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
Callibration
The process of choosing attribute values and computational parameters so that a model properly represents the real-world situation being analyzed.
Capacity
The maximum number of vehicles that have a reasonable expectation of passing over a given section of a lane or a roadway during a given period under a specified speed or level of service. Strictly, capacity is an absolute number equivalent to Level-of-Service E. (See also LEVEL OF SERVICE.) See also:  Level of Service
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 CIP is submitted annually to the County Council by the County Executive.
Charrette
A brief, intense design workshop in which community teams work together with municipal staff, city council members, the landowner, the developer, and all interested citizens in order to produce a 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, and all land and water areas within 1,000 feet beyond the landward boundaries of and heads of tides as indicated on approved Chesapeake Bay Critical Area Overlay Zoning Map Amendments.
Client/Server
A software system is said to have a client/server architecture when there is a central process (server) which accepts requests from multiple user processes (clients).
Clip
The spatial extraction of those 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, to calculate precise locations and boundaries, to 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.
Commission 2000
A 53-member broad-based, blue ribbon panel appointed by the County Executive and the County Council charged with the preparation of a Biennial Growth Policy Plan. The plan was adopted, with amendments, as the Interim General Plan in November 2000.
Community (As Defined In Some Master Plans)
A grouping of neighborhoods and villages, the population of which may range from 23,000 to 30,000 in suburban areas and up to 40,000 in corridor communities. Most communities should have as their centers of focal points a Community Activity Center. (See also NEIGHBORHOOD and VILLAGE.) See also:  Neighborhood Convenience Center , Village
Community Activity Center (As Defined In Master Plans)
A commercial center containing 10-25 acres of commercial development on a site area of 20-30 acres, serving a population of at least 50,000 and anchored by a general merchandise store and may also include a supermarket. A community activity center should also include other commercial, public/quasi-public and residential uses. (See also ACTIVITY CENTER.) See also:  Activity Center
Community Centers
Concentration of activities, services and land uses that serve, and are focal points for, the immediate neighborhoods. (See also METROPOLITAN AND REGIONAL CENTERS.) See also:  Metropolitan and Regional Centers
Comprehensive Design Plan (Cdp)
Phase II of the Comprehensive Design Zone process. It establishes the general location, distribution, and size of proposed structures. (See also COMPREHENSIVE DESIGN ZONE.) (See also BASIC PLAN AND SPECIFIC DESIGN PLAN.) See also:  Comprehensive Design Zone , Basic Plan , Specific Design Plan
Comprehensive Design Zone (Cdz)
Provisions enacted in the Zoning Ordinance and Subdivision Regulations providing developers the opportunities to comprehensively plan all aspects of a development, from zoning and land use to the final specific details of the site, architecture, and landscaping. The process involves a three-phase (Basic Plan, Comprehensive Design Plan, and Specific Design Plan) site plan review procedure, which may result in specific density or intensity increments being added to a base density or intensity in return for the provision of certain public benefits.
Comprehensive Master Plan
A document that guides the way an area should be developed. It includes a compilation of policy statements, goals, standards, maps and pertinent data relative to the past, present, and future trends of a particular area of the County including, but not limited to, its population, housing, economics, social patterns, land use, water resources and their use, transportation facilities, and public facilities. In Prince George's County, master plans amend the county's General Plan.
Comprehensive Rezoning
(A) The rezoning of a planning area (or a combination of planning areas, municipalities, those areas subject to a master plan, or areas subject to an adopted urban renewal plan), either selectively or in its entirety, to implement a master plan and policies to achieve specified planning goals. (B) A legislative act that implements the land use recommendations contained in a master plan by comprehensively rezoning property to reflect master plan policies, but need not follow all master plan land use policies or recommendations.
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.
Corridor(S)
a. An uninterrupted path or channel of developed or undeveloped land paralleling the route of a street or highway. b. The land within one-quarter mile of both sides of designated high-volume transportation facilities, such as arterial roads. If the designated transportation facility is a limited access highway, the corridor extends one-quarter mile from the interchanges.
Coverage
1. A digital version of a map forming the basic unit of vector data storage in ArcInfo. A coverage stores geographic features as primary features (such as arcs, nodes, polygons, and label points) and secondary features (such as tics, map extent, links, and annotation). Associated feature attribute tables describe and store attributes of the geographic features. 2. A set of thematically associated data considered as a unit. A coverage usually represents a single theme such as soils, streams, roads, or land use.