Adequate Public Facilities (APF)

County Code

The Planning and Zoning Officer may not give final approval to a proposed record plat, recommend approval of an application for a building or grading permit in connection with a preliminary plan or site development plan, or approve a site development plan for development that does not require a permit unless the development passes the tests for adequate public facilities, per the chart available in Article 17-5-201.

Non-Residential:

Residential:

At the developer's option, development may be tested for adequacy of public facilities either during review of the initial application of a sketch plan or preliminary plan, or during review of the application for final plan or site development plan approval. The developer must submit sufficient data, as required by the Office of Planning and Zoning, to demonstrate adequacy of public facilities. If a developer opts to test a development for adequacy of public facilities during review of the initial application of a sketch plan or preliminary plan, testing for adequacy of sewerage facilities and/or water supply facilities may be deferred at the developer's option and tested during review of the application for final plan or site development plan approval. Note, a bulk parcel is tested for adequacy of public facilities after the creation of the bulk parcel and during review of the application for approval of the sketch and/or final plan or preliminary and/or site development plan for development within the bulk parcel. If the impact of a development exceeds the impact shown in the original impact study, the development is tested for the excess impact only.

Exemptions may be available for specific projects that meet certain criteria; for example, some residential development in transit-oriented overlay development policy areas. Exemptions are listed under Article 17-5-207.

School capacity is determined by data obtained by the Anne Arundel County Public Schools, using several data sources such as existing and projected student populations. Projects are required to be tested for school APF based on Article 17-5-201. 
 
A school utilization chart is used to determine whether or not the increase in student attendance can be approved. Note that a development project is not vested until the date of project approval when APF is tested. Additionally, a plan may be given contingent approval if the development passes all tests for adequate public facilities other than schools and the development is placed on the waiting list provided for in Article 17-5-503.

As per Bill 65-24, with the effective date of October 24, 2024, this chart shows the capacity utilization status of all elementary, middle and high schools in Anne Arundel County.

This School Utilization Chart is compliant with Article 17-5-502 that requires the Chart to be based on enrollments projected by the Board of Education and the capacities of schools as determined by the Board of Education. Additional details on the requirements of this chart can be found by referring to the Article 17-5-502.

Current Council Approved School Utilization Chart

The Working School Utilization Chart is updated on a weekly basis to incorporate seats generated from new development.

When a development project is evaluated for approval, this Chart is referenced by Office of Planning and Zoning staff to verify if a school has available seats for new students in the affected attendance areas. If a school does not have available seats, or is “closed”, this Chart is used to determine availability of seats in adjacent school attendance areas, per Article 17-5-501(a)(5). If a project approval results in available school seats being taken, the Chart is updated to reflect the change.

Working School Utilization Chart

This formula is used to determine the maximum number of students that can be reasonably accommodated in a facility without significantly hampering delivery of an educational program.

School Capacity and Space Formula

These factors are used to calculate the number of students that will be generated by each new housing unit.

School Pupil Generation Factors

Locate Your School

School Waiting List

The Department of Public Works is responsible for determining APF for public utilities, working with the Engineering Division of the Department of Inspections and Permits to ensure compliance and capacity requirements are met when evaluating a proposed development. 
 
A development passes the test for adequate sewerage facilities if, in the scheduled completion year of the development, the development will have a private sewerage system approved by State and County authorities or, after accounting for all existing flows and flows reserved by allocation as stipulated in Article 17-5-601. 

A development passes the test for adequate water supply facilities if, in the scheduled completion year of the development, the development will have a private water supply system approved by the appropriate State and County authorities or, after accounting for all existing demands and demands reserved by allocation as stipulated in Article 17-5-801.

• Inspections & Permits Engineering 
• SWAMP & EDU Worksheets  
• County Code Sewage 
• County Code Water 

For projects that are not connected to public water and / or public sewer, review sections 1.2 and 1.3 of the Water Sewer Master Plan (WSMP) for information on whether the project will be required to connect to public utilities or not. 
 
If an applicant has determined that connection to public water and / or public sewer does not exist nor is required, the Health Department will determine the requirements for private well and / or private septic onsite. Approval for the APF utilities will be based on the Health Department’s determination. 
 
Note that in cases of private septic, the applicant must acquire an approved percolation test (“perc test”) prior to the submittal of a development application, which can be obtained through the Health Department. A perc test can only be completed at select times of the year known as the wet season, therefore, applicants who require an approved perc test are informed that the process may take up to an additional year to prepare a site plan compliant with Health Department requirements prior to submitting an application for development. 

A development passes the test for adequate storm drain facilities if in the scheduled completion year of the development, the onsite drainage system and stormwater management system installed by the developer includes environmental site design to the maximum extent practicable, complies with the stormwater requirements of the County Code, and is capable of conveying through and from the property the design flow of stormwater runoff originating in the subdivision to an adequate outfall. Additionally, a project must demonstrate that offsite downstream drainage systems are capable of conveying to an adequate outfall as defined in Article 16 the design flow of stormwater runoff; or that the developer has an approved mitigation plan under Article 17-5-901 et seq., and has paid applicable fees due under Title 11.

• Inspections & Permits Engineering  
• County Code

A development passes the test for adequate fire suppression facilities if the water supply system, whether public or private, sufficiently proves it will be capable of providing adequate fire-flow. A fire-flow test may be required based on the scope of the proposed development. The Fire Marshal will notify an applicant during the standard project review if a fire-flow test is necessary. A determination of adequacy of fire suppression facilities is valid for six months and it may be necessary to retest for adequacy of fire protection facilities as a condition precedent to final plan approval, site development plan approval, and permit issuance.

• Fire Marshal 
• County Code 

A development passes the test for adequate road facilities if in the scheduled completion year of the development it creates 50 or fewer daily trips or if:

1. the road facilities in the impact area of the proposed development will operate at or above the minimum of ‘D' level of service after including the traffic generated by the development; and
2. road facilities in the impact area of the proposed development will have an adequacy rating of not less than 70 as defined by the Anne Arundel County road rating program; or
3. the developer has an approved mitigation plan under §§ 17-5-901 et seq.

More information is available at § 17-5-401.

The Transportation Team recommends that the Applicant prepare a Traffic Scoping Request in advance to project submittal. The Traffic Impact Study should be done in accordance to Chapter 3, Appendix N of Design Manual and County Code Chapter 17, Title 5.  

• Traffic Impact Checklist for Submittal

• OPZ Transportation Team 
• County Code 
• Traffic Impact Study Guidelines 
• Traffic Impact Study Checklist