Planning commission endorses updated Critical Area maps, flags pipeline language for permits

Worcester County planning staff presented an update to the county’s Critical Area maps and the planning commission voted in June to forward a favorable recommendation to the county commissioners, while requesting additional refinement of draft language that would protect projects already in the permitting pipeline.

Brian Soffer, the county’s Natural Resource Administrator, told the commission the updated mapping produced a net loss of about 550 acres of designated critical area countywide, including a 691‑acre reduction in the Pocomoke River Chesapeake Bay critical area and a 141‑acre net gain in the Atlantic Coastal Bays critical area. Staff explained those changes stem from improved data and LIDAR‑driven shoreline and elevation analysis, plus on‑the‑ground site visits that adjusted some previously mapped extents from earlier aerial mapping.

Soffer said Critical Area Commission staff notified property owners with at least a 1% gain last year and that the county coordinated multiple site visits in response to owner inquiries. He also previewed draft resolution language intended to address projects currently in the pipeline: staff described an approach that would allow certain projects with permits in progress a limited grandfathering window (discussed examples included a six‑month period to secure an issued permit followed by a two‑year period to complete construction rather than immediately applying the new map rules).

Commissioners raised technical and grammatical questions about draft pipeline language and asked staff to coordinate final wording with the Critical Area Commission. The commission then moved to recommend the maps to the county commissioners and the motion passed.

Soffer noted that the county’s previously allotted growth allocation acreage does not change as a result of the map update, and staff said they will draft the formal resolution language for the county packet and seek preliminary comment from the Critical Area Commission before adoption.

The planning commission’s favorable recommendation advances the maps to the county commissioners for a formal public hearing and adoption process; staff said the Critical Area Commission will also need to approve the county’s adoption of the maps.