During their Wednesday, June 29 meeting, the Charles County Commissioners voted unanimously to hold a public hearing regarding changes to the Chesapeake Bay Critical Area program in the county. The hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, July 20.
The Chesapeake Bay Critical Area is defined as “All lands and waters within 1,000 feet beyond the landward boundaries of state or private wetlands and the heads of tides.” There are 30,424 acres of Critical Area in Charles County. The program was adopted in 1989 and must be reviewed every six years. There have only been minor changes in the last 10 years and new state laws have not been incorporated in to the program in Charles County.
Some of the proposed changes include incorporating recently passed State laws, making the program friendlier to the public, moving regulatory components of the program in to the zoning ordinance, expanding buffer areas in Charles County and enforcing violations through civil penalties.
One proposed change involved new standards for allowing bridges, roads or utilities to disturb a buffer zone or cross a tributary system. Those standards require any such disruption to be a last resort option and to cause minimal disturbance to the habitat. That proposal caught the attention of Commissioner Ken Robinson[D-District 1], who suggested putting up signs on roadways if that roadway goes through, or over, any area that is part of the Charles County Chesapeake Bay Critical Area Program.
