Maryland Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission Section 7-115

      (a)      (1)      Except as provided in paragraph (3) of this subsection, no plat of any subdivision of land within the regional district shall be admitted to the land records of either Montgomery or Prince George's County, or received or recorded by the clerks of the courts of these counties, until the plat has been submitted to and approved by the Commission and the approval endorsed in writing on the plat by its chairman and secretary. The filing or recordation of a plat of a subdivision without the approval of the Commission is void.

            (2)      If the subdivision regulations provide for a distinction between major subdivisions and minor subdivisions, in Prince George's County, the Commission may provide for approval of minor subdivision plats by the planning director. The planning director's endorsement in writing on the plat shall be sufficient evidence of approval for the purpose of filing or recording the plat.

            (3)      A subdivision of land within the regional district that has been annexed by a municipality having planning, zoning, and subdivision authority under Article 23A of the Code may be admitted to the land records of the county when the plat has been submitted to and approved by the municipality and the approval has been endorsed in writing on the plat by the official of the municipality charged with that responsibility.

      (b)      On the basis of the estimated cost of the services to be rendered by it in connection with the consideration of subdivision plats and the work incidental thereto, the Commission may fix the scale of fees to be paid to it for its subdivision work and from time to time may amend the scale. In the case of each subdivision plat submitted to the Commission, the fee thus fixed shall be paid before the plat is approved or disapproved and carried into the administrative fund of the Commission provided for in § 6-107 of this article.

      (c)      After the approval and upon receipt of the plat by the clerk of the circuit court, every plat shall be firmly fixed in a well-bound book to be kept by the clerk of the court for the purpose of recording plats and for the recording of which the clerk shall receive the fee he determines to be fair and reasonable.

      (d)      Every plat of any subdivision shall be prepared upon paper or cloth of a size and character, with notations, information, and markings the Commission prescribes by regulation. Every approved subdivision of land shall have permanent markers, bound stones, or stations the Commission prescribes which shall be shown and designated on the plat thereof. The Commission and the district council of the county wherein the land lies, shall be furnished with copies of the plat as approved.

      (e)      The Commission may require dedications of streets and roads in connection with the approval of plats of subdivision for interior subdivision roads, roads abutting the subdivision where it is necessary to create a new road as a part of the plan of subdivision to provide for traffic access to another subdivision road, and widening of existing or public roads abutting the subdivision where widening is necessary in order to provide additional right-of-way adequate to serve additional traffic to be created by the subdivision, but in this case no more dedication may be required than will produce a total right-of-way for a secondary road, as defined by the duly adopted Road Code, or by the appropriate county ordinance or regulation or for a primary road if an existing and duly adopted master plan of highways of the Commission designates the road as a primary or arterial road. In no case whatsoever shall dedication of a width wider than that for a primary road be required, and no more than that necessary for a secondary road unless an existing and duly adopted master plan of the Commission designates the road as a primary or arterial road. However, in Prince George's County, the master plan of highways is to be approved by the district council. In lieu of the above language, in Montgomery County, the Commission may require dedication of streets and roads in connection with the approval of plats of subdivision in accordance with the standards and limitations set forth in the subdivision regulations. The standards shall relate the area of dedication to the total size of the subdivision, the maximum street right-of-way or improvement required for that category of land use as established in the Road Code of the applicable jurisdiction, and to the increased traffic, lane, and right-of-way requirements which would be created by maximum utilization and development of the subject property in its present zone classification or that higher use shown on any adopted or approved master plan of the applicable jurisdictions. Subject to these standards, the subdivision regulations may require dedication to public use to the full extent of the required right-of-way in each case, except those roads classified in the local subdivision regulations as limited access and controlled highways wherein dedication may be required only for adequate traffic access to those subdivisions to which access is permitted.