(a) Membership. The County Executive must appoint, subject to confirmation by the County Council, a Rustic Roads Advisory Committee. In making appointments, the Executive must strive to achieve diversity on the Committee in support of racial equity and social justice. The Committee has 9 voting members. Each member must be a resident of the County. The Executive should appoint:
(1) three members who operate commercial farmland earning 50 percent or more of their income from direct involvement in commodity farming;
(2) one member who is a representative of the Agricultural Advisory Committee and has been recommended to the Executive by the AAC;
(3) one member who knows rural preservation techniques through practical experience and training;
(4) one member who knows roadway engineering through practical experience and training; and
(5) three at-large members who do not satisfy the requirements of subsections (a)(1) through (a)(4) above, to be drawn from frequent users of rustic roads.
The Chairman of the Planning Board must designate a member of the planning staff as a non-voting Committee member.
(b) Officers. The Committee must elect a chair annually. The Committee may select other officers annually as it finds appropriate. A member must not serve as chair for more than 2 consecutive years.
(c) Meetings. The Committee must meet at the call of the chair as often as required to perform its duties, but at least 6 times each year. The Committee must also meet if two- thirds of the voting members request in writing that a meeting be held. The Chair must give reasonable advance notice of all meetings to members of the Committee and the public. A majority of the members are a quorum to transact business.
(d) By-laws. The Committee may adopt by-laws to govern its activities.
(e) Duties. The Committee must:
(1) promote public awareness and knowledge of the County rustic roads program;
(2) review and comment on classification of rustic roads and exceptional rustic roads;
(3) review and provide comments on subdivision applications when the requirements of the Subdivision Regulations conflict with this Article or Executive Regulations;
(4) other duties as required by Executive Regulations;
(5) review and comment on Executive Regulations and other County policies and programs that may affect the rustic roads program; and
(6) report on June 1 of each even numbered year to the Executive, the Council, and the Planning Board on the status of the rustic roads program.
(f) Advocacy. The Committee must not engage in any advocacy activity at the State or federal levels unless that activity is approved by the Office of Intergovernmental Relations.
(g) Staff. The Chief Administrative Officer must provide the Committee with staff, offices, and supplies as are appropriated for it. (1993 L.M.C., ch. 9, § 1; 1996 L.M.C., ch. 31, § 1; 1998 L.M.C., ch. 1, §1; 2007 L.M.C., ch. 8
, § 1; 2016 L.M.C., ch. 15, § 1; 2022 L.M.C., ch. 31
, § 1; 2023 L.M.C., ch. 29, § 1.)
Editor’s note—1998 L.M.C., ch. 1, § 1, reads as follows:
“Notwithstanding Section 49-80(a) of the County Code, the County Executive may reappoint to the Rustic Roads Advisory Committee, subject to confirmation by the County Council, any at-large member of the Committee appointed before January 1, 1997, who otherwise may be precluded from reappointment because of the specific requirements of that subsection.”