December Update

Howard County

  • Stormwater User Fee Task Force

The County has formed a Citizens Advisory Panel to discuss implementing a stormwater tax on County residents.  The County claims this tax is necessary to help meet its stormwater retrofit requirements under the WIP.  HBAM and NAIOP are represented on the task force.  This is an issue both organizations have generally supported over the years on a state-level, but have not encountered it on the county level.  HBAM does not support residents of homes built after 2007 paying the fee as these homes have been designed to meet “woods in good conditions” and treat all stormwater on site.  We believe that homes built prior to 1984 should pay the highest proportion of a fee such as this, and homes built between 1985 and 2007 should pay a discounted rate based on the existing stormwater management controls.

  • Forest Conservation Manual Changes

Chapter members are waiting to hear back from DPZ Director McLaughlin about our comments.  Her staff has met with her to present our proposed changes, and she will be meeting with us to discuss the changes.   If legislation will be filed updating the Forest Con Manual, it will be a some point in 2012. 

  • 2012 APFO School Chart Tabled

The 2012 APFO School chart was tabled by the County Council this month.   The elementary school chart showed capacity based on a proposed site in Elkridge, but the deal has stalled and has not closed.  Because the deal is in limbo and the chart bases student capacity assuming the deal would have gone through and the school will be built, the chart is invalid and the Council has to wait.  Because of this, it is unlikely a chart will be voted on at all this year.  Until the next chart comes out in 2012, the 2010 chart is in effect.  HBAM members with projects delayed because there is no school chart are encouraged to contact Michael Harrison.  We are compiling a list to take to the County for relief.

  • 2012 APFO Growth Allocations Chart passes

Despite the school chart being tabled, the County Council approved the 2011 APFO allocations chart.

 

  • County Legislation
    • Hearing Examiner Appeals to be heard on the record

Legislation that County Executive Ulman sponsored that would have amended the County Code to require that all cases appealed to the Board of Appeals be heard on the record has been tabled by the County Council. It is currently unclear when and if the legislation will be taken off the record and voted on. 

    • Residential Green Building Tax Credit

Legislation providing a property tax credit for high performance homes has passed the Council.  The legislation applies to “high performance” single family and multi-family homes that meet or exceed the Silver rating of the USGBC LEED for homes standard, or a comparable rating system that the Director of Inspections, Licenses and Permits may adopt by regulation, and lasts for 5 years. 

A LEED Platinum or equivalent home will get a 100% property tax credit in year 1, and decreases 25% for each year subsequently until year 5.  A LEED Gold or equivalent home will get a 90% credit the first year, and decreases 22% each year until year 5.  A LEED Silver or equivalent home will get a 75% credit the first year, and decreases 19% each year until year 5. 

The credit is capped at $5,000 per house in any 1 year, but does not have a total program cap as some County’s do. 

HBAM and the NAHB Research Center testified that the definition of a High Performance Home should include the ICC-700 National Green Building Standard as equivalent to LEED.  Although an amendment did pass that included the ICC-700 in the high performance home definition, the amendment has the condition that the standard must be found equivalent by the Director of Inspections, Licenses and Permits.  We did not support this condition and believe it is unnecessary.  However, we are confident that the Director will find the standard equivalent.

As a result of this legislation, HBAM has appealed to Delegates Pam Beidle and Cathy Vitale to amend the definition of a High Performance Home in the state property tax article, which only references LEED Silver, to be consistent with the Public Safety article of the state code, which references both LEED Silver and the ICC-700 Silver as High Performance Homes.

September Update
  • Forest Conservation Manual Changes

The County Department of Planning and Zoning has released a new draft Forest Conservation Manual.  Changes reflect committee comments from 5 years ago when the committee last met.  Chapter members are reviewing the draft and will submit comments by September 27.  The County intends to file legislation adopting the changes in October. 

Many of the changes reflect state mandates and cannot be adjusted on the county level, such as the fee-in-lieu increase of 20% outside the PFA, and the exemption threshold for clearing is lowered from 40,000 to 20,000 sq.ft. of forest.  However, many changes are county proposals that go beyond state mandates that our Chapter will seek to modify.

Draft Forest Conservation Documents

Draft Forest Conservation Manual
Draft Forest Conservation Manual Figures and Tables
Key Changes to Manual - Long Version
Key Changes to Manual - Short Version
Subtitle 12 Forest Conservation changes with Site Design and Text Markups
Subtitle 12 Forest Conservation changes with Site Design Requirements
RECOMMENDED FOREST CONSERVATION REGULATORY CHANGE PROPOSALS

State Forest Conservation Documents

HB 1352e - Fee in Lieu Legislation
SB 666e - No Net Loss of Forest Policy

Other Forest Conservation Documents

Frederick County Maryland Proposed Forest Conservation Manual Changes

  • 2012 APFO Charts Delayed

The 2012 APFO Allocations and School charts are still delayed and were supposed to be filed as legislation in July.  The County is considering a new school site along Route 1 and has indicated that the charts will not be filed until the site is resolved.  This delay is creating a problem for 18 projects in Elkridge waiting for allocations.  The Chapter continues to monitor this issue and is working towards a speedy resolution.

  • 2009 IECC Implementation and Impact on ENERGY STAR builders
Chapter members are meeting with DILP Director Bob Frances and Don Mock to discuss the county’s implementation of the 2009 International Energy Conservation Code on October 1.  Builders participating in the ENERGY STAR residential program will have to have duplicate inspections, fees, and paperwork because the county is not honoring ENERGY STAR qualified homes, which is a more rigorous program than the 2009 IECC.  Since all ENERGY STAR homes exceed code, Chapter members hope to decrease the workload and fees for ENERGY STAR builders by streamlining the paperwork and inspections required for both the code and the energy star program.

  • Howard Soil Conservation District Update

HSCD reports that the new fees are providing adequate revenue to keep its 1 urban plan reviewer working.  Once the District has a full fiscal quarter under the new fees, they will present a budget analysis to our Howard County Chapter as well as the County. 

Last year the County Council passed a fee compromise reached between HBAM members and the Soil District Board.  This new fee schedule has a $100 application fee and $80 per acre LOD review fee, capped at $1,700.  Single lot grading permits will be charge a flat rate of $250.  For projects over 2 acres, if review time exceeds 17 hours, projects will be billed hourly at $100 for the remainder of the review time.  This hourly rate is new and designed to cover any additional expenses of the reviewer.  Capital projects are exempt from the fee schedule.

Howard County eliminates forest retention surety and enforcement procedures effective June 15, 2011
Effective June 15, 2011, the Howard County Forest Conservation Program will no longer require financial security in the form of a bond, an irrevocable letter of credit, or other security approved by the County for establishment of forest retention easements on subdivision and site development plans approved by the Department of Planning and Zoning as required under Section 16.1209 of the Howard County Code.

These changes will be formally incorporated into the Forest Conservation Regulations and Manual in a future edition. In the interim, the Forest Conservation Program change to eliminate the posting of financial security for forest retention easements for all subdivisions and site development plans will be enforced through the memorandum released by Kent Sheubrooks. Please be advised that DPZ is the process of updating the Forest Conservation Manual and when ready sometime this fall, DPZ will invite a HBAM committee to review the changes before the Manual is adopted. For more information, please contact Michael Harrison at (410) 265-7400.

Click here to view the policy memo
HBAM Howard County Contact



Michael Harrison
Director of Policy for Government Affairs
410-265-7400, ext. 109
michael@homebuilders.org

Service Area: Baltimore, Carroll, Howard Counties and State Legislation