2006-11-22_Answering_Brief_re_Calvert

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within the established maximum period of time, or the application shall be deemed approved; provided that a delay in granting or denying an application caused by the lack of quorum at a regular meeting of the issuing agency shall not result in approval under this subsection; provided further that any subsequent lack of quorum at a regular meeting of the issuing agency that delays the same matter shall not give cause for further extension, unless an extension is agreed to by all parties. (d) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, any agency that reviews and comments upon an application for a business or development-related permit, license, or approval for a housing project under section 201 G-118 shall respond within forty-five days of receipt of the application, or the application shall be deemed acceptable as submitted to the agency. (e) The maximum period of time established pursuant to this section shall be extended in the event of a national disaster, state emergency, or union strike, which would prevent the applicant, the agency, or the department from fulfilling application or review requirements. (f) This section shall not apply to: (1) Any proceedings of the public utilities commission; or (2) Any county or county agency that is exempted by county ordinance from this section. (g) For purposes of this section, "application for a business or development-related permit, license, or approval" means any state or county application, petition, permit, license, certificate, or any other form of a request for approval required by law to be obtained prior to the formation, operation, or expansion of a commercial or industrial enterprise, or for any permit, license, certificate, or any form of approval required under sections 46-4,46-4.2, 46-4.5, 46-5, and chapters 183C, 205, 205A, 340A, 340B, 340E;340F, 342B, 342C, 342D, 342E, 342F, 342G, 342H, 342I, 342J, 342L, and 342P. It should be noted that the statute allows the issuing agency to set its own time limit by which it must take action. This approach allows each agency to evaluate and decide a reasonable time period in which it can take action on the applications before it. In this case, the Planning Department has established 60 days as the time limit for variance applications and it failed to act upon Calvert's application on time. The dates when the application was made and the date when the action was taken are set forth in the record. It is undisputed that the action taken was late under the Planning Department's own rules. Counsel for Appellant at the Board's hearing on the appeal admitted to 10