Afforestation.
AFFORESTATION
(a)
Establishment of a forest on an area from which
forest cover has been absent for a long period of time; or
(b)
Planting of trees in an open area that is not
presently in forest cover; or
(c)
Adding additional tree stock to meet required
afforestation thresholds; or
(d)
Establishment of a forest according to procedures
set forth in the Forest Conservation Technical Manual.
AGRICULTURAL ACTIVITY
(a)
Any recognized commercial farming activity related
to the cultivating and harvesting of food or fiber products other
than commercial logging and timber harvesting operations.
(b)
Includes:
[1]
Plowing, tilling, cropping, seeding, and installation
of best management practices;
[2]
Grazing and raising of livestock;
[3]
Aquaculture and silviculture;
[4]
The management of orchards or nurseries;
AGRICULTURAL TRANSFER
The transfer of land currently involved
in agricultural activities in which the purchaser is willing to promise
to keep the land in agricultural use for five full
taxable years after the transfer.
APPLICANT
A person who:
(a)
Is applying for:
[1]
Subdivision, site plan, or project plan approval; or
[2]
A grading or sediment control permit; or
(b)
Has received approval of a forest stand delineation
or forest conservation plan.
APPROVED FOREST MANAGEMENT PLAN.
(See also "forest management plan.") A document:
(a)
Approved by the Department of Natural Resources
forester assigned to the county in which the property is located;
and
(b)
That may operate as a protective agreement for
forest conservation as described in § 5-1607(e) and (f)
of the Natural Resources Article, Annotated Code of Maryland.
BUILDING ENVELOPE
A portion of a single-family lot that may
be disturbed for development and that is not dedicated to agricultural
activities.
CALIPER
The diameter measured two inches above the root collar.
CHAMPION TREE
The largest tree of its species within the United States,
the state, the County, or a municipal corporation.
CRITICAL HABITAT AREA
A critical habitat for endangered species and its surrounding
protection area. A critical habitat area shall:
(a)
Be likely to contribute to the long-term survival
of the species;
(b)
Be likely to be occupied by the species for
the foreseeable future; and
(c)
Constitute habitat of the species which is considered critical under §
4-2A-06 or
10-2A-06 of the Natural Resources Article, Annotated Code of Maryland.
DECLARATION OF INTENT
A signed and notarized statement by a landowner or the landowner's
agent (when appropriate) certifying that the activity on the landowner's
property:
(a)
Is, for certain activities, exempted under this Chapter
18:2 or Natural Resources Article, §§ 5-103 and 5-1601 through 5-1612, Annotated Code of Maryland;
(b)
Does not circumvent the requirements of this Chapter
18:2 or Natural Resources Article, §§ 5-103 and 5-1601 through § 5-1612, Annotated Code of Maryland; and
(c)
Does not conflict with the purposes of any other
declaration of intent.
DEVELOPMENT PROJECT
(a)
The grading or construction activities occurring
on a tract of land that is 40,000 square feet or
more in size.
DEVELOPMENT PROJECT COMPLETION
For the purposes of afforestation, reforestation, or payment
into the Local Conservation Fund:
(a)
Designation by the Department that:
[1]
A development project has been completed; or
[2]
A particular stage of a staged development project,
including a planned unit development has been completed;
(b)
The acceptance by the Department of the streets, utilities, and public services of
the project; or
(c)
If a development bond is required, the release
of the development bond.
FOREST
(a)
A biological community dominated by trees and
other woody plants covering a land area of 10,000 square feet (0.23 acre) or more.
(b)
Includes:
[1]
Areas that have at least 100 trees per acre with at least 50% of those trees having a two-inch
or greater diameter at 4.5 feet above the ground; and
[2]
Areas that are being managed under an approved
forest management plan but are not clearcut.
(c)
"Forest" does not include orchards, nurseries
or Christmas tree farms.
FOREST CONSERVANCY DISTRICT BOARD
The forestry board created for each state forestry conservancy
district as provided in Title 5, Subtitle 6, of the Natural Resources
Article, Annotated Code of Maryland.
FOREST CONSERVATION
The retention of existing trees or forest or the creation
of new forest or planted areas at the conservation or afforestation
levels set by the state or by the Department.
FOREST CONSERVATION TECHNICAL MANUAL
The Queen Anne's County Forest Conservation Technical Manual
used to establish standards of performance required in preparing forest
stand delineations and forest conservation plans.
FOREST COVER
An area of a site meeting the definition
of “forest.”
FOREST MANAGEMENT PLAN
A plan that establishes best conservation and management
practices to guide a property owner in the assessment
of the resource value of the forested property.
FOREST MITIGATION BANK
The intentional restoration or creation of forests undertaken
expressly for the purpose of providing credits for afforestation or
reforestation requirements with enhanced environmental benefits from
future activities.
FOREST MITIGATION BANK AGREEMENT
An agreement, entered into by an individual owning a forest
mitigation bank and the Department, which commits
the mitigation banker to certain procedures and requirements when
creating and operating the forest mitigation bank.
FOREST MITIGATION BANK PLAN
A plan submitted for approval of a forest mitigation bank
to the Department by an individual proposing to establish
a forest mitigation bank.
FOREST STAND DELINEATION (FSD)
The methodology for evaluating the existing vegetation on
a site proposed for development, as provided in the
Forest Conservation Technical Manual.
GROWING SEASON
The period of consecutive frost-free days as stated in the
current soil survey for the County published by the
National Cooperative Soil Survey Program.
INTERMITTENT STREAM
A stream in which surface water is absent during a portion
of the year as shown on the most recent 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle
maps published by the United States Geological Survey or as confirmed
by field verification.
LANDSCAPING PLAN
A plan:
(a)
Drawn to scale, showing dimensions and details
for reforesting an area;
(b)
Using native or indigenous plants when appropriate;
and
(c)
That is made part of an approved forest conservation
plan.
LINEAR PROJECT
A project whose configuration is elongated with nearly parallel
sides and used to transport a utility product or public service not otherwise contained in an application for subdivision or site plan, such as electricity, gas, water,
sewer, communications, trains, and vehicles. Linear projects may transverse
fee simple properties through defined boundaries or through easement rights.
LOT
A unit of land, the boundaries of which have been established
as a result of a deed or previous subdivision of
a larger parcel, and which will not be the subject of further subdivision without an approved forest stand delineation
and forest conservation plan.
MAINTENANCE AGREEMENT
A signed, short-term management agreement associated with afforestation or reforestation plans required under this Chapter
18:2 and § 5-1605 of the Natural Resources Article, Annotated Code of Maryland.
MINOR SUBDIVISION
The division or redivision of land, including the creation
of any required easements or rights-of-way, into
no more than five lots.
MONOCULTURE
A planting of a single species of trees (usually pine) over
an area one acre in size or larger.
NATURAL REGENERATION
The natural establishment of trees and other vegetation with
at least 400 woody, free-to-grow seedlings per acre, that are capable of reaching a height of at least 20 feet at maturity.
NET TRACT AREA
(a)
Except in agricultural activity areas or linear
projects areas, the total area of a site, including
both forested and nonforested areas, to the nearest .1 acre reduced by that area where forest clearing is restricted by another
local ordinance or program;
(b)
In agricultural activity areas, the portion
of the total tract for which land use will be changed or will no longer be used for primarily agricultural
activities reduced by that area where forest clearing is restricted
by another local ordinance or program;
(c)
Net tract can also be interpreted as the portion
of the total tract for which land use will be changed, plus all the forested area within the total
tract area which is outside of the boundaries of the newly
proposed lot(s).
(d)
For a linear project:
[1]
The area of a right-of-way width, new access roads and storage; or
[2]
The limits of disturbance as shown on an application
for sediment and erosion control approval or in a capital
improvements program project description.
NONTIDAL WETLANDS
(a)
An area that is:
[1]
Inundated or saturated by surface or groundwater
at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and under normal
conditions does support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted
for life in saturated soil conditions, commonly known as “hydrophytic
vegetation”; and
[2]
Considered a nontidal wetland in accordance with the publication known as the "Federal Manual for
Identifying and Delineating Jurisdictional Wetlands," published in
1987 and as may be amended and interpreted by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency.
(b)
"Nontidal wetlands" do not
include tidal wetlands regulated under Title 16 of
the Environment Article, Annotated Code of Maryland.
OFF-SITE
The area outside the boundaries of a tract of land.
ON-SITE
The area within the boundaries of a tract of land, including any area classified as a 100-year floodplain.
100-YEAR FLOOD
A flood that has a 1% chance of being equaled or exceeded
in any given year. Except for Class III waters (natural trout streams),
a body of water with a watershed of less than 400 acres is excluded.
100-YEAR FLOODPLAIN
An area along or adjacent to a stream or body of water, except
tidal waters, that is capable of storing or conveying floodwaters
during a 100-year frequency storm event or a 100-year flood.
[Added 9-7-2004 by Ord. No. 04-34]
PERENNIAL STREAM
A stream containing surface water throughout an average rainfall
year, as shown on the most recent 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle
maps (scale: 1 to 24,000) published by the United States Geological
Survey or as confirmed by field verification.
PERSON
An individual, or the federal government, the state, a county,
municipal corporation, any other political subdivision of the state,
or any of their units.
REFORESTATION or REFORESTED
(a)
The creation of a biological community dominated
by trees and other woody plants containing at least 100 live trees
per acre with at least 50% of those trees having
the potential of attaining a two-inch or greater diameter measured
at 4.5 feet above the ground, within seven years; or
(b)
The establishment of a forest according to procedures
set forth in the Forest Conservation Technical Manual.
(c)
Includes the landscaping of areas if the landscaping
is part of a reforestation plan approved by the Planning Director.
REGULATED ACTIVITY
Any of the following activities when the activity occurs
on a unit of land that is 40,000 square feet or more in size:
(d)
An activity that requires a sediment control
permit.
RETENTION
The deliberate holding and protecting of existing trees,
shrubs, or plants on a site according to established
standards as provided in the Forest Conservation Technical Manual.
ROOT COLLAR
The transition zone between stem and root at the ground line
of a tree or seedling.
SEDIMENT CONTROL PERMIT
The authorization of an activity regulated under a sediment
control plan as provided in Title 4 of the Environment Article, Annotated
Code of Maryland.
SEEDLING
An unbranched woody plant, less than 24 inches in height
and having a caliper of less than 1/2 inch, measured
at two inches above the root collar.
SELECTIVE CLEARING
The careful and planned removal of trees, shrubs, and plants
using specific standards and protection measures under an approved
forest conservation plan.
SUBDIVISION
Any division or redivision of a parcel of land into two or
more lots or parcels for the purpose, whether immediate
or future, of transfer of ownership, sale, lease, or development.
TIMBER HARVESTING
(a)
A tree-cutting operation affecting one or more acres of forest or developed woodland within
a one-year interval that disturbs 5,000 square feet or more of forest
floor.
(b)
"Timber harvesting" does not include grubbing
and clearing of root mass.
TRACT or TOTAL TRACT AREA
(a)
A property or unit of land that is subject to
an application for a grading or sediment control permit,
subdivision approval, project plan approval, or areas subject to this Chapter
18; or
(b)
The area of a Master Plan, planned unit development,
or phased development plan subject to an application
for grading or sediment and erosion control plan approval.
TREE
A large, branched woody plant having one or several self-supporting
stems or trunks that reach a height of at least 20 feet at maturity.
VARIANCE
(a)
Relief from the provisions of this Chapter
18:2 or Title 5, Subtitle 16, of the Natural Resources Article, Annotated Code of Maryland.
(b)
"Variance" does not mean a
zoning variance.
WATERSHED
All land lying within an area described as a subbasin as
provided in the water quality regulations adopted by the State Department
of the Environment under COMAR 26.08.02.08.
WOODY PLANT
(a)
A plant with stems and limbs containing lignin,
the chief noncarbohydrate constitute of wood; or
(b)
A plant approximately 15 feet in height or smaller,
often formed by a number of vertical or semi-upright branches arising
close to the ground; or