Nothing under the terms of this chapter shall prohibit or prevent
the Mayor and Council of the Town from reaching an agreement as to
a mitigation program with a developer for the purpose of advancing
the adequacy of public facilities as required by this chapter. Prior
to entering any such agreement, the Town shall invite comment from
the BOE regarding the same.
Notwithstanding any other provision or term of this chapter,
the Mayor and Council of the Town may not be compelled to enter into
an agreement as to a mitigation program with a developer for the purpose
of advancing the adequacy of public facilities as required by this
chapter.
A mitigation program providing for deferred payment of fees
shall include the types, methods and schedules for the implementation
of the mitigation program for the purpose of advancing the adequacy
of public facilities.
In its sole discretion, the Mayor and Council of the Town or
its designee may approve a mitigation program that allows a development
to proceed in a school district otherwise designated as inadequate
for development under the following conditions:
A.
The Mayor and Council of the Town determine that approving this development
benefits the community by:
(1)
Encouraging certain types of development that offer advantages to
the community, including but not limited to the following:
B.
Development occurring while a particular school is in an inadequate
status must not cause the enrollment level at that school to reach
a level where temporary measures such as portable classrooms are not
sufficient to prevent the average class size from rising beyond the
class size based on state-rated capacity or prevent the school's
core services from serving the increased number of students in an
acceptable manner.
C.
A mitigation program for major subdivisions under this section must
provide for improvements that will occur within three years in order
to return a school attendance area to adequate status.
D.
A mitigation program proposed under this section must include an
acceptable phasing program for the development that is approved by
the Mayor and Council of the Town or its designee.
With regard to any public facility required to be adequate under
the terms of this chapter, the Board of County Commissioners for Washington
County, the Mayor and Council of any incorporated municipality in
Washington County, the Washington County Department of Water Quality,
Division of Environmental Management, the State of Maryland, or any
other governmental body may elect to participate in the cost of any
necessary improvements to advance the adequacy of facilities as required
by this chapter.
Any mitigation program providing for deferred payment of fees
shall be contained in a legal, binding, adequate public facilities
agreement between the developer or other responsible party and the
Mayor and Council of the Town. Such agreement must have been approved
for form and content by the Town Attorney.
A mitigation program providing for deferred payment of fees
shall be binding on the heirs, successors, and assigns of a project
and shall run with the land. The deed or title for a property shall
contain references to the mitigation program.
If a developer fails to agree to a mitigation program to assure
adequacy of public facilities, the Planning Commission shall disapprove
the project for want of adequate public facilities as required by
this chapter.
The Mayor and Council of the Town shall require security as
appropriate to cover the costs of the facilities and lands not under
the developer's ownership that are part of a mitigation program
providing for deferred payment of fees, in a form acceptable to the
Town. The amount of the security shall be reduced as payments are
made under the mitigation program. Upon default, the Mayor and Council
of the Town shall have the authority to redeem the security in addition
to any other remedy provided by law.
