This chapter shall be known as the "Caroline
County Subdivision Regulations."
This chapter is adopted for the following purposes:
A.
To protect and provide for the public health, safety
and general welfare of the citizens of Caroline County.
B.
To guide the future growth and development of Caroline
County in accordance with the Comprehensive Plan.
C.
To provide for adequate light, air and privacy; to
secure safety from fire, flood and other danger; and to prevent overcrowding
of the land and undue congestion of population.
D.
To protect the character, to maintain the social and
economic stability and to encourage the orderly and beneficial development
of all parts of Caroline County.
E.
To protect and conserve the value of land, buildings
and improvements upon the land; to minimize conflicts among the uses
of land and buildings; and to provide the most beneficial relationship
between the uses of land and buildings.
F.
To guide public and private policy and action in order
to provide adequate and efficient transportation, water, sewerage,
schools, fire and police protection, solid waste, parks, playgrounds,
recreation and other public requirements and facilities.
G.
To avoid congestion of streets and highways and to
provide for the proper location and width of streets and building
lines.
H.
To establish reasonable standards of design and procedures
for subdivisions and resubdivisions in order to further the orderly
layout and use of land and to ensure proper legal descriptions and
monumenting of subdivided land.
I.
To ensure that public facilities are available and
will have sufficient capacity to serve the proposed subdivision.
J.
To prevent the pollution of air, rivers, streams and
ponds; to assure the adequacy of drainage facilities; to safeguard
the water table; and to encourage the wise use and management of natural
resources throughout Caroline County.
K.
To preserve the natural beauty and topography of Caroline
County and to ensure appropriate development with regard to these
natural features.
This chapter shall apply to the unincorporated
area of Caroline County, Maryland.
Whenever any provisions of this chapter conflict
with any other provisions of law, whether set forth in this chapter
or contained in any restrictions covering any of the same subject
matter, that provision which is more restrictive or imposes the higher
standards or requirements shall govern. Such determination shall be
made by the Planning Commission.
A.
All lots, plats, sites or other divisions of land
recorded after November 30, 1972, from an original lot, tract or parcel
of land described in the land records of Caroline County as of said
date shall be counted in determining the number of lots in the subdivision.
B.
The residual or remaining portion of a lot, tract
or parcel of land being subdivided shall be counted as one of the
lots, plats, sites or other divisions of land created if it is less
than 20 acres in area. At least one subdivision lot development right
shall remain with the residual portion of the parcel.
[Amended 12-12-1989 by Ord. No. 89-009]
[1]
Editor's Note: A visual example setting forth
diagrams and a further explanation of the provisions contained in
this section is on file in the County Planning and Codes Administration
office, a copy of which may be obtained during regular business hours.
A.
General requirements.
(1)
Preparation and submission. The owner or proprietor
of any tract of land located in the territory to which this chapter
applies who subdivides or proposes to subdivide the same shall cause
a plat of such subdivision to be made in accordance with this chapter
and shall submit said plat for approval as provided herein.
(2)
Approval required prior to recording. No plat of any
subdivision shall be recorded with the Clerk of the Circuit Court
of Caroline County until it has been submitted to and approved as
provided herein.
(3)
Exceptions. Platting and recording of a subdivision
plat shall not be required in the following cases:
(a)
Court action: partition of lands by will or
through action of a court of competent jurisdiction unless or until
development of the land is proposed.
(b)
Public taking: where a property has been changed
in size or shape by reason of the taking of a part of such property
for public use by reference to a properly drawn and recorded plat,
such as a right-of-way plat, provided that the outlines and dimensions
of such remainder may be clearly determined by references to the previously
recorded plats.
(c)
Utility right-of-way: a bona fide division of
a tract of land in order that one or more of the resulting parcels
may be used as part of an electric transmission line right-of-way
or other public utility right-of-way, provided that, if a parcel resulting
from such division is ever to be used as a building site for other
than an electric transmission line or other public utility right-of-way,
then, before a building permit may be issued for such other use, a
plat must be filed, approved and recorded in accordance with this
chapter.
(4)
Commercial or industrial development. The subdivision
of land for commercial or industrial development shall require a plat
to be submitted in the same manner and to contain the same information,
style and format as a final plat.
B.
Resubdivisions and modifications; amended plats. Whenever
any resubdivision, modification, division, alteration, deletion or
correction is proposed which involves a previously recorded lot, area
reserved for public use, easement or right-of-way in a subdivision,
the owner shall file an amended plat. The amended plat shall be subject
to the chapter in effect at that time and shall be reviewed in the
same manner as for a new subdivision.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: A visual example setting forth
diagrams and a further explanation of the provisions contained in
this subsection is on file in the County Planning and Codes Administration
office, a copy of which may be obtained during regular business hours.
C.
Additions of land. Whenever a lot or parcel is to
be subdivided for the purpose of adding additional land to an adjoining
recorded lot or parcel, then the following shall apply:
[Amended 12-12-1989 by Ord. No. 89-009]
(1)
A plat shall be submitted to the Zoning Administrator
which:
(a)
Shows the lot or parcel to be subdivided, including
a boundary survey of the parcel to be added to adjoining lands.
(b)
Shows the lot or parcel to which the addition
is being made.
(c)
Complies with the required information, style
and form for a minor subdivision plat, including Health Department
approval if applicable.
(d)
A note on the plat shall state: "This subdivision
is made solely for the purpose of adding the parcel shown herein as
_______ to the adjoining lands of _______ as recorded in (land records reference). Said parcel does not constitute
a separate building lot and may not be transferred separately from
said adjoining lands. Any future subdivision of said parcel or building
development shall be submitted for approval in accordance with the
Zoning Ordinance and subdivision regulations in effect at that time."
(2)
The approved plat shall be recorded with the Clerk
of the Circuit Court of Caroline County.
A.
The owner or agent of the owner of any land located
within the jurisdiction of this chapter who transfers or sells or
agrees to sell or negotiates to sell any land by reference to or exhibition
of or by other use of a plat of a subdivision, before the plat has
been approved and recorded or filed in the office of the Clerk of
the Circuit Court of Caroline County, shall forfeit and pay a civil
penalty of not less than $200 and not more than $1,000, in the discretion
of the court, for each lot or parcel so transferred or sold or agreed
or negotiated to be sold. The description of the lot or parcel by
metes and bounds in the instrument of transfer or other document used
in the process of selling or transferring shall not exempt the transaction
from the penalties or from the remedies herein provided. The County
Commissioners may enjoin the transfer or sale or agreement by action
for injunction brought in any court of equity jurisdiction or may
recover the penalty by civil action in any court of competent jurisdiction.
B.
Every act or omission in violation of this chapter
shall be punishable as provided in this section. Where such an act
or omission is of a continuing nature, each and every day during which
such act or omission continues shall be deemed a separate violation.
[Amended 7-28-1992 by Ord. No. 92-003]
Where the Planning Commission finds that because
of unusual circumstances of shape, physical surroundings, topography
or other physical features or conditions of the proposed subdivision,
or because of the nature of adjacent developments, extraordinary hardship
may result from strict compliance with this chapter, there may be
granted a waiver or variance of this chapter when requested by the
Subdivider.
A.
Variances. The Planning Commission shall not approve
any variance unless it makes findings based on the evidence presented
to it in each specific case that:
(1)
The granting of the variance will not be detrimental
to the public safety, health, or welfare or injurious to other property.
(2)
The conditions upon which the request for a variance
is based are unique to the property for which the variance is sought
and are not applicable generally to other property.
B.
Waivers.
[Amended 7-1-1997 by Ord. No. 97-005]
(1)
The provisions of this chapter may be waived by the
Planning Commission where:
(a)
A portion of a lot, tract or parcel of land
owned by a religious, charitable, educational or philanthropic organization
is to be conveyed, assigned or leased to a similar religious, charitable,
educational or philanthropic organization to be used for religious,
charitable, educational or philanthropic purposes; or
(b)
A portion of a lot, tract or parcel of land
is to be used only for conservation and recreational open space purposes
and no residential, commercial or industrial development is allowed
and the property owner agrees not to construct any buildings or structures
on the land unless the Planning Commission first has approved the
proposed construction. Conservation and open space areas shall be
maintained so that the use and enjoyment as open space is not diminished
or destroyed. Conservation and open space areas may be owned or preserved
by:
[1]
Dedication to the County or an appropriate public
agency, if there is a public agency willing to accept the dedication.
[2]
Common ownership by a duly established homeowners'
association which assumes full responsibility for its maintenance.
[3]
Dedication of development rights may be made
to an appropriate public agency with ownership of the land remaining
with the property owner or homeowner's association. Maintenance responsibility
shall remain with the property owner or homeowners' association.
[4]
Deed-restricted private ownership which shall
prevent development and/or subsequent subdivision of the land. Maintenance
responsibility shall remain with the property owner.
(c)
A portion of a lot, tract, or parcel of land is to be used for the
construction of a new residential or commercial structure without
performing the required subdivision as part of a negotiated plan between
or among the property owner, the County, and/or a bona fide third
party having as one of its principal purposes the preservation of
historically significant properties (a preservation entity), to preserve
historic structures, viewsheds, locations, lands, and similar items
or areas, provided that:
[Added 1-12-2010 by Ord. No. 2009-004]
[1]
The property owner provides sufficient evidence to the Planning Commission
that there is a significant historic purpose or value to the property
or any historic structures, viewsheds, locations, lands, and similar
items or areas located on, or a part of, the property; and
[2]
The property owner provides an executed agreement (which agreement
may be subject to termination if a waiver is not granted under this
chapter) with the County and/or a preservation entity naming and describing
the structure, viewshed, location, land, and/or similar item or area
to be preserved, the reasons that such preservation is appropriate,
the restrictions to be placed on the property, the method of enforcement
of such restrictions, and the significant benefits to the County and
its residents to be obtained;
[3]
The property owner agrees to such other terms and conditions as may
be determined by the Planning Commission.
[4]
The granting of such waiver is not a matter of right or required
by law, but is in the discretion of the Planning Commission.
(2)
The Planning Commission shall not approve a waiver
unless it makes findings based on the evidence presented to it that:
(3)
To apply for a waiver under this subsection, an applicant
shall submit a request, in writing, to the Planning Commission identifying
the parcel or lot to which the waiver will apply, the parcel or lot
to be created by the waiver, the proposed buyer, assignee or lessee,
and proposed deed restrictions or covenants. Such request shall be
accompanied by a plat identifying the parcel or lot to be created,
said plat being drawn in accordance with the requirements to be set
forth by the Planning Commission.
(4)
The Zoning Administrator shall mail a notice of the
Planning Commission meeting at which the waiver is scheduled for review
to all adjoining property owners. The notices shall be by United States
mail, first-class postage prepaid, and shall be directed to the most
current names and addresses available to the Zoning Administrator,
as obtained from the State Department of Assessments and Taxation.
(5)
After approval of a waiver, the plat shall be filed
in the plat records of Caroline County. Said waiver shall not become
effective until said plat is recorded.
(6)
Said waiver shall terminate if and when the parcel or lot created by the waiver is sold, assigned or leased to an individual, entity or organization failing to meet the criteria set forth in Subsection B(1), at which time the provisions of this chapter and any subsequent amendments become effective.
(7)
Any waiver granted herein under Subsection B(1)(a) is not assignable or transferable between the applicant and any subsequent buyer, assignee or lessee. Nothing herein shall prevent the buyer, assignee or lessee from encumbering the parcel or lot with any mortgage, deed of trust or other similar instruments.
Any person aggrieved by the action of the Planning
Commission pursuant to this chapter may appeal directly to the Circuit
Court.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Original Section I-15, regarding
preliminary plat approvals existing prior to the effective date of
this chapter, which section immediately followed this section, was
deleted during codification.
A.
The County Commissioners may from time to time adopt
amendments to this chapter.
B.
The Planning Commission shall hold a public hearing
on any proposed amendment prior to submitting its recommendation to
the County Commissioners. The time, place and date of the hearing,
together with a brief synopsis of the proposed amendment, shall be
published in at least one newspaper of general circulation in Caroline
County once each week for two successive weeks prior to the hearing.
[Amended 11-8-1983 by Ord. No. 83-004]
C.
Upon receipt of the recommendation of the Planning
Commission, the County Commissioners shall hold a public hearing.
Notice of the hearing shall comply with the requirements of Article
25, § 3(r), of the Annotated Code of Maryland.
D.
If adopted by the County Commissioners, a copy of
the amendment shall be certified to the Clerk of the Circuit Court
for recording.
[Amended 11-8-1983 by Ord. No. 83-004]
