Chapter 25 Planning Commission

Water;

Sewer;

Schools (for residential, non-senior housing only);

Roads and traffic control devices;

Fire and rescue services;

(6)

Police services; and

(7)

Parks and open space.

The Commission shall determine the adequacy of public facilities at the concept plan stage for site plans, subdivision plans and minor subdivision plans as applicable, and again, with respect to water and sewer capacity only, when the Town extends water and/or sewer capacity to a development plan and water and sewer allocation applicant on the waiting list established pursuant to § 109-19.51 of the Town Code (hereinafter throughout this chapter, "the waiting list").

[Amended 11-2-2015 by Ord. No. 2015-12]

The Commission shall consider whether, based on projected financial data, revenues to be generated from the building of the proposed development project, to include expected tax revenues and impact fees, will be sufficient to provide required services to such project.

In addition, the Commission shall consider whether, based on any information provided by a state or county agency, the proposed development project is consistent with applicable governmental environmental standards, including those which address protection of sensitive lands, protection of water supplies or conservation areas, protection of natural resources and protection of air and water quality, and may, if recommended by a state or county agency, require appropriate protection of environmental resources, creation of additional open space or reductions in housing density than would otherwise be permitted on site or subdivision plans.

Upon receipt of written responses from all applicable review agencies concerning adequacy of such facilities, the Commission shall determine, as set forth below, whether each facility is adequate for the proposed development project. The Commission shall base its conclusion on objective factual information, including such written responses and any other reasonably reliable information available to the Commission. In addition, the Commission may employ, at the cost of the developer, a licensed professional to review the proposed development project and provide relevant information concerning the adequacy of facilities to assist the Commission in reaching an informed decision. In the event the Commission has not made a determination of inadequacy, written responses from applicable review agencies shall be updated six months after the responses have been completed.

In the event a reviewing agency shall fail to provide a written response addressing the adequacy of facilities for a proposed development project within 45 days of being requested to do so by the Commission, the Commission may:

Postpone consideration of the project for no more than 30 days to allow such agency to respond;

Engage a private licensed professional, at the cost of the developer, to review the applicable portion of the project; or

Review data that is available and apply the standards noted below to determine whether adequacy exists.

§ 25-5 Adequate facilities.

[Amended 7-9-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-31]

The Planning Commission shall approve the adequacy of public facilities for a proposed development project if each of the following facilities are adequate according to the below standards for each facility. The Planning Commission shall consider the cumulative impact of all existing and approved development, which shall include existing development; development approved at the preliminary plan stage; development approved that is under construction or for which a permit could be issued at any time; and future connections from the proposed development. The Planning Commission shall also consider existing or future approved development in the surrounding region, including Carroll and Frederick Counties, to the extent such development is considered likely to impact any of the below public facilities. The Planning Commission may, in reviewing adequacy, also seek the advisory opinion of staff, experts, Town commissions or others as appropriate.

Water. To the extent the municipal water system is certified as having sufficient available capacity to provide maximum day demand and meet peak-hour demand in addition to fire flow to each "equivalent dwelling unit" or projected usage per lot of the proposed development project without exceeding 80% of overall system capacity, and if the distribution system is capable of providing normal required pressure as well as minimum residual pressure to existing, approved, and the proposed development project, considering all of the following factors:

Existing conditions for water usage and availability;

Future connections from development approved at the preliminary plan stage;

Future connections from buildings under construction or recorded lots from previously approved preliminary plans for which a permit could be issued at any time in the future;

Future connections from the proposed development project; and

Any additional water source to be provided by the developer and which has been tested and certified as required by the Subdivision Regulations of the Town of Mount Airy.[1]

[1]

Editor's Note: See Ch. 98, Subdivision of Land and Site Plan Review.

Sewer. If the Town sanitary sewer system is certified as to its ability to provide the sewerage capacity necessary for the proposed development project, without exceeding 80% of overall system capacity, considering:

Existing conditions and capacities of the municipal wastewater treatment plant or overall sanitary sewer system;

Future connections from development approved at the preliminary plan stage;

Future connections from buildings under construction or recorded lots from previously approved preliminary plans for which a permit could be issued at any time in the future; and

Future connections from the proposed development project.

Schools. If, according to the local enrollment figures for each enrollment district and each school in such enrollment district, as determined and certified by the Board of Education for the county in which the proposed development project will occur, each school within such applicable enrollment district will not exceed 100% capacity according to local functional capacity standards utilized by the applicable school system, considering:

Existing population from existing homes;

Projected population from future building from residences approved at the preliminary plan stage;

Projected population from future building from residences under construction or recorded lots from previously approved preliminary plans for which a permit could be issued at any time in the future;

Ratings and projections from residences in the proposed development project.

Roads.

All streets or intersections designated by the Commission as serving or affected by the proposed development project (which may include roads or intersections not immediately adjacent to or within the immediate vicinity of the proposed development project) shall have a rating of A or B (for roads maintained exclusively by the Town) or rating of C or better (for roads which are maintained by county or state governments), considering:

Effects of existing traffic;

Traffic projected to be generated from future residential, commercial or industrial projects which have received preliminary plan approval;

Traffic projected to be generated from residential, commercial or industrial projects under construction or recorded lots from previously approved preliminary plans for which a permit could be issued at any time in the future; and

Traffic from the proposed development project.

The Commission shall require that all streets and intersections which are designated by the Commission as serving the proposed development project be certified as to their adequacy by a licensed firm hired by the Town at the expense of the developer. The Commission may also require county certification or state certification whenever a county or state road is within the designated area and serving the proposed development project. The firm preparing the certification shall use the methodology in the current edition of the "Highway Capacity Manual" for the rating of all streets or, if in effect, the methodology as determined by the Town's traffic impact study (TIS) guidelines.

If the existing level of service of the affected street or intersection is less than the rating of A, B or C as applicable, but not below level of service D, then such street or intersection will still be considered adequate, provided the proposed development project will not degrade such street or intersection by more than 2% based on the volume-to-capacity ratio. Any degradation in excess of 2% shall be deemed inadequate or approaching inadequate.

Fire and rescue services. Services are adequate if the Chief of the Mount Airy Volunteer Fire Department, or his or her designee, shall certify that:

Projected number of late and no responses is less than 15%, and the total number of no responses is less than 4%, measured on a quarterly basis;

Using an average over the previous 12 months, response time is eight minutes or less from time of dispatch to on-scene arrival with adequate apparatus and personnel 90% of the time;

All bridges and roads for the most direct route or acceptable secondary route to the proposed development project are adequate to support fire and emergency response apparatus; and

There exists sufficient water flow, from hydrants or other acceptable water sources, for use by emergency response apparatus to serve the proposed development project.

Police services. Services are adequate if the Mayor or the person designated by the Mayor to certify police services adequacy certifies that the ratio of police personnel to population will not exceed 1,000 people for 1.1 officers, and also certifies that police services are adequate to provide services to existing residences and businesses as well as the proposed development.

[Amended 10-5-2020 by Ord. No. 2020-21]

Parks and open space.

[Amended 2-3-2020 by Ord. No. 2019-12; 11-1-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-16; 8-7-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-8]

Parks and open space provisions are adequate if the Parks Department certifies that the ratio of parks and open space acreage to population will meet or exceed at least three acres per 100 persons, considering:

Existing population from existing homes;

Projected population from future building from residences approved at the preliminary plan stage;

Projected population from future building from residences under construction or from recorded lots from previously approved preliminary plans for which a permit could be issued at any time in the future;

Projected population from residents in the proposed development project.

Until such time as the Town's inventory of parks and open space meets the three acres per 100 persons standard, the Planning Commission may waive strict application of the park and open space adequacy standard, provided that each development project, including any industrial, commercial, residential, Mixed Use District (MXD) and Mixed Use in the Community Commercial District (MXU-CC) development, that is granted a waiver under this subsection provides at least three acres of park and open space per 100 persons, or a pro rata portion thereof, of projected population from residents in the proposed development project, with the following exceptions:

[Amended 9-11-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-30]

Only for developments located in the Downtown Zone (DTZ) with lots less than or equal to 15,000 square feet, the parks and open space requirement will be fully exempted.

Only for developments located in the Downtown Zone (DTZ) with lots greater than 15,000 square feet in accordance with the requirements set forth in this Code applicable thereto, a development project may be granted a waiver under this subsection as follows:

POS - Parks and open space required to be dedicated to the Town of Mount Airy, in acres

TA - Total gross acres of parcel

P - Projected number of resident persons added

CSF - Total gross commercial space in square feet being provided

[1]

Where providing three acres of parks and open space per 100 persons would equate to less than or equal to 5% of the total gross parcel acreage of the proposed development, then the development must provide the pro rata share of three acres per 100 persons (no exceptions required); or

If POS < 0.05 x TA;

POS = (3/100) x P

[2]

Where providing three acres of parks and open space per 100 persons would equate to more than 5% of the total gross parcel acreage of the proposed development, then the development must provide the pro rata share of three acres per 100 persons less one person for every 200 square feet of commercial space provided in the proposed development project, or 5% of the gross parcel acreage, whichever is greater, in order to qualify for the exception:

If POS > 0.05 x TA;

POS = (3/100) x (P - CSF/200)

POS = 0.05 x TA;

whichever is greater.

In determining whether to grant or deny a waiver under Subsection G(2) above, the Planning Commission shall consider and weigh the following:

The extent to which the open space in the proposed development exceeds the minimum requirements for the development as set forth in § 98-23 of the Town Code;

The magnitude of the Town's parks and open space deficit at the time that the waiver is under consideration and whether the proposed development will increase or decrease the deficit;

Whether the proposed development optimizes the proposed open space in consideration of the amount, nature (i.e., whether the proposed open space is green space and/or offers passive or active recreation), dimensions, quality, location, suitability to the proposed development, whether the proposed open space satisfies a critical Town need or proposes a shortage, amenities, and accessibility of the open space within the proposed development, and any adverse impacts on neighboring property.

Any other factors that the Planning Commission deems relevant in consideration of a waiver specific to a proposed development.

The Planning Commission may impose conditions on the granting of any waiver under Subsection G(2) above.

§ 25-6 Facilities approaching inadequate.

The Planning Commission shall memorialize its determination to grant or deny a waiver under Subsection G(2) above, and its supporting rationale in reference to the guidelines enumerated in Subsection G(3) above, in a formal written memorandum which shall be made available to the public.

[Amended 7-9-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-32]

The Planning Commission may approve a proposed development project for a residential subdivision but allow building only on a phased-in schedule that will permit building to begin 24 months from the date of approval, but which, after building is permitted to begin, may allow no more than 10 homes the first year, 15 homes the second year, and 20 homes the third year if any of the following facilities are approaching inadequate according to the below standards for each facility:

Water. To the extent the municipal water system is certified as having sufficient available capacity to provide maximum day demand and meet peak-hour demand in addition to fire flow to each "equivalent dwelling unit" or projected usage per lot of the proposed development project without exceeding 88% of overall system capacity, and if the distribution system is capable of providing normal required pressure as well as minimum residual pressure to existing, approved, and the proposed development project, considering all of the following factors:

Existing conditions for water usage and availability;

Future connections from development approved at the preliminary plan stage;

Future connections from buildings under construction or recorded lots from previously approved preliminary plans for which a permit could be issued at any time in the future;

Future connections from the proposed development project; and

Any additional water source to be provided by the developer and which has been tested and certified as required by the Subdivision Regulations of the Town of Mount Airy.[1]

[1]

Editor's Note: See Ch. 98, Subdivision of Land and Site Plan Review.

Sewer. If the Town sanitary sewer system is certified as to its ability to provide the sewerage capacity necessary for the proposed development project, without exceeding 88% of overall system capacity, considering:

Existing conditions and capacities of the municipal wastewater treatment plant or overall sanitary sewer system;

Future connections from development approved at the preliminary plan stage;

Future connections from buildings under construction or recorded lots from previously approved preliminary plans for which a permit could be issued at any time in the future; and

Ratings and projections from residences in the proposed development project.

Schools. To the extent new schools are planned under the Board of Education's capital improvement plans as approved by the applicable county government to be funded, to be open for students within five years from the date building begins, then if according to enrollment figures certified by the Board of Education for the county in which the proposed development project will occur, each elementary school proposed to serve the projected school population will exceed 100% capacity but not greater than 105% capacity, and each middle and high school will exceed 100% but not greater than 110% capacity, once the proposed development project is fully built, according to local functional capacity standards utilized by the applicable school system, considering:

Existing population from existing homes;

Projected population from future building from residences approved at the preliminary plan stage;

Projected population from future building from residences under construction or recorded lots from previously approved preliminary plans for which a permit could be issued at any time in the future;

Ratings and projections from residences in the proposed development project.

Roads.

If any streets or intersections which are designated by the Commission as serving or affected by the proposed development project will have ratings that reach or exceed level C (for roads maintained exclusively by the Town) or ratings of D (for roads maintained by county or state governments) considering:

Effects of existing traffic;

Traffic projected to be generated from future residential, commercial or industrial projects which have received preliminary plan approval;

Traffic from the proposed development project.

The Commission shall require that all streets and intersections which are designated by the Commission as serving the proposed development project be certified by a licensed firm hired by the Town at the expense of the developer. The Commission may also require county certification or state certification whenever a county or state road is within the designated area and serving the proposed development project. The firm preparing the certification shall use the methodology in the current edition of the Highway Capacity Manual for the rating of all streets or, if in effect, the methodology as determined by the Town's traffic impact study (TIS) guidelines.

If a proposed development project is approved subject to the phasing requirements of this section, and during such phase-in period the facilities that were approaching inadequate are improved such that they would then be certified as adequate, the proposed development project may be permitted to proceed without phasing restrictions upon approval by the Commission.

§ 25-7 Inadequate facilities.

[Amended 7-9-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-33]

Except as set forth in Subsection A(1) below, the Planning Commission may not approve, and must deny on the basis of inadequate facilities, any proposed development project if any of the facilities listed in § 25-6 are not adequate according to the standards therein, or if any of the facilities listed in § 25-7 are of a lower service level than the standard of "approaching inadequate" subject to the provisions of § 25-7B. Any plan denied under this section may be resubmitted 12 months after the date of denial.

[Amended 11-2-2015 by Ord. No. 2015-12]

Notwithstanding Subsection A above, the Planning Commission shall approve a development project plan pending water and sewer capacity availability for the sole purpose of the development project's placement on the waiting list where the plan would otherwise be approved and Water and Sewer Allocation Permits issued but for the applicant's inability to demonstrate that the proposed allocation of water and/or sewer to the project is less than or equal to the net available capacity yield applicable to the allocation category from which the allocation is to be made pursuant to § 109-19.5F(2) of the Town Code.

If a facility is deemed inadequate or approaching inadequate but is scheduled to be improved to provide a higher service level under any relevant capital improvement program of the Town, state, county or any relevant agency thereto within six years from the date of submission of the plan for the proposed development project, the Planning Commission may conditionally approve the proposed development project but defer a final decision of the adequacy of facilities for up to three years pending reconsideration of the adequacy of facilities.

If a financial analysis demonstrates that revenue, including but not limited to tax revenues and impact fees, considering existing sources as well as that to be generated from the proposed development project, would be sufficient to permit improvement for police and fire and rescue services to an adequate level of services, the preliminary plan may be conditionally approved. In that event, final plan approval shall be deferred for at least six months and until such time as the analysis demonstrates that improvement to an adequate level of services can be accomplished.

If a financial analysis demonstrates that revenue, including but not limited to tax revenues and impact fees, considering existing sources as well as that to be generated from the proposed development project, would be available for a specific capital improvement and would be in sufficient amount to allow improvement to a higher service level within two years from the date construction is scheduled to begin, the preliminary plan may be conditionally approved in part, deferring a final decision of the adequacy of facilities for up to three years pending reconsideration of the adequacy of facilities.

§ 25-8 Mitigation.

Mitigation through capital improvement plan. The developer or applicant whose plan is subject to denial or delay under this article shall have the opportunity to provide infrastructure funds, improve facilities directly with Town approval, or donate necessary facilities in order to mitigate the existing inadequacy of facilities and permit consideration for approval or delayed approval, as appropriate.

Adequate public facilities test shall apply. Even if the developer or applicant seeks to mitigate inadequate facilities as provided in Subsection A above, no exception shall be granted under this article and the mitigation must allow the project to meet the standards outlined in this chapter in order to be approved; and the developer or applicant must also enter into a development agreement with the Town on terms and conditions acceptable to the Town Council.

[Amended 7-9-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-34]

§ 25-9 Expiration of approval.

[Amended 7-9-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-35]

Approved plans.

A preliminary plan approved under this section shall expire at the end of four years from the date of approval, unless:

The applicant has previously recorded a plat containing at least 20% of the total lots contained within the approved preliminary plan for the proposed development project; or

The applicant has submitted, prior to the expiration of such four-year period, a request for extension of the approval for the plan.

If the applicant submits a request for extension of the plan, the facilities shall be tested as required under § 25-5, and, if adequate, the preliminary plan approval shall be extended for up to four additional years.

A preliminary plan receiving conditional approval shall expire at the end of five years from the date of conditional approval, subject to extension for another five-year period; except that approval of adequate facilities shall expire four years from the date of approval of adequacy of facilities.

§ 25-10 Permit limitations.

[Amended 7-9-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-36; 11-2-2015 by Ord. No. 2015-12]

Any approvals, conditional approvals, partial approvals, delays in permit issuance or phasing in of allowed permits under this article shall be subject to any other valid limitations imposed by the Town Council, Planning Commission, or any other authorized governmental authority, including but not limited to permit limitations or other conditions imposed by the Town.

The Town Council may consider, before the beginning of each fiscal year, whether public facilities are adequate under the standards contained within this chapter, and determine the maximum permits per subdivision that may be issued per subdivision for the next year after Planning Commission subdivision approval. This determination may apply within the Town, in one or both counties, depending on the adequacy of the specific public facilities, timing of the provision of public facilities to address inadequacies, and approved development in the region, among other factors.

The Town Council shall receive a report from the Planning Commission, based on information from the Town Planner, Town Engineer and other staff, regarding the adequacy of all public facilities tested herein;

If one or more facilities are inadequate, the Town Council may determine, based on recommendations from staff, that limited or no additional permits shall be issued for any new development during the next five-year period, depending on the level of inadequacy and timing of any improvements to address the inadequacy;

If one or more facilities are approaching inadequate, the Town Council may determine, based on recommendations from staff, that permits shall be limited for any new development during the next five-year period until the inadequacy is addressed.