Prince George's County v. Maryland-National Capital Park & Planning Commission

²⁰⁵ Barnes, J., delivered the opinion of the Court. In this appeal from a declaratory decree of October 2, 1972, of the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County, in Equity, (Bowen, J.) — filed October 3, 1972 — three determinative questions are presented to us for decision, i.e., did the chancellor err (I) in holding that the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, appellee (the Commission), had standing to sue; (II) in holding that there was a justiciable issue ripe for a declaratory decree; and, (III) in holding that Chapter 780 of the Laws of Maryland of 1959, as amended (the Regional District Act), was a public general law rather than a public local law, and thus not subject to amendment nor to be superseded in part by the Prince George’s County Charter. The Commission filed its suit against the appellant, Prince George’s County, in the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County on May 5, 1971, seeking declaratory and injunctive relief. The chancellor on June 7,1971, after a hearing, issued a preliminary injunction enjoining the County from interfering with the activities of the Commission, protecting the Commission’s budget and tax revenues and maintaining the status quo of the parties, pending the final determination of the issues and controversies involved in the litigation.

Trial was held by the chancellor on March 27, 1972. The chancellor, after finding that the Commission had standing and that justiciable issues were presented ripe for controversy, passed a final decree, dated October 2, 1972, in which he held the Regional District Act to be a public general law and made a number of declarations. The full text of the final decree is set out in an Appendix filed with this opinion. From this final decree, the County perfected a timely appeal to this Court.

The General Assembly originally created the Commission by Chapter 448 of the Laws of 1927 (Chapter 448). By this extensive statute, the Commission administered certain park development, planning and zoning functions within those portions of Prince George’s and Montgomery Counties adjoining the District of Columbia. Designated as the Maryland-Washington Metropolitan District (Metropolitan ²⁰⁶ District), this original area was roughly located between the District of Columbia and what is now the Capital Beltway. The Commission was given the power to sue and be sued, issue bonds, implement land use and subdivision regulations and generally effectuate the purpose of Chapter 448 which was the “co-ordinated, comprehensive, adjusted, systematic and harmonious development of the [Metropolitan] District.” Exclusive power over planning and zoning was. vested in the Commission and the Boards of County Commissioners of the two counties.

Chapter 714 of the Laws of 1939 created the Maryland-Washington Regional District (Regional District) under the jurisdiction of the Commission. The Regional District included basically the Metropolitan District with some additions. Under this Chapter, the Commission's “park and planning functions in the district were separated, and the Maryland-Washington Regional District. . . was created as the planning and zoning district.” Prince George's Co. v. Laurel, 262 Md. 171, 174 , 277 A. 2d 262, 264 (1971). In 1943, the General Assembly by Chapter 992 repealed Chapter 714 and re-enacted it “with amendments as a bi-county act applicable to the Maryland-Washington Regional District in Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties and not as a public local law of either county .. . .” Likewise, in 1943, the General Assembly indicated its intent to clarify the status of the law pertaining to the Metropolitan District by enacting Chapter 1008 “as a single bi-county Act . . . and not as a public local law or laws of either county.” In 1959, the General Assembly consolidated all of the provisions relating to the Commission by enacting Chapter 780 of the Laws of Maryland.

It repealed certain sections of the Codes of Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties pertaining to the Commission, repealed all earlier Chapters (discussed above) and enacted in lieu thereof a new subtitle “Park and Planning Commission.” The law basically continued the Commission, expanded the areas under its jurisdiction and redesignated its functions under the subheadings “Metropolitan District” and “Regional ²⁰⁷ District.” It is the Regional District Act which is in controversy here. Under Chapter 780, the Commission was to consist of ten members — five from each county. Section 11 provides: “The Commission has the right to exercise all powers and functions granted to it in this Article. It has the right to use a common seal, to sue and be sued, and to do any and all other corporate acts for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this Article.” (Emphasis supplied) In regard to budgetary matters, Section 16 provides: “None of the provisions of any public general law governing the preparation and filing of budgets by agencies of the State of Maryland shall be applicable to the budgetary procedure of the Commission.

The budget programs and procedures heretofore followed by the Commission are ratified and confirmed and approved for use by the Commission hereafter, together with such improvements therein as in the discretion of the Commission shall be deemed necessary or appropriate in the public interest. . . .” Section 17 provides: “The term ‘municipal corporation’ in Article HE of the Constitution of Maryland does not embrace or include the Commission or the Maryland-Washington Metropolitan District or the Maryland-Washington Regional District. The Commission and the Metropolitan District and the Regional District cannot be classified in any group of municipal corporations as required by Article 11E, and Article 11E [has] no application to the Commission or to the Metropolitan District or to the Regional District.” Sections 56-99 pertain to the Regional District as originally created by Chapter 714 and continued by Chapter 992. The entire area of Montgomery County was placed ²⁰⁸ within the Regional District, subject to certain provisions relating to municipalities. Section 57 (E) included additional areas of Prince George’s County within the District and provided in paragraph (4) that: “No municipal corporation within the areas added . . . shall be authorized, by means of an amendment to its charter or otherwise to exercise any of the powers relating to planning, subdivision control and/or zoning now or hereafter granted by the said Maryland-Washington Regional District Act to the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission or the County Commissioners of Prince George’s County . . . .” A similar provision in Section 57(d)(3) applies to municipal corporations in Montgomery County.

I. We are of the opinion that the chancellor correctly ruled that the Commission had standing to maintain the suit for declaratory relief. As we have already pointed out, Section 11 of Chapter 780 specifically granted the Commission the right to exercise all powers and functions granted to it by Chapter 780 and the right “to sue and be sued, and to do any and all other corporate acts for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of” Chapter 780. (Emphasis supplied) The appropriateness of declaratory relief is indicated by the controversies between the Commission and the County which go to the heart of the ability of the Commission to carry out the provisions of Chapter 780. In this regard, we consider our decision in Liss v. Goodman, 224 Md. 173 , 167 A. 2d 123 (1961), involving a dispute between the City Council of Baltimore City and the Board of Estimates of Baltimore in regard to certain budgetary matters, to be determinative.

The Board of Estimates in Liss contended (as does the County in the present case) that there was no “actual controversy” between the parties, no indication of “imminent and inevitable litigation” and that the members of the City ²⁰⁹ Council had no “concrete interest” in the rights or privilege asserted by them, as required for declaratory relief under Code (1957) Art. 31A, § 6 of the Uniform Declaratory Judgments Act. In rejecting these contentions and in holding that declaratory relief was properly given, Judge Henderson, for the Court, aptly stated: “This Court has stated that the declaratory procedure should not be used to decide purely theoretical questions or questions that may never arise. See Tanner v. McKeldin, 202 Md. 569 , and Kirkwood v. Provident Savings Bank of Baltimore, 205 Md. 48 . We have also stated that declarations should not be made where they would not serve a useful purpose or terminate a controversy.

Cf. Staley v. Safe Deposit & Trust Co. of Baltimore, 189 Md. 447 , and Commissioners of Cambridge v. Eastern, etc., Co., 192 Md. 333 . We think the question here is not theoretical but practical. The Council has asserted a right to reject or return the ordinance when submitted.

To do so in the closing days of the year without a prior adjudication might well cause an impasse and seriously affect the City’s financial needs and obligations. It would seem to be peculiarly appropriate to have the issue resolved in advance. Other courts have indicated that declaratory relief is appropriate where public agencies are at loggerheads. See Marshall County Gas District v. City of Albertville, 83 So. 2d 299 (Ala.); Personnel Board of Mobile County v. City of Mobile, 84 So. 2d 365 (Ala.); Alsop v. Pierce, 19 So. 2d 799 (Fla.); Cummings v. Beeler, 223 S. W. 2d 913 (Tenn.); Hubbard v. Board of Trustees of Retirement System, 23 N. W. 2d 186 (Mich.).

See also Borchard, Declaratory Judgments (2d ed.), p. 889. The declaration in the instant case terminates any uncertainty caused by the assertion of its alleged rights or privileges by the Council and serves the remedial purposes set forth in Code (1957), Art. 31A, sec. 12 [providing that the ‘ Ar- ²¹⁰ tide is dedared to be remedial; its purpose is to settle and to afford relief from uncertainty and insecurity with respect to rights, status and other legal relations; and is to be liberally construed and administered.’].” 224 Md. at 177-78 , 167 A. 2d at 125-26 . In the instant case, the Commission and the County are indeed “at loggerheads” and, in our opinion, declaratory relief is dearly appropriate.

II

We are also of the opinion that a number of justiciable issues exist which are ripe for declaratory relief. The principal controversies arise from the contention by the County that the provisions of the Prince George’s County Charter (including a “Schedule of Legislation” appended to it) adopted by the voters of the county and effective on February 8, 1971, (the Charter) control various functions and personnel of the Commission. The Commission contends that Chapter 780 is a public general law and, as such, cannot be amended or superseded by the Charter. We have no doubt that these respective contentions have produced justiciable issues ripe for resolution by declaratory judgment.

Although it might possibly be sufficient to find just one justiciable issue to provide declaratory relief (which would undoubtedly shorten this opinion), we will discuss all of the controversies between the parties, so that it will appear beyond peradventure that the chancellor properly granted declaratory relief upon the various declarations in the final decree. Chapter 732 of the Laws of 1970 (Chapter 732) merged the then existing Department of Recreation of the County with the Commission and provided that the Prince George’s County Planning Board of the Commission (the Planning Board) should “be responsible for providing an adequate and balanced program of recreation” for the county residents “and to coordinate such program with the Commission’s Park functions.” The Planning Board was given various ²¹¹ powers and duties to accomplish a comprehensive program of recreation, the power to designate a director, and to employ necessary personnel to be placed under the Commission’s merit system provided for in Chapter 780, and to adopt necessary rules and regulations. The testimony indicated that after Chapter 732 became effective, employees engaged in recreational activities for the County left their positions, were transferred to the Commission, and were included in the Commission’s merit system. They were integrated into the Commission’s Department of Parks and the Office of Associate Director of Recreation was created.

The Commission also assumed all responsibility for contracts and obligations of the County Department of Recreation. The recreational functions performed by the Commission were financed by a mandatory tax imposed upon the county real estate. This tax is required to be collected by the County and turned over to the Commission in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 732. If this tax is not collected and remitted to the Commission, it could not perform its responsibilities imposed by statute and continue to operate its recreational program or activities.

On March 29, 1971, the Chairman of the County Council sent a memorandum to the Chairman of the Commission questioning “whether the upcoming Recreational Department Budget should be included in the Park and Planning Commission’s Budget or the County Budget.” Robert H. Levan, General Counsel of the Commission, responded with his opinion that the Regional District Act (as amended by Chapter 732) was a public general law not subject to repeal or amendment by the Charter so that those taxes levied in accordance with the Regional District Act were to be collected by the County and transferred to the Commission to provide for the Department of Recreation. The County Executive, William W. Gullett, on April 22, 1971, wrote the Chairman of the Commission that the County Executive was in the final stages of preparing the proposed budget for the Fiscal Year 1971-72 and requested receipt of “recommended changes” in the Commission’s Park ²¹² and Recreation program. The letter explained “there would not be a property tax rate increase in the ensuing year” and therefore the Park and Planning budget would have to be reduced. The letter then stated certain specific changes: “1.

That the advanced land acquisition program will not be funded by a special ad valorem tax, and will be undertaken under the direct control of the County government unless there have been changes in this program by the General Assembly at its most recent session. “2. That the recreation department would be structured directly under the supervision of the County Executive, as authorized by Article 25A, Section 5(v) of the Annotated Code and Section 8 of the Schedule of Legislation attached to the Prince George’s County Charter.” “3. That so much of the Commission’s legal staff as is funded by Prince George’s County will be under the direct supervision of the County Attorney. Funds that are contained in the proposed Park and Planning budget for Prince George’s County in connection with this activity will be transferred to the Office of Law. “4.

Four planning positions will be transferred to the Planning Coordinator’s section of the Executive Officer’s Division of Administration. As is the case with the legal personnel transfers, the Park and Planning budget will be reduced accordingly. . . .” “In the meantime, I have instructed the Administrative Officer to complete the Capital Improvement Program on the premise that the County Government will provide the funds for the park development and land acquisition program.” The letter also indicated that “discretionary taxes” under the ²¹³ Regional District Act would be eliminated from future budgets. The County Executive in his budget message dated May 13, 1971, accompanying the budget for the Fiscal Year 1971-72, stated, in part: “As a result of the adoption of the Charter, the funding and budgetary control of certain County functions became the direct responsibility of the County Government. Specifically, the budget requests of the Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission, Recreation, the Volunteer Fire Service and the Prince George’s County Hospital were subject to the approval of the County Executive.

The budget submissions of the foregoing departments and agencies have been reviewed by the County Executive and are incorporated in the proposed budget document for consideration by the County Council.” Satisfied that the above confrontations presented a justiciable issue, the chancellor, on June 7, 1971, after a hearing, issued a temporary injunction restraining the County Executive, pendente lite, from changing the Commission’s offices, agencies and functions, except as required by fiscal exigencies. The County Executive and the County Council were further ordered to levy such taxes as they deemed appropriate, necessary and proper, and to levy the mandated taxes required by Chapter 780. In the County Executive’s budget message of June 30, 1971, accompanying the approved budget for the county for the Fiscal Year 1971-72, the temporary injunction and its effect upon the approved budget was mentioned. The County Executive stated that because of the injunction, the amounts for the Commission and the Recreation Department were not included in the County Executive’s proposed budget.

The budget message then illustrated the adjustments made to the approved budget to restore the mandatory and discretionary taxes to the Commission for its park and planning functions and for its recreational activities. ²¹⁴ It is apparent, we think, from the confrontation between the County Executive and the Commission, in regard to park and planning functions and recreational activities, there was indeed a justiciable controversy ripe for a declaratory judgment. The controversy was so “ripe” for declaratory relief that the chancellor, in our opinion, properly issued the temporary injunction to prevent, pendente lite, grave injury to the Commission’s park and planning functions and recreational activities by the county budget for Fiscal 1971-72 originally proposed by the County Executive. Another issue involves legislative activities on behalf of the Commission. By the provisions of Chapter 780, the Commission was authorized and directed to report and make recommendations to the General Assembly in regard to legislation which might affect the Commission or the Metropolitan and Regional Districts.

On the other hand, Section 1005 of the Charter provided that no official appointed by the County Executive or by the County Council could in his official capacity “recommend or request the passage or defeat of any legislation without the express prior approval of the County Executive or of the Council.” On March 19, 1971, the County Attorney wrote to the Chairman of the Commission that he had requested the General Counsel of the Commission to “clear with this Office any and all interpretations of the Charter or of the Regional District Act which were furnished to the Delegation [the members of the General Assembly from Prince George’s County]. Such request was made pursuant to Section 1005 of the Charter, which forbids official lobbying without the sanction of the County Executive . . . .” It was further stated that the General Counsel for the Commission, at the direction of the Prince George’s County Planning Board, had indicated that he would not comply with the request because the Commission did not “feel bound by Section 1005 of the Charter.” The Chairman of the Commission, W. C. Dutton, testified in regard to the activities of the General Counsel of the Commission before the Prince George’s County Delegation concerning proposed bills and their effect upon the Commission and its functions. He also testified that he ²¹⁵ was instructed by the County Executive that “the Charter prohibits this activity in any manner.” The Commission also received a memorandum, dated February 9, 1972, from the County Executive’s Chief Administrative Officer, indicating that the County Executive’s Legislative Liaison, Frank Kratovil, would assist all agencies with legislative matters; that bills introduced with the General Assembly should be forwarded through the Chief Administrative Office; and, further, that a Legislative Liaison Office was being established in Annapolis which could be reached at certain hours on five days of the week. It is clear that the County believes that the Commission is “an agency that receives and disburses County funds” and, as such, is subject to the provisions of Section 1005 of the Charter.

It appears clear to us that, here again, the County and the Commission are at loggerheads in this sensitive area and that this confrontation is almost inevitable. This controversy is ripe for decision in view of the fact that the General Assembly meets every year with Legislative Council hearings occurring in between the regular sessions and the continuing nature of the Commission’s functions and activities. Another serious difficulty arose from the contemplated transfer by the County Executive of four planners of the Commission’s staff to the staff of the County, purporting to act under the provisions of Section 501 of the Charter providing that, except “as otherwise provided in the Charter or in State law, all agencies of the County government shall be subject to the direction, supervision, and control of the County Executive.” The testimony indicated that this contemplated change would impair the ability of the Commission to perform its statutory duties and that there was no procedure for transferring merit system employees from the staff of the Commission to the staff of the County. We have already set out an excerpt from the County Executive’s letter of April 22, 1971, in which Item 4 proposes this transfer and the subsequent reduction of the Commission’s budget.

The transfer of the four Commission ²¹⁶ employees was imminent so that the controversy was ripe for decision. Another area of controversy between the County and the Commission is in regard to the Commission’s power to acquire land. Section 7 of Chapter 780 authorizes the Commission to appoint a Director of Land Acquisition; Section 26 authorizes the Commission to acquire land for specific purposes and to improve and develop it; and Section 30 grants the power of eminent domain to acquire the necessary land in order to carry out the duties of the Commission. Section 508 of the Charter, however, provides for the acquisition of land by agencies of the County “receiving or disbursing County funds” to the “extent permitted by State law.” Under Section 503, the County Executive may propose by Executive Order changes in the organization of the Executive Branch including the “assignment of functions, powers and duties among agencies.” In a “Synopsis of Real Estate and Land Acquisition Functions in Prince George’s County, Maryland,” prepared for the County Executive, one of the proposals was: “It is proposed that a professional land acquisition (Real Estate) function be created responsible for all land acquisition, leasing of office space and disposal of excess land required by the County government or any department, division, county agency or utility under the control of County government.” It is clear that the County considers the Commission to be a “County agency” within the meaning of Section 508 of the Charter, as evidenced by a letter dated March 30, 1971, from the Chief of the County Bureau of Engineering to the Associate Director of Parks of the Commission.

The letter included a copy of the Synopsis and requested comments and recommendations to determine the feasibility of “consolidating all County land acquisition in one County Real Estate Division.” (Emphasis supplied) In our opinion, ²¹⁷ the “proposal” in the Synopsis has reached a sufficiently definite stage to justify declaratory relief. Another area of confrontation between the Commission and the County resulted from the effort of the County Executive to consolidate the Commission’s Legal Department with the County Attorney’s Office. Section 7 of Chapter 780 provides for a General Counsel for the Commission. Section 508 of the Charter provides that agencies of the County receiving or disbursing County funds shall utilize the legal services of the County; and Section 501 provides that all agencies of the County shall be subject to the “direction, supervision, and control of the County Executive.” In a memorandum dated April 6, 1971, the County Executive advised the Commission that he had “instructed the Finance Director to combine selected proposed expenditures associated with legal activities under the Office of Law.” The County Executive indicated that the Commission would, effective July 1, 1971, “receive all legal services from the Office of Law” and have its budget accordingly reduced.

Item 8 of the County Executive’s letter, excerpted above, repeats the proposal to consolidate with the County Attorney’s Office that portion of the Commission’s legal staff funded by the County. In the proposed budget message of the County Executive, dated May 13, 1971, it was stated that “seven new positions had been added to the Office of Law in an effort to centralize legal services” and that, beginning in the Fiscal Year 1972, the Office of Law would “provide complete Legal services to the County departments, including” the Commission. (Emphasis supplied) Indeed, the County Executive, on April 2, 1971, directed the Commission to dismiss its pending appeal in the case of Prince George’s County v. Laurel, 262 Md. 171 , 277 A. 2d 262 , at that time pending in this Court. Upon the Commission’s refusal to dismiss its appeal, the County Attorney filed a line of dismissal as to the County; and the Commission, on its own motion, was later able to have itself reinstated as a proper party to pursue the appeal.

There seems little ²¹⁸ doubt that the controversy in regard to the Commission’s Legal Department is ripe for decision by declaratory judgment. There is a substantial controversy between the Commission and the County in regard to the Commission’s mandatory and discretionary park taxes within both the Metropolitan District (Chapter 780, Section 51) and the Regional District (Chapter 780, Section 93). Chapter 780 provides that each tax within each County shall be levied and collected by the respective County government and remitted to the Commission to fund the functions and activities of the Commission. Section 1006 of the Charter provides that the County Council shall have no power to levy any ad valorem tax for an “agency which receives or disburses County funds.” The County has interpreted this provision to prohibit the County Council from levying and collecting the taxes provided by Chapter 780 for the Commission.

The County Attorney, on May 19, 1971, advised the County Council that Art. VIII of the Charter did not permit “any agency submitting a budget request” to by-pass the County Executive and that the “document submitted by” the Commission was “not an official budget submission and may not be treated as such.” We have already observed that the chancellor issued a temporary injunction in regard to the Commission’s tax problem. This controversy, in our opinion, is obviously ripe for decision by declaratory judgment. One important and continuing area of controversy between the Commission and the County relates to the Zoning Ordinance adopted for the Regional District by the District Council. The controversy revolves around five zoning problems, i.e., (1) application for map amendments and for special exceptions; (2) refiling of such applications; (3) conditional zoning; (4) Section 709 of the Charter in regard to conflict of interests; and, (5) redrafting of official zoning maps.

We now turn to a consideration of these controversies. (1) Section 30.11 of the Zoning Ordinance for the Regional ²¹⁹ District provides for certain information on an application for a map amendment and Section 28.11 provides for specified information on an application for a special exception. Section 706 (b) of the Charter, on the other hand, requires information on both types of applications different from that required by the Zoning Ordinance. The question arose in regard to which requirements were applicable.

The County Attorney advised the County Council that the Charter requirements applied to all applications filed subsequent to February 8, 1971. The Planning Board sent a form letter to 449 applicants for map amendments and also to applicants for special exceptions, then pending before the Planning Board, advising the applicants to supply the additional information required by the Charter. Thus, it is seen that applicants are required by the County to comply with the Charter provisions, rather than the Zoning Ordinance requirements, and that this controversy is ripe for decision by declaratory judgment. (2) The limitations of time upon the refiling of applications for map amendments and of special exceptions in the Zoning Ordinance differ substantially from such provisions in the Charter.

The evidence indicates that this situation has resulted in much uncertainty and confusion both among the officials concerned and various members of the public who wish to refile applications for map amendments or for special exceptions. For example, a citizen who had three zoning applications returned by the Planning Board because of noncompliance with the Charter requested a refund of his filing fees. The Chairman of the Commission responded: “This Commission has been and will continue to accept zoning applications in accordance with the Zoning Ordinance. It has been the opinion of our Legal Counsel that we should continue to so accept applications although they may be contrary to some provision of the New Charter for the County.

It is our Legal Department’s opinion that the Zoning Ordinance is controlling in such factors. Therefore, ²²⁰ it is this Commission’s position that the filing was valid and legal. “The District Council would have provided for the refunding of your deposit if it was their intention that such be done. I regret the situation as it now exists and hope that this matter may be cleared up as quickly as possible. “As for your situation, I can find no relief in the Zoning Ordinance nor under the Laws which this Commission operates.” This issue is obviously ripe for resolution by a declaratory judgment. (3) The Regional District Act, Section 78 (e) permits the use of conditional zoning within the County and gives the District Council authority to enact an ordinance to effectuate conditional zoning.

In accordance with this grant of authority, the District Council adopted Section 30.5 of the Zoning Ordinance to provide for conditional zoning under various conditions and restrictions. Section 708 (d) of the Charter prohibits conditional zoning. The County Attorney, on March 9, 1971, advised the County Executive that Section 708 (d) of the Charter controlled. The Chairman of the Commission testified that prior to the adoption of the Charter, the Planning Board had used conditional zoning in accordance with the Zoning Ordinance, but that since the adoption of the Charter, the Planning Board could not determine with any clarity whether it could continue to use conditional zoning as permitted by the Zoning Ordinance.

This controversy is ripe for decision by a declaratory judgment. (4) The “Conflicts of Interest” provision of Chapter 780 does not require the Commissioners or its staff members to file or disclose copies of income tax returns or landownership statements. Section 709 of the Charter, however, provides that all public officials participating in a zoning case shall ²²¹ file a public statement on landownership and holdings and copies of federal and state income tax returns. The County requirements have been interpreted to apply to the Prince George’s County members of the Commission, the General Counsel of the Commission, the Chief Zoning Officer in the County and to others.

Two letters dated March 16 and June 15, 1971, from the County Attorney reminds the Commission of the Charter requirement to file statements of landholdings and copies of federal and state income tax returns for public record. Here again, this issue is ripe for resolution by a declaratory judgment. (5) Sections 76 and 78 of Chapter 780 provide procedures for the redrafting of official zoning maps for the Regional District within the County. The Commission decided to redraft the official zoning maps and the project was begun in 1966.

Seven draftsmen worked on the project and an outside consulting firm was paid a consulting fee of $50,000. Section 701 (c) of the Charter provides that “Comprehensive Zoning Maps” may not be adopted for an area smaller than a “planning area.” The County Attorney advised the Commission that the redrafting was considered to be a comprehensive rezoning and must comply with the provisions of Section 701 (c) of the Charter in regard to planning area boundaries. As a result, the redrafting project has come to a standstill because of the uncertainty of the Commission’s staff in regard to planning area boundaries. This issue is ripe for resolution by declaratory judgment.

Another important area in which there is a controversy between the Commission and the County relates to planning. The controversy revolves around two principal problems, i.e., (a) planning areas and (b) the appearance on Master Plans of the cost of public facilities. We will now consider these two areas of difficulty. (a) Section 63 (b) of the Regional District Act provides that ²²² the Commission shall prepare a map showing the Regional District divided into “local planning areas” without any other restriction, whereas Section 701 (b) of the Charter adds a limitation that “planning areas” shall be “predetermined by law and shall be substantially equal in geographic size.” The evidence indicates that in an effort to reconcile, if possible, the provisions of the respective provisions, the Chairman of the Commission, on August 17, 1971, submitted to the County Executive a proposal to establish 64 planning areas ranging in size from 5.45 acres to 10.64 acres in area.

The County Executive, on November 29, 1971, advised the Chairman of the Commission that the proposal “would not satisfy this requirement [of Section 701 (b)] under the Charter.” The request of the County Executive for a new planning area map which would conform with the