Glossary of Planning Terms

Glossary is usually defined as an alphabetical list of technical terms in some specialized field of knowledge. This knowledge base glossary provides a collection of knowledge base documents that define many technical terms. These terms are arranged alphabetically, but you can quickly jump to a specific term by selecting its first letter from the index of the knowledge base glossary below.

A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M - N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z

Keyword

Term
Campus Centers (Local)
Transit accessible low- to medium-density, mixed-use development oriented toward supporting university research, as well as community housing and retail needs, and student housing needs at Bowie MARC. (See Plan 2035, p. 108.) See also:  Regional Transit District , Local Transit Centers , Neighborhood Centers (local) , Town Centers (local)
Capital Improvement Program (Cip)
A six-year comprehensive statement of the objectives of capital programs with cost estimates and proposed construction schedules for specific projects. The Prince George's County CIP is submitted annually to the County Council by the County Executive.
Charrette
A brief, intense design workshop in which community members work together with public agency staff, elected officials, property owners, potential developers, and all interested citizens in order to produce a concept plan that addresses the needs of the community.
Chesapeake Bay Critical Area
All waters of and lands under the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries to the head of tide as indicated on the State wetlands maps, all State and private wetlands designated under the Annotated Code of Maryland, Title 16 of the Environmental Article; and all land and water areas within 1,000 feet beyond the landward boundaries of State or private wetlands and heads of tides designated under the Annotated Code of Maryland, Title 16 of the Environmental Article, as indicated on approved Chesapeake Bay Critical Area Overlay Zoning Map Amendments (ZMA). (Section 27-2500 of the Zoning Ordinance)
Clip
The spatial extraction of features from one coverage that reside entirely within a boundary defined by features in another coverage (called the clip coverage)-clipping works much like a cookie cutter.
Cluster Development
An alternative development technique under zoning and subdivision regulations. A cluster subdivision is basically one in which a number of residential lots are grouped or clustered, leaving some land undivided for common use. Generally the same number of lots or dwelling units permitted under conventional subdivision procedures are clustered on smaller-than-usual lots. The land remaining from lot reduction is left undivided and is available as common area or open space.
Cogo
Abbreviation of the term COordinate GeOmetry. Land surveyors use COGO functions to enter survey data, calculate precise locations and boundaries, define curves, and so on.
Collector
A two- to four-lane roadway, usually within an 80-foot right-of-way, providing movement between developed areas and the arterial system with minimum control of access.
Commercial (Future Land Use Category)
Retail and business areas, including employment uses, such as office and services. A range of services are provided at the neighborhood to regional level. New commercial areas have access to multimodal transportation options. These areas are intended to remain predominantly or entirely commercial.
Commuter Rail
An electric or diesel propelled railway for urban passenger train service consisting of local travel which operates between a central city and outlying areas. Service must be operated on a regular basis by or under contract with a transit operator for the purpose of transporting passengers within urbanized areas (UZAs), or between urbanized areas and outlying areas. Commuter rail is generally characterized by multi-trip tickets, specific station-to-station fares, railroad employment practices, relatively long distance between stops, and only 1-2 stations in the central business district. (U.S. Federal Transit Administration, National Transit Database Glossary, https://www.transit.dot.gov/ntd/national-transit-database-ntd-glossary). MARC and VRE are COMMUTER RAIL systems.
Comprehensive Rezoning
See SECTIONAL MAP AMENDMENT. See also:  Sectional Map Amendment
Comprehensive Ten-Year Water And Sewerage Plan
A plan required by the state and adopted annually by the county that describes county policy related to water and sewerage planning and delineates geographic areas to be serviced over the next ten years.
Conservation Agreement
A formal agreement that commits a grading or building permit applicant within the Chesapeake Bay Critical Area to the execution of various approved elements of a Conservation Plan, including a stormwater management concept plan, an erosion and sedimentation concept plan, a vegetation management plan, and other plans that may be required by the Department of Environmental Resources or the Prince George's County Planning Board.
Conservation Easement
A nonpossessory interest in land that restricts the manner in which the land may be developed in an effort to preserve natural resources for future use.
Conservation Manual
The manual that describes how a Conservation Plan is to be prepared in order to meet the requirements of the Chesapeake Bay Critical Area program, and which is adopted by the District Council and revised and amended from time to time by the District Council.
Consolidated Transportation Program (Ctp)
The state transportation capital improvement plan, including all state-funded or sponsored road, transit, bike/pedestrian projects, and studies to be undertaken in Prince George's County.
Constrained Long-Range Plan (Clrp)
The approved regional plan for highway, transit, and bikeway projects, as well as major jurisdictional and regional studies. Individual jurisdictional submissions are prepared by the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia for the National Capital Transportation Planning Board. To be eligible for federal financial assistance, a Prince George's County highway, transit, trail or bikeway project, or major transportation study, such as those proposed or required by the new General Plan or the Master Plan of Transportation (see below), will have to be submitted to the state for inclusion in the Maryland section of the CLRP and the appropriate Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP) (see below).
Controlled Intersections
Intersections with traffic lights or other traffic control devices.
Cooperative Forecasts
A series of population, household, and employment forecasts prepared by local jurisdictions through the auspices of the Metropolitan-Washington Council of Governments (COG).
Coordinate
A set of numbers that designate location in a given reference system, such as x,y in a planar coordinate system or an x,y,z in a three-dimensional coordinate system. Coordinates represent locations on the Earth's surface relative to other locations.