{"data":{"id":"us-md/md.-code-general-provisions-5-857","jurisdiction":"us-md","citation":"Md. Code, General Provisions § 5–857","heading":"","body":"(a) In this part the following words have the meanings indicated.\n(b) “Agent” means a person that is:\n(1) hired or retained by a business entity that is an applicant with an application before the governing body to provide services, for compensation, relating to the application; and\n(2) (i) an attorney;\n(ii) an architect or a landscape architect;\n(iii) a traffic consultant;\n(iv) an engineer; or\n(v) a traffic engineer.\n(c) “Aggrieved party” means:\n(1) a property owner whose property:\n(i) adjoins, fronts, or is located near the subject property; or\n(ii) is located within sight or sound of the subject property; or\n(2) an individual located within the same subdivision as the subject property or who lives up to three–quarters of a mile by road or otherwise one–half mile away from the subject property.\n(d) (1) “Applicant” means a person that is:\n(i) a title owner or contract purchaser of land that is the subject of an application;\n(ii) a trustee who has an interest in land that is the subject of an application, excluding trustees described in a mortgage or deed of trust; or\n(iii) a holder of at least a 10% interest in land that is the subject of an application.\n(2) “Applicant” includes a person who is an officer or a director of a corporation that actually holds title to the land, or is a contract purchaser of the land, that is the subject of an application.\n(3) “Applicant” does not include:\n(i) a financial institution that has loaned money or extended financing for the acquisition, development, or construction of or improvements on the land that is the subject of an application;\n(ii) a municipal corporation or public corporation;\n(iii) a public authority;\n(iv) an electric company or electric supplier applying for a certificate of public convenience and necessity under § 7–207 or § 7–208 of the Public Utilities Article; or\n(v) a person who is hired or retained as an accountant, an attorney, an architect, an engineer, a land use consultant, an economic consultant, a real estate agent, a real estate broker, a traffic consultant, or a traffic engineer.\n(e) “Application” means:\n(1) an application for a zoning map amendment as part of a piecemeal or floating zone rezoning proceeding;\n(2) a formal application for a comprehensive map planning change or zoning change during the county comprehensive land use plan update;\n(3) an application for a map amendment to the county water and sewerage plan;\n(4) a request made under § 4–416 of the Local Government Article for the governing body to approve the placement of annexed land in a zoning classification that allows a land use that is substantially different from the use for the land authorized in the zoning classification of the county applicable at the time of annexation; or\n(5) an application to create a district or an easement or any other interest in real property as part of an agricultural land preservation program.\n(f) “Business entity” means:\n(1) a corporation;\n(2) a limited liability company;\n(3) a partnership; or\n(4) a sole proprietorship.\n(g) “Candidate” means a candidate for County Executive or County Council who becomes an elected official.\n(h) “Contribution” means a payment or transfer of money or property worth at least $100, calculated cumulatively during the pendency of the application, to a candidate or a treasurer or political committee of a candidate.\n(i) “Governing body” means the governing body of Frederick County.\n(j) “Partnership” includes:\n(1) a general partnership;\n(2) a joint venture;\n(3) a limited liability limited partnership;\n(4) a limited liability partnership; or\n(5) a limited partnership.\n(k) “Party of record” means a person that participated in a proceeding on an application before the governing body by appearing at a public hearing or filing a statement in an official record.\n(l) “Pendency of the application” means the time between the acceptance by the County Department of Planning and Zoning of a filing of an application and the earlier of:\n(1) 2 years after the acceptance of the application; or\n(2) the expiration of 30 days after:\n(i) the governing body has taken final action on the application; or\n(ii) the application is withdrawn.\n(m) “Political committee” means a committee specifically created to promote the candidacy of a member of the governing body who is running for an elective office.\n(n) “Treasurer” has the meaning stated in § 1–101 of the Election Law Article.","path":["Article - General Provisions"],"source_url":"https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=ggp\u0026section=5-857","current_through":"2026-01-01","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T19:58:37Z","sha256":"ae0c14b179cfff17b38b7f737ec52c52fdede9c16cc7fa122e94693a99c84b78","source_id":"us-md","stale":false,"prev":"us-md/md.-code-general-provisions-5-854","next":"us-md/md.-code-general-provisions-5-858"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}