§ 27-276. Planning Board procedures.

(a)

General.

(1)

Prior to approval of any preliminary plan of subdivision or Detailed Site Plan, or the issuance of any grading, building, or use and occupancy permit, for the development or use of any land for which a Conceptual Site Plan is required, the applicant shall obtain approval of a Conceptual Site Plan from the Planning Board.

(2)

The Planning Board shall review the Conceptual Site Plan for compliance with this Division.

(3)

The Planning Board shall give due consideration to all comments received from other agencies.

(4)

The Planning Board shall only consider the Plan at a regularly scheduled meeting after a duly advertised public hearing.

(5)

The Planning Board shall approve, approve with modification, or disapprove the Conceptual Site Plan, and shall state its reasons for the action.

(6)

The Planning Board's decision shall be embodied in a resolution adopted at a regularly scheduled public meeting, a copy of which shall be sent to all persons of record (in the Conceptual Site Plan approval process) and the District Council.

(7)

For a proposed Mixed-Use Planned Community, the Planning Board shall hold a hearing on the application and make the findings required in this Section before it approves the Conceptual Site Plan. But if the subject property lies within a municipality, the following shall apply:

(A)

The Planning Board shall hold a hearing, prepare a record, and transmit a recommendation to the District Council.

(B)

The District Council shall make the findings required in this Section before it approves the use; and

(C)

If the municipality recommends disapproval of the Plan, the District Council may approve it only on the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the full Council.

(b)

Required findings.

(1)

The Planning Board may approve a Conceptual Site Plan if it finds that the Plan represents a most reasonable alternative for satisfying the site design guidelines without requiring unreasonable costs and without detracting substantially from the utility of the proposed development for its intended use. If it cannot make this finding, the Planning Board may disapprove the Plan.

(2)

The Planning Board may approve a Conceptual Site Plan for a Mixed-Use Planned Community in the E-I-A or M-X-T Zone if it finds that the property and the Plan satisfy all criteria for M-X-T Zone approval in Part 3, Division 2; the Plan and proposed development meet the purposes and applicable requirements of the M-X-T Zone; the Plan meets all requirements stated in the definition of the use; and the Plan shows a reasonable alternative for satisfying, in a high-quality, well-integrated mixed-use community, all applicable site design guidelines.

(3)

The Planning Board may approve a Conceptual Site Plan for a Regional Urban Community in the M-X-T Zone if it finds that proposed development meet the purposes and applicable requirements of the M-X-T Zone and the Plan meets all requirements stated in the definition of the use and Section 27-544 of this Code.

(4)

The plan shall demonstrate the preservation and/or restoration of the regulated environmental features in a natural state to the fullest extent possible in accordance with the requirement of Subtitle 24-130(b)(5).

(c)

Time limits for action.

(1)

The Planning Board shall approve, approve with modifications, or disapprove the Conceptual Site Plan within seventy (70) days of its submittal. The month of August and the period between and inclusive of December 20 and January 3 shall not be included in calculating this seventy (70) day period.

(2)

If no action is taken within seventy (70) days, the Conceptual Site Plan shall be deemed to have been approved. The applicant may (in writing) extend the seventy (70) day requirement to provide for some longer specified review period not to exceed forty-five (45) additional days, or such other additional time period as determined by the applicant.

(3)

A decision to approve a zoning case or subdivision plat subject to a condition requiring site plan approval may include a reduction in the time limit for action on the site plan, but may not include an increase in this time period.

(4)

Within seven (7) days after the Planning Board adopts its resolution, the Planning Board shall transmit written notice of its adoption to all persons of record and the Clerk of the Council.

(5)

For an application remanded to the Planning Board from the District Council, the Planning Board shall approve, approve with modifications, or disapprove the Conceptual Site Plan within sixty (60) days of the date the notice of remand is transmitted from the Clerk of the Council. The month of August and the period between and inclusive of December 20 and January 3 shall not be included in calculating this sixty (60) day period.

(d)

Notification of applicant.

(1)

If a Conceptual Site Plan is not approved, the Planning Board shall notify the applicant (in writing), stating what changes are required for approval.

(CB-33-1985; CB-63-1990; CB-84-1990; CB-47-1996; CB-13-1997; CB-13-2002; CB-42-2004; CB-29-2008; CB-28-2010; CB-34-2011; CB-83-2015)

Editor's note— Section 3 of CB-28-2010 provides that a development project for which all required development applications have been approved by the Planning Board, Zoning Hearing Examiner, or District Council, and appeal periods have not expired as of September 1, 2010, is grandfathered; or a development project that has an approved preliminary plan of subdivision, but has not completed subsequent processes such as final plat or site plan as of September 1, 2010, is grandfathered for that portion of the project covered by the preliminary plan.

Section 3 of CB-34-2011 provides that a development project for which all required development applications have been approved by the Planning Board, Zoning Hearing Examiner, or District Council, notwithstanding any appeal period, is grandfathered regarding the provisions of CB-28-2010 that became effective on September 1, 2010, or any subsequent revisions in conformance with the grandfathered approval; or a development project that has an approved preliminary plan of subdivision, notwithstanding any further development review requirements including record plats is grandfathered regarding the provisions of CB-28-2010 that became effective on September 1, 2010, or any subsequent revisions in conformance with the grandfathered approval for that portion of the project covered by the preliminary plan.