§ 16.1106. Milestones.

(a)

Purpose and Description:

(1)

Milestones are designed to assist in the process of planning for adequate public schools and adequate road facilities and to assure that housing unit allocations are utilized.

(2)

Milestone means the date, unless delayed by governmental action, by which a developer must submit the next plan stage of a subdivision to the Department of Planning and Zoning for approval.

(3)

To submit the next plan stage means to file a complete preliminary plan application, final plan application or site development plan application with the Department of Planning and Zoning and to pay the required fees.

(b)

Applicability. Milestones apply only to:

(1)

Projects which are required, as a condition of project approval, to pass the test for adequate road facilities and/or the tests for allocations or for adequate public school facilities; and

(2)

Projects which are conditionally exempt (see section 16.1107, "Exemptions") from the requirements to pass the test for adequate road facilities and/or the tests for allocations or for adequate school facilities.

(c)

Calculating Milestones. The starting date for computing the next milestone is the date the developer receives written authorization from the County to proceed to the next plan stage; except that for subdivisions with conditional exemptions, the starting date for computing the initial milestone is the effective date of this subtitle, April 10, 1992.

(d)

Timing for Residential Projects. For residential projects, each milestone occurs:

50 or fewer housing units	4 months after starting date
51—100 housing units	6 months after starting date
101 + housing units	9 months after starting date

 

(e)

Timing for Nonresidential Projects and Downtown Columbia Revitalization. For nonresidential projects and all Downtown Columbia Revitalization, each milestone occurs nine months after the starting date.

(f)

Status of Projects Which Meet Milestones:

(1)

Projects with approval for adequate public facilities. Proposed subdivisions with approval for adequate facilities and tentative housing unit allocations may continue through the subdivision process only if they meet milestones.

(2)

Projects with conditional exemption from test(s) for adequate public facilities. Plans which have a conditional exemption from tests for adequate road facilities or adequate public school facilities can only maintain that exemption by meeting milestones.

(g)

Status of Projects Which Miss Milestones:

(1)

Projects with approval for adequate facilities. A subdivision plan with approval for adequate facilities which misses a milestone shall be voided, and its tentative housing unit allocations shall be voided. If there has been no change in the requirements of the subdivision regulations since the first submission of this subdivision plan, the plan may be resubmitted for approval at the last plan stage which had been approved before the milestone was missed. Otherwise, the plan may be resubmitted for approval at the sketch plan stage.

(2)

Projects with conditional exemption:

(i)

A proposed subdivision with conditional exemption from the test(s) for adequate facilities which misses the milestone for submission of a preliminary plan shall be voided. The plan may be resubmitted for approval at the sketch plan stage.

(ii)

A proposed subdivision with conditional exemption from the test(s) for adequate facilities which has preliminary plan approval and misses the milestone for submission of a final plan shall be voided unless it has approval for adequate facilities and housing unit allocations while the preliminary plan approval is still valid pursuant to the subdivision regulations in place at the time the preliminary plan approval was granted. A voided plan may be resubmitted for approval at the sketch plan stage.

(3)

The Department of Planning and Zoning shall notify the developer whenever it voids plans or voids housing unit allocations pursuant to this subsection.

(h)

Voided Allocations:

(1)

Circumstances for voiding tentative allocations. Tentative housing unit allocations shall be voided by the Department of Planning and Zoning when:

(i)

A subdivision plan with tentative housing unit allocations fails to meet a milestone (see subsection (g) above);

(ii)

The number of dwelling units to be built in a subdivision is reduced between initial plan stage approval and recordation; or

(iii)

The requirements for green neighborhood allocations established under section 16.1102(b)(7) of this subtitle are not met by projects that have received green neighborhood allocations at subsequent plan submission stages.

(2)

Bulk parcels. When a residential subdivision project includes a bulk parcel(s) for apartment, single-family attached or mobile home development, the tentative housing unit allocations assigned during the subdivision process shall become permanent as set forth below and tentative allocations shall be voided under the following conditions:

(i)

If a bulk parcel for apartment, single-family attached or mobile home development is recorded and tentative allocations have been assigned, the project must proceed with a site development plan for the project in accordance with the milestones provided for in section 16.1106(d). Upon approval of the site development plan the tentative allocations become permanent. Failure to meet a milestone will result in the voiding of allocations. Prior to development of a bulk parcel where allocations have been voided, the project must pass the test for granting housing unit allocations as provided in section 16.1104 and pass the test for adequate school facilities as provided in section 16.1103, or

(ii)

If a bulk parcel for single-family attached or mobile home units is recorded and tentative allocations have been assigned and the bulk parcel is to be resubdivided to provide individual lots for housing units, the project must proceed with a sketch plan or preliminary equivalent sketch plan in accordance with the milestones provided for in subsection 16.1106(d) and continue to meet milestones until the resubdivision plat is recorded. Upon recordation of the resubdivision plat, the tentative allocations become permanent. Failure to meet milestones will result in the voiding of allocations. Prior to development of a bulk parcel where allocations have been voided, the project must pass the test for granting housing unit allocations as provided in section 16.1104 and pass the test for adequate school facilities as provided in section 16.1103.

(iii)

The provisions for voiding tentative allocations pursuant to subsection (h)(2) above, shall not apply to any project which received sketch plan or preliminary equivalent sketch plan approval prior to the effective date of this amendment, July 1, 1995.

(3)

Number of housing unit allocations voided. If a milestone or green neighborhood requirements are not met, all of the tentative housing unit allocations granted to the subdivision shall be voided. If the number of dwelling units in the subdivision is reduced, only the excess tentative allocations shall be voided. In either case, the Department of Planning and Zoning shall reassign the voided allocations to another project only as provided in subsection (4) below.

(4)

Reassignment of voided allocations. Whenever the Department of Planning and Zoning has voided allocations, it shall reassign them by granting the allocations to projects waiting for allocations pursuant to subsection 16.1105(c)(2). Reassigned allocations shall be granted to projects waiting longest for allocations. Even though the Department of Planning and Zoning, pursuant to subsection 16.1104(d), may have initially granted more than 100 percent of the allocations available on the housing unit allocation chart for the current year, the Department of Planning and Zoning shall only reassign allocations until the total number of new and reassigned allocations granted for the current year equals 100 percent of the projected number of allocations available for the appropriate category of the housing unit allocation chart for that year.

(C.B. 7, 1992; C.B. 39, 1995; C.B. 48, 2007, § 1; C.B. 47, 2010, § 1(5))