![[photo, Casselman River Bridge, Grantsville, Maryland]](/msa/mdmanual/36loc/ga/images/1198-1-06697c.jpg)
![[photo, Muddy Creek Falls at Swallow Falls State Park, north of Oakland (Garrett County), Maryland]](/msa/mdmanual/36loc/ga/images/1198-1-06732b.jpg)
- AGRICULTURAL PRESERVATION ADVISORY BOARD
The Agricultural Preservation Advisory Board advises the Board of County Commissioners on the establishment of agricultural districts and the approval of purchases of easements within the County by the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation.
The five members of the Advisory Board are appointed to five-year terms by the Board of County Commissioners (Code, Agriculture Article, sec. 2-504.1).
MARCELLUS SHALE NATURAL GAS ADVISORY GROUP
PLANNING COMMISSION
When landowners in the Deep Creek Watershed request variances or exceptions to zoning regulations, the Board reviews their applications as part of the appeals process.
The Board's five members and two alternates are appointed by the Board of County Commissioners to three-year terms.
SOIL CONSERVATION DISTRICT BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
The Soil Conservation District Board of Supervisors consists six members who serve five-year terms. Five members are appointed by the State Soil Conservation Committee, and one is appointed by the Board of County Commissioners (Code Agriculture Article, secs. 8-301 through 8-312).
The Marcellus Shale Natural Gas Advisory Group was authorized by the Board of County Commissioners in March 2015.
The Planning Commission consists of seven members and two alternates appointed to five-year terms by the Board of County Commissioners (Code Land Use Article, secs. 2-101 through 3-304; County Code, sec. 32.15).
DEEP CREEK WATERSHED ZONING APPEALS BOARD
The Deep Creek Watershed Zoning Appeals Board was created in 1997.
A soil conservation district constitutes a political subdivision of the State, and a public body corporate and politic, excercising public powers. The District's Board of Supervisors conducts surveys, investigations, and research relating to the character of soil erosion. Within the District, the Board carries out preventive and control measures, including engineering operations, cultivation methods, the growing of vegetation, changes in land use, and other measures.
![[photo, Youghiogheny River, Friendsville, Maryland]](/msa/mdmanual/37mun/friendsville/images/1198-1-07409b.jpg)
- YOUGHIOGHENY SCENIC & WILD RIVER ADVISORY BOARD
In 1976, the Youghiogheny River was designated Maryland's first and only wild river. Yet, it is both a scenic and a wild river, and as such is part of the Scenic and Wild Rivers Program, overseen by the Department of Natural Resources. Under that program, a scenic river is defined as a "free-flowing river whose shoreline and related land are predominantly forested, agricultural, grassland, marshland, or swampland with a minimum of development for at least 2 miles of the river length" [Natural Resources Article, sec. 8-402(d)(2)]. The same program defines a wild river as a "free-flowing river whose shoreline and related land are undeveloped, inaccessible except by trail, or predominantly primitive in a natural state for a least 4 miles of the river length" [Natural Resources Article, 8-402(d)(3)].
The policy of the State of Maryland is to preserve and protect the scenic, geologic, ecologic, historic, recreational, agricultural, fish, wildlife, cultural, and other values of its scenic rivers; as well as to enhance their water quality, and fulfill vital conservation purposes by wise use of resources within their surrounding environment. In keeping with these purposes, and with the advice and consent of the Garrett County Board of County Commissioners, the Scenic and Wild Rivers Review Board established the Youghiogheny Scenic and Wild River Advisory Board (Code Natural Resources Article, secs. 8-403 (b)(3)).
Youghiogheny River, Friendsville, Maryland, October 2015. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.
- Upon completion of an approved management plan, the Garrett County government reconstituted the Board under local authority (Code Natural Resources Article, sec. 8-403 (g)).
Today, the Youghiogheny Scenic and Wild River Advisory Board consists of eight members who are appointed to five-year terms by the Garrett County Board of County Commissioners. The Board selects its own chairperson (Code National Resources Article, secs. 8-401 through 8-411).
Appointed by the Board of County Commissioners, the Board of Zoning Appeals consists of five members who serve three-year terms (Code Land Use Article, secs. 4-101 through 4-406; County Code, secs. 157.001 through 157.193).
PERMITS & INSPECTIONS DIVISION
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BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS
The Board of Zoning Appeals hears and decides appeals where it is alleged there is any error in any zoning order, requirement, decision, or determination. It also interprets district boundaries on official zoning maps. Upon appeal, in specific cases, the Board may authorize such variances as will not be contrary to the public interest where, owing to special conditions, a literal enforcement would result in unnecessary hardship or practical difficulty.
In February 2014, the Permits and Inspections Division started under the Department of Planning and Community Development. In March 2015, the Division became the Department of Permits and Inspections. It reformed again as a division within the Department of Planning and Land Management in March 2019.
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