BALTIMORE CITY

 CALVERT COUNTY

Update on the Calvert County Proposed Sign Regulations

 CHARLES COUNTY

Lennar Corporation acquires the St. Charles Planned Unit Development

The Lennar Corporation has purchased 2,400 acres of commercial, industrial and residential properties in St. Charles. Included in the sale is most of the remaining undeveloped land in the community.  According to the Charles County Government, the Lennar purchase is one of the largest land acquisitions in the state in recent years. It represents nearly 40 percent of the total acreage in the St. Charles planned community. In acquiring the land, Lennar also gains ownership of the St. Charles Planned Unit Development, or PUD, the agreement with the county that regulates property development in the community. The St. Charles Companies, which sold the land and the PUD to Lennar, will retain ownership of more than 2,600 apartments in 17 St. Charles communities along with several parcels that will be developed for multi-family, commercial and retail uses.

 HARFORD COUNTY

   HOWARD COUNTY

   MONTGOMERY COUNTY

  PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY

Purple Line receives federal funding

Purple Line will receive a $900 million federal full funding agreement from the Trump administration.  The Purple Line was spared partly because the project was so far advanced. In addition, the Trump administration is eager to promote it as a model for financing and operating major infrastructure projects by using public-private partnerships, in which governments team up with for-profit companies.

ST. MARY'S COUNTY 

Public Hearing on the Electrical Code

The Commissioners of St. Mary's County will conduct a public hearing in the Commissioners' Meeting Room in the Chesapeake Building, 41770 Baldridge Street, Leonardtown, Maryland, on Tuesday, September 12, 2017 beginning at 6:00 p.m., for the purpose of receiving public comment on a proposed Ordinance repealing and re-enacting Chapter 217 of the Code of St. Mary's County, Maryland (Electrical Code).

 

Chapter 51 of the 2017 Law of Maryland repealed Chapter 38 of the Code of St. Mary's County, Maryland (Electrical Examiners). The proposed Ordinance would provide for:

The proposed Ordinance would make the provision of electrical services without a license a misdemeanor and make violations of the Ordinance a civil infraction.

Citizens are encouraged to attend and participate in the public hearing.

Copies of the proposed Ordinance are available in the Office of the County Attorney, Governmental Center, 41770 Baldridge Street, Leonardtown, Maryland 20650, and under "Public Hearing Notices" at http://www.co.saint-marys.md.us/.  

 

The Commissioners invite public comments and participation. Comments on the proposed Ordinances may be sent on or before September 22, 2017, to the Commissioners of St. Mary's County, P.O. Box 653, Leonardtown, Maryland 20650 or to [email protected].  

 

Two Clean Water Projects in St. Mary's Funded

The Maryland Board of Public Works approved more than $6.9 million in grants and loans for four projects today to reduce pollution, improve drinking water quality and save energy and money state-wide. Two of the four projects are based in southern Maryland:

 

St. Clement Shores Water System Replacement Phase I project-St. Mary's County

A $3,368,474 Drinking Water State Revolving Loan Fund loan to the St. Mary's County Metropolitan Commission will fund the St. Clement Shores Water System Replacement Phase I project. The project includes the design and construction of waterlines, valves and fire hydrants to replace the existing aging and deteriorated water distribution system.

 

Piney Point Water System Replacement project-St. Mary's County

A $2,491,768 Drinking Water State Revolving Loan Fund loan to the St. Mary's County Metropolitan Commission will fund the Piney Point Water System Replacement project. The project includes the design and construction of waterlines, valves, fire hydrants, and all necessary appurtenances to replace the existing aging and deteriorated water distribution system.

  WICOMICO COUNTY

Term Limits

In a Proposed Agenda Item letter Wicomico County Executive, Bob Culver suggested to the Wicomico County Council that they begin considering charter amendments that would put term limits on the County Executive and the County Council Members.  County Council President, John Cannon responded that it was too early for the Council to begin discussing possible charter amendments as the 2018 election was a year away.

  WORCESTER COUNTY

New Zoning

Worcester County Commissioners have passed Bill 17-8 - Zoning - Residential Planned Communities.  The bill amends the Zoning and Subdivision Control Article to establish maximum percentages of underlying land area in a residential planned community to be zoned C Commercial District or CM Commercial Marine District and to establish a minimum percentage of such underlying zoned areas that must be utilized for retail or service uses.  The bill defines minor residential planned communities as those having twenty or fewer residential units while major residential planned communities shall be those having more than twenty residential units.  Each major residential planned community containing land in the C or CM District must utilize a minimum of fifty percent of the gross acreage of the C or CM zoned land for retail or service uses permitted in the C-2 General Commercial District somewhere in the project.

 

Zoning Amendment

Worcester County Commissioners have introduced Bill 17-9, Zoning - Commercial Non-Agricultural Functions in Agricultural Structures and Lands in the E-1 Estate District.  The bill amends the Zoning and Subdivision Control Article to permit the accessory use of a principal agricultural structure or use of land for the commercial hosting of non-agricultural functions and events in the E-1 Estate District.  A Public Hearing will be held on September 19, 2017.

 

OC Comprehensive Plan

The Town of Ocean City Planning and Zoning Commission has completed its update of Ocean City's comprehensive plan.  The plan was submitted to the Maryland Department of Planning for comments and has been returned to the town.  The Planning and Zoning Commission has set Tuesday, September 19, 2017 for a public hearing on the plan. 

 

Ocean City Offshore Wind Project

An economic analysis of the offshore wind project has been prepared by Anirban Basu, chairman and CEO of Sage Policy Group on behalf of U.S. Wind Inc.  Basu believes scores of wind turbines off Ocean City's coast, many standing about as tall as the Washington Monument, likely won't lower property values and may even become a tourism draw.  The offshore wind farms could generate 9,700 direct and indirect jobs.

 

Carpentry Training Class

WASHINGTON DC

DC MS 4 Permit Reissuance

EPA is making the draft District's MS4 Permit available for a second public comment. The permit controls water pollution by regulating point sources that discharge pollutants into waters of the United States. It affects local regulation of Stormwater runoff. As a result of the comments received through January 17, 2017 and additional information received, EPA has made changes to the draft permit. A redline version of the permit and a new fact sheet indicate the changes made by EPA. The first draft's milestones and benchmarks as well as EPA suggestions have been revised. Click here for the documents.

Comments on the revised draft and fact sheet will be accepted through September 25, 2017, addressed to the attention of Ms. Elizabeth Ottinger, (3WP41), NPDES Permits Branch, U.S. EPA, Region III, 1650 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103 or [email protected] . All comments must include the name, address, and telephone number of the writer and concise statement of the basis for any comment and any relevant facts on which it is based. 

  OTHER INDUSTRY NEWS

Exec Order Rescinds Floodplain Standard

As part of an Executive Order to expedite federal approval for infrastructure projects , President Trump today revoked Obama's EO 13690 and the Federal Flood Risk Management Standard (FFRMS). Under FFRMS, single-family homes using FHA mortgage insurance would have had to be elevated an additional two feet when built or substantially improved within the 100-year floodplain. Multifamily builders would have faced the added burden of the new two-foot elevation requirement when using FHA mortgage insurance for new construction or substantial rehabilitation projects both within the 100-year floodplain and in a horizontally expanded FFRMS floodplain area for which maps do not exist.

In addition to revoking the flawed floodplain requirements of the FFRMS, Trump's order will streamline the federal approval process for building roads, bridges, and other infrastructure projects upon which all home builders and developers rely.

This is a huge victory for NAHB and its members, as the association fought this overreach from the beginning, including participation in eight federal listening sessions, countless meetings and comment letters to the federal agencies (HUD, FEMA, Corps, and EPA) who sought to implement it, and most recently, requests to the White House asking President Trump to revoke it.

NAHB Stormwater Toolkit

NAHB has released its Stormwater toolkit that includes "Stormwater 101" - an introduction to the topic, tips for how to make green infrastructure, also known as low-impact development, work in your community, and other resources.

As part of the toolkit launch, NAHB released A Developer's Guide to Post-Construction Stormwater Regulation, a report that breaks down state-by-state data on five top post-construction permitting issues affecting members in the field.

Comment Period for Federal WOTUS Rule Withdrawal Extended

EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers are extending the comment period by 30 days for a proposed rule ( 7/27/2017 FR) that will roll back the 2015 "waters of the U.S." (WOTUS) definition and replace it with the status quo definition that has been used to make Clean Water Act jurisdictional determinations since 1986. Going back to the well-established 1986 definition will allow the agencies to provide continuity and clarity to builders and developers while deliberating on a new definition. Comments are now due Sept. 27 and can be filed online.

A Temporary Band-Aid on Labor Shortages

The portion of builders experiencing   labor shortages rose again last month .  A lesser-known option that could help temporarily boost production is the Department of Homeland Security's H-2B visa program,  which issues up to 66,000 temporary worker visas each year. The number of these temporary workers may seem marginal compared to how many permanent workers are truly needed to have a nationwide impact on housing. But for some employers, the program might serve as part of a short-term strategy. Employers interested in participating in the program can do so as early as Oct. 1, though they would need to begin the application process now.

From 2-3 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Sept. 6, NAHB members are invited to a free webinar led by Arnulfo Hinojosa, vice president of the Federation of Employers & Workers of America. With extensive experience processing tens of thousands of worker visas, Hinojosa will explain how builders can become eligible to apply and the potential benefits of hiring temporary laborers.  Register now >>> Contact NAHB's Alexis Moch at [email protected] with any questions.

New Silica Rules Go Into Effect Sept. 23

NAHB is advising its members to be prepared as enforcement for the   silica rule in construction is currently scheduled to begin on Sept. 23. Since Maryland has a state-run OSHA program, it has six months to adopt the federal rule or develop one that is as effective.  The rule was originally scheduled to go into effect for the construction sector on June 23, but OSHA issued a 90-day delay. Some state-run OSHA programs, such as Virginia, have chosen not to follow OSHA's delay of enforcement and began implementing the new standard in their state plans.

NAHB's legal challenge on the silica rule is still pending. The case is scheduled to be argued before the court on Sept. 26. To learn more about the rule and its requirements, see this fact sheet from OSHA .  For additional information, contact Rob Matuga at 800-368-5242 x8507 or  [email protected].