(A) Amendment authority. The county governing body may amend the provisions of this chapter if the county governing body determines that any such amendment will be in the best interest of the citizens of the county and consistent with the general intent of this chapter and Md. Code Ann., Natural Resources Article, §§ 5-1601 through 5-1612. Proposals for an amendment may be initiated by the county governing body.
(B) Amendment procedures. Proposed amendments shall be filed with the Department for review and comment. The Department comments shall be referred to the Planning Commission and county governing body for their consideration. The Planning Commission shall meet in public session on the proposed amendments and shall submit its recommendations or comments to the county governing body. The County Council shall hold a public hearing on the proposed amendment and shall render a decision within 60 days of the public hearing, unless such time is extended by an official resolution adopted by the County Council.
(C) Appropriate notice. Notice of the time and place of the public hearing, together with a summary of the proposed amendment shall be published in at least 1 newspaper of general circulation in the county once each week for 2 successive weeks, with the first such publication of notice appearing at least 14 days prior to the hearing.
(D) State authority. All amendments to this chapter are subject to the approval of the Department of Natural Resources.
(Ord. 01-20-294, 9-25-2001; Ord. 07-08-448, § 7, 4-3-2007; Ord. 07-25-465, 7-19-2007; Ord. 14-23-678, 11-13-2014)