Chapter 07. Commission Review, Decision Process, and Time Frames

Consistency certifications as described in COMAR 27.02.02.02B;

Requests for general approval as described in COMAR 27.02.03.01B;

Proposals for major development as described in COMAR 27.02.04.02C;

Proposals for development on State-owned lands as described in COMAR 27.02.05; and

Requests for conditional approval as described in COMAR 27.02.06.

The Critical Area boundary and Critical Area classification of the project site;

The project area and limits of disturbance of the proposed project inside the Critical Area;

The acreage inside the Critical Area and a breakdown of acreages for each Critical Area designation when there is more than one Critical Area designation on a project site;

Field determination of the buffer in accordance with all provisions in COMAR 27.01.09.01;

The identification and location of habitat protection areas in COMAR 27.01.09.03—.05;

Field determination of forest within 300 feet beyond the landward boundary of tidal waters or a tidal wetland, or the edge of each bank of a tributary stream in accordance with COMAR 27.01.14.05B;

The identification and location of existing and proposed lot coverage as defined in Natural Resources Article, §8-1802, Annotated Code of Maryland, and consistent with COMAR 27.01.14.04B;

The identification and location of areas with steep slopes of 15 percent or greater;

For a project on locally owned land or privately owned lands, calculations demonstrating compliance with the Critical Area stormwater pollutant reduction requirements of COMAR 27.01.02.03;

Information demonstrating compliance with notice requirements of COMAR 27.03.01.03;

For State agency projects on State-owned lands, information demonstrating compliance with COMAR 27.02.05.02A; and

When applicable, for a project located in a resource conservation area, information demonstrating compliance with COMAR 27.01.14.02-1.

For the purpose of reviewing the development proposals listed in Regulation .01 of this chapter, and in accordance with Regulation .03 of this chapter, the Commission may establish panels, or it may undertake reviews by the full Commission.

The Commission may seek public comment on proposals for development and may hold public hearings for this purpose, except that any proposed development that adversely affects the growth allocation of a local jurisdiction, as described in COMAR 27.01.02.06, shall require a public hearing.

If appropriate, public hearings shall be held in the local jurisdiction in which the proposed development would be located. If the development is located in, or would affect, more than one jurisdiction, the Chair shall decide in which of the jurisdictions the hearing will be held.

At a hearing, the Commission or its panel shall hear the comments of the public concerning the proposed development and may entertain a presentation by the sponsoring State or local agency. The Commission shall limit comment by the public to relevant matters within the scope and purview of the Commission and shall make and keep a full record of the proceedings.

For purposes of reviewing an application for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity in the Critical Area, all of the following apply:

The Chair may refer an application to the Commission for review, including for:

The Chair shall refer to the Commission an application for a State or local major solar energy generating system in the Critical Area in the resource conservation area.

The Chair may appoint a panel of the Commission to review any of the development proposals listed in Regulation .01 of this chapter and to make recommendations to the full Commission concerning approval, denial, or conditioning of the proposal. The panel shall consist of five Commission members to be appointed by the Chair.

A panel may conduct public hearings on a proposal for development in accordance with the provisions of Regulation .02B, C, and D of this chapter. The panel shall keep and provide to the full Commission a record of the proceedings.

The panel shall make its recommendations on the proposal known to the full Commission, which shall make the final determination by majority vote of approval, disapproval, or conditional approval within the time frames stated in Regulation .04 of this chapter.

The cabinet secretary, or that secretary's designee, of the State department or agency which is the sponsor of the proposed development, may not sit on the panel considering that agency's proposed development. If a local project is the subject of this regulation, the local elected or appointed official from the subject jurisdiction, who also sits as a Commission member, may not sit on the panel appointed to consider that proposed development.

The Commission shall notify the agency proposing development of its decision to approve, deny, or approve with conditions the proposal in the time frames shown in §B of this regulation. If the Commission fails to provide this notice, the development may proceed as proposed without further Commission comment or approval.

The Commission shall give notice of its decision to the proposing agency within the number of days of receipt of the development proposal as specified below:

Certain development projects of substantial complexity and potential adverse impact on the Critical Area may require additional time for review than is provided for in §B of this regulation. In these cases, the Commission shall notify the sponsoring agency within 15 days of receipt of the development proposal of the expected time frame needed to review the proposal. The additional time afforded to the Commission for review may not exceed 60 days beyond that provided in §B of this regulation, unless expressly agreed to by the proposing agency.

Certain development projects, in order to be undertaken, may require Commission review and approval within a time frame less than that provided in §B of this regulation. In these cases, the Chair may approve, deny, or condition the request for development and shall notify the full Commission and any affected local jurisdiction of this decision within 15 days.