"Amendment" as used in this section means a change in the text of the zoning ordinance or a change in the official zoning map(s) of the county authorized by a zoning decision made only after compliance with the procedures set forth in this section.

1.

A proposed amendment to the text may be initiated by the planning commission or may be submitted to the planning commission by the board of commissioners or by any person who owns property within the zoning jurisdiction of the county. Unless initiated by the board of commissioners or by the planning commission, all proposed map amendments shall be submitted by the owner of such property or the authorized agent of the owner. An authorized agent shall have written authorization from the property owner, and such authorization shall be notarized and attached to the application.

2.

A proposed amendment to the map affecting the same property shall not be submitted more than once every 12 months, beginning with the date of the final decision by the board of commissioners. The board of commissioners may at its discretion, reduce or waive the 12-month interval between applications for proposed amendments to the zoning map affecting the same property; however, in the case of an application for a proposed amendment to the zoning maps which was defeated by the board of commissioners, there shall be at least a six-month interval between the defeated application and the subsequent application affecting the same property unless the board shall find and determine that the conditions under which the previous application for rezoning was made have substantially changed. The 12-month interval shall not apply to applications for proposed amendments initiated by the board of commissioners or by the planning commission, except for applications for proposed amendments to the zoning map(s) which were defeated by the board of commissioners, in which case the interval required before a subsequent application may be filed shall be at least six months unless the board shall find and determine that the conditions under which the previous application for rezoning was made have substantially changed. An application to amend zoning conditions may be submitted at any time.

18.1.

Initiation of amendments. Each proposed amendment to the text or to the official zoning map shall be initiated by filing an application with the building official/zoning office. Applications for proposed amendments shall include at least the following information:

1.

Applications for proposed amendments to the text shall include the following information:

a.

Name and address of the applicant;

b.

Current provisions of the text to be affected by the proposed amendment;

c.

Proposed wording of the proposed amendment to the text; and

d.

Reason for proposed amendment.

2.

Applications for proposed amendments to the zoning maps shall include the following:

a.

Name and address of the applicant.

b.

A legal description of the tract(s) proposed to be rezoned.

c.

Three copies of a plat, drawn to scale, showing north arrow, land lot and district, the dimensions, acreage and location of the tract(s) prepared by an engineer, or land surveyor, whose state registration is current and valid. The engineer's or land surveyor's seal shall be affixed to the plat.

d.

The present and proposed zoning district for the tract(s).

e.

Existing intermediate floodplain areas.

f.

The names and addresses of the owner(s) of the land and of the agent(s) for the owners(s), if any.

g.

The map and parcel number identified on the county's tax assessor map.

3.

Applications for proposed amendments shall be submitted in accordance with a schedule adopted annually by the board of commissioners. Said schedule shall provide that each application for a proposed amendment shall be submitted at least 50 days prior to the date on which it is to be considered by the board of commissioners. A fee shall not be charged for proposed amendments initiated by members of the county commission or be members of the planning commission when acting as agents of the governing authority.

4.

An applicant may file site plans, renderings, construction specifications, written development restrictions and other zoning conditions which the applicant proposes as binding restrictions upon the development and use of the property that is the subject of the proposed amendment. However, any such zoning conditions shall be filed with the building inspection/zoning office at least seven days prior to the public hearing before the board of commissioners. If any such zoning conditions are proposed by an applicant and have not been filed as required by this subsection, the board of commissioners, at the time of the public hearing on the proposed amendment, shall defer any action on such action on such proposed amendment to a specific meeting date. The date designated for action on the proposed amendment shall be set at a time which is sufficient to allow the applicant to comply with the filing requirements of this subsection.

5.

An applicant shall not be permitted to withdraw an application for a proposed amendment after the legal advertising for said proposed amendment, as required by this section, shall have first appeared, unless such withdrawal is made with the approval of the board of commissioners.

18.2.

Public notification.

1.

Legal notice. Notice of public hearings before the planning commission and the board of commissioners as required by the section shall be published within a newspaper of general circulation within the county and shall state the time, place and purpose of the hearing and shall also include the location of property that is the subject of the zoning action, the present zoning district of said property, and the proposed zoning district of said property. Such notice shall be published at least 15 but not more than 45 days prior to the date of the hearing.

2.

Signs posted. Talbot County Board of Commissioners shall have a sign(s) posted in a conspicuous place(s) on the property to be rezoned, which shall contain information describing the proposed map amendment and the dates, times, and places of the public hearings before the planning commission and the Talbot County Board of Commissioners. Such sign shall be continuously displayed for at least 15 days prior to the public hearings. Said sign(s) or any part of the sign shall not be removed from said property except by an authorized agent of the board of commissioners.

3.

Notice to abate. Whenever a nuisance is found to exist within the jurisdiction of Talbot County, the code enforcement office shall give written notice to the owner or occupant of the property upon which such a nuisance exists or upon the person causing or maintaining the nuisance, to abate the nuisance. The notice shall be sent by regular mail to the last known address of the owner or occupant, and shall contain the following:

a.

An order to abate the nuisance or to request a hearing within a stated time, which shall be reasonable under the circumstances;

b.

The location of the nuisance, if the nuisance is stationary;

c.

A description of what constitutes the nuisance;

d.

A statement of acts necessary to abate the nuisance; and,

e.

A statement that if the nuisance is not abated as directed, the county will file an action in the Magistrate Court of Talbot County to abate the nuisance. Said action to include the placement of a lien on the property for the fees and expenses incurred by the county in abating the nuisance.

18.3.

Public hearing procedures. Whenever a public hearing is required by these ordinances or by state law prior to a zoning decision, such public hearing, whether conducted by the board of commissioners or the planning commission, shall be conducted in accordance with the following procedures:

1.

The public hearing shall be called to order by the presiding officer.

2.

The presiding officer shall explain the procedures to be followed in the conduct of the public hearing.

3.

All persons who wish to address the planning commission and/or board of commissioners at a hearing on the proposed zoning decision under consideration by the planning commission and/or board of commissioners shall first sign up on a form to be provided by the county prior to the commencement of the hearing.

4.

The secretary or his or her designee will read the proposed zoning decision under consideration prior to receiving public input on said proposed zoning decision. Proposed zoning decisions will be called in the order in which they are filed.

5.

The secretary or his or her designee shall then call each person who has signed up to speak on the zoning decision then before the planning commission and/or board of commissioners in order in which the person have signed to speak, except the applicant who will always speak first. Prior to speaking, the speaker will identify him or herself and state his or her current address: Only those persons who sign up to speak prior to the commencement of the hearing shall be entitled to speak, unless two-thirds of the members of the planning commission and/or board of commissioners present at the hearing allow the person to speak to the zoning decision, notwithstanding the failure of the person to sign up prior to the hearing.

6.

Each speaker shall be allowed ten minutes to address the planning commission and/or board of commissioners concerning the zoning decision then under consideration, unless the planning commission and/or board of commissioners by two-thirds of the members of the planning commission and/or board of commissioners present, prior to or at the time of the reading of the proposed zoning decision, vote to allow additional time in which to address the planning commission and/or board of commissioners on said proposed zoning decision. The speaker may initially use all of the time allotted to him to speak or he may speak and reserve a portion of his allotted time for rebuttal. One member of the planning commission and/or board of commissioners shall be designated as the timekeeper to record the time expended by each speaker.

7.

Each speaker shall speak only to the merits of the proposed zoning decision under consideration and shall address his remarks to the members of the planning commission and/or board of commissioners. Each speaker shall refrain from personal attacks on any other speaker or the discussion of facts or opinions irrelevant to the proposed zoning decision under consideration. The chair may limit or refuse a speaker the right to continue, if the speaker, after first being cautioned, continues to violate this subsection.

8.

Nothing contained herein shall be construed as prohibiting the chair from conducting the hearing in an orderly and decorous manner to assure the public hearing on a proposed zoning decision is conducted in a fair and orderly manner.

9.

Thereafter, the presiding officer shall announce that the public hearing for the requested zoning decision is closed. The planning commission shall then convene its business session to consider the proposed amendment (zoning decision) and shall, at that time, take action on its recommendation to the board of commissioners. At the close of the public hearing before the board of commissioners, the board shall immediately convene its business session and consider the recommendation for the zoning decision and take action on the proposed amendment.

18.4.

Planning commission public hearing and action.

1.

All applications for proposed amendments shall be reviewed by the planning commission in a public hearing in accordance with the procedures set forth in subsection 18.3.

2.

The planning commission shall review and consider a recommendation to the Talbot County Board of Commissioners with respect to the application for a proposed amendment. The planning commission may decide not to make a recommendation, or it may make any of the following recommendations with respect to an application for a proposed amendment: approval, denial, deferral, withdrawal, change of the zoning district requested, or imposition of zoning conditions. If no recommendation is decided by the planning commission, then it shall report to the board of commissioners that it makes no recommendation on the application.

3.

The planning commission shall submit its recommendation or report of no recommendation on an application for a proposed amendment to the board of commissioners prior to the scheduled public hearing in which the board of commissioners will consider the application for a zoning decision. If the planning commission fails to submit a recommendation or report prior to the public hearing, the planning commission's recommendation shall deemed to be one of approval.

18.5.

Board of commissioners public hearing and action.

1.

Before taking action on a proposed amendment and after receipt of the planning commission recommendations or reports thereon, the board of commissioners shall hold a public hearing on the proposed amendment.

2.

So the purpose of this zoning ordinance will be served and so that the health, safety and general welfare will be secured, the board of commissioners in its decision on the application for a proposed amendment, may in its legislative discretion, approve or deny the application for proposed amendment as submitted, defer a decision until a specific meeting date, require applicant to file a site plan or other plans regarding the project development and defer action to a later meeting date, or allow a withdrawal of the application by the applicant, if requested. The board of commissioners shall determine whether the withdrawal shall be subject to the 12-month interval before refiling. The board of commissioners may also require that the land area for such application for proposed amendment is made be reduced, that the zoning district change [d] be to one other than that requested, or that zoning conditions be added or deleted, as the board of commissioners deem appropriate.

18.6.

Zoning standards. Whenever Talbot County shall exercise its zoning power, the following standards are considered relevant in balancing the county's interest in promoting the public health, safety, morality, or general welfare against the right to the unrestricted use of property:

1.

Whether the zoning decision will permit a use that is suitable in view of the use and development of adjacent or nearby property;

2.

Whether the zoning decision will adversely affect the existing use of adjacent or nearby property;

3.

Whether the property affected by the zoning decision has a reasonable economic use as currently zoned;

4.

Whether the zoning decision will result in a use which will or could cause an excessive or burdensome use of existing streets, transportation facilities, utilities, or schools;

5.

Whether the zoning decision conforms with the policy and intent of an adopted land use plan; and

6.

Whether other conditions exist that affect the use and development of the property in question and support either approval or denial of the zoning decision.