The following general rules of construction shall apply to the
regulations of this chapter:
A.
The singular number includes the plural and the plural the singular,
unless the context clearly indicates the contrary.
B.
Words used in the present tense include the past and future tenses,
and the future the present.
C.
The word "shall" is always mandatory. The word "may" is permissive.
D.
The word "building" or "structure" includes any part thereof, and
the word "structure" includes the word "building."
E.
Words and terms not defined herein shall be interpreted in accord
with their normal dictionary meaning and customary usage.
For the purpose of this chapter, certain terms and words are
hereby defined as follows:
A single-family dwelling that is contained in the same structure
and is clearly subordinate to the primary use and structure.
[Added 1-8-2004 by Ord.
No. 2004-01]
One which:
Is subordinate to and serves a principal structure or a principal
use;
Is subordinate in area, footprint, extent, and purpose to the
principal structure or use served;
Is located on the same lot as the principal structure or use
served; and
Is incidental to the principal structure or use. Any portion
of a principal structure devoted or intended to be devoted to an accessory
use is not an accessory structure.
One which:
The Zoning Administrator of the Town of Rock Hall.
Any premises from which minors are excluded and in which
the retail sale of books, magazines, newspapers, movie films, devices,
slides, or other photographic or written reproductions is conducted
as a principal use of the premises; or as an adjunct to some other
business activity, but which constitutes the primary or a major attraction
to the premises.
An entertainment establishment which features go-go dancers,
topless service personnel, exotic dancers, strippers, male or female
impersonators, or similar entertainers.
The sum of two or more designated areas or widths to be measured,
limited, or determined under the provisions of this chapter.
A narrow public thoroughfare not exceeding 16 feet in width
which provides only a secondary means of access to abutting properties
and is not intended for general traffic circulation.
Any change in the total floor area, use, or external appearance
of an existing structure.
All the area within a development or plat, including area
intended for residential use, steep slopes, local access streets or
alleys, off-street parking spaces, recreational areas, floodplains,
non-tidal wetlands, common areas, etc. This will not include areas
in state-owned tidal wetlands or private tidal wetlands.
Any building, structure, or land used for retail sale of
automobile fuels, oils, and accessories and where repair service if
any, is incidental.
That portion of a structure between the floor and ceiling
which is wholly or partly below grade and having more than 1/2 of
its height below grade.
An owner-occupied or manager-occupied structure where for
compensation and only by prearrangement (transients only) for definite
periods, lodging and breakfast are provided.
Same as "rooming house."
A structure constructed over water either built on a pier
or adjoining a pier for the purpose of storing a boat, and/or boat
gear.
Manmade or natural vegetated area with plantings to protect
adjacent permitted residential uses from noise, odor, dust, fumes,
glare, or unsightly storage of materials in commercial or industrial
districts.
The area of that part of the lot not included within the
yards herein required.
Any structure having a roof supported by columns or walls
for the housing or enclosure of persons or property of any kind.
Any structure having no outside openings other than ordinary
doors, windows and ventilators.
The vertical distance from the grade to the highest point
of the coping of a flat roof or to the deckline or highest point of
coping or parapet of a mansard roof or to a distance 1/3 of the height
level between eaves and ridges for gable, hip, shed and gambrel roofs.
When the highest wall of a structure with a shed roof is within 30
feet of a street, the height of such structure shall be measured to
the highest point of the coping or parapet.
 |
Describes the size and shape of a structure and its relationship
to other structures, to the lot area for a structure and to open spaces
and yards.
Services rendered to a business establishment or individual
on a fee or contract basis including actuarial, advertising, credit
reporting, janitorial, office or business equipment rental or leasing,
photofinishing, telecommunications, window cleaning, blue-printing
and photocopying, and other such services.
A detachable, rooflike cover, supported from the ground or
deck, floor or walls of a structure, for protection from the sun or
weather.
An area of land and/or a structure with machine or hand-operated
facilities used principally for the cleaning, polishing, or washing
of personal passenger vehicles, pickup trucks, and recreational vehicles.
That part of the waterway where the largest class of vessels
that could use such waterway is required to navigate because of shallowness
of water on both sides of such part, or delineated on an approved
plan or navigational chart.
A place for the care of children under 12 years of age away
from their own homes who stay less than 24 hours in any day regardless
of compensation. Such centers will operate under the regulations of
the county or state, whichever is more restrictive.
A structure or portion thereof designed for, constructed
or under construction or alteration for or used by two or more physicians,
surgeons, dentists, psychiatrists, physiotherapists or practitioners
in related specialties or a combination of persons in these professions,
but not including the lodging of patients overnight.
Building and facilities owned or operated by a corporation,
association, person or persons for a social, educational or recreational
purpose, but not for profit and not to render a service which is customarily
carried on as a business.
An arrangement of structures on adjoining lots in groupings
allowing closer spacing than would be generally permitted under ordinance
requirements for lot width or area with the decrease in lot or area
compensated for by the maintenance of equvalent open space either
elsewhere on the lot on in the form of common open space on the parcel.
A street which is intended to collect traffic from the minor
streets within a neighborhood or a portion thereof and to distribute
such traffic to major thoroughfares, in addition to providing access
to properties abutting thereon.
An establishment which provides entertainment, recreation,
or amusement for profit including commercial establishments which
house more than three or a combination of three of the following:
video games, pinball machines, pool tables or similar-type amusements
as the principal purpose of the use.
Any motor vehicle, trailer, or semi-trailer designed or used
to carry freight, passengers for a fee, or merchandise in the furtherance
of any commercial enterprise and having a gross weight of over 10,000
pounds.
A parcel of land or an area of water, or combination thereof
within a designated development tract, such as a subdivision, which
is designed and intended for the use of all lot owners and residents
of the development or tract.
A place, structure, area, or other facility used for and
providing social and/or recreational programs generally open to the
public and designed to accommodate and serve significant segments
of the community.
The characteristics of different uses or activities that
permit them to be located near each other in harmony and without conflict.
Some elements affecting compatibility include: intensity of occupancy
as measured by dwelling units per acre; floor area ratio; pedestrian
or vehicular traffic generated; volume of goods handled; and such
environmental effects as noise, vibration, glare, air pollution, or
radiation.
A form of property ownership providing for individual ownership
of space in a structure together with an individual interest in the
land or other parts of the structure in common with other owners.
Any land and/or structures used primarily for the storage
of equipment, vehicles, machinery, new or used, building materials,
paints, pipe, or electrical components used by the owners or occupant
of the premises in the conduct of any building trades or building
craft.
A structure where regular nursing care is provided for more
than one person, not a member of the family, which resides on the
premises.
A retail store generally containing less than 2,500 square
feet of gross floor area that is designed and stocked to sell primarily
food, beverages, and other household supplies to customers. It is
designed to attract a large volume of stop-and-go traffic.
Any activity undertaken for gain or profit and carried on
in a dwelling or structure accessory to a dwelling, by members of
the family residing in the dwelling and up to two additional unrelated
people.
An open space which may or may not have direct street access
and around which is arranged a single structure or a group of related
structures.
See "child-care center."
The number of dwelling units per acre of gross area of a
development tract, unless otherwise specified.
Any construction, reconstruction, modification, extension,
or expansion of structures; placement of fill; dumping; storage of
materials; land excavation; land clearing; land improvement; subdivision
of land; or any combination thereof.
Any premises which admits aged or disabled persons to a protective
environment, who, because of advanced age or physical or mental disability,
are not gainfully employed.
DRIVE-IN BANKING FACILITYA facility including provisions for the conduct of banking services directly to the occupants of motor vehicles.
DRIVE-IN RESTAURANTA food service establishment which includes facilities designed for serving of food directly to the occupants of motor vehicles.
Access to any property by vehicles and to be located at least
three feet from the abutting lot line.
A structure or portion thereof designed or used exclusively
for residential occupancy, but not including trailers, mobile homes,
recreational vehicles, hotels, motels, motor lodges, boarding and
lodging houses, tourist courts or tourist homes.
DWELLING, SINGLE-FAMILY DETACHEDA structure containing one dwelling unit on one lot and detached from any other dwelling and occupied exclusively by one family.
DWELLING, DUPLEXA structure containing one dwelling unit attached to another dwelling unit by party walls each unit having its own lot.
DWELLING, TRIPLEXA structure containing three dwelling units attached to one another by vertical party walls each unit having its own lot.
DWELLING, TOWNHOUSEA structure designed for or used exclusively for residence purposes of one family. The structure is attached to similar structures forming groups of four but not more than eight dwellings separated vertically by party walls.
A room or group of rooms occupied or intended to be occupied
as separate living quarters by a single family or other group of persons
living together as a household or by a person living alone.
A strip of land extending along a property line or across
a lot, for which a limited right of use has been or is to be granted
for a public or quasi-public purpose and within which the owner of
the property shall not erect any permanent structures.
An accessory structure on a single residential lot for occupancy
only by immediate family members of the occupiers of the principal
structure on the lot.
A person living alone or two or more persons living together
who maintain a common household; but not including a group occupying
a boarding house or hotel.
A father, mother, son, daughter, grandfather, grandmother,
grandson, or granddaughter.
See "automobile filling station."
For commercial, business and industrial structures or structures
containing mixed uses, the sum of the gross horizontal areas of the
several floors of a structure, measured from the exterior faces of
the exterior walls or from the center line of party walls separating
two structures, but not including:
For residential structures, the sum of the gross horizontal
areas of the several floors of a dwelling, exclusive of garages, basements
and open porches, measured from the exterior faces of the exterior
walls.
Any commercial business engaged in the preparation and sale
of food or beverages, whether or not it is the principal business
of the establishment. The following types of uses are food service
establishments: bakery, bake shop, candy store, catering establishment,
convenience store, cooking school, ice cream store, restaurant, and
supermarket.
STREET FRONTAGEAll of the property on one side of a street between two intersecting streets (crossing or terminating), measured along the line of the street or, if the street is dead-ended, then all of the property abutting on one side between an intersecting street and the dead-end of the street.
LOT FRONTAGEThe distance for which the front boundary line of the lot and the street line are coincident.
A garage used for storage purposes only and having a capacity
of not more than four automobiles or not more than two automobiles
per family housed in the structure to which the garage is accessory,
whichever is the greater. Space therein may be used for not more than
one commercial vehicle of not more than 10,000 pounds gross vehicle
weight, and space may be rented for not more than two vehicles to
persons other than occupants of the structures to which such garage
is accessory.
Any retail trade use characterized by the sale of bulky items,
outside display or storage of merchandise or equipment, such as farm
and garden supplies, ice storage houses, lumber and building materials,
marine equipment sales and service, and stone monument sales.
Grade elevation shall be determined by averaging the elevations
of the finished ground at all the corners and/or other principal points
in the perimeter wall of the structure.
Any residential structure used to provide assisted community
living for persons with physical, mental, emotional, familial, or
social difficulties.
The provision of medical, dental, or surgical, or other health
services to individuals, including medical out-patient clinics, medical
laboratories, dental clinics, dental laboratories, hospital supplies,
and opticians.
See "cottage industry."
A structure or group of structures, having room facilities
for overnight patients, used for providing services for the in-patient
medical or surgical care of sick or injured humans and which may include
related facilities, central service facilities and staff offices;
provided, however, that such related facility must be incidental and
subordinate to the main use and must be an integral part of the hospital
operations.
A facility containing 11 or more rooms offering transient
lodging accommodations on a daily rate to the general public and in
which access to and from all rooms is made through an inside lobby
supervised by a person in charge at all hours.
A structure or development which is designed for the needs
of elderly persons and which is subject to management or other legal
restrictions that require at least 80% of the units in the project
to be occupied by households of persons aged 62 or over.
An existing structure where for compensation and only by
prearrangement for definite periods, lodging and meals for transients
are provided. Such uses are limited to 10 rooming units excluding
resident manager quarters.
Dilapidated automobiles, trucks, tractors and other such
vehicles and parts thereof, dilapidated wagons, trailers and other
kinds of vehicles and parts thereof, scrap building materials, scrap
contractors' equipment, tanks, casks, cans, barrels, boxes, drums,
piping, bottles, glass, old iron, machinery, rags, paper, excelsior,
hair, mattresses, beds or bedding or any other kind of scrap or waste
material which is stored, kept, handled or displayed.
A business that provides washing, drying and/or ironing machines
or dry-cleaning machines for hire to be used by customers on the premises.
A fence of nonsolid construction, no less or more than five
feet in height, whose purpose it is to delineate property lines or
boundaries.
A space within the main structure or on the same lot, providing
for the standing, loading or unloading of trucks.
Same as "rooming house."
A recorded parcel of land occupied or intended for occupancy
by a use permitted in this chapter, including one main structure,
together with its accessory structures and the yard areas and parking
spaces required by this chapter, and having its principal frontage
upon a public street.
The total horizontal area within the lot lines of the lot.
The boundary line of a lot.
A lot abutting upon two or more streets at their intersection.
The average horizontal distance between the front and rear
lot lines.
A lot other than a corner lot.
The smallest area established by this chapter upon which
a use, structure, or building may be located in a particular district.
A lot having a frontage on two approximately parallel streets
or fronting on two streets not parallel.
The horizontal distance between the side lot lines measured
at the required front yard setback line.
A place for docking pleasure boats or providing services
to pleasure boats and the occupants thereof, including the minor servicing
and repair to boats while in the water, the sale of fuel and supplies
and the provision of lodging, food, beverages and entertainment as
accessory uses. A yacht club shall be considered as a "marina," but
a hotel, motel or similar use, where the docking of boats and provision
of services thereto is incidental to other activities, shall not be
considered a "marina," nor shall boat docks accessory to a multiple
dwelling where no boat-related services are rendered.
A secondary or vocational school that offers certified instruction
in skilled trades related to the marine industry, including, but not
limited to, boat engine repair and maintenance, electronics, painting,
fiber glassing, vessel maintenance and marina management.
[Added 5-12-2005 by Ord.
No. 2005-06]
An establishment where, for any form of consideration, massage,
alcohol rub, fomentation, electric or magnetic treatment, or similar
treatment or manipulation of the human body is administered, unless
such treatment or manipulation is administered by a medical practitioner,
chiropractor, acupuncturist, physical therapist, or similar professional
person licensed by the State of Maryland. This definition does not
include an athletic club, health club, school, gymnasium, reducing
salon, spa, or similar establishment where massage or similar manipulation
of the human body is offered as an incidental or accessory service.
A building or group of detached or connected buildings designed
and used for providing sleeping accommodations for automobile travelers
and having a parking space adjacent or near to a sleeping room.
Same as "convalescent home."
Any area of land or water set aside, dedicated or designed,
or reserved for public or private use or enjoyment, or for the use
and enjoyment of owners and occupants of land adjoining or neighboring
such open space.
Usable open space shall be a minimum area of 100 square feet
with a minimum width of 10 feet. A minimum of 40% of the required
open space shall be usable for active recreation such as swimming
pools, tennis courts, tot lots, ball fields, and other similar activities.
Water bodies shall not exceed 15% of the required open space area.
An all-weather surfaced area not in a street or alley and
having an area of not less than 200 square feet permanently reserved
for the temporary storage of one vehicle and connected with a street
or alley by a paved driveway which affords ingress and egress for
an automobile without requiring another automobile to be moved.
A minimum requirement or maximum allowable limit on the effects
of a use. Such standards are placed on individual uses in addition
to the general zoning requirements.
A structure built out over the water and supported by pillars,
piles, or floats; used as a landing place for watercraft, etc., including
tie-out piles.
A lot, together with all structures thereon.
A street or highway so designated on the Major Thoroughfare
Plan of Rock Hall.
Offices for doctors, dentists, attorneys, and similar uses
as determined by the Administrator.
Open to common use, whether or not government ownership is
involved.
Areas adjacent to the waters of Rock Hall and owned by the
Kent County Commissioners for use by the public for water-related
activities, subject to rules and regulations as may be promulgated
by the Kent County Commissioners.
Uses or structures for the public purpose of power transmission
and distribution (but not power generation), fuel transmission and
distribution (but not manufacture or storage, water treatment and
distribution, sewer collection and treatment, telephone services (not
including broadcasting studios), and rail or highway rights-of-way
(not including stations or terminals).
Carry-out. Establishments other than bakeries and bake shops,
whose principal business is the sale of foods or beverages to the
customer in a ready-to-consume state for consumption off the premises
and whose design or principal method of operation includes the following
characteristics:
Sit-down. An establishment whose principal business is the sale
of foods or beverages to the customer in a ready-to-consume state,
and whose design or principal method of operation includes one or
both of the following characteristics:
Customers, normally provided with an individual menu, are served
their foods or beverages by a restaurant employee at the same table
or counter at which the items are consumed.
A cafeteria-type operation where foods or beverages generally
are consumed within the restaurant structure.
The number of customers served is strongly tied to or limited
by the seating available.
A strip of land acquired by reservation, dedication, prescription
or condemnation and intended to be occupied by a road, crosswalk,
railroad, electric transmission lines, oil or gas pipeline, water
line, sanitary or storm sewer or similar uses.
A structure other than a hotel, motel or motor lodge where,
for compensation and by prearrangement for definite periods, lodging,
meals or lodging and meals are provided for three or more persons,
but containing no more than five sleeping rooms.
A grouping of individual but architecturally unified commercial
establishments built on a site that is planned, developed, owned,
and managed as an operating unit related in its location, size and
type of shops to the trade area that it serves. The unit provides
on-site parking in definite relationship to the types and total size
of the stores.
For definitions pertaining to signs, see Article VII.
A drawing illustrating a proposed development and prepared in accordance with the specifications of Article XI.
That area of the water way contained within the tie-off pilings
and a pier or bulkhead, covered or not.
That portion of a structure, other than a basement, included
between the surface of any floor and the surface of the floor next
above it; or, if there is no floor next above it, then the space between
such floor and the ceiling next above it.
A space under a sloping roof which has the line of intersection
of the roof decking and wall face not more than four feet above the
top floor level and in which space not more than 2/3 of the floor
area is finished for use. A half-story containing independent apartments
for living quarters shall be counted as a full story.
A public thoroughfare which affords the principal means of
access to abutting property.
A dividing line separating a lot, tract, or parcel of land
and a contiguous street (also right-of-way line).
Any change in the supporting members of a structure, such
as footings, bearing walls or partitions, columns, beams or girders,
or any substantial change in the roof or in the exterior walls, excepting
such repair as may be required for the safety of the structure.
Anything constructed or erected, the use of which requires
more or less permanent location on the ground, or attached to something
having a permanent location on the ground, including, but without
limiting the generality of the foregoing, trailers or mobile homes,
signs, swimming pools, fences, backstops for tennis courts, pergolas,
pilings, piers, and bulkheads.
Any portable pool or permanent structure containing a body
of water 18 inches or more in depth and 250 square feet or more of
water surface area, intended for recreational purposes, including
a wading pool but not including an ornamental reflecting pool or fish
pond or other type of pool located and designed so as not to create
a hazard or be used for swimming or wading.
Any vehicle or similar portable structure with any or all
of the following characteristics:
Manufactured as a relocatable dwelling unit intended for year-round
occupancy and has no need for a permanent foundation, which can be
moved upon the removal of tie-downs and surrounding decks and the
reattachment of tow bar, axles, and wheels.
Designed to be transported after manufacture on its own permanent
chassis, with a fixed or removable tow bar, and can be moved without
the use of regular house-moving equipment.
Designed to be installed as a single-wide or double-wide unit
with only incidental unpacking and assembling operations. The term
"mobile home" also includes park trailers, travel trailers and other
similar vehicles.
Any site, lot, field or tract of land upon which is located
two or more occupied trailers or which is held out for the location
of any occupied trailer. The terms shall include any structure, vehicle,
or enclosure for use as a part of the equipment for such park or court.
A facility where truck transport goods are transferred or
stored pending transfer, and which may include truck dispatching,
parking and servicing and temporary accommodation for truck drivers.
The land/water edge and the immediately adjacent property
providing access to it.
Any body of water, including any creek, canal, river, lake
or bay or any other body of water, natural or artificial, except a
swimming pool or ornamental pool located on a single lot.
The measurement is made at the shoreline location of the
pier, or proposed pier, and establishes the narrowest width of the
waterway from that point.
As defined by state and federal regulations.
Defined as state and private wetlands in Title 9, Natural
Resource Article, Annotated Code of Maryland.
See "club, private."
An open space other than a court, on a lot, and unoccupied
and unobstructed from the ground upward, except as otherwise provided
in this chapter.
 |
A yard extending across the front of a lot between the side
lot lines and being the minimum horizontal distance between the street
line and the main structure or any projections thereof other than
the projections of uncovered steps, uncovered balconies, terraces
or uncovered porches. For waterfront residential properties, it is
that part of the yard extending across a lot between the side lot
lines and being the minimum horizontal distance from the water and
the main structure or any projections other than projections of uncovered
steps, uncovered balconies, terraces, or uncovered porches. For waterfront
commercial properties, it is that part of the yard extending across
the front of the lot between the side lot lines and being the minimum
horizontal distance between the street line and the main structure.
On corner lots, the front yard shall be considered as parallel to
the street upon which the lot has its least dimension.
A yard extending across the rear of the lot between the side
lot lines and measured between the rear lot line and the rear of the
main structure or any projection other than steps, unenclosed porches
or entranceways.
A yard between the main structure and the side line of the
lot and extending from the front yard to the rear yard and being the
minimum horizontal distance between the side lot line and side of
the main structures or any projections thereof.
For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions describe
the meaning of the terms used in the Ordinance. Definitions applicable
to terms used in the Critical Area District not already contained
herein shall be the same as those contained in the Chesapeake Bay
Critical Area Criteria, Section 14.15.01.
The establishment of a tree crop on an area from which it
has always or very long been absent, or the planting of open areas
that are not presently in forest cover.
Fish that travel upstream (from their primary habitat in
the ocean) to freshwater in order to spawn.
Conservation practices or systems of practices and management
measures that control soil loss and reduce water quality degradation
caused by nutrients, animal waste, toxic substances, and sediment.
Agricultural BMPs include, but are not limited to, strip cropping,
terracing, contour stripping, grass waterways, animal waste structures,
ponds, minimal tillage, grass and naturally vegetated filter strips
and proper nutrient application measures.
A naturally vegetated area or vegetated area established
or managed to protect aquatic, wetland shoreline, and terrestrial
environments from man-made disturbances. In the Critical Area District,
the minimum Buffer is a continuous area located immediately landward
of tidal waters (measured from the mean high water line), tributary
streams in the Critical Area, and tidal wetlands and has a minimum
width of 100 feet. The Buffer shall be expanded beyond the minimum
depth to include certain sensitive areas as per requirements established
in this chapter.
A commercial operation that would alter the existing composition
or profile, or both, of a forest, including all commercial cutting
operations done by companies and private individuals for economic
gain.
Boat docking facilities associated with subdivisions and
similar residential areas, and with condominium, apartment, and other
multiple-family dwelling units. Private piers are excluded from this
definition.
A non-possessory interest in land that restricts the manner
in which the land may be developed in an effort to conserve natural
resources for future use.
All lands and waters defined in § 8-1807 of the
Natural Resources Article, Annotated Code of Maryland. They include:
All waters of and lands under the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries
to the head of tide as indicated on the state wetlands maps, and all
state and private wetlands designated under Title 9 of the Natural
Resources Article, Annotated Code of Maryland;
All land and water areas within 1,000 feet beyond the landward
boundaries of state or private wetlands and the heads of tides designated
under Title 9 of the Natural Resources Article, Annotated Code of
Maryland; and
Modification to these areas through inclusions or exclusions
proposed by Town of Rock Hall and approved by the Commission as specified
in § 8-1807 of the Natural Resources Article, Annotated
Code of Maryland.
The Maryland Chesapeake Bay Critical Area Commission.
The Town of Rock Hall portions of the Critical Area as defined
above.
The number of dwelling units per acre of gross area of a
development tract, unless otherwise specified.
Areas one acre or more in size that predominantly contain
trees and natural vegetation and that also include residential, commercial,
or industrial structures and uses.
Any construction, modification, extension or expansion of
structures; placement of fill or dumping; storage of materials; land
excavation; land clearing; land improvement; or any combination thereof,
including the subdivision of land.
The area of a lot, within a larger overall lot area that
is devoted to structures and septic systems. In general, where a development
pad is prescribed the remaining area of the lot must be maintained
in natural vegetation.
The area of a site where natural cover has been removed for
construction of structures, placement of septic systems or shared
facilities, drives, roads, parking areas, etc., and not replaced.
Minor watercourses that are defined either by soil type or
by the presence of intermittent or perennial streams or topography
that indicates a swale where surface sheet flows join, including:
the land, except where areas are designated as floodplain, on the
side of and within 50 feet of the centerline of any intermittent or
perennial stream shown of the U.S. Geological Service's 7 1/2
minute Quadrangle sheets covering the incorporated areas of Kent County.
A comprehensive report that describes the natural features
and characteristics of a proposed development site, the changes that
will occur as the result of proposed development activities on the
site, the anticipated environmental impacts and consequences of the
proposed development, and mitigation measures to be taken to minimize
undesirable impacts to the environment.
An act of the Mayor and Council approved by the Critical
Area Commission, that relieves an area of the Town or an individual
property from the Buffer provisions of the Critical Area District.
Commercial water-dependent fisheries facilities including
structures for the packing, processing, canning or freezing of finfish,
crustaceans, mollusks, and amphibians and reptiles and also including
related activities such as wholesale and retail sales, product storage
facilities, crab shedding, off-loading docks, shellfish culture operations,
and shore-based facilities necessary for aquaculture operations.
A biological community dominated by trees and other woody
plants covering a land area of one acre or more. This also includes
forests that have been cut but not cleared.
The protection, manipulation, and utilization of the forest
to provide multiple benefits, such as timber harvesting, wildlife
habitat, etc.
The alteration of the forest either through tree removal
or replacement in order to improve the timber, wildlife, recreational,
or water quality values.
The term describes the status accorded certain properties
and development activities that are of record prior to the date of
adoption of this chapter or provisions of this chapter.
An area of land calculated as 5% of the total Resource Conservation
Area (excluding tidal wetlands and federally owned land) in the county,
a portion of which the Town may convert to more intense management
areas to accommodate land development; also
An act of the Mayor and Council, i.e., approving the growth
allocation, which provides for conversion of a property or properties
located in a Resource Conservation Area (RCA) and/or the Limited Development
Area (LDA) in the Critical Area District to another land management
classification which allows an increase in the permitted density.
Soils with a slope greater than 15%; or those soils with
a "K" value greater than 0.35 with slopes greater than 5%.
Soils that are wet frequently enough to periodically produce
anaerobic conditions, thereby influencing the species composition
or growth, or both, of plants on those soils.
Father, mother, son, daughter, grandfather, grandmother,
grandson, or granddaughter.
Any activity that removes the vegetative ground cover.
Any facility for the mooring, berthing, storing, or securing
of watercraft, but not including community piers and other noncommercial
boat docking and storage facilities.
The average level of high tides at a given location.
Components and processes present in or produced by nature,
including but not limited to soil types, geology, slopes, vegetation,
surface water, drainage patterns, aquifers, recharge areas, climate,
floodplains, aquatic life, and wildlife.
Plant communities that develop in the absence of human activities.
Those areas where the water table is usually at or near the
surface or where the soil or substrate is covered by shallow water
at some time during the growing season, and which are usually characterized
by one of the following: (1) at least periodically, the land supports
predominantly hydrophytic vegetation; (2) the substrate is predominantly
undrained hydric soils (i.e., does not have tile drains or drainage
ditches). Land periodically supporting predominantly hydrophytic vegetation
is defined to mean areas of natural vegetation where the water table
is at the surface of the land for at least two weeks during the growing
season.
Structures or actions that compensate for undesirable impacts.
Undeveloped land used primarily for resource protection or
recreational purposes. Land and water areas retained for use as active
or passive recreation areas in an essentially underdeveloped state
or land areas retained in natural cover, agricultural or commercial
forestry use.
The area of a lot, within a larger overall lot area that
is devoted to structures and septic systems. In general, where a development
pad is prescribed the remaining area of the lot must be maintained
in natural vegetation.
The soils, topography, land slope and aspect, and local climate
that influence the form and species composition of plant communities.
The process of developing land that is or has been developed.
The establishment of a forest through artificial reproduction
or natural regeneration.
Any of number of structural and nonstructural methods or
techniques for controlling the erosion of shoreline areas. More specifically
the term refers to:
Nonstructural: creation of an intertidal marsh fringe channelward
of the existing bank by one of the following methods:
Vegetation: planting an existing shore with a wide band of vegetation;
Bank sloping/vegetation: sloping and planting a nonwooded bank
to manage tidal water contact, using structures to contain sloped
materials if necessary; and
Contained beach: filling alongshore with sandy materials, grading,
and containing the new beach to eliminate tidal water contact with
the bank.
An annual rate of erosion of two feet or greater.
Land-use plans for farms that show farmers how to make the
best possible use of their soil and water resources while protecting
and conserving those resources for the future. It is a document containing
a map and related plans that indicate:
Slopes of 15% or greater incline.
State wetlands that are defined as any land under the navigable
waters of the state below the mean high water line, affected by the
regular rise and fall of tide, and private wetlands defined as any
land not considered "state wetlands" bordering or lying beneath tidal
aquatic growth. Private wetlands include wetlands transferred by the
state by a valid grant, lease, patent, or grant confirmed by Article
5 of the Declaration of Rights of the Constitution to the extent of
the interest transferred. The term "regular or periodic tidal action"
means the rise and fall of the sea produced by the attraction of the
sun and moon uninfluenced by the wind or any other circumstance.
The existing configuration of the earth's surface including
the relative relief, elevations, and position of land features.
Perennial and intermittent streams in the Critical Area that
are so noted on the most recent U.S. Geological Survey 7 1/2
minute topographic quadrangle maps (scale 1:24,000) or on more detailed
maps or studies at the discretion of the local jurisdictions.
Structures or works associated with industrial, maritime,
recreational, educational, or fisheries activities which Town of Rock
Hall has determined require location at or near the shoreline within
the Buffer.
Strip of land having vegetation that provides habitat and
a safe passageway for wildlife.
