§ 27-521. Required findings for approval.

(a)

Prior to approving a Comprehensive Design Plan, the Planning Board shall find that:

(1)

The plan is in conformance with the Basic Plan approved by application per Section 27-195; or when the property was placed in a Comprehensive Design Zone through a Sectional Map Amendment per Section 27-223, was approved after October 1, 2006, and for which a comprehensive land use planning study was conducted by Technical Staff prior to initiation, is in conformance with the design guidelines or standards intended to implement the development concept recommended by the Master Plan, Sector Plan, or Sectional Map Amendment Zoning Change;

(2)

The proposed plan would result in a development with a better environment than could be achieved under other regulations;

(3)

Approval is warranted by the way in which the Comprehensive Design Plan includes design elements, facilities, and amenities, and satisfies the needs of the residents, employees, or guests of the project;

(4)

The proposed development will be compatible with existing land use, zoning, and facilities in the immediate surroundings;

(5)

Land uses and facilities covered by the Comprehensive Design Plan will be compatible with each other in relation to:

(A)

Amounts of building coverage and open space;

(B)

Building setbacks from streets and abutting land uses; and

(C)

Circulation access points;

(6)

Each staged unit of the development (as well as the total development) can exist as a unit capable of sustaining an environment of continuing quality and stability;

(7)

The staging of development will not be an unreasonable burden on available public facilities;

(8)

Where a Comprehensive Design Plan proposal includes an adaptive use of a Historic Site, the Planning Board shall find that:

(A)

The proposed adaptive use will not adversely affect distinguishing exterior architectural features or important historic landscape features in the established environmental setting;

(B)

Parking lot layout, materials, and landscaping are designed to preserve the integrity and character of the Historic Site;

(C)

The design, materials, height, proportion, and scale of a proposed enlargement or extension of a Historic Site, or of a new structure within the environmental setting, are in keeping with the character of the Historic Site;

(9)

The Plan incorporates the applicable design guidelines set forth in Section 27-274 of Part 3, Division 9, of this Subtitle, and except as provided in Section 27-521(a)(11), where townhouses are proposed in the Plan, with the exception of the V-L and V-M Zones, the requirements set forth in Section 27-433(d);

(10)

The Plan is in conformance with an approved Type 1 Tree Conservation Plan;

(11)

The Plan demonstrates 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).

(12)

Notwithstanding Section 27-521(a)(9), property placed in a Comprehensive Design Zone pursuant to Section 27-226(f)(4), shall follow the guidelines set forth in Section 27-480(g)(1) and (2); and

(13)

For a Regional Urban Community, the plan conforms to the requirements stated in the definition of the use and satisfies the requirements for the use in Section 27-508(a)(1) and Section 27-508(a)(2) of this Code.

(CB-120-1989; CB-20-1990; CB-84-1990; CB-107-1992; CB-47-1996; CB-56-1996; CB-77-2006; CB-26-2008; CB-29-2008; CB-28-2010; CB-34-2011)

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.