Marvin Mandel, Governor                          1915

[47]

8.11    Commission Meetings to be Public

All meetings of a commission shall be open to the public. Any-
interested person or his representative is entitled to appear and be
heard by the commission before it reaches a decision on any matter.
The commission shall keep an open record of its resolutions, pro-
ceedings, and actions which shall be kept available for public inspec-
tion during reasonable business hours.

8.12    Certificate of Approval

The commission shall file with the building inspector by what-
ever name known of the county or municipal corporation a certificate
of its approval, modification, or rejection of all applications and
plans submitted to it for review. Work shall not be commenced on
any such project until such a certificate of approval has been filed,
and the building inspector shall not issue a building permit for such
change or construction unless and until he has received such a cer-
tificate of approval. If there is no building inspector in the county
or municipal corporation, the owner, lessee, or tenant of the property
and premises shall not commence the proposed work or change until
and unless he or it has received such a certificate of approval from
the commission. The failure of the commission to act upon an appli-
cation within forty-five (45) days from the date the application was
filed shall be deemed to constitute automatic approval of the proposed
changes unless an extension of this forty-five day period is agreed
upon mutually by the applicant and the commission.

[49]

8.13    Ordinary Maintenance Not Affected

Nothing in this [subtitle] section shall be taken or construed to
prevent work and repairs on any structure coming under the heading
of ordinary maintenance. Nothing in this [subtitle] section affects
the right to complete any work covered by a permit or authorization
issued prior to [June 1, 1963] the effective date of this section.

[50]

8.14 Appeal

Any person or persons, firm, or corporation aggrieved by a de-
cision of the historic district commission has a right of appeal there-
from similar to that provided from the decision of the zoning board
or commission within the county or municipal corporation.

[51]

8.15 Severability

The provisions of [this title] Section 8.00 are severable, and if
any of its provisions are held unconstitutional by any court of com-
petent jurisdiction, the decision of such court shall not affect or
impair any of the remaining provisions.

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That any and all other laws
enacted by the 1970 Regular Session of the General Assembly to
amend, change, or add to Article 66B of the Annotated Code of
Maryland, as this Article appears in the 1967 Replacement Volume
and 1969 Cumulative Supplement, shall be construed as laws enacted
by the General Assembly and shall prevail over anything inconsistent