Critical Area Commission for the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays
- Roles and Responsibilities of the Commission
- Composition
- Terms of the Commission Members
- Current Commission Membership
- 2009 Meeting and Submittal Schedule
- A Summary of the Chesapeake Bay Critical Area Commission's Criteria and Program Development Activities 1984-1988
(Adobe Acrobat file 9.5MB) - To get the free Acrobat Reader go to Adobe.com. - Meetings and Hearings
- Monthly Commission Meeting Agenda
Roles and Responsibilities of the Commission
The
Commission was created by the Critical Area Act in 1984. The Commission was
initially charged with adopting regulations and criteria necessary to
effectively implement the Act. This effort was completed in 1985; whereupon
the Commission was required to review and approve all local government plans,
programs, ordinances, and regulations that were proposed as part of a
jurisdiction's Critical Area Program. This review and approval process took
several years, but all local Critical Area Programs were operational in 1990.
Today the Commission's primary responsibilities are the following:
- Review and approve State projects on State-owned land in the Critical Area;
- Review and approve State or local agency actions resulting in major development on private lands or lands owned by local jurisdictions; and
- Review and approve all changes to a jurisdiction's Critical Area Program, including changes to ordinances, regulations, and maps.
Composition
The Commission consists of
29 voting members who are appointed by the Governor. The composition of the
Commission is as follows:
A chairman, appointed with the advice and consent of the Senate, who serves at the pleasure of the Governor.
Thirteen individuals appointed with the advice and consent of the Senate, each of whom is a resident and an elected or appointed official of a local jurisdiction, and may only serve on the Commission while they hold local office. At least one of the 13 must be an elected or appointed official of a municipality. Each is selected from certain counties or from municipalities within the counties as follows:
- One from each of Baltimore City, Anne Arundel, Baltimore and Prince George's counties;
- One from Harford or Cecil County;
- One from Kent or Queen Anne's County;
- One from Caroline County;
- One from Talbot or Dorchester County;
- One from Wicomico or Somerset County;
- Two from Calvert, Charles, or St. Mary's County (both cannot be from the same county); and
- Two from Worcester County, one who is a resident of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed and the other who is a resident of the Atlantic Coastal Bays watershed.
Eight individuals appointed with the advice and consent of the Senate, who represent diverse interests, and among whom shall be a resident of each of the five counties listed above from which an appointment has not been made subject to the requirements of the thirteen individuals listed above. Three of these eight individuals are "at-large members", one of whom is a private citizen and resident of the Atlantic Coastal Bays watershed.
Seven individuals, who are ex officio members, who are the Secretaries of the following State Departments or their designee:
- Department of Agriculture;
- Department of Business and Economic Development;
- Department of Housing and Community Development;
- Department of the Environment;
- Department of Transportation;
- Department of Natural Resources;
- Department of Planning.
Terms of the Commission Members
Except for the
Chairman and ex officio State officers or their designees, the term of a
Commission member is four years. A member may serve no more than two terms.
The terms are staggered, and at the end of a member's term, he or she
continues to serve until a successor is appointed and qualifies. If a vacancy
arises, other than through expiration of a term, the Governor shall appoint a
successor of like qualification, with the advice and consent of the Senate,
within 30 days.
Current Commission Membership
The table
below reflects the current members of the Commission, the area or agency that
each represents, and the year that the Commission member was appointed.
|
Commission Member |
Area or Agency Represented |
Year Term Began |
|
Margaret McHale |
Chair |
2007 |
|
Honorable Cathleen M. Vitale |
Anne Arundel County |
2004 |
|
Laurie Feinberg |
Baltimore City |
2008 |
|
David A. C. Carroll |
Baltimore County |
2004 |
|
Norma Powers |
Calvert County |
2009 |
|
Nick Carter |
Caroline County |
2007 |
|
Honorable Judith M. Cox |
Cecil County |
2003 |
|
Honorable Reuben B. Collins, II |
Charles County |
2007 |
|
Honorable Donald Sydnor |
Dorchester County |
2009 |
|
Pete Gutwald |
Harford County |
2006 |
|
Honorable Jay Jacobs |
Kent County |
2009 |
|
Honorable Sadara Barrow |
Prince Georges County |
2008 |
|
Caroline Gabel |
Queen Anne’s County |
2007 |
|
Honorable Francis Jack Russell |
St. Mary’s County |
2007 |
|
H. Kevin Anderson |
Somerset County |
2004 |
|
S. Michael Mielke |
Talbot County |
2004 |
|
Matt Holloway |
Wicomico County |
2009 |
|
Honorable Bruce Morrison |
Worcester County, Chesapeake Bay |
2006 |
|
Honorable Richard Meehan |
Worcester County, Coastal Bays |
2006 |
|
David P. Blazer |
Worcester County, Coastal Bays |
2002 |
|
C. Edward Prager |
Eastern Shore Member-At-Large |
2004 |
|
Judith A. Evans |
Western Shore Member-At-Large |
2000 |
|
Louise Lawrence |
Md. Dept. of Agriculture |
1990 |
|
Rhonda Ray |
Md. Dept. of Business and Economic Dev. |
2007 |
|
Gary Setzer |
Md. Dept. of the Environment |
2001 |
|
Caroline Varney-Alvarado |
Md. Dept. of Housing and Community Dev. |
2007 |
|
Frank W. Dawson, III |
Md. Dept. of Natural Resources |
2003 |
|
Jason Dubow |
Md. Dept. of Planning |
2007 |
|
Meg Andrews |
Md. Dept. of Transportation |
2000 |
2009 Meeting and Submittal Schedule
The following schedule is for all project and program issues that are submitted to Commission staff for consideration by the Critical Area Commission at its regularly scheduled meetings. This schedule is for general planning purposes ONLY. The schedule does not necessarily guarantee that a project or program item submitted by the deadline will be considered at the accompanying meeting date. Only projects deemed ‘Complete’ by Commission staff may be scheduled. For more detailed information about submittal requirements, deadlines, or scheduling, contact Kerrie Gallo or Kate Schmidt at (410) 260-3460 or Email: kgallo@dnr.state.md.us or Email: kschmidt@dnr.state.md.us
2009 Meeting and Submittal Schedule
|
SUBMITTAL DEADLINE |
MEETING DATE |
|
November 26 |
January 7, 2009 |
|
December 24 |
February 4, 2009 |
|
January 21 |
March 4, 2009 |
|
February 18 |
April 1, 2009 |
|
March 25 |
May 6, 2009 |
|
April 22 |
June 3, 2009 |
|
May 20 |
July 1, 2009 July 8, 2009 |
|
June 24 |
August 5, 2009 |
|
July 22 |
September 2, 2008 |
|
August 26 |
October 7, 2009 |
|
September 23 |
November 4, 2009 Cancelled |
|
October 21 |
December 2, 2009 |
Monthly Commission Meeting Agenda
The following agenda is posted approximately one week prior to the date of the Commission meeting.
Times listed are approximate and interested parties are advised to be present at the beginning of the
subcommittee meetings and the plenary meeting. The agenda is subject to change in order to address modifications
to agenda items and to accommodate scheduling conflicts of applicants and presenters. To verify that an agenda item
will be discussed at a meeting and the approximate time, please contact the Commission the day before the meeting at (410) 260-3460.
Critical Area Commission
Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays
Meeting At
Department of Housing and Community Development
Crownsville, Maryland
November 4, 2009
Meeting has
Been Cancelled
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