GARRETT COUNTY, MARYLAND

EXECUTIVE BRANCH

PLANNING

ORIGIN & FUNCTIONS

DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Casselman River Bridge, Grantsville, Maryland, October 2014. Photo by Diane F. Evartt

DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING & LAND MANAGEMENT

Formerly under the Department, the Office of Economic Development, and the Planning and Land Management Division were reconstituted as separate departments in March 2015 (County Code, Chapters 150-161).

Muddy Creek Falls at Swallow Falls State Park, north of Oakland (Garrett County), Maryland, October 2014. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.

Today, five boards assist the Department: the Agricultural Preservation Advisory Board, the Marcellus Shale Natural Gas Advisory Group, the Planning Commission, the Youghiogheny Scenic and Wild River Advisory Board, and the Board of Zoning Appeals. In addition, the Soil Conservation District Board of Supervisors provides considerable information useful to the planning process.

AGRICULTURAL PRESERVATION ADVISORY BOARD
The Agricultural Preservation Advisory Board advises the Board of County Commissioners on the establishment of agricultural districts and the approval of purchases of easements within the County by the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation.

The five members of the Advisory Board are appointed to five-year terms by the Board of County Commissioners (Code, Agriculture Article, sec. 2-504.1).

MARCELLUS SHALE NATURAL GAS ADVISORY GROUP
The Marcellus Shale Natural Gas Advisory Group was authorized by the Board of County Commissioners in March 2015.

PLANNING COMMISSION
The Planning Commission consists of seven members and two alternates appointed to five-year terms by the Board of County Commissioners (Code Land Use Article, secs. 2-101 through 3-304; County Code, sec. 32.15).

SOIL CONSERVATION DISTRICT BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
A soil conservation district constitutes a political subdivision of the State, and a public body corporate and politic, excercising public powers. The District's Board of Supervisors conducts surveys, investigations, and research relating to the character of soil erosion. Within the District, the Board carries out preventive and control measures, including engineering operations, cultivation methods, the growing of vegetation, changes in land use, and other measures.

The Soil Conservation District Board of Supervisors consists six members who serve five-year terms. Five members are appointed by the State Soil Conservation Committee, and one is appointed by the Board of County Commissioners (Code Agriculture Article, secs. 8-301 through 8-312).

YOUGHIOGHENY SCENIC & WILD RIVER ADVISORY BOARD
In 1976, the Youghiogheny River was designated Maryland's first and only wild river. Yet, it is both a scenic and a wild river, and as such is part of the Scenic and Wild Rivers Program, overseen by the Department of Natural Resources. Under that program, a scenic river is defined as a "free-flowing river whose shoreline and related land are predominantly forested, agricultural, grassland, marshland, or swampland with a minimum of development for at least 2 miles of the river length" [Natural Resources Article, sec. 8-402(d)(2)]. The same program defines a wild river as a "free-flowing river whose shoreline and related land are undeveloped, inaccessible except by trail, or predominantly primitive in a natural state for a least 4 miles of the river length" [Natural Resources Article, 8-402(d)(3)].

The policy of the State of Maryland is to preserve and protect the scenic, geologic, ecologic, historic, recreational, agricultural, fish, wildlife, cultural, and other values of its scenic rivers; as well as to enhance their water quality, and fulfill vital conservation purposes by wise use of resources within their surrounding environment. In keeping with these purposes, and with the advice and consent of the Garrett County Board of County Commissioners, the Scenic and Wild Rivers Review Board established the Youghiogheny Scenic and Wild River Advisory Board (Code Natural Resources Article, secs. 8-403 (b)(3)).

Youghiogheny River, Friendsville, Maryland, October 2015. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.

Upon completion of an approved management plan, the Garrett County government reconstituted the Board under local authority (Code Natural Resources Article, sec. 8-403 (g)).

Today, the Youghiogheny Scenic and Wild River Advisory Board consists of eight members who are appointed to five-year terms by the Garrett County Board of County Commissioners. The Board selects its own chairperson (Code National Resources Article, secs. 8-401 through 8-411).

BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS
The Board of Zoning Appeals hears and decides appeals where it is alleged there is any error in any zoning order, requirement, decision, or determination. It also interprets district boundaries on official zoning maps. Upon appeal, in specific cases, the Board may authorize such variances as will not be contrary to the public interest where, owing to special conditions, a literal enforcement would result in unnecessary hardship or practical difficulty.

Appointed by the Board of County Commissioners, the Board of Zoning Appeals consists of five members who serve three-year terms (Code Land Use Article, secs. 4-101 through 4-406; County Code, secs. 157.001 through 157.193).

PERMITS & INSPECTIONS DIVISION
In February 2014, the Permits and Inspections Division started under the Department of Planning and Community Development. In March 2015, the Division became the Department of Permits and Inspections. It reformed again as a division within the Department of Planning and Land Management in March 2019.

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