CAROLINE COUNTY COMPREHENSIVE PLAN Caroline County, Maryland April 2010 TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 5 INTRODUCTION 8 LAND USE 20 WATER RESOURCES 35 RESOURCE CONSERVATION 118 PRIORITY PRESERVATION AREA 145 COMMUNITY FACILITIES 154 TRANSPORTATION 170 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 178 HOUSING 186 IMPLEMENTATION 192 GENERAL APPENDIX 200 TECHNICAL APPENDIX 229 Caroline County Comprehensive Plan 2 ADOPTED April 6, 2010 LIST OF MAPS, FIGURES, & TABLES MAPS 1-1 Land use 21 1-2 Current Zoning and PFAs 22 1-3 Current TDR Receiving Area 24 1-4 Proposed TDR Receiving Area 26 2-1 Water Service Areas 50 2-2 Tier II Segments and Catchment Basins 73 2-3 Sewer Service Areas 75 3-1 12 and 8 Digit Watersheds 121 3-2 Green Infrastructure 125 3-3 Forest Interior Dwelling Species 126 3-4 National Wetlands Inventory 128 3-5 Critical Area 129 3-6 Land Preservation and Conservation Areas 135 4-1 Land Use 146 4-2 Priority Preservation Area 148 5-1 Parks and Recreation Areas 156 5-2 Tower Sites 168 6-1 MD State Highway Signed Bicycle Routes 177 FIGURES I-1 Neighboring County Population Comparison 14 I-2 County Percent Growth Rate over Time 14 I-3 Population by Age 16 2-1 North American Coastal Plain Aquifer System 35 2-2 Chesapeake Group Aquifer 40 2-3 Use of Piney Point Aquifer 41 2-4 USGS Caroline County Current and Projected Water Use 56 2-5 Potential Total Nitrogen Impacts from Projected Residential 113 4-1 Preservation v. Development 152 TABLES I-1 Regional Population Statistics 15 I-2 Caroline County Population Change 15 I-3 Population by Race 16 I-4 New Home Construction 17 I-5 Population Projections 18 1-1 Potential Wastewater Treatment Capacity by Municipality 29 2-1 Comparison of Groundwater Water Usage Categories 46 2-2 Caroline County Wells 46 2-3 Private Water System Usage Statistics 47 2-4 2000 Irrigation Water Statistics 47 2-5 2000 Livestock Water Statistics 48 2-6 2000 Non Domestic Water Usage Statistics 48 2-7 2000 Public Water System Usage Statistics 49 2-8 Municipal Water System Characteristics 51 2-9 Caroline County Projected Water Usage 57 2-10 Regional Water Use Projections 59 Caroline County Comprehensive Plan 3 ADOPTED April 6, 2010 2-11 Caroline County Land in 8 Digit Watersheds 66 2-12 Upper Choptank River Watershed Sources of Impairments 67 2-13 Caroline County Point Source Loads 72 2-14 Municipal Wastewater System Characteristics 76 2-15 Smaller Sewer Systems with Active NPDES Discharge Permits 80 2-16 Caroline County Estimated Non-Point Source Loading Rates 82 2-17 Nutrient Loads and Caps for the Choptank River Basin 83 2-18 Nutrient Loads and Caps for the Lower Eastern Shore Basin 83 2-19 Caroline County Point and Non-Point Source Loads Choptank 84 2-20 Caroline County Point and Non-Point Source Loads LES Basin 85 2-21 Nutrient Reduction from Agricultural BMPs 87 2-22 Choptank River Basin Non-Point Source Loads After 2008 87 2-23 Nutrient Management Plan Implementation 90 2-24 Nutrient Management Plan Goal 90 2-25 Conservation Plan Goal 92 2-26 Traditional Cover Crops 93 2-27 Riparian Forests and Grass Buffers 94 2-28 Drainage Control Structures 97 2-29 Retirement of Agricultural Land in Sensitive Areas 99 2-30 Total Agricultural Land Reduction Goal 100 2-31 BAT Upgrades for OSDS (Critical Area) 103 2-32 Future North County WWTP Connections 103 2-33 Municipal WWTP Flows and Nutrient Loads 109 2-34 Total Non Point Source Reduction Goal 109 2-35 Municipal WWTP Flows and Nutrient Loads 110 2-36 WWTP ENR/BNR 111 2-37 Potential Total Nitrogen Impacts from Projected Residential 113 2-38 Potential Total Nitrogen Impacts from All Potential 114 2-39 Acreage to Accommodate Projected Dwelling Units 116 2-40 Total Nitrogen Impacts Based on Future Land Use 116 2-41 Total Phosphorus Impacts Based on Future Land Use 117 3-1 Natural Resource Classification 120 4-1 Land Preservation and Conservation Acreages 149 4-2 Caroline County Preservation Programs 151 4-3 Caroline County Subdivisions by Lots and Total Acreage 152 5-1 Known Community Facilities Inventory 154 5-2 Recreation and Resource Land by Owner 155 5-3 Historical School Enrollment 159 5-4 Current and 10-year Projected Enrollment 160 5-5 Current and Projected Educational Facility Utilization 161 7-1 Agricultural Economic Statistics 179 7-2 Earnings by Industry 181 7-3 Commuting Characteristics 182 7-4 Work Force and Commuting Characteristics 182 7-5 Historic and Projected Jobs 183 7-6 National and Regional Income Characteristics 183 7-7 Cost of Living Index and Per Capita Income 184 8-1 Caroline County Housing by Age 187 8-2 Estimated Homeowner Cost Burden by Year 189 Caroline County Comprehensive Plan 4 ADOPTED April 6, 2010 Executive Summary The Planning and Zoning Enabling Act (Article 66B of the Annotated Code of Maryland) requires that county and municipal plans be implemented by laws, ordinance, and regulations consistent with the Act and its “visions.” Each county and municipality is required to review and update their comprehensive plans and implementation provisions every six (6) years. The intent of the plan is to direct growth to existing population centers, protect our water supply and ensure that it is adequate, protect our agricultural, heritage and natural resources, maintain adequate and appropriate community facilities for our changing population, improve transportation in the County through safety measures, growth planning and offering public and alternative modes of travel, improve economic development and employment opportunities, and encourage redevelopment of existing housing and facilitate affordable housing. This comprehensive plan is important to ensuring that Caroline County is prepared for future growth in the County and its municipalities. With as many as 9,400 new County residents by 2030, the County is anticipating a major shift in the average age of the population. The largest age groups in the County are 24 -34, 35-44 and 45-54, all of which will be in the over 50 grouping by the year 2030 and this increase should be expected to have an impact on the types of services an amenities the County provides within the next 10 years. Additionally, the County is continuing to see increases in its Hispanic population which requires a different set of public services geared towards helping this population integrate more effectively into our community. Land Use This plan lays out a slight but very significant shift in thought from previous plans regarding where growth should occur in the County and how to direct growth to targeted areas. This plan proposes to review the R-1 “Residential” zoning district to determine what other zoning districts might be more appropriate and compatible with the visions of the Plan. Caroline County will continue to focus growth to the incorporated municipalities where services are more readily available. The County proposes to expand the use of its transferable development right (TDR) program in order to further protect the unincorporated areas of the County from unwanted sprawl that in turn increases the cost of providing services to County residents. Additionally, the County would like to see municipalities and their growth areas become the County’s TDR receiving areas where appropriate. The County is moving away from the idea of greenbelts and beginning to look at the entire R zoning district as a growth boundary. Water Resources The water resources element aims to identify drinking water and other water resources adequate for the needs of existing and future development discussed in the land use plan Caroline County Comprehensive Plan 5 ADOPTED April 6, 2010 and to identify suitable strategies for nutrient reduction to reduce our negative impacts on our water resources. Water quantity in Caroline County is generally considered good; however the long-term sustainability of our water resources, especially in an agricultural community, is a concern and continues to be researched by State and private entities. To address the sustainability of our water resources the County plans to work with stakeholder agencies to receive all data relative to the County’s current and future water needs, as it becomes available, and develop appropriate groundwater management strategies. To address the County’s pollution of waterways, the County has proposed strategies to reduce nutrient loads that target both the residential and agricultural communities. Resource Conservation The resource conservation chapter addresses natural, agricultural and heritage resources. The goal of this element is to protect our natural and heritage resources, while maintaining an agricultural land base that will continue to support our farming community and agricultural economy. The intent of this chapter is to encourage adopting legislation that promotes best management practices when it comes to the protection and use of our natural environment, improving our TDR and agricultural land preservation programs, and preserving the county’s valuable historic sites and structures to encourage historical tourism in the County. Priority Preservation Area The priority preservation area element is new to the Comprehensive Plan and was added to aid the County in becoming a Certified County with the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Fund (MALPF) and Maryland Department of Planning. Being certified will increase the percentage of agricultural land transfer tax the County receives from 33 1/3 percent to 75 percent. These funds can be used for local matching funds with the MALPF program. The County’s priority preservation area encompasses 176,760 acres and includes all land in the unincorporated areas of the County that is not designated as a TDR receiving area, municipal growth area or priority funding area.