The plans and other required supplementary data for a proposed PRD shall be submitted for review and approval in accordance with the requirements and procedures specified below:
(A) Preapplication consultation. Prior to preparing and submitting an application for preliminary plan approval, the developer of a proposed PRD shall consult with the County Planning Commission. The purpose of the informal meeting is to discuss the general intent of the developer, to consider relationships to the County Development Plan, and to outline the approval process and the specific requirements for plan preparation and submission. It is strongly suggested that a sketch plan of the proposed development be submitted showing:
(1) Roads and other developments existing on and adjacent to the PRD tract;
(2) Significant natural features on the tract; and
(3) Proposed general road layout, general land use pattern and general lot and building arrangement.
(B) Application for preliminary PRD approval. The application for preliminary approval of a proposed PRD shall be executed by or on behalf of the landowner and shall be filed with the County Planning Commission not less than 15 days before the regularly-scheduled meeting at which preliminary approval is requested. The application for preliminary approval at shall include documentation illustrating compliance with all of the standards for PRD's herein specified in §§ 159.145 and 159.153, and shall constitute a preliminary version of the development plan for the PRD. Application for the preliminary approval shall include all information outlined in §§ 159.055 through 159.057 including the checklist and the following plans and documents necessary to determine the adequacy of the proposals.
(1) A site map or maps drawn to scale showing hydrology, geology, soils, topography and vegetation of the site as required by § 159.148. The combined impact of the natural features upon the development potential of each specific area of the site shall be clearly illustrated on the map or maps.
(2) A site development plan drawn to scale showing the size, type and approximate location of all proposed roads and walkways; parking areas; buildings, common open spaces and facilities; sanitary sewer, water supply and storm drainage and other utility lines; and other proposed development features; and showing the relation of the proposed features to existing features of the same type on or adjoining the site.
(3) Preliminary profile drawings showing existing ground surface and proposed road grades, and proposed grades of all other utilities if they do not follow road grades.
(4) Documents indicating the impact of the completed PRD upon public facilities, emergency services, utilities, roadway systems and existing development. Projections of the number of school children in the PRD shall be included. Where connections to centralized water supply and sewer systems are contemplated, projections of the required water supply capacity and waste water volumes generated by the PRD shall be included. The projected governmental costs for services to the completed PRD shall be compared to projected county tax revenues from the PRD. Documentation shall also show the approximate residential land use density of each area within the PRD and the average total residential density for the entire PRD.
(5) The proposed text of the deed restrictions or other legal documents relating to the ownership of the common open space areas, and summary information about the substance of covenants, grant of easements or other restrictions to be imposed upon the use of land, buildings and/or structures.
(6) A written statement by the landowner setting forth the reasons why, in his or her opinion, the PRD would be in the public interest and would be consistent with the County's Development Plan.
(7) Other information and documentation as may reasonably be required by the County Planning Commission to determine the adequacy of the proposed plans for the proposed PRD.
(C) Action by County Planning Commission. The County Planning Commission may, at its discretion, conduct a public hearing regarding the proposed PRD, giving notice of such hearing at least 14 days prior to the date fixed in at least 1 newspaper of general circulation. The notice shall contain the name of the applicant, the date, time and place of the hearing and the general nature of the hearing. At its next regular meeting following the hearing, or at is next regular meeting, if not hearing is conducted, the County Planning Commission shall review the proposed PRD and shall either:
(1) Grant preliminary approval of the development plan as submitted;
(2) Grant preliminary approval subject to compliance with specified conditions; or
(3) Deny preliminary approval to the development plan.
(D) Findings of fact. The grant or denial of preliminary approval by the County Planning Commission shall be stated in writing to the applicant, describing the reasons for the approval, with or without conditions, or for denial, and describing with particularly in what respects the development plan would or would not be in the public interest including but not limited to findings of fact and conclusions on the following:
(1) The extent to which the PRD is or is not consistent with the County Development Plan.
(2) The purpose, location and amount of the common open space in the Planned Residential Development, the reliability of the proposals for maintenance and conservation of the common open space as related to the proposed density and type of residential development.
(3) The physical design of the development plan and the manner in which the design does or does not make adequate provision for public services, provide adequate control over vehicular traffic, and further the amenities of light and air, recreation and visual enjoyment.
(4) The relationship, beneficial or adverse, of the proposed PRD to the neighborhood in which it is proposed to be established.
(5) In the case of a development plan which proposes development over a period of years, the sufficiency of the terms and conditions intended to protect the interests of the public and the residents of the PRD in the completion of the development plan.
(E) Status of approved preliminary PRD plan. Preliminary approval of a development plan shall not qualify a plat of the PRD for recording nor authorize development or the issuance of any building permits. A development plan, which has been given preliminary approval, shall not be valid for more than 5 years from the date thereof for PRD projects of less then 200 units, 10 years for PRD projects of 200 to 999 units and 15 years for PRD projects of 1,000 or more units unless an extension of time is granted in writing by the County Planning Commission.
(F) Application for final PRD approval. The application for final approval of a PRD plan shall be executed by or on behalf of the landowner and shall be filed with the County Planning Commission before the expiration of the preliminary approval. The plan and other data submitted for final approval shall be submitted not less than 15 days before the regularly-scheduled meeting at which final approval is requested, and shall conform substantially to the preliminary approved plan, except that, it may include only that portion of the PRD that the applicant proposed to record and develop at that time. The application for final approval shall include all information outlined in §§ 159.070 through 159.072 including the checklist and copies of the following documents:
(1) The final plan of the PRD, drawn at a scale suitable for recording as specified in this chapter, and showing at least the following data:
(a) North-arrow, date, written and graphic scales;
(b) Accurate boundary lines of all lots, roads, right-of-way and common open space areas, with bearings, distances and curve data sufficient to permit all lines to be located by survey on the site, and with linear dimension, labeled to the nearest hundredth of a foot, and angular dimensions to the nearest 10 seconds of arc, and closing with an error of not more than 1 foot in 10,000 feet;
(c) A listing of the total acreage of the PRD, the area within each lot or other parcel, the land uses in each area, the total number of dwelling units, number of each type of dwelling unit, the average total residential density and the total residential density in each section;
(d) Locations and dimensions of all roads, including right-of-way and cartway lines, parking areas, pedestrian walkways, easements and permanent monuments and property line markers;
(e) Building coverage lines accurately locating all dwelling units and nonresidential structures, giving dimensions of the structures, distances between the structures, distances to road lines and parking areas, with distances accurate to the nearest hundredth of a foot;
(f) Location of common open space areas, specifically indicating those areas to be developed for active recreation, and showing the type of the exact location of structures and facilities to be developed in the common open space areas;
(g) Name and address of the landowner and developer, identification of the deed or deeds giving title to the land within the PRD, and tax map numbers; and
(h) Seal and signature of the registered engineer or registered land surveyor certifying the accuracy of the plan. Seal and signature of a registered land surveyor certifying the accuracy of the survey.
(2) The final plan of the PRD shall be accompanied by the following additional plans and information:
(a) Final construction drawings for the installation of all site improvements required under this chapter or other county regulations, and including profiles and cross-section drawings for road, sanitary sewer, water supply and storm drainage systems if any.
(b) Architectural drawings illustrating exterior designs and typical floor plans of typical dwelling units of each type and nonresidential structures to be constructed.
(c) All covenants running with the land governing the reservation and maintenance of dedicated or undedicated common open space land. These covenants shall be subject to acceptance by the County Attorney as to their legal sufficiency.
(d) Restrictions of all types which will run with the land and become covenants in the deeds of lots shown an the final plan.
(e) The certificates of approval by other authorities as required by this chapter or by law, including certificates approving the water supply system, the sanitary sewer system and the erosion and sediment control plan.
(G) Action by the County Planning Commission on PRD.
(1) If the final plan and all supporting data comply with the provisions of this chapter and with the conditions, if any, specified in the grant of preliminary approval, the Planning Commission shall approve the final plan at the regularly-scheduled meeting and shall certify its approval by the signatures of its chairperson.
(2) If the final plan is not in compliance as specified in subsection (1), the County Planning Commission may refuse to grant approval, in which case the applicant shall be notified in writing and explicitly advised of the reasons for the refusal and of the actions necessary to bring the plan into compliance to receive approval. The applicant may then correct the deficiencies and resubmit the plan for approval, or may appeal the Planning Commission's decision to the Circuit Court of the county as provided in Md. Code, Article 66B.
(H) Effect of final approval. Every final plan approved by the Planning Commission shall, by virtue of such approval, be deemed to be an amendment of or an addition to or a detail of the legally-adopted development plan for the county and shall constitute a part thereof.
(I) Recording of final plan. A copy of the approved final plan bearing the signatures of the Planning Commission's Chairperson and all other required endorsements shall be filed among the land records in the office of the Clerk of the County Circuit Court within 90 days after the date of approval by the Commission. If the plan is not filed, the Commission’s approval shall become null and void.
(J) Enforcement and modification of the final plan. To further the mutual interests of the residents in the PRD and of the public for the preservation of the integrity of the development plan, as finally approved, and to insure that modification, if any, in the development plan, shall not impair reasonable reliance of the residents upon the provisions of the development plan, nor result in changes that would adversely affect the public interest, the enforcement and modification of the provisions of the development plan as finally approved, whether those are recorded by plat, covenant, easement or otherwise, shall be subject to the following provisions:
(1) The provisions of the development plan relating to the use, bulk and location of buildings and structures; the quantity and location of common open space, except as otherwise provided in this chapter; and the intensity of use or the density of residential units, shall run in favor of the county and shall be enforceable in law or in equity by the county without limitation on any powers of regulation otherwise granted the county by law.
(2) The provisions of the development plan shall run in favor of the residents of the PRD but only to the extent expressly provided in the development plan, and to that extent the provisions, whether recorded by plat, covenant, easement or otherwise, may be enforced by law or equity by the residents acting individually, jointly, or through an organization designated by the development plan to act on their behalf; provided, however, that no provisions of the development plan shall be implied to exist in favor of residents of the PRD except as to those portions of the development plan which have been finally approved and have been recorded.
(3) All those provisions of the development plan authorized to be enforced by the county under this section may be modified, removed or released by the county, except grants or easements relating to the service or equipment of a public utility, subject to the following conditions:
(a) No modification, removal or release of the provisions of the development plan by the county shall affect the rights of the residents of the PRD to maintain and enforce those provisions, at law or equity, as provided herein.
(b) No modification, removal or release of the provisions of the development plan by the county shall be permitted except upon a finding by the governing body or its designated agency, following a public hearing thereon pursuant to public notice called and held in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, that the same is consistent with the efficient development and preservation of the entire PRD, does not adversely affect either the enjoyment of land abutting upon or across the road from the PRD or the public interest, and is not granted solely to confer a special benefit upon any person.
(Ord. —, passed 3-29-2005; Am. Res. —, passed 10-2-2007)