(a)    In this part the following words have the meanings indicated.

(b)    “Agent” means a person that is:

(1)    hired or retained by a business entity that is an applicant with an application before the governing body to provide services, for compensation, relating to the application; and

(2)    (i)    an attorney;

(ii)    an architect or a landscape architect;

(iii)    a traffic consultant;

(iv)    an engineer; or

(v)    a traffic engineer.

(c)    “Aggrieved party” means:

(1)    a property owner whose property:

(i)    adjoins, fronts, or is located near the subject property; or

(ii)    is located within sight or sound of the subject property; or

(2)    an individual located within the same subdivision as the subject property or who lives up to three–quarters of a mile by road or otherwise one–half mile away from the subject property.

(d)    (1)    “Applicant” means a person that is:

(i)    a title owner or contract purchaser of land that is the subject of an application;

(ii)    a trustee who has an interest in land that is the subject of an application, excluding trustees described in a mortgage or deed of trust; or

(iii)    a holder of at least a 10% interest in land that is the subject of an application.

(2)    “Applicant” includes a person who is an officer or a director of a corporation that actually holds title to the land, or is a contract purchaser of the land, that is the subject of an application.

(3)    “Applicant” does not include:

(i)    a financial institution that has loaned money or extended financing for the acquisition, development, or construction of or improvements on the land that is the subject of an application;

(ii)    a municipal corporation or public corporation;

(iii)    a public authority;

(iv)    an electric company or electric supplier applying for a certificate of public convenience and necessity under § 7–207 or § 7–208 of the Public Utilities Article; or

(v)    a person who is hired or retained as an accountant, an attorney, an architect, an engineer, a land use consultant, an economic consultant, a real estate agent, a real estate broker, a traffic consultant, or a traffic engineer.

(e)    “Application” means:

(1)    an application for a zoning map amendment as part of a piecemeal or floating zone rezoning proceeding;

(2)    a formal application for a comprehensive map planning change or zoning change during the county comprehensive land use plan update;

(3)    an application for a map amendment to the county water and sewerage plan;

(4)    a request made under § 4–416 of the Local Government Article for the governing body to approve the placement of annexed land in a zoning classification that allows a land use that is substantially different from the use for the land authorized in the zoning classification of the county applicable at the time of annexation; or

(5)    an application to create a district or an easement or any other interest in real property as part of an agricultural land preservation program.

(f)    “Business entity” means:

(1)    a corporation;

(2)    a limited liability company;

(3)    a partnership; or

(4)    a sole proprietorship.

(g)    “Candidate” means a candidate for County Executive or County Council who becomes an elected official.

(h)    “Contribution” means a payment or transfer of money or property worth at least $100, calculated cumulatively during the pendency of the application, to a candidate or a treasurer or political committee of a candidate.

(i)    “Governing body” means the governing body of Frederick County.

(j)    “Partnership” includes:

(1)    a general partnership;

(2)    a joint venture;

(3)    a limited liability limited partnership;

(4)    a limited liability partnership; or

(5)    a limited partnership.

(k)    “Party of record” means a person that participated in a proceeding on an application before the governing body by appearing at a public hearing or filing a statement in an official record.

(l)    “Pendency of the application” means the time between the acceptance by the County Department of Planning and Zoning of a filing of an application and the earlier of:

(1)    2 years after the acceptance of the application; or

(2)    the expiration of 30 days after:

(i)    the governing body has taken final action on the application; or

(ii)    the application is withdrawn.

(m)    “Political committee” means a committee specifically created to promote the candidacy of a member of the governing body who is running for an elective office.

(n)    “Treasurer” has the meaning stated in § 1–101 of the Election Law Article.