Section 5-857 - Definitions(a) In this part the following words have the meanings indicated.(b) "Agent" means a person that is:(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(2)(ii) an architect or a landscape architect;(iii) a traffic consultant;(c) "Aggrieved party" means:(1) a property owner whose property:(i) adjoins, fronts, or is located near the subject property; or(ii) is located within sight or sound of the subject property; or(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.(d)(1) "Applicant" means a person that is:(i) a title owner or contract purchaser of land that is the subject of an application;(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(iii) a holder of at least a 10% interest in land that is the subject of an application.(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.(3) "Applicant" does not include:(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;(ii) a municipal corporation or public corporation;(iii) a public authority;(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(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.(e) "Application" means: (1) an application for a zoning map amendment as part of a piecemeal or floating zone rezoning proceeding;(2) a formal application for a comprehensive map planning change or zoning change during the county comprehensive land use plan update;(3) an application for a map amendment to the county water and sewerage plan;(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(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.(f) "Business entity" means: (2) a limited liability company;(4) a sole proprietorship.(g) "Candidate" means a candidate for County Executive or County Council who becomes an elected official.(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.(i) "Governing body" means the governing body of Frederick County.(j) "Partnership" includes:(1) a general partnership;(3) a limited liability limited partnership;(4) a limited liability partnership; or(5) a limited partnership.(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.(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: (1) 2 years after the acceptance of the application; or(2) the expiration of 30 days after:(i) the governing body has taken final action on the application; or(ii) the application is withdrawn.(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) "Treasurer" has the meaning stated in § 1-101 of the Election Law Article.Amended by 2018 Md. Laws, Ch. 273, Sec. 1, eff. 7/1/2018.Amended by 2018 Md. Laws, Ch. 272, Sec. 1, eff. 7/1/2018.Amended by 2014 Md. Laws, Ch. 645, Sec. 1, eff. 12/1/2014.Added by 2014 Md. Laws, Ch. 94, Sec. 2, eff. 10/1/2014.