
Private streets are prohibited except in the Agriculture (A) Zone.
A. 
Where a subdivision abuts or contains an existing street of inadequate right-of-way width, a right-of-way width required by the Commissioners shall be indicated on the plat and offered for dedication.
B. 
Minimum right-of-way, horizontal alignment, vertical alignment, sight distance, curbs, curb radii, offsets, and street grades shall be per the requirements of Article V and others specified by the Commissioners.
A. 
Without express permission by the Commissioners or the Planning Commission, no more than two streets shall intersect at an intersection.
B. 
Streets shall be laid out to intersect as nearly as possible at right angles, and no street shall intersect another street at an angle of less than 60°.
All street signs shall be provided by the applicant at the applicant's expense and shall be constructed according to the Commissioners' designs.
A. 
All sidewalks must be provided and constructed under accepted design standards as approved by the Town Commissioners.
B. 
The Planning Commission may, in its judgment, considering the specific subdivision plan, the pedestrian routes and destinations intended to be encouraged, and the character of the neighborhood, determine the extent and location of the sidewalks.
A. 
Whenever practicable, blocks shall be of such width as to provide two tiers of lots.
B. 
Pedestrian crosswalks shall be required where deemed essential to provide circulation or access to schools, parks, and other community facilities.
A. 
All lots shall abut on a street.
B. 
In general, side lot lines shall be at right angles or radial to the street line.
C. 
Lots excessively deep to width or excessively irregular in shape are to be avoided. A lot size with a depth 2 1/2 times the width shall generally be considered the maximum desirable depth to width ratio.
Pipestem or flag lots may be permitted in residential districts, subject to the following requirements:
A. 
The minimum lot area shall not include the area of the pipestem.
B. 
The pipestem area of the lot shall be at least 25 feet wide.
C. 
Pipestem lots shall not be stacked more than two deep, the lot with frontage on the road and a lot behind the lot with frontage.
D. 
Adjacent lots where one lot is bordered by the pipestem servicing the other lot shall share a single driveway entrance. Access and maintenance easements for the shared access (and any shared portion of the driveway) shall be recorded and referenced on the final plat.
E. 
Orientation and setbacks.
(1) 
For the lot not on the public road, the front setback shall be applied as if the rear boundary line of the lot fronting the road is the front boundary line of the pipestem lot. If a house constructed on the pipestem lot faces the pipestem driveway, such that the side of the dwelling on the lot with no road frontage faces the rear of the dwelling with road frontage calculated, the front setback shall apply to both the boundary line where the pipestem driveway runs and the boundary line between the rear lot and the lot with road frontage.
(2) 
For subdivisions with more than one pipestem lot, the lot layout shall pair pipestem lots whenever possible so that four lots share driveway access.
F. 
New subdivisions and/or development activities whose development or dwelling units are located outside of the critical area shall not include a flag or pipestem connection through the critical area to create riparian access.
A. 
All public sanitary sewerage and public water supply systems shall be provided and constructed following accepted design standards as approved by the Commissioners, the Town Engineer, and the Talbot County Department of Public Works.
B. 
All plats shall depict the easements and rights-of-way required to accommodate public sanitary sewerage, public water supply, and other public utilities, including but not limited to electric lines, telephone, and other wired/cabled utilities. To the greatest extent practicable, such easements and rights-of-way shall parallel alleys, streets, and roads and be located such that the disturbance to public roads and private property necessary for maintenance or repair is minimized.
C. 
The Town Engineer shall determine the appropriate width of required easements and rights-of-way, considering the area necessary to maneuver the equipment necessary to maintain, repair, and replace such facilities and utilities.
A. 
Lots generally shall be laid out to provide drainage away from buildings. Individual lot drainage shall be coordinated with the stormwater management practices and facilities required under Chapter 281 and in light of pre-subdivision existing surface runoff patterns to avoid increased drainage/runoff onto adjacent lots.
B. 
Drainage easements and stormwater management facility rights-of-way or easements, as deemed necessary by the Town Engineer shall be provided and depicted on the plat(s) with the appropriate notes added to the plat(s). To the extent practicable, easements and rights-of-way shall parallel private boundary lines and be located in such manner as to minimize disturbance to common spaces, improvements, and environmentally sensitive areas in the event of required replacement, repair, and maintenance.
C. 
The Town Engineer may also require drainage easements on private property that connects to and impacts drainageways along county roads.
D. 
Drainage easements shall be depicted on the plat(s) with a plat note deemed appropriate by the Town Engineer.
See Chapter 340, Article IV, the Chesapeake Bay Critical Area Overlay District.