Critical Areas Counties

In 1984, the General Assembly enacted the Chesapeake Bay Critical Area Act to regulate development, manage land use and conserve natural resources on land in those areas designated as Critical Area. For this document, the Critical Area is all land and water areas within 1,000 feet of the tidal waters' edge or from the landward edge of adjacent tidal wetlands and the lands under them. Georeferenced digital data files of the critical Area have been produced for Baltimore City and the 16 Maryland counties with land located within the Critical Area. The digital maps produced for each jurisdiction are polygons depicting the Critical Area and the land use classifications recognized by the Chesapeake Bay Critical Area Commission (CBCAC). Each jurisdiction is a separate file. The data were produced from hard copy parcel maps originally submitted by the counties as part of the requirements for developing their Critical Area Program. For the purpose of the Mdimap web service the Critical Area Data is displayed by two data layers, one general layer and one layer showing the available critical area data for local towns.This data set represents the Department of Natural Resources interpretation of the location and extent of the Critical Area; however, the digital maps are not recognized as the "official" maps. In accordance with Subsection 8-1807(a) of the Critical Area Act, the Critical Area consists of (1) All waters and lands under the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries to the head of tide as indicated on the State wetland maps, and all State and private wetlands designated under Environment Article, Title 16, annotated Code of Maryland; (2) All land and water areas within 1,000 feet beyond the landward boundaries of State or private wetlands and the of tides designated under Environment Article, Article 16, Annotated Code of Maryland; and (3) Modification to these areas through inclusions or exclusions proposed by local jurisdictions and approved by Commission as specified in Natural Resources Article, Subsection 8-1807, annotated Code of Maryland. These maps are hard copy maps that cannot be exactly replicated in a digital format; therefore, some interpretation was necessary to create the digital line. Hard copy maps depicting the official Critical Area boundary line are available for review at the Chesapeake Bay Critical Area Commission, and at most local planning and zoning departments. The Department of Natural Resources makes no warranty, expressed or implied, as to the use or appropriateness of Spatial Data, and there are no warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose or use. The intended use is for general information and planning purposes. It is not intended to be used to determine the exact location of the Critical Area boundary on a specific parcel or to determine the acreage within the Critical Area on a specific site. The information contained in Spatial Data is from publicly available sources, but no representation is made as to the accuracy or completeness of Spatial Data. The Department of Natural Resources shall not be subject to liability for human error, error due to software conversion, defect, or failure of machines, or any material used in the connection with the machines, including tapes, disks, CD-ROMs or DVD-ROMs and energy. The Department of Natural Resources shall not be liable for any lost profits, consequential damages, or claims against the Department of Natural Resources by third parties. The liability of the Department of Natural Resources for damage regardless of the form of the action shall not exceed any distribution fees that may have been paid in obtaining Spatial Data.There were many parties involved in producing Maryland's Critical Area data and the key parties will be listed. Each county and city (listed below) produced a hard copy map and submitted the map to the Chesapeake Bay Critical Area Commission (CBCAC) for approval. Through Coastal Zone Management grants, CBCAC digit

Organization: State of Maryland