SOUTHERN MARYLAND
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Legislative and Regulatory Issues Impacting Southern Maryland
March 2023
Trackability Coming to Improve Permitting System in Calvert County Applying for a permit in Calvert County has long been a grueling process, long waits and rounds of comments prior to approval are uncommon. Though a new initiative from the technology services director, stated that government staff to update and streamline the permitting process for obtaining residential and commercial construction permits, as well as associated grading permits, both in The new Encompass citizen portal is seen as a way to improve communication, accessibility, transparency and “trackability.” Access to the portal will be 24/7. Applicants will be asked to create a profile, which then gives them access to their permit paper trail. Also, they will receive emails noting the process steps. the office and online. Until now, this could only be done in the office with cash or paper checks. November 2022 Charles County Bryans Road Sub-Area Plan The subarea plan focuses on the future development around the Bryans road corridor The Bryans Road community includes a unique mix of historic villages, residential subdivisions, federal facilities, and commercial properties centered along MD 210. The plan has been in the works the better part of the last year. There was a briefing to the Planning Commission back in the summer and then most recently last week. The consultant presented the major recommendations of the Plan, followed by a detailed discussion of the Plan by the Planning Commission. Some of the main issues discussed was whether there was an adequate amount of commercial land recommended in the draft Plan, and whether the study area was large enough. The Planning Commission then voted to move forward with a public hearing on the Plan. A date has not been scheduled yet. Calvert County – Proposed Amendments to Calvert County Comprehensive Plan The proposed amendments to the Calvert County Comprehensive Plan, adopted August 2019 would seek to reduce or eliminate the future expansions for the Huntingtown, Lusby, Prince Frederick, and Solomons Town Centers. MBIA did testify before the Planning Commission in early November, the PC did move the amendments to BOCC for a hearing on the 29th of November. MBIA will be submitting testimony and requesting the record be kept open for an additional 60 days. OCTOBER 2022 Charles County Forest Conservation Amendments PGM staff recently sent a draft of the proposed changes to the counties Forest Conservation Ordinance, the Planning Commission briefing took place a couple weeks back with minimal questions from the commissioners, and the public hearing will be on July 19th. The biggest change is that conservation thresholds are increasing in “Priority Forest Retention Areas” which could affect members with property or projects in those areas. MBIA will be drafting a response letter and meeting with staff, we will also be getting data from members that could be affected by these increases to the retention areas. Update: MBIA testified before the BOCC on October 19th in opposition, the bill was voted down 3-2 against. Charles County Adequate Public Facilities (APFO) Traffic Revisions APFO Traffic revisions - his element of the Zoning Ordinance provides a significant tool for implementation of the Comprehensive Plan and is intended to provide clear guidance to the interpretation, administration, and application of this element of the Charles County Zoning Ordinance. Update: During the 9/21/22 PGM meeting, they have decided to take the APF Manual forward to the County Commissioners for a work session on October 4, 2022. The meeting focused on the proposal for establishing traffic study limits. To ensure study limits are commensurate with a project’s impact we suggest linking the limits to the proposed use. We have sent out talking points to the members. Amendment to the 2016 Charles County Comprehensive Plan - Septic Tier Map Commissioner Bowling has proposed an amendment that seeks to change the tier map designation and land use plan for 900 acres of land in the vicinity of the unincorporated community of Newburg. The septic tier designation would change from Tier 2 to Tier 4, and the Land Use designation would change from Rural Residential to Agricultural Conservation. The purpose of this change is to ensure the tier map and land use designation are consistent with the existing Rural Conservation zoning of the property and to recognize this area would not be planned for public sewerage service. Update: A public hearing was held on May 25th for the proposal, the BOCC voted to keep the record open for 60 days. The proposal was voted down in favor of the Newburg Sub Area Plan to first be passed prior to any tier changes. DECEMBER 2021 Charles County Commissioners Choose Legislative Proposals Charles County commissioners decided on a package of eight legislative proposals to send to the county’s legislative delegation for consideration ahead of the 2022 Maryland General Assembly. The choices were made during the afternoon session of Tuesday’s commissioner meeting, where the board winnowed an initial list of 32 proposals. One of the proposals was Zoning text amendment 21-164 allows for mixed use properties of various sizes to be used for a multitude of uses. Additional bill - a proposal for a first time home buyer tax credit has been put forth by the realtors and MBIA will support, office of fiscal analysis will issue a fiscal report Amendment to the 2016 Charles County Comprehensive Plan -Septic Tier Map Commissioner Bowling has proposed an amendment that seeks to change the tier map designation and land use plan for 900 acres of land in the vicinity of the unincorporated community of Newburg. The septic tier designation would change from Tier 2 to Tier 4, and the Land Use designation would change from Rural Residential to Agricultural Conservation. The purpose of this change is to ensure the tier map and land use designation are consistent with the existing Rural Conservation zoning of the property and to recognize this area would not be planned for public sewerage service. The Planning Commission held a public hearing in mid-November, and will have work sessions starting December to gather more feedback. Forest Conservation Ordinance Revisions No major changes from state bills – Internal meetings scheduled, discussions have been focusing primarily on forest retaining, public hearings to take place in the fall. Staff is still waiting to see how House Bill 991 will affect the current ordinance, some changes to counties SWM polices in ROW may be proposed. SEPTEMBER 2021 ZTA 19-154 – Townhouse Design Standards ZTA 19-154 proposes to amend and codify architectural detailing and site design requirements for single-family attached residential and multi-family development in Charles County. The primary topics impacted by the legislation include definitions and provisions associated with accessory uses and structures, architectural appearance, building materials and percentages, building restriction lines, dwelling units per acre (density), encroachment allowances, height limitations, minimum tract size, parking and pedestrian connectivity, recreational amenity requirements, superior design guidelines applicability, and other interrelated use code requirements. Update – ZTA 19-154 was adopted earlier this week – see link below https://go.boarddocs.com/md/chrlsco/Board.nsf/files/C6WLRU56EA14/$file/Finalized%20ZTA%20%2319-154%20(Bill%20%232021-02)%20County%20Commissioner%20Work%20Session%20(Clean%20Version)%20for%20September%2021%202021%20Agenda.pdf Forest Conservation Ordinance Revisions Staff update took place last Monday, still waiting on the passage of state bills to take effect. No major changes from state bills – Internal meetings scheduled, discussions have been focusing primarily on forest retaining, public hearings to take place in the fall. May 2021 Excise Tax Proposal The St. Mary's County Commissioners voted unanimously to move forward with proposed legislation to enact an excise tax on new construction in the county earlier this month. The excise tax is intended to replace a current development impact fee imposed only on residential construction. To charge an impact fee, the county must prove the amount of financial impact from the new development and spend that money to pay for those costs. If the new excise tax passes, the money goes into the county's general fund to be spent as commissioners see fit. There is also no need to prove the financial impact of construction. We submitted testimony offering the following comments - The commercial building fees as is are low, and this change will pass most of the fee onto commercial development. The county historically has wanted to encourage new commercial growth and development in the County. A new fee on commercial development could be major deterrent in keeping prospective businesses from coming to St. Mary’s County, as well as change the perception of the county being business friendly. Should the proposal pass, we propose the following timeline perspective: UPDATE: The bill has been introduced – HB 528, sponsored by the St Mary’s County Delegation. The hearing took place on February 16th and we supported the bill as is, the language incorporated our requests – the bill would not go into effect until 2023 and any project that has a current building permit is exempt from the new commercial or residential excise tax. The bill passed the general assembly as is and the bill will take effect in 2023 http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2021RS/bills/hb/hb0528t.pdf APRIL 2021
Excise Tax Proposal The St. Mary's County Commissioners voted unanimously to move forward with proposed legislation to enact an excise tax on new construction in the county earlier this month. The excise tax is intended to replace a current development impact fee imposed only on residential construction. To charge an impact fee, the county must prove the amount of financial impact from the new development and spend that money to pay for those costs. If the new excise tax passes, the money goes into the county's general fund to be spent as commissioners see fit. There is also no need to prove the financial impact of construction. We submitted testimony offering the following comments - The commercial building fees as is are low, and this change will pass most of the fee onto commercial development. The county historically has wanted to encourage new commercial growth and development in the County. A new fee on commercial development could be major deterrent in keeping prospective businesses from coming to St. Mary’s County, as well as change the perception of the county being business friendly. UPDATE: The bill has been introduced – HB 528, sponsored by the St Marys County Delegation. The hearing took place on February 16th and we supported the bill as is, the language incorporated our requests – the bill would not go into effect until 2023 and any project that has a current building permit is exempt from the new commercial or residential excise tax. The bill passed the House as is and will be heard in the Senate Budget and Tax Committee - Excise Tax Proposal – UPDATE
The St. Mary's County Commissioners voted unanimously to move forward with proposed legislation to enact an excise tax on new construction in the county earlier this month. The excise tax is intended to replace a current development impact fee imposed only on residential construction. To charge an impact fee, the county must prove the amount of financial impact from the new development and spend that money to pay for those costs. If the new excise tax passes, the money goes into the county's general fund to be spent as commissioners see fit. There is also no need to prove the financial impact of construction. We submitted testimony offering the following comments - The commercial building fees as is are low, and this change will pass most of the fee onto commercial development. The county historically has wanted to encourage new commercial growth and development in the County. A new fee on commercial development could be major deterrent in keeping prospective businesses from coming to St. Mary’s County, as well as change the perception of the county being business friendly. Should the proposal pass, we propose the following timeline perspective: UPDATE: The bill has been introduced – HB 528, sponsored by the St Marys County Delegation. The hearing took place on February 16th and we supported the bill as is, the language incorporated our requests – the bill would not go into effect until 2023 and any project that has a current building permit is exempt from the new commercial or residential excise tax Excise Tax Proposal – The St. Mary's County Commissioners voted unanimously to move forward with proposed legislation to enact an excise tax on new construction in the county earlier this month. The excise tax is intended to replace a current development impact fee imposed only on residential construction. To charge an impact fee, the county must prove the amount of financial impact from the new development and spend that money to pay for those costs. If the new excise tax passes, the money goes into the county's general fund to be spent as commissioners see fit. There is also no need to prove the financial impact of construction. We submitted testimony offering the following comments - The commercial building fees as is are low, and this change will pass most of the fee onto commercial development. The county historically has wanted to encourage new commercial growth and development in the County. A new fee on commercial development could be major deterrent in keeping prospective businesses from coming to St. Mary’s County, as well as change the perception of the county being business friendly. Should the proposal pass, we propose the following timeline perspective:
Excise Tax Proposal
The St. Mary's County Commissioners voted unanimously to move forward with proposed legislation to enact an excise tax on new construction in the county earlier this month. The excise tax is intended to replace a current development impact fee imposed only on residential construction. To charge an impact fee, the county must prove the amount of financial impact from the new development and spend that money to pay for those costs. If the new excise tax passes, the money goes into the county's general fund to be spent as commissioners see fit. There is also no need to prove the financial impact of construction. We submitted testimony offering the following comments - The commercial building fees as is are low, and this change will pass most of the fee onto commercial development. The county historically has wanted to encourage new commercial growth and development in the County. A new fee on commercial development could be major deterrent in keeping prospective businesses from coming to St. Mary’s County, as well as change the perception of the county being business friendly. Should the proposal pass, we propose the following timeline perspective:
Excise Tax Proposal –
The St. Mary's County Commissioners voted unanimously to move forward with proposed legislation to enact an excise tax on new construction in the county earlier this month. The excise tax is intended to replace a current development impact fee imposed only on residential construction. To charge an impact fee, the county must prove the amount of financial impact from the new development and spend that money to pay for those costs. If the new excise tax passes, the money goes into the county's general fund to be spent as commissioners see fit. There is also no need to prove the financial impact of construction. We submitted testimony offering the following comments - The commercial building fees as is are low, and this change will pass most of the fee onto commercial development. The county historically has wanted to encourage new commercial growth and development in the County. A new fee on commercial development could be major deterrent in keeping prospective businesses from coming to St. Mary’s County, as well as change the perception of the county being business friendly. Should the proposal pass, we propose the following timeline perspective:
Calvert County
PROPOSED REGULATION: Five TDR’s will be required for single family dwellings on lots greater than 10,000 square feet, four TDR’s for single family dwellings on lots equal to or less than 10,000 square feet, three TDR’s for each attached dwelling, 3 TDR’s for each 3 bedroom multi-family attached dwelling, 2 TDR’s for each attached 2 bedroom multi-family dwelling, and 1 TDR for each one bedroom multi-family attached unit, over 1 dwelling unit per acre. MAY 2020
Amendments and Ordinances
All proposed changes and recommendations should be emailed to Sandie Greene at sandie.greene@stmarysmd.com and cc’d to Bill Hunt at bill.hunt@stmarysmd.com. Don’t wait, when you have suggestions please send them in. LUGM is compiling information sent into the office and it will be sent to the Consultant, Roger Fink as received. A suggestion was made to set up a Goggle Docs for information sharing; St. Mary’s County Government is not using the Goggle Docs program so email is the process we will continue to work with. Once Mr. Fink has put together a rough draft of proposed changes and recommendations, he will return it to LUGM, it will then be sent out via email, and we will ask you to find the areas of your concern and comment and possibly answer additional suggestions. The suggestion was made to break the document into sections and review it section by section, this process could take years and many meetings, rather it is the hope that individual home/landowners, builders, contractors, engineers, surveyors, etc. will review the areas of the CZO that affect your interest of work. Once your proposed changes and recommendations are received, then those areas can be discussed and reviewed. St. Mary’s County Land Use and Growth Management (LUGM) Update The Department of Land Use and Growth Management has adjusted operations to accept permit applications and commercial project and subdivision submittals via email, U.S. mail, FedEx, and UPS. Complete permits will be returned to the applicant upon receipt of credit card or check payment. Packages can be mailed to P.O. Box 653, Leonardtown, MD, 20650. For questions, or to schedule an inspection, please call 301-475-4200, ext. 71500 APRIL 2020
Calvert County Updates
St. Mary’s County Updates
St. Mary’s Updates Building Codes St. Mary’s Commissioners approved Ordinance 2020-04 as submitted with local amendments adopting the 2018 International Building, Residential, Energy Codes, the 2015 Existing Building code, and the MD Performance Standards as adopted by the State. The new codes are effective March 10, 2020. Permit applications received prior to March 10th are grandfathered and may use 2015 I-Codes. https://go.boarddocs.com/md/stmarysco/Board.nsf/files/BMTHJK48A7AB/$file/ORD%202020-04%20Building%20Construction%20Code%20CSMC%20Signed%20and%20Recorded.pdf MARCH 2020
Electric Companies – Conduit Installation – Single–Family Detached Developments
Delegate(s) Matt Morgan and Jerry Clark have introduced HB-1207, a bill that would prohibit an electric company from requiring builders or developers of certain developments to install conduit required to extend an electric company's distribution system to the development, at the builder's or developer's own expense. This bill was derived from a policy decision made by the Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative (SMECO) in July 2018, that requires builders to install conduit for all electric distribution lines necessary to serve single family detached developments. Compliance with SMECO’s “Total Conduit Environment Policy” has increased builder’s cost for conduit installation 8 to 10 times and threatens the viability of projects under development. HB-1207 seeks to establish a moratorium period that would mitigate some of the financial impact of SMECO’s abrupt policy change. If approved, the legislation would take effect October 1, 2020 and would remain effective for a period of 4 years and 10 months, ending July 31, 2025, Prince Frederick Town Center Master Plan Update The Calvert County Department of Planning & Zoning will hold a public workshop as part of the Prince Frederick Town Center Master Plan update process. Planning & Zoning staff will share results from the Prince Frederick Master Plan and Zoning Update Survey, and attendees will participate in a workshop to discuss topics identified in the survey. The workshop will be held Monday, March 2, 2020 at the College of Southern Maryland, Prince Frederick Campus, Building B, located at 115 J.W. Williams Road in Prince Frederick. The meeting kicks off with an open house at 6:30 p.m. with the workshop to follow from 7-8:30 p.m. The meeting will also be streamed live on the Calvert County Government Facebook page at www.facebook.com/CalvertCountyMd. St. Mary’s County Zoning and Subdivision Ordinances Revision The Office of Land Use and Growth Management has advised that the St. Mary’s County Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance and Subdivision Ordinance will be revised. LUGM are looking for Surveyors, engineers, developers, real estate professionals, property owners, and all other parties with an interest in development in St. Mary’s County to participate in the revision process which will take place through a series of meetings. Roger Fink, former Charles County Attorney, has been hired as a consultant to oversee a complete revision to the County’s Zoning and Subdivision Ordinances. Mr. Fink will participate in these public meetings to hear suggestions for changes to the ordinances. Meetings will be held in the Chesapeake Building, 41770 Baldridge Street, Leonardtown, MD at 6:30 p.m. (Please note that the first meeting was held on February 26, 2020). Meetings will be designed to last one hour. Attendees and interested parties are encouraged to provide prewritten ordinance provisions for consideration and discussion. Submissions can be sent via email in advance of the meetings to: bill.hunt@stmarysmd.com explaining what provision(s) should be changed with a suggestion on the new wording. FEBRUARY 2020
Local Amendments to the Building Code
The St. Mary’s County Board of County Commissioners will hold a public hearing on February 4, 2020 to consider local amendments to the proposed local Building Code, that is intended to maintain conformance with the Maryland Building Performance Standards. The hearing will take place at 9:30 a.m. in the Chesapeake Building located at 41770 Baldridge Street in Leonardtown, Maryland. Written comments, questions and suggestions may be submitted on or before February 11, 2020 to: Commissioners of St. Mary’s County, P.O. Box 653, Leonardtown, Maryland 20650. Calvert BOCC appoints Mary Beth Cook as Director of Planning & Zoning
The Calvert County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) has appointed Mary Beth Cook as the county government director of Planning & Zoning. Cook’s appointment is effective Jan. 6, 2020. Cook, who was most recently the deputy director/zoning officer in the Calvert County Department of Planning & Zoning, has worked for county government for more than 26 years. Cook replaces Mark Willis who was promoted to county administrator effective Jan. 6. Carpenter Appointed as Director of Planning and Growth Management
Deborah Carpenter has been appointed as the new Director of the Department of Planning and Growth Management for Charles County. Carpenter will begin her employment with Charles County Government on January 13, 2020. Carpenter brings to the county 24 years of experience engaging in land use, transportation, environmental and infrastructure planning. Most recently, Carpenter served as the director for Garrett County’s Department of Planning and Land Management. She provided oversight in the regulation of zoning issues, building code, subdivision administration, parks and recreation planning, environmental planning and education, licensing issuance and renewal, land preservation program administration, sensitive areas protection, comprehensive planning, mapping/geographic information services, stormwater management, sediment and erosion control, and inspection services. Carpenter also worked as the assistant director of Garrett County’s Department of Community and Planning Development and a geographic information services specialist for Garrett County’s Department of Planning and Land Development. St. Mary’s to Adopt 2018 I-Codes
At the January Board of Commissioners meeting, an ordinance was introduced to adopt the Maryland Building Performance Standards which include the 2018 International Building Code, 2018 Residential Code, 2018 Energy Conservation Code, the 2015 Existing Building Code, and local amendments. Click here (right text box) to view the Ordinance which shows most of the significant changes proposed from the current code in yellow. http://www.co.saint-marys.md.us/lugm/ The Commissioners propose to retain the following current local amendments: · One- or two-family dwellings not intended to be connected to an electrical utility require a building permit but there are no building inspections; · One-story detached residential accessory structures 600 square feet or less require a building permit but there are no building inspections; and · Blower Door testing is not required for additions to one- and two-family dwellings. The Ordinance added language to automatic sprinklers exceptions to clarify that additions or alterations constructed for the purpose of adding a dwelling unit were included in the exceptions for town houses (R313.1) and one- and two-family dwellings (R313.2). The Ordinance includes all of the Maryland Building Performance Standards adoptions and amendments to the code. This included adoption of IRC Appendix T, Solar-Ready Provisions—Detached One- and Two-Family Dwellings and Townhouses. Appendix T only applies if solar-ready is a requirement of the county and there are no plans to make it a requirement. The only change to the residential design criteria (R301.2) is for wind speed which went from 100 to 115. The adoption of the State IRC energy amendment allows using energy software in the Performance Path or the ERI path to trade off an increase to 5 Air Changes per Hour (ACH) from 3 ACH with improvements elsewhere in energy efficiency. A hearing is scheduled for February 4, 2020 at 9:30 a.m. in the Chesapeake Building, 41770 Baldridge Street, Leonardtown, Maryland. Written comments, questions and suggestions may be submitted on or before February 11, 2020 to: Commissioners of St. Mary’s County, P.O. Box 653, Leonardtown, Maryland 20650. Note that the 2020 National Electrical Code goes into effect in St. Mary’s County on April 1, 2020 Updates to the Calvert County Zoning Ordinance and Official Zoning Maps are Underway
The ordinance rewrite and map revisions are being completed following the adoption of the Calvert County Comprehensive Plan. As required by the state land use law, the ordinance must be consistent with the adopted comprehensive plan. Additionally, the ordinance is being reorganized and reformatted to be more user friendly for citizens to look up the county’s zoning regulations. Ordinance chapters are being combined for ease in finding information. Keep watching the Calvert 2040 web page on the county’swebsite for updates including schedules for citizen participation to provide input on the draft ordinance and map. |