(A) The following categories of trees, shrubs, or other associated vegetation, and forest resources located in specifically identified sensitive locations shall be considered a priority for retention and protection. These trees, shrubs, or other associated vegetation and forest resources shall be left in an undisturbed condition and protected from disturbance during and until on site construction activities are complete, unless the applicant has demonstrated to the satisfaction of the county that reasonable efforts made to protect them have been unsuccessful or has provided evidence to the county that identifies certain individual trees in specific locations as unreasonable liabilities to health and safety and that efforts to continue their existence would either be economically prohibitive or otherwise unwarranted:
(1) Trees, shrubs, and plants located in sensitive areas including wetlands and their buffers, 100-year floodplains, streams and their buffers, steep slopes, and critical habitats; and
(2) Forests which connect large undeveloped or heavily vegetated tracts of land lying within or adjacent to the site.
(B) The following categories of trees, shrubs, or other associated vegetation, and forest resources located in specifically identified sensitive locations shall be considered a priority for retention and protection and shall be left in an undisturbed condition and protected from disturbance during and until on site construction activities are complete, unless the applicant has demonstrated to the satisfaction of the county that the applicant qualifies for a variance in accordance with § 150.14.
(1) Rare/endangered. Trees, shrubs, or plants identified on the list of rare, threatened, and endangered species of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service or the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
(2) Historic significance. Trees that:
(a) Are part of a historic site as recognized by the National Register of Historic Places, the Maryland Historical Trust, the Carroll County Historic Preservation Commission, or municipal historic body;
(b) Are associated with a historic structure as recognized by the National Register of Historic Places, the Maryland Historical Trust, the Carroll County Historic Preservation Commission, or municipal historic body; or
(c) Have been designated by the state or the county as a national, state, county, or municipal champion tree.
(3) Specimen trees.
(a) A variance approval will be required to disturb the critical root zone of the tree or remove the tree entirely.
(b) If a good or excellent condition specimen tree is to be removed, its loss shall be mitigated for using the following formula: DBH of specimen tree removed equals number of trees replaced based on a one-inch for one-inch replacement. An acreage equivalent can be derived by dividing the DBH of the specimen tree by 200 (e.g., a 30-inch DBH tree shall be replaced with 30 one-inch caliper trees or 0.15 acre of equivalent planting or banking).
(2004 Code, § 115-7) (Ord. 98-4, passed 11-18-1998; Ord. 02-03, passed 3-14-2002; Ord. 03-04, passed 1-30-2003; Ord. 04-05, passed 4-1-2004; Ord. 2010-03, passed 4-1-2010; Ord. 2011-03, passed 5-17-2011; Ord. 2022-11, passed 8-25-2022)