Opinion ID: 2423845
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Local Regulatory Standards Governing Consideration of Special Exception Applications in Montgomery County Generally and Landscape Contractors in the RDT Zone Specifically

Text: Montgomery County is a charter county. See MD. CONST. art. XI-A; Montgomery County v. Anchor Inn Seafood Rest., 374 Md. 327, 331, 822 A.2d 429, 431 (2003) (Article XI-A of the Maryland Constitution authorizes counties to adopt home rule charters which, as we have often pointed out, function as `constitutions' for the counties adopting them.). Although the Express Powers Act, Maryland Code (1957, 2005 Repl.Vol.), Article 25A, § 5, enumerates express powers granted to and conferred upon any county or counties which form a charter under Article XI-A of the Maryland Constitution, Montgomery County's zoning power ... derives exclusively from the Regional District Act [Art. 28, §§ 8-101 et seq. ]. Pan Am. Health Org. v. Montgomery County, 338 Md. 214, 217, 657 A.2d 1163, 1165 (1995). The Regional District Act applies solely to those parts of the Regional District situated in Montgomery and Prince George's Counties. [9] Section 8-101(b)(2) of the Md.Code, Art. 28 (the Regional District Act), provides in pertinent part: TITLE 8. DISTRICT COUNCILS FOR REGIONAL DISTRICT. § 8-101. Powers Generally.    (b) Grant of zoning power.    (2) ... each district council, respectively, in accordance with the conditions and procedures specified in this article, may by ordinance adopt and amend the text of the zoning ordinance and may by resolution or ordinance adopt and amend the map or maps accompanying the zoning ordinance text to regulate, in the portion of the regional district lying within its county, (i) the location, height, bulk, and size of buildings, other structures, and units therein, building lines, minimum frontages, depths and areas of lots, and percentages of lots which may be occupied; (ii) the size of lots, yards, courts, and other open states; (iii) the erection of temporary stands and structures; (iv) the density and distribution of population; (v) the location and uses of buildings and structures and units therein for trade, industry, residence, recreation, agriculture, public activities, and other purposes; and (vi) the uses of land, including surface, subsurface, and air rights therein, for building, trade, industry, residence, recreation, agriculture, forestry, or other purposes. Section 8-102 of Art. 28, entitled Districts and [Z]ones provides further: For the purposes of such exercise of power, each district council may divide the portion of the regional district lying within its county into districts and zones of whatever number, shape or area it may determine. Within the districts and zones the district council may regulate the erection, construction, reconstruction, alteration, and uses of buildings and structures and the uses of the land, including surface, subsurface, and air rights therein. Both districts and zones may be created; all regulations shall be uniform for each class or kind of building throughout any district or zone, but the regulations in one district or zone may differ from those in another district or zone. Section 8-104 of Art. 28 authorizes generally the District Councils in Montgomery and Prince George's Counties to amend their zoning regulations from time to time. Specifically addressing special exceptions, § 8-110(a) authorizes a district council, in its zoning regulations, to provide that the board of zoning appeals ... in appropriate cases and subject to appropriate principles, standards, rules, conditions, and safeguards set forth in the regulations, may either grant or deny, upon conditions ... special exceptions ... in harmony with the[ ] general purposes and intent [of the zoning regulations]. (Emphasis added.) Montgomery County's zoning ordinance, [10] as noted earlier, is codified in Chapter 59 of the County Code. Pursuant to § 59-C-9.3(c), landscape contracting is a use allowed in an RDT zone only with the grant of a special exception, [11] unless established as a legal nonconforming use. Before any special exception may be granted, the Board must find, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the proposed use (1) Is a permissible special exception use in the zone. (2) Complies with the standards and requirements set forth for the use in Division [12] 59-G-2. [13] The fact that a proposed use complies with all specific standards and requirements to grant a special exception does not create a presumption that the use is compatible with nearby properties and, in itself, is not sufficient to require a special exception to be granted. [14] (3) Will be consistent with the general plan for the physical development of the District, including any master plan adopted by the Commission. Any decision to grant or deny a special exception must be consistent with any recommendation in a master plan regarding the appropriateness of a special exception at a particular location. If the Planning Board or the Board's technical staff in its report on a special exception concludes that granting a particular special exception at a particular location would be inconsistent with the land use objectives of the applicable master plan, a decision to grant the special exception must include specific findings as to master plan consistency. (4) Will be in harmony with the general character of the neighborhood considering population density, design, scale, and bulk of any proposed new structures, intensity and character of activity, traffic and parking conditions, and number of similar uses. The Board or Hearing Examiner must consider whether the public facilities and services will be adequate to serve the proposed development under the Growth Policy standards in effect when the special exception application was submitted. (5) Will not be detrimental to the use, peaceful enjoyment, economic value or development of surrounding properties or the general neighborhood at the subject site, irrespective of any adverse effects the use might have if established elsewhere in the zone. (6) Will cause no objectionable noise, vibrations, fumes, odors, dust, illumination, glare, or physical activity at the subject site, irrespective of any adverse effects the use might have if established elsewhere in the zone. (7) Will not, when evaluated in conjunction with existing and approved special exceptions in any neighboring one-family residential area, increase the number, intensity, or scope of special exception uses sufficiently to affect the area adversely or alter the predominantly residential nature of the area. Special exception uses that are consistent with the recommendations of a master plan do not alter the nature of an area. (8) Will not adversely affect the health, safety, security, morals, or general welfare of residents, visitors, or workers in the area at the subject site, irrespective of any adverse effects the use might have if established elsewhere in the zone. (9) Will be served by adequate public services and facilities, including schools, police and fire protection, water, sanitary sewer, public roads, storm drainage and other public facilities. Montgomery County Code, § 59-G-1.21 (2009) (emphasis added). Section 59-G-1.2.1 instructs that the Board, in acting on each special exception application, must consider the inherent and non-inherent adverse effects of the use on nearby properties and the general neighborhood at the proposed location. Thus, the County Code does not endorse completely the distinction between inherent and non-inherent adverse effects in the review of special exception applications as discussed in our caselaw involving special exceptions. Moreover, § 59-G-1.2.1 defines inherent adverse effects as those involving the physical and operational characteristics necessarily associated with the particular use, regardless of its physical size or scale of operations, and defines non-inherent adverse effects as those involving physical and operational characteristics not necessarily associated with the particular use, or adverse effects created by unusual characteristics of the site. Our cases heretofore have not sought to define these terms, except as noted infra. The County Code goes on to explain that, while [i]nherent adverse effects alone are not a sufficient basis for denial of a special exception, non-inherent adverse effects, alone or in conjunction with inherent adverse effects, are a sufficient basis to deny a special exception. Montgomery County Code § 59-G-1.2.1 (2009). Finally, presenting a prima facie case meeting the County Code's standards and requirements applicable to specific special exception use does not ensure the approval of the special exception application. Rather, § 59-G-1.21(2) states that [t]he fact that a proposed use complies with all specific standards and requirements to grant a special exception does not create a presumption that the use is compatible with nearby properties. [15] See also § 59-G-1.21(a) (A special exception may be granted when the Board ... finds from a preponderance of the evidence ... that ....) (emphasis added).