(a) To protect and promote the public health, safety, and
general welfare of the county and its citizens.
(b) To guide the future growth and development of the county.
(c) To provide for adequate light, air, privacy, and healthful
conditions by preventing overcrowding of the land and undue congestion of population.
(d) To protect and promote reasonable safety from fire,
flooding, and other natural and manmade disasters.
(e) To protect the character and economic stability of all
parts of the county by encouraging the orderly and beneficial development of land and by
minimizing potential conflicts among the uses of land.
(f) To provide for the coordination of streets and other
manners and modes of transportation through the dedication or reservation of public
rights-of-way so that congestion and safety problems can be avoided.
(g) To ensure the adequacy and maintainability of public
utilities and facilities through the dedication or reservation of easements and
extensions.
(h) To establish reasonable standards for the design and layout
of subdivisions and to ensure proper legal descriptions and monumentation of subdivided
land.
(i) To prevent the degradation of the natural environment, and
especially the Chesapeake Bay, by encouraging the wise management and use of natural
resources including the preservation of environmentally sensitive natural features and
land areas and ensuring that no more land is disturbed than is absolutely essential to
support the proposed development.
(j) To preserve the natural beauty and features of the county
and to ensure that development of land is compatible with these features.
(k) To promote the provision of open spaces through the
efficient and harmonious design and use of land.
(l) To ensure that land is developed in general conformance
with the comprehensive plan within the guidelines set forth in the zoning ordinance.