City of New Carrollton, MD Departures from Design, Landscaping, Parking, Loading, and Sign Design Standards

All requests for a departure from design standards shall be in the form of an application filed with the Board. The Board shall determine the contents of the application and shall provide the application form.

Along with the application, the applicant shall submit the following:

Fifteen (15) copies of a site plan and other graphic illustrations which are considered necessary to indicate what is being proposed;

Fifteen (15) copies of a written statement by the applicant addressing the requirements of Subsection B(8) below. The applicant shall be responsible for providing all information that is necessary for the Planning Board to make its decision under Subsection B(7); and

A list of the names and addresses of the abutting property owners.

(2)

Filing fees:

Upon filing the application, the applicant shall pay to the City a filing fee as established by Council to help defray the costs of processing the application. A reduction in the fee may be permitted by the Board when it finds that payment will cause undue hardship upon the applicant.

Sign posting fees.

In addition to the filing fee, a sign posting fee as established by City Council for each sign required shall be paid by the applicant to the Board at the time the application is filed.

No part of a fee shall be refunded or waived unless the Board determines that one (1) of the following conditions applies:

[a]

The fee was paid by mistake, and the applicant has requested (in writing) a refund; or

[b]

The application has been withdrawn prior to posting the sign. In this case, the entire sign-posting fee shall be refunded.

(3)

Hearing. Prior to making a recommendation on a departure from design standards, the Board shall hold a public hearing on the matter. The Board shall determine the procedures under which the hearing will be held.

(4)

Notice:

Notice of the date, time and place of the hearing shall be sent to all persons of record. Notice of the date, time and place of the hearing, and a site plan drawn to scale shall be sent to the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission and the Prince George's County Council sitting as the District Council.

The subject property shall be posted with at least one (1) durable sign giving notice of the hearing at least fifteen (15) days prior to the scheduled hearing date. The contents of the sign and the number of signs required shall be determined by the Board. All signs posted must be conspicuous and legible. The applicant shall be responsible for posting all signs and for the maintenance of all signs.

(c)

Additional notice may be given, as determined by the Board.

(5)

In order to help it reach a decision, the Board may request the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, Prince George's County, Prince George's County Planning Board, and/or the state Highway Administration to furnish comments or recommendations. These comments and recommendations shall be available for public examination prior to the public hearing.

(6)

Record:

The record created before the Board shall include, but not be limited to:

The application form and accompanying data;

Comments and recommendations (if any) from the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, Prince George's County, Prince George's County Planning Board, and the state Highway Administration;

All correspondence relative to the application;

[4]

All testimony at the public hearing; and

[5]

Other items which the Board deems necessary.

At the conclusion of the public hearing, the Board may close the record, or may leave the record open (for a specified time) for receipt of additional written evidence.

(7)

Board recommendation:

After the close of the record, the Board shall take action on the request. The recommendation of the Board shall be based on the record, and shall be embodied in a resolution adopted at a public meeting, containing the findings of fact and conclusions of law forming the basis for the Board's recommendation.

The Board shall within fifteen (15) days after the close of the record give written notice of its recommendation to all persons of record and the Mayor and Council.

(8)

Required findings:

A recommendation that a departure be granted shall be made by the Board only upon the following findings:

The purposes of the Prince George's County Zoning Ordinance will be equally well or better served by the applicant's proposal;

The departure is the minimum necessary, given the specific circumstances of the request;

The departure is necessary in order to alleviate circumstances which are unique to the site; or prevalent in areas of the county developed prior to November 29, 1949;

[4]

The departure will not impair the visual, functional, or environmental quality or integrity of the site or of the surrounding neighborhood.

For a departure from a standard contained in the Landscape Manual, the Board shall find, in addition to the requirements in Subsection B(8)(a) above, that a proposal for alternative compliance has been denied by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, based upon a finding that there is no feasible proposal for alternative compliance which would exhibit equal or better design characteristics.

(c)

For departures from parking and loading standards, the Board shall find, in addition to the findings required by Subsection B(8)(a)[2] and [3] of this section, that:

The purposes of § 27-550 of the Prince George's County Code will be served by the applicant's request;

All methods for calculating the number of spaces required (Division 2, Subdivision 3, and Division 3, Subdivision 3, of the Prince George's County Code) have either been used or found to be impractical; and

Parking and loading needs of adjacent residential areas will not be infringed upon if the departure is granted.

(d)

In making its findings, the Board shall give consideration to the following:

The parking and loading conditions within the general vicinity of the subject property, including numbers and locations of available on- and off-street spaces within five hundred (500) feet of the subject property;

The recommendations of an area master plan or county or local revitalization plan, regarding the subject property and its general vicinity;