§ 5B-108. Definitions.

(a)

Applicability. For the purpose of this Subtitle, the following terms, phrases, and words and their derivations shall have the meaning given herein:

(1)

Abatement. The act of putting an end to a land alteration, development activity, or other action cited as a violation under this Subdivision. Abatement includes the act of reducing the degree or intensity of the alteration, activity, or action.

(2)

Afforestation. The establishment of a biological community of perpetual woodlands either through the planting of trees on an area from which trees have always or very long been absent, or the planting of open areas which are not presently in forest cover.

(3)

Agricultural easement. A non-possessory interest in land that restricts the conversion of use of the land, preventing non-agricultural uses.

(4)

Agricultural Land. Those lands which are assessed agricultural for tax purposes.

(5)

Agriculture. All methods of production and management of livestock, crops, vegetation, and soil. This includes, but is not limited to, the related activities of tillage, fertilization, pest control, harvesting, and marketing. It also includes, but is not limited to, the activities of feeding, housing, and maintaining of animals such as cattle, dairy cows, sheep, goats, hogs, horses, and poultry, and handling their by-products.

(6)

Andromous fish. Fish that travel upstream from their primary habitat in the ocean to freshwater in order to spawn.

(7)

Andromous fish propagation waters. Those streams that are tributaries to the Chesapeake Bay where spawning of andromous species of fish (e.g., rockfish, yellow perch, white perch, shad, and river herring) occurs or has occurred.

(8)

Aquaculture.

(A)

Farming or culturing of finfish, shellfish, other aquatic plants or animals or both, in lakes, streams, inlets, estuaries, and other natural or artificial water bodies or impoundments.

(B)

Activities include hatching, cultivating, planting, feeding, raising, and harvesting of aquatic plants and animals and the maintenance and construction of necessary equipment, buildings, and growing areas.

(C)

Cultivation methods include, but are not limited to, seed or larvae development and grow-out facilities, fish pens, shellfish rafts, racks and loglines, seaweed floats and the culture of clams and oysters on tidelands and sub tidal areas.

For the purpose of this definition, related activities such as wholesale and retail sales, processing and product storage facilities are not considered aqua cultural practices.

(9)

Best Management Practices (BMPs). Those conservation practices or systems of practices and management measures that control soil and nutrient loss and reduce water quality degradation caused by nutrients, animal waste, toxics, and sediment, including, but not limited to, strip cropping, terracing, contour stripping, grass waterways, animal waste structures, ponds, minimal tillage, grass and naturally vegetated filter strips, and proper nutrient application measures.

(10)

Bona fide Intra-family Transfer. A transfer to a member of the owner's immediate family of a portion of the owner's property for the purpose of establishing a residence for that family member. See "immediate family."

(11)

Breeding bird areas. Wooded areas where the occurrence of interior dwelling birds, during the breeding season, has been demonstrated as a result of on-site surveys using standard biological survey techniques.

(12)

Chesapeake Bay Critical Area or Critical Area (CBCA). All lands and waters defined in § 8-1807 of the Natural Resources Article, Annotated Code of Maryland. This includes: (a) all waters of and lands under the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries to the head of tide, and State and private wetlands designated under Title 16 of the Environment Article; (b) all land and water within one thousand (1,000) feet beyond the resources identified in (a); and (c) Modification to these areas through inclusions or exclusions proposed by local jurisdictions and approved by the Commission as specified in § 8-1807 of the Natural Resources Article, Annotated Code of Maryland.

(13)

Clear cutting. Removal of the entire stand of trees in one cutting with tree reproduction obtained by natural seeding from adjacent stands or from trees that were cut from advanced regeneration or stump sprouts or from planting of seeds or seedlings by man.

(14)

Clearing. The removal of trees, understory trees, saplings, shrubs or herbaceous plants even if the stumps or root systems remain intact. Clearing includes using a mechanical device to remove vegetation (e.g. bush hogging). Horticultural practices necessary to maintain the health of individual trees are not restricted, but must be approved if associated with any disturbance in the buffer.

(15)

Colonial nesting water birds. Herons, egrets, terns, and glossy ibis. For the purposes of nesting, these birds congregate (that is "colonize") in relatively few areas, at which time, the regional populations of these species are highly susceptible to local disturbances.

(16)

Commercial logging. See "timber harvesting."

(17)

Commission. Critical Area Commission for the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays.

(18)

Community piers. Boat docking facilities associated with subdivisions or similar residential areas, and with condominium, apartment and other multiple family dwelling units. Private piers are excluded from this definition.

(19)

Conservation Agreement. A formal agreement which commits a grading or building permit applicant to the execution of various approved elements of an approved conservation plan, planting plan or buffer management plan, including a stormwater management concept plan, an erosion and sedimentation concept plan, a vegetation management plan, and other plans which may be required by the Department of Permitting, Inspections, and Enforcement or the Prince George's County Planning Board. Conservation Agreements shall be recorded in the land records prior to permit issuance.

(20)

Conservation Easement. A recorded easement established for the protection of sensitive resources within the Critical Area.

(21)

Conservation Plan. A plan developed in accordance with this Subtitle and the applicable provisions of Subtitles 24 and 27 which demonstrates how a project has been designed to meet the specific Chesapeake Bay Critical Area criteria. The Conservation Plan consists of a stormwater management concept plan, an erosion and sedimentation concept plan, a vegetation management plan, and such other plans relating to environmental systems as may be required by the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission, the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, the Prince George's County Health Department, the Prince George's County Department of Public Works and Transportation, the Prince George's County Department of Permitting, Inspections, and Enforcement, or the Prince George's Soil Conservation District.

(22)

Contiguous. Touching and sharing a common point or line.

(23)

Corrective Order. A notice to the owner and/or person responsible for corrective actions to a violation to this subtitle which shall be completed within the specified time as indicated in the order.

(24)

County. Prince George's County, Maryland.

(25)

Cover crop. Establishment of a vegetative cover to protect soils from erosion and to restrict pollutants from entering the waterways. Cover crops can be dense, planted crops of grasses or legumes, or crop residues such as corn, wheat or soybean stubble which maximize infiltration and prevent runoff from reaching erosive velocities.

(26)

Critical Area Buffer ("the Buffer"). An area that is immediately landward from mean high water of tidal waters, the edge of bank of a tributary stream, or the edge of a tidal wetland; and exists or may be established in, natural vegetation to protect a stream, tidal wetland, tidal water, or terrestrial environments from human disturbance. Delineation of the Buffer is described in Section 5B-121(a).

(27)

Critical Area Commission for the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays. Previously referred to as the Chesapeake Bay Critical Area Commission and the entity charged with state oversight for compliance and/or enforcement of the Annotated Code of Maryland, Natural Resources Article, Title 9.

(28)

Density. The number of dwelling units per acre of net lot area. In the R-C-O Zone, the gross tract acreage is used to calculate density except as noted in Section 5B-115(f).

(29)

Developed woodlands. Those areas of vegetation that do not meet the definition of woodlands, but which contain trees and other natural vegetation and which also include residential, commercial, or industrial structures and uses.

(30)

Developer. A person who undertakes development activity as defined in this Ordinance; or a person who undertakes development activity as defined in this Subtitle.

(31)

Development. Any activity that materially affects the condition or use of dry land, land under water, or any structure.

(32)

Development activities. Human activity that results in disturbance to land, natural vegetation, or a structure.

(33)

Director. Director of the Prince George's County, Maryland, Department of Permitting, Inspections, and Enforcement.

(34)

Disturbance. The alteration or change in land surfaces and any amount of clearing, grading or construction activity.

(35)

Ecosystem. A self-contained biological community together with the physical environment in which the community's organisms occur.

(36)

Endangered species. Any species of fish wildlife, or plants that have been designated as "endangered" or "endangered extirpated" by regulation of the Secretary of the Department of Natural Resources in Code of Maryland Regulations COMAR 08.03.08. This includes any species determined to be an "endangered" species pursuant to the Federal Endangered Species Act.

(37)

Environmental Technical Manual. A technical manual, as approved and amended by the Planning Board from time to time, that contains the technical requirements for conformance to the Critical Area regulations.

(38)

Erosion and sediment control plan. An erosion and sediment control strategy or plan, to minimize erosion and prevent off-site sedimentation by containing sediment on-site or by passing sediment laden runoff through a sediment control measure, prepared and approved in accordance with the specific requirements of the Prince George's Soil Conservation District and Subtitle 4 of the Prince George's County Code, and designed in accordance with the Standards and Specifications.

(39)

Establishment of a buffer. The creation of a vegetated area or planted area that provides vegetative cover throughout the Buffer.

(40)

Fisheries activities. Commercial water dependent fisheries facilities including structures for the parking, processing, canning, or freezing of finfish, crustaceans, mollusks, amphibians and reptiles and also including related activities such as wholesale and retail sales product storage facilities, crab shedding, off-loading docks, shellfish culture operations, and shore-based facilities necessary for aquacultural operations.

(41)

Forest. See "woodlands."

(42)

Forest Management Plan. A plan prepared in conformance with Subtitle 25.

(43)

Forest interior dwelling birds. Species of birds that require relatively large forested tracts in order to breed successfully (e.g., various species of flycatchers, warblers, vireos, and woodpeckers).

(44)

Forest interior dwelling bird habitat. Woodland areas of sufficient size as to be favorable to the breeding of forest interior dwelling bird species which are assumed to be present if the majority of the forest is dominated by pole-sized or larger trees (five inches or greater diameter at breast height), or has a closed canopy; and meets one the following conditions:

(A)

The woodlands are a minimum of 50 acres in size and contain at least 10 acres of "forest interior" habitat which is located more than 300 feet from the nearest forest edge; or

(B)

Riparian forests at least 50 acres in size with a minimum average width of 300 feet within the watershed of a regulated stream.

(45)

Forest management activity. Activities such as the harvesting of forest products, thinning, wildlife habitat protection, and watershed protection as identified on an approved Forest Management Plan.

(46)

Highly erodible soils. Those soils with a slope greater than 15 percent or those soils with a K value greater than 0.35 and with slopes greater than 5 percent.

(47)

Historic waterfowl staging and concentration area. An area of open water and adjacent marshes where waterfowl gather during migration and throughout the winter season. These areas are historic in the sense that their location is common knowledge and because these areas have been used regularly during recent times.

(48)

Hydric soils. Soils that are wet frequently enough to periodically produce anaerobic conditions, thereby influencing the species composition of growth, or both, of plants on those soils.

(49)

Hydrophytic vegetation. Those plants cited in "Vascular Plant Species Occurring in Maryland Wetlands" (Dawson, F. et al., 1985), which are described as growing in water or on a substrate that is at least periodically deficient in oxygen as a result of excessive water content (plants typically found in water habitats).

(50)

In-kind replacement. The replacement of a structure with another structure that is identical to the original structure in all dimensions including footprint area, width, and length, and is also identical in use.

(51)

Intensely Developed Overlay (I-D-O) Zone. As defined in Section 27-548-13 of Subtitle 27, an overlay zone that includes:

(A)

An area with a housing density of at least four dwelling units per acre; or

(B)

An area with public water and sewer systems with a housing density of more than three dwelling units per acre.

(52)

K-value. The soil erodibility factor in the Universal Soil Loss Equation.

(53)

Limited Development Overlay (L-D-O) zone. An area that includes:

(A)

an area with a housing density ranging from one dwelling unit per five acres up to four dwelling units per acre;

(B)

an area with a public water or sewer system;

(C)

an area that is not dominated by agricultural land, wetland, forests, surface water, or open space;

(54)

Lot area, gross. The total area of a tract of land, including all land area which is to be conveyed for "public facilities" exclusive of the area that lies within state wetlands.

(55)

Lot area, net. The gross lot area minus the 100-year floodplain.

(56)

Lot consolidation. A combination or adjustment of any legal parcels of land or record lots in accordance with Section 24-107(c)(9), (d) or 24-108 of Subtitle 24, in the Chesapeake Bay Critical Area.

(57)

Lot coverage in the Critical Area. The percentage of a gross area of a lot or parcel that is existing or proposed to be (1) occupied by a structure, accessory structure, parking area, driveway, walkway, impermeable deck or stairway, or roadway; or (2) covered with, gravel, stone, shell, impermeable decking, pavers, permeable pavement, or any manmade material. Lot coverage in the Critical Area does not include (1) a fence or wall that is less than one-foot in width that has not been constructed with a footer; (2) a walkway in the Primary or Secondary Buffer, including a stairway that provides direct access to a community or private pier; (3) a wood mulch pathway, or (4) a deck with gaps to allow water to pass freely.

(58)

Marina. Any facility for the mooring, berthing, storing, or securing of watercraft, but not including community piers and other non-commercial boat docking and storage facilities.

(59)

Mean high water line. The average level of high tides at a given location.

(60)

Mitigation. An action taken to compensate for adverse impacts to the environment resulting from development, a development activity, or a change in land use or intensity.

(61)

Natural Heritage Area. Any communities of plants or animals that are considered to be among the best statewide examples of their kind, and are designated by regulation by the Secretary of the Department of Natural Resources.

(62)

Natural regeneration. The establishment or re-establishment of a biological community of woodlands from nearby seed sources without afforestation.

(63)

Natural vegetation. Those plant communities that develop in the absence of human activities.

(64)

New development. For purposes of implementing specific provisions of this Subtitle, new development (as opposed to redevelopment) means a development activity that takes place on a property with pre-development CBCA lot coverage of less than 15 percent as of December 1, 1985.

(65)

Non-point source pollution. Pollution generated by diffuse land use activities rather than from an identifiable or discrete facility, and which is conveyed to waterways through natural processes, such as rainfall, stormwater runoff, or groundwater seepage rather than by deliberate discharge. Non-point source pollution is not generally corrected by "end-of-pipe" treatment, but rather by changes in land management practices.

(66)

Nontidal wetland. An area which:

(A)

Is inundated or saturated by surface or ground water at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and under normal circumstances supports a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions; or

(B)

Is identified as a "wetland" in accordance with the Federal Manual.

(67)

Palustrine. All non-tidal wetlands dominated by trees, shrubs, persistent emergent plants, or emergent mosses or lichens and all such wetlands that occur in tidal areas where the salinity due to ocean-derived salts is below one-half part per one thousand (1,000) parts of water.

(68)

Person. Includes an individual, partnership, corporation, contractor, property owner, or any other person or entity.

(69)

Physiographic features. The soils, topography, land slope and aspect, and local climate that influence the form and species composition of plant communities.

(70)

Planning Board. The Prince George's County Planning Board of the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission

(71)

Planning Director. That person responsible for the functions of the Prince George's County Planning Department of the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission.

(72)

Plant habitat. A community of plants commonly identifiable by the composition of its vegetation and its physiographic characteristics.

(73)

Port. A facility or area established or designated by the state or Prince George's County for purposes of waterborne commerce.

(74)

Primary Buffer. The area one hundred (100) feet from the mean high water line of tidal waters, the edge of the bank of tributary streams, and the landward extent of tidal wetlands.

(75)

Prince George's Soil Conservation District. One of twenty-four (24) soil conservation districts created pursuant to the Annotated Code of Maryland, Agricultural Article, Subtitle 3.

(76)

Private wetlands. Any area of a lot or parcel not considered a "state wetland" bordering on or lying beneath tidal waters, which is subject to regular or periodic tidal action and supports aquatic growth. Private wetlands include wetlands transferred by the state by a valid grant, lease, patent, or grant confirmed by Article 5 of the Maryland Declaration of Rights, to the extent of the interest transferred.

(77)

Program. The Chesapeake Bay Critical Area Protection Program of Prince George's County.

(78)

Project approvals. The approval of development, other than development by the state or local government in the Critical Area by the appropriate local approval authority. This term includes approval of subdivision plans and site plans; inclusion of areas within floating zones; issuance of variances, special exceptions, and conditional use permits; and issuance of zoning permits, but does not include building permits.

(79)

Public water-oriented recreation. Shore-dependent recreation facilities or activities provided by public agencies which are available to the general public.

(82)

Redevelopment. The process of developing land which is or has been developed.

(83)

Reforestation. The establishment of a biological community of perpetual woodlands through the planting of trees on an area from which trees were recently removed.

(84)

Regulated stream. Streams that have water flowing year-round during a typical year and streams that have water flowing during certain times of the year when groundwater provides for stream flow. Water flow can be identified by a defined channel and movement of leaf litter and debris by the movement of water. During dry periods some regulated streams may not have flowing water. Streams that only have water flowing during, or for a short duration after, precipitation events in a typical year are not regulated streams. This definition includes "perennial", "intermittent" and "tributary" streams and does not include "ephemeral" streams.

(85)

Restoration. The act of returning a site or area to an original state or any action that reestablishes all or a portion of the ecological structure and functions of a site or area.

(86)

Riparian habitat. A habitat that is strongly influenced by water and which occurs adjacent to streams, shorelines, and wetlands.

(87)

Secondary Buffer. Areas contiguous to the primary buffer which are essential for the buffer to perform all of its integral functions, including but not limited to, palustrine non-tidal wetlands, steep and severe slopes in excess of fifteen percent (15%), highly erodible soils, hydrologic soil (Group D), and the one hundred (100) year floodplain. The primary and secondary buffers, combined, constitute the "Buffer" in a Critical Area Overlay Zone.

(88)

Severe slopes. Slopes of 25 percent or greater incline.

(89)

Soil Conservation and Water Quality Plan. Land use plans for farms that assist farmers in making the best possible use of their soil and water resources, while protecting and conserving those resources for the future.

(90)

Species in need of conservation. Those fish and wildlife whose continued existence as part of the state's resources are in question and which may be designated by regulation by the Secretary of Natural Resources as in need of conservation pursuant to the requirements of Natural Resources Articles 10-2A-06 and 4-2A-03, Annotated Code of Maryland.

(91)

State wetlands. Any land under the navigable waters of the state below the mean high tide, affected by the regular rise and fall of the tide. Wetlands of this category which have been transferred by the state by valid grant, lease, patent or grant confirmed by Article 5 of the Maryland Declaration of Rights shall be considered "private wetlands" to the extent of the interest transferred.

(92)

Steep Slopes. Slopes of 15 percent or greater incline.

(93)

Streams. See "Regulated Streams."

(94)

Structure. Anything constructed or erected on or over land that may or may not result in lot coverage.

(95)

Substantial alteration. Any repair, reconstruction, or improvement of a principal structure, where the proposed footprint equals or exceeds 50 percent of the existing principal structure.

(96)

Surface mining.

(A)

Breaking of the surface soil in order to extract or remove minerals.

(B)

Any activity or process constituting all or part of a process for the extraction or removal of minerals from their original location.

(C)

Extraction of sand, gravel, rock, stone, earth, or fill from borrow pits for highway.

(D)

Construction purposes or other public facilities.

(E)

Operations engaged in processing minerals at the site of extraction.

(F)

Removal of overburden and mining of limited amount of any mineral when done for the purpose of prospecting and to the extent necessary to determine the location, quantity, or quality of any natural deposit.

(G)

Mining operations, if the affected land exceeds one (1) acre or more in area.

(97)

Threatened species. Any species of fish, wildlife, or plants designated as such by regulation by the Secretary of the Department of Natural Resources in COMAR 08.03.08 that appears likely, within the foreseeable future, to become endangered, including any species of wildlife or plant determined to be a "threatened" species pursuant to the Federal Endangered Species Act, 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq., as amended.

(98)

Timber harvesting or logging. The severing of any size tree above ground level leaving the root system and all stumps intact, except for the purpose of providing a temporary access for some other use.

(99)

Tidal wetlands. All state and private tidal wetlands, marshes, submerged aquatic vegetation, lands and open water affected by the daily and periodic rise and fall of the tide within the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries.

(100)

Topography. The existing configuration of the earth's surface including the relative relief, elevation, and position of land features.

(101)

Transportation facilities. Anything that is built, installed, or established to provide a means of transport from one place to another.

(102)

Tributary streams. See "Regulated Streams."

(103)

Unwarranted hardship means that without a variance, an applicant would be denied reasonable and significant use of the entire parcel or lot for which the variance is requested.

(104)

Utility transmission facilities. Fixed structures that convey or distribute resources, wastes, or both, including but not limited to electrical lines, water conduits and sewer lines.

(105)

Wash plant. A facility where sand and gravel is washed during processing.

(106)

Water-based aquaculture. The raising of fish and shellfish in any natural, open, free-flowing water body.

(107)

Water-dependent facilities. Those structures or works associated with industrial, maritime recreational, educational, or fisheries activities that require location at or near the shoreline within the Buffer specified within the 100-foot Buffer section of this Ordinance. An activity is water-dependent if it cannot exist outside the Buffer and is dependent on the water by reason of the intrinsic nature of its operation. These activities include, but are not limited to, ports, the intake and outfall structures of power plants, water-use industries, marinas and other boat docking structures, public beaches and other public water-oriented recreation areas, and fisheries activities. Excluded from this regulation are individual private piers installed or maintained by riparian landowners, and which are not part of a subdivision which provides community piers.

(108)

Water-use industry. An industry that requires location near the shoreline because it utilizes surface waters for cooling or other internal purposes.

(109)

Waterfowl. Birds that frequent and often swim in water, nest and raise their young near water, and derive at least part of their food from aquatic plants and animals.

(110)

Wildlife corridor. A strip of land having vegetation that provides habitat and safe passage for wildlife.

(111)

Wildlife habitat. Those plant communities and natural features that provide food, water and cover, nesting, and foraging or feeding conditions necessary to maintain populations of animals in the Critical Area.

(112)

Woodlands. A perpetual biological community dominated by trees and other woody or herbaceous plants covering a land area of 10,000 square feet or greater. This includes areas that have at least 100 trees per acre with at least 50 trees that are 2 inches or greater in diameter at breast height. This also includes areas that have been timber harvested where the stumps remain in place for future regeneration. The terms "woodland," "forest," and "forest cover" are synonymous and do not include orchards or other areas without multiple layers of woody and herbaceous vegetation.

(CB-75-2010; CB-18-2013)