(a)Â
Applicability. This Subtitle applies
only in Worcester County.
(b)Â
Fill and bulkhead line. The line (herein
known as the "fill and bulkhead line") marking the westerly or outer
limit for bulkheading and filling, or either, of the barrier beach
along Isle of Wight Bay and Assawoman Bay is as follows: Starting
at point A situated on the westerly extension of the center line of
North 26th Street as shown on the Sinepuxent Beach plat of Ocean City,
Maryland, and 2,700 feet westerly of the westerly property line of
the Ocean Highway, the bearing of said 26th Street being N 71°
55' 01" .4 W; thence the following fourteen courses to point
0, N 07° 14' 15" .56 W 2,323.19 feet to point B, S 71°
55' 01" .40 E 2,213.59 feet to point C, N 12° 03' 38"
.60 E 5,118.07 feet to point D, N 32° 21' 01" .4 W 1,060.66
feet to point E, N 12° 49' 10" .96 E 10,018.08 feet to point
F, N 29° 30' 02" .17 W 1,840.62 feet to point G, N 08°
09' 58" .60 E 2,130.00 feet to point H, N 53° 09' 58"
.60 E 1,268.49 feet to point I, N 04° 05' 03" .72 E 2,452.80
feet to point J, N 38° 12' 01" .40 W 707.11 feet to point
K, N 4° 05' 30" .00 E 3,704.14 feet to point L, N 37°
47' 03" .02 W 1,460.21 feet to point M, N 06° 47' 58"
.6 E 1,110.00 to point N, N 48° 35' 09" .49 E 1,167.57 feet
to point O, said point O being at the southerly end of the ditch and
also being the westerly extension of the southerly property line of
Roosevelt Avenue and N 85° 27' 01" .4 W 4,126.21 feet from
the easterly property line of Ocean Highway. All bearings refer to
true North.
(c)Â
Borrow area limit line. The line (herein
known as the "borrow area limit line") marking the westerly or outer
limit of the borrow area for filling operations on the barrier beach
along Isle of Wight Bay and Assawoman Bay is as follows: Starting
at point Z-1 which point is the intersection of the northerly property
line of South 2nd Street and the easterly property line of Philadelphia
Avenue, as shown on the Sinepuxent Beach plat of Ocean City, Maryland;
thence N 67° 40' 01" .40 W 675.0 feet to point Z; thence
N 08° 01' 18" .68E 1,014.20 feet to point Y; thence N 19°
11' 21" .30 W 1,282,21 feet to point X; thence N 12° 30'
01" .35 E 5,484.36 feet to point W; thence N 08° 11' 55"
.00 W 6,445.46 feet to Q; thence S 85° 04' 11" .16 E 2,783.22
feet to point S; thence N 13° 25' 18" .81E 8,471.72 feet
to point T; thence N 04° 33' 08" .99E 18,994.77 feet to point
M which is also point M on the line marking the westerly limit of
filling or bulkheading of said barrier beach; thence N 56° 25'
41" .46 W 1,773.44 feet to point P-1; thence N 08° 57' 01"
.10 E 3,551.10 feet to point P-2; thence east 2,800 feet more or less
to point P-3. All bearings refer to true North.
(d)Â
Plat. Within ninety days from May 4,
1965, the Mayor and City Council of Ocean City shall engage the services
of a licensed surveyor who, by acting in collaboration and consultation
with the City Engineer of Ocean City, shall prepare a plat showing
in detail the fill and bulkhead line and the borrow area limit line
as specified in this section and file the plat among the land records
of Worcester County.
(e)Â
Prohibited acts. No person, firm or corporation
may pump, dig, excavate or remove (herein described as "borrow") sand
or other solid fill materials from Isle of Wight Bay or Assawoman
Bay, on whatever in a particular place may be the westerly of two
lines described as the westerly or outer side of the line herein described
as the borrow area limit line and the line one thousand feet westerly
from the fluctuations of the bulkhead line.
(f)Â
Outer side of fill and bulkhead line. No person, firm or corporation may fill in sand or other solid matter
or build and maintain bulkheads, in Isle of Wight Bay or Assawoman
Bay, on the westerly or outer side of the line herein described as
the fill and bulkhead line.
(g)Â
Areas for "borrowing" sand. Between the
lines in Isle of Wight Bay and Assawoman Bay herein described as whatever
in a particular place may be the westerly of the two lines described
as (1) the borrow area limit line and (2) the line one thousand feet
westerly from the fluctuations of the bulkhead line and the fill and
bulkhead line, any person, firm or corporation may pump, dig, excavate
or remove (herein described as "borrow") sand or other solid fill
materials. Materials dredged in the area between the borrow area limit
line and the fill and bulkhead line shall not be excavated to a depth
greater than six feet below mean low water until all material existing
above an elevation of six feet below local mean low water for a distance
of one thousand five hundred feet from the area being filled has been
excavated. If all the material above six feet below local mean low
water (MLW) has been excavated for a distance of one thousand five
hundred feet from the fill operation, the material may be excavated
to a depth of twelve feet below MLW. After the supply of materials
has been exhausted to an elevation twelve feet below MLW, the area
may then be excavated to eighteen feet below MLW. The provisions of
this subsection concerning the dredging of materials and the excavations
permitted shall not be construed or applied to permit any person to
borrow material from in front of areas other than those owned or controlled
by him, when projected toward the center of the bay. Also nothing
in this section shall be construed or applied to deny to a riparian
owner the right to dig a channel to deep water after conforming to
any necessary laws, regulations or requirements therefor.
(h)Â
Plat described. The Sinepuxent Beach
Plat of Ocean City, Maryland, referred to as part of the descriptions
of the fill and bulkhead line and of the borrow area limit line is
the Sinepuxent Beach Plat of Ocean City, Maryland, as recorded in
the land records of Worcester County, Maryland, with a deed from Thomas
T. Taber et al. to the Sinepuxent Beach Company of Baltimore City,
in Liber FHP No. 1, Folio 550-553, inclusive. The plat is in Plat
Book ODC No. 1, Folio 2.
[Amended 2-7-1984 by Bill No. 84-1; 11-10-1987 by Bill No. 87-5; 1-16-1990 by Bill No. 89-19; 8-23-1994 by Bill No. 94-20; 3-18-2003 by Bill No. 03-4; 9-15-2015 by Bill No. 15-9]
(a)Â
APPROVAL AUTHORITY
COMAR
DEPARTMENT
MAJOR CONSTRUCTION
MEAN HIGH-WATER LINE (MHWL)
MINOR CONSTRUCTION
ROUTINE MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR
SHORELINE
WATERFRONT STRUCTURES
Definitions. As used in this section,
the following words shall have the meanings indicated:
The director of the responsible department or appropriate
staff person responsible for the administrative review and approval
of qualifying applications within this section.
Code of Maryland Regulations.
That department or departments designated by the County Commissioners
for the issuance of permits under this section. The County Commissioners
may, at their discretion, appoint municipal departments within the
County as the "Department or Departments" pursuant to this section.
Any construction, including without limitation riprapping,
bulkheading, diking, wharfing, dock building, pier building, pile
driving, breakwater, jetty, groin, levee building or any unnatural
alteration of the shoreline, taking place on a shoreline involving
any one of the following: (1) any work done more than eight feet channelward
of the mean high-water line; (2) any fill of more than five cubic
yards of material placed channelward of the mean high-water line;
(3) any digging or excavation involving an alteration of the shoreline,
including without limitation the digging of canals, harbors, lagoons,
boatslips or guts which extend more than six feet landward of the
mean high-water line.
The average level of high tides at a given location.
All other construction done along a shoreline not included
in the definition of "major construction" herein.
Repair work of a previously authorized existing bulkhead
or shoreline structure done on a regular basis for the purpose of
maintaining a bulkhead or shoreline structure in a useful and serviceable
condition during the period of its normal useful life.
The shoreline of any tidal waters of Worcester County but
not including the Atlantic Ocean.
Includes, but is not limited to, docks, piers, boathouses,
riprap, bulkheads, dikes, wharfs, pilings, breakwaters, jetties, groins,
levees, soft shoreline stabilization measures, and other similar unnatural
alterations of the shoreline.
(b)Â
Permits required. Except in the case
of routine maintenance and repair, as defined, it shall be unlawful
for any person to do any major or minor construction without first
obtaining a shoreline construction permit as prescribed by this section
and complying with all provisions thereof as well as resolutions and
regulations adopted pursuant hereto in accordance with construction
standards adopted pursuant hereto. A fee for such construction permit
may be charged as prescribed by resolution of the County Commissioners.
(c)Â
Application submissions. An applicant
for a permit under this section shall make application to the Department
upon provided forms. A fee for such application may be charged as
prescribed by resolution of the County Commissioners. The Department
shall determine whether or not the work applied for constitutes a
major construction or a minor construction. As established within
COMAR 26.24.01.04, as from time to time amended, the Maryland Department
of the Environment has established public notification and public
hearing regulations for qualifying projects. These existing state
regulations will satisfy the public notification and public hearing
requirements and will no longer be conducted by the Department. However,
the Department will continue to distribute written notification letters
to adjoining property owners upon receipt of all major applications
and minor applications. A minimum of fifteen days shall be provided
to adjoining property owners to provide written comment to the Department
prior to a determination of the application being made.
(d)Â
Application procedure.
(1)Â
Minor construction. Applications for
minor construction will be submitted to and reviewed by the Department.
Within fifteen days of receipt of a complete application, site plan,
and associated fee, the Department shall review the application and
associated documentation to determine if sufficient information has
been provided. If the application is determined to be deficient, it
shall be returned to the applicant with a written explanation of deficiencies.
If the application is complete, the Department will proceed with the
review of the request. The Department may, after giving careful consideration
to the matters prescribed in Subsection (f) hereof, approve or deny
the application. Upon approval or denial of the application, the applicant
shall be notified in writing of the determination. If approved, the
applicant may then proceed to the permitting process as required by
Subsection (b). If denied, the applicant may resubmit an amended application
for reconsideration or appeal the decision as prescribed in Subsection
(h). The Department may, based upon the considerations set forth in
Subsection (f) hereof, determine that an application for minor construction,
though falling within that definition, will have such significant
effect or impact upon the County or adjacent properties that it should
be processed in the same manner in which an application for major
construction is processed pursuant hereto.
(2)Â
Major construction. Applications for
major construction will be submitted to the Department and reviewed
by the Approval Authority. Within thirty days of receipt of a complete
application, site plan, and associated fee, the Approval Authority
shall review the application and associated documentation to determine
if sufficient information has been provided. If the application is
determined to be deficient, it shall be returned to the applicant
with a written explanation of deficiencies. If the application is
complete, the Approval Authority will proceed with the review of the
request. The Approval Authority may, after giving careful consideration
to the matters prescribed in Subsection (f) hereof, approve or deny
the application. Upon approval or denial of the application, the applicant
shall be notified in writing of the determination. If approved, the
applicant may then proceed to the permitting process as required by
Subsection (b). If denied, the applicant may resubmit an amended request
for reconsideration or appeal the decision as prescribed in Subsection
(h).
(e)Â
Waterfront structures. In order to prevent
the undue crowding and congestion of the County's waterways,
to maintain the safety of boaters, to control pollution and to maintain
the beauty of the waterfront, additional restrictions shall apply
to waterfront structures.
(1)Â
Extension into water area. Waterfront
structures shall not extend into any body of water more than one-half
the distance from the mean high-water line to the center line of the
body of water upon which the structure is situated or one hundred
twenty-five feet, whichever is less, except as may be modified by
the Board of Zoning Appeals where the Board determines that the additional
extension will not adversely affect navigation or have adverse environmental
impacts.
(2)Â
Shared docks, piers or boathouses. No
private dock, pier, piling or boathouse shall be constructed closer
than six feet to any side lot line, except that it shall be permissible
for two adjacent waterfront owners to build a single shared dock,
pier or boathouse, by agreement, beginning at their joint property
line instead of individual private docks, piers or boathouses. The
rights of access and maintenance responsibilities of such shared dock,
pier or boathouse shall be spelled out in properly witnessed and recorded
covenants. The Board of Zoning Appeals may modify the required six-foot
separation to a side lot line in individual cases where the Board
determines that the modification will not adversely affect navigation
or the peaceful enjoyment of the adjacent properties.
(3)Â
Application of setback lines. For purposes
of this section, side lot lines shall be construed as follows:
A.Â
In cases where property lines have been platted into a body
of water the following rules shall be used to establish the projections
of the side lot lines into the body of water:
1.Â
Where the shoreline is approximately straight and the property
lines are relatively parallel to one another and perpendicular to
the shoreline, the projections of the property lines shall be extended
in a straight line into the water.
2.Â
Where the shoreline is approximately straight but the property
lines are not parallel to one another, the projections of the property
lines shall be extended into the water perpendicular to the shoreline
from a point at the intersection of the upland portion of the property
line and the shoreline.
3.Â
Where the shoreline is not approximately straight and is irregular,
a base line shall be drawn between the two points of intersection
of the side lot lines and the shoreline. The projections of the property
lines into the water shall be at right angles to the base line. If
by reason of the curvature of the shoreline the projections of the
side property lines of adjoining properties diverge from each other,
the area excluded by both lines shall be equally divided between the
two adjoining properties. If by reason of the curvature of the shoreline
the projections of the side property lines of adjoining properties
cross each other, the area included between the crossed lines shall
be equally divided between the two adjoining properties.
(f)Â
Considerations. The Department and Approval
Authority in considering any applications, shall make specific findings
of fact with regard to the following: (1) environmental impact; (2)
navigational impact; (3) recreational potential; (4) commercial benefit
to Worcester County; (5) the impact of the proposed construction upon
the surrounding neighborhood and upon property values therein; (6)
such other matters as the Department and Approval Authority may consider
appropriate and germane to the issue.
(g)Â
Conditions and stipulations. The Department
and Approval Authority, in granting any application, may place such
stipulations, conditions and requirements upon the permit as the Department
and Approval Authority may deem necessary and appropriate to effectuate
the legislative intent of this section.
(h)Â
Appeals.
(1)Â
Appeals to Board of Zoning Appeals. Any
person aggrieved by the action of the Department or Approval Authority
charged with the administration of this section, shall have the right
to appeal the action to the Worcester County Board of Zoning Appeals.
The appeal shall be filed in writing within thirty days of the date
of official transmittal of the final decision or determination to
the applicant, shall state clearly the grounds on which the appeal
is based and shall be processed in the manner prescribed for hearing
administrative appeals under the Worcester County Zoning and Subdivision
Control Article.
(2)Â
Appeals to court. Any person with standing
aggrieved by any decision of the Board of Zoning Appeals on appeal
of a departmental action under this subsection may appeal the same
to the Circuit Court of the County in accordance with the Maryland
Rules of Procedure.
(i)Â
Construction standards. The County Commissioners
may, upon recommendation of the Department, from time to time adopt,
repeal or amend construction standards for construction of shorelines
in Worcester County. All work, including routine maintenance and repair
done on shorelines, shall be in strict accordance therewith. The Approval
Authority may, in accordance with its normal procedures, waive or
modify such construction standards in individual cases where it is
determined that the imposition of such standards would be of no value
and where individual circumstances regarding the specific case are
such that the imposition of such standards is not necessary for the
furtherance of the purposes of this section.
(j)Â
Inspections. The Department or such other
department as the County Commissioners may designate shall be responsible
for the inspection of all work done on shorelines in Worcester County
for compliance with the terms hereof and all resolutions and regulations
adopted pursuant hereto, including any requirements imposed pursuant
hereto.
(k)Â
Violations. Any person who violates the
provisions of this section shall be guilty of a civil infraction.
(l)Â
Exemptions. The governing body of any
incorporated municipality in Worcester County may exempt all shorelines
located within the corporate limits within the municipality by the
adoption by the governing body of an ordinance or law providing for
enforcement of a set of construction standards equal to or better
than the then current Worcester County shoreline standards.
The County Commissioners of Worcester County are authorized
to cooperate with the Wicomico County Council in the creation and
regulation of a new advisory committee to be formed to assist the
Worcester County Commissioners and Wicomico County Council in promoting
coordinated and well-developed policies for the multiple uses of the
upper Pocomoke River and its watershed and surrounding areas from
the Snow Hill River Bridge to the Maryland - Delaware State line.
(a)Â
Obstruction declared a nuisance. Any
weir, tree or other obstruction to navigation or passage in any of
the navigable waters of Worcester County is a nuisance and may be
taken out and destroyed as such by any person.
(b)Â
Obstructions in navigable waters.
(1)Â
It is unlawful in or on any of the navigable waters of Worcester
County:
A.Â
To place or make any weir.
B.Â
To fell a tree or cut timber.
C.Â
To unload or throw out ballast for any boat or vessel.
D.Â
To throw stones, shells, gravel or other things.
E.Â
To hedge across.
F.Â
Wantonly to allow a boat or vessel to sink.
G.Â
To do any other act or thing which will be or make an obstruction
to navigation or to the loading, discharge or passage of a boat or
vessel thereon.
(2)Â
Any person, firm or corporation violating any provision of this
subsection is guilty of a civil infraction.
[Amended 11-10-1987 by Bill No. 87-5]