The following terms and entities are used in the Land Use Accountability Project. When an entry relates to a specific state (Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia) that entry is annotated with the pertinent state abbreviation (MD, PA, VA).

Adequate Public Facilities Ordinances: Laws that require adequate infrastructure and services (e.g. roads, police, sewage treatment) before construction of a new development begins. (MD)

Board of Public Works: A three-member state executive body composed of the governor, the treasurer, and the comptroller. The board reviews major state expenditures, such as highway and infrastructure projects, school construction, the sale or purchase of real estate, and most contracts over $200,000. The board also makes the final decision on licenses for dredging or construction in wetland areas. (MD)

Buffer: A 100-foot vegetated area, required by Critical Area law, between the Mean High Water Line and any homes or buildings. (MD)

Critical Area: Land situated within 1,000 feet of the Chesapeake Bay, its tributaries, or wetlands — measured from the Mean High Water Line. (MD)

Critical Area Act: Legislation passed in 1984 to address pollution of the Chesapeake Bay due, in part, to increasing waterfront development. The act called for the creation of a state commission charged with implementing its provisions and providing oversight to local jurisdictions. The act and its commission have been increasingly criticized in recent years for lax or nonexistent enforcement against violators. (MD)

Critical Area Commission: A 29-member board that administers the state’s Critical Area program. Members represent all areas of the state, are appointed by the governor, and include seven ex-officio state department secretaries. While local governments implement their own Critical Area programs, the state Critical Area Commission must approve reclassification of land (e.g. from Limited Development Area to Intensely Developed Area) in the expenditure of growth allocation. (MD)

Curative Amendment: The process for a landowner to challenge the validity of a zoning ordinance. The landowner files an amendment with the municipality which hears the case and makes a decision. The landowner is free to appeal to the courts. Developers have often used the process in order to build on open land. (PA)

Developer Rights and Responsibilities Agreement (DRRA): A binding contract between a developer and a local government in which developers are generally required to provide some type of infrastructure improvements (e.g. new roads, a new sewage treatment plant) and future elected officials are prevented from interfering with the terms of the contract. Maryland passed its DRRA legislation in 1995. (MD)

Growth Allocation: A set number of acres allotted to local towns and counties for development within the Critical Area by the reclassification of land (e.g. the reclassification of a Resource Conservation or Limited Development Area as an Intensely Developed Area). (MD)

Impervious Surfaces: Solid areas — such as parking lots, roofs, and roads — that prevent rain from naturally soaking into the soil and that consequently contribute to runoff into the Chesapeake Bay or its tributaries. (MD)

Intensely Developed Area (IDA): Land in the Critical Area of 20 or more contiguous acres primarily intended for residential or commercial development. Critical Area law requires that new development in such an area provide a 10 percent reduction in storm water pollutants. (MD)

Limited Development Area (LDA): Land in the Critical Area of low to medium density development — between one unit per five acres and four units per acre. This classification also includes areas that would normally be classified as Intensely Developed Areas, but are less than 20 adjacent acres. (MD)

Mean High Water Line: The average level reached at high tide and used to define Critical Areas and Critical Area Buffers. (MD)

Resource Conservation Area (RCA): Land in the Critical Area that is generally undeveloped (e.g. forests or farmland). Development in this area is restricted to one dwelling per 20 acres. (MD)