Erosion and Sediment Control Regulation Update - 20 Acre Grading Unit Limitation
Read Regulation Updates
The Maryland Department of the Environment finalized regulations on April 28, 2017 allowing more erosion and sediment control flexibility including:
- Providing flexibility on the 20-acre grading unit limitation
- Extending approval periods for control plans from 2 years to 3 years
- Removing the requirement that the appropriate enforcement authority shall inspect construction sites an average of once every 2 weeks for compliance with an approved erosion and sediment control plan
How the new regulations will be implemented:
- Counties and municipalities that are delegated enforcement authority for erosion and sediment control by the Department may update local ordinances to reflect these regulatory changes at any time and shall submit them to the Department for approval prior to local implementation
- For all other areas of the State where the Department is the enforcement authority, the new regulations published on April 28, 2017 will become effective May 8, 2017, and Maryland's Soil Conservation Districts can begin using them at that time in the approval of new erosion and sediment control plans
- The Department and MBIA will coordinate with the delegated jurisdictions and the Districts in transitioning to these new regulations
The final regulations can be found in the Maryland Register. For further information on these regulations, delegated jurisdictions should contact Mr. Raymond Bahr, Chief, Sediment and Stormwater Program Review Division, 410-537-3545. For non delegated jurisdictions, please contact Harry Hunsicker, Program Manager, Compliance Program, 410-537-3626.
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ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY
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MBIA Efforts Help Defeat Bill
Councilman Grasso has introduced three bills to which MBIA is vehemently opposed. Bills 27-17, 32-17 and 54-17. Bill 27-17, which stated that no modifications for forest conversation, recreational space or open space may be made for any cluster development was defeated by a vote of 5-2 due to MBIA opposition. Read MBIA opposition testimony >>>
Bill 32-17 states that administrative rezonings of property for residential up-zoning purposes will be prohibited for the next 3 years or until the County passes a comprehensive rezoning plan. Read opposition testimony on Bill 32-17 >>>
Bill 54-17 lowers the capacity threshold for the Anne Arundel County schools APF from 100 percent to 95 percent. The MBIA testified against Bill 32-17 on May 15th and will testify against Bill 54-17 at its public hearing on June 6th.
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BALTIMORE CITY
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Market Rate Apartment Tax Credit
City Council President Jack Young introduced Bill 17-30 to re-authorize the 10 year citywide high performance market rate apartment tax credit, which is vital to preserving the progress in Baltimore City. Nearly every recent project in the City has received this credit and without it, most, if not all, of these projects would be infeasible. The MBIA testified in support of this important tax credit, which is now on 3rd Reader in the City Council. Read MBIA testimony in support >>>
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BALTIMORE COUNTY
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Trees on Public Property
Councilman David Marks introduced and subsequently withdrew Bill 26-17, which would have prohibited the removal of 2" or more caliper trees on "publicly owned" property unless the tree is dead or creates a dangerous condition. The MBIA opposed this legislation and led the fight against it arguing that it would have made the development process more challenging by prohibiting the removal of trees in public right of ways often necessary for development projects large and small. The bill also would have prohibited removal of trees for important public purposes like school construction, public works projects or recreation and parks projects. Read MBIA opposition testimony >>>
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CALVERT COUNTY
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Calvert County Comprehensive Plan Update
The Calvert County Planning Commission recently held the fifth workshop in the series entitled, "Strengthening Economic Vitality." The Comprehensive Plan Update will continue on to the next phase of the update process. The Calvert County Planning Commission, staff, and WSP USA Inc. will be working throughout the summer to prepare a draft of the Comprehensive Plan Update. The draft will be released in fall 2017 and will be available for public discussion and feedback. For more information, please go to the county's website.
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CHARLES COUNTY
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Public Comment Webpage Developed for Watershed Conservation District
Planning Growth Management along with the Board of County Commissioners has developed a dedicated public comment webpage for the Watershed Conservation District Zoning Text Amendment No. 16-142 and Zoning Map Amendment No. 16-54. Emailed comments to the Commissioners or staff will not be accepted. To access the public comments web page, visit:
www.charlescounty.org/apps/publiccomments
or access it on the webpage at
www.CharlesCountyMD.gov
under "Related Links" on both the Board of Commissioners webpage and the Planning Commission webpage.
Submittal Requirements for DS Permits
In a recent "Green Notice," the Department of Planning and Growth Management has requested that all submittals of DS permits for construction revisions and revisions to unissued DS permits include a memo or letter from the applicant or representative which provides an explanation or description of the revisions. Additionally, the applicant or representative must clearly identify on the plan drawings and narratives each change that has been made. Submittals received without a memo or cover letter with applicable information will not be accepted for processing and will be returned.
The "Green Notice" goes on to say, to accommodate staff that reviews the DS Permit, starting May 15, 2017, please provide and additional one (1) complete plan set and construction cost estimate for review. This brings the total required initial plan set submittal and construction cost estimates to five, until such time as the County completes its transition to a digital format. This replaces the current requirement of item 2 & 7 of the Initial Submission Checklist, Appendix 4 of the Plan Preparation Package, June 2012.
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DORCHESTER COUNTY
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Tax Change
Dorchester County Council passed Bill No. 2017-4 to enact a new Article XIX of Chapter 144 of the Code of Dorchester County, Maryland relating to partial abatement of county real property taxes for the rehabilitation of structures. The purpose of this partial tax abatement is to encourage and increase the rehabilitation of older or underused properties without significantly affecting the footprint. The difference between the prior tax value and the newly assessed value after the change will be phased in over a five year period.
Critical Area
Dorchester County Council passed Bill No. 2017-3 which will consolidate all of the Critical Area rules and regulations into one code location (Chapter 156 "Chesapeake Bay Critical Area"). The approval of the Critical Area Commission is required before this bill becomes law.
Consider a Career in the Trades
The Eastern Shore Builders Chapter has been working for the past six months with the community, local schools and community college to find a way to secure entry level/second level employees for the trades. Chapter representatives have met with Worcester Technical High School and they have agreed to offer an enhanced carpentry class and masonry class starting in the fall of 2017. We have worked with Wor-Wic Community College and One Stop Job Market Mobile Program to form a community group to put together criteria that Wor-Wic could use to write a state grant to obtain funding for a Continuing Education Class in Carpentry. Wor-Wic Community College was awarded the state grant. The grant will pay tuition for 15 students. The class will be taught at Worcester Technical High School in the evening and will be taught by a member of the Eastern Shore Builders Chapter.
In addition we have participated in the Tri-County Student Tour at Wor-Wic Community College. We were able to reach out to 90 high school students. We also participated in A Career Day at Snow High Middle School. We interacted with 45 eighth grade students who will be moving on to the high school in the fall. At both of these events we were able to show our trades video that we put together of three of our working job sites and talk with the students to encourage them to "Consider a Career in the Trades."
We will continue to expand our relationship with the local schools and Community College in order to convince students to consider a career in the trades.
The Eastern Shore Builders will hold a Chapter Meeting on Monday, June 5, 2017 from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm at the Ocean Pines Library, 11107 Cathell Road, Berlin. Please RSVP to Joan Strang at [email protected] or call 410-845-0132.
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HOWARD COUNTY
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High Performance Homes Tax Credit
Howard County Executive Allan Kittleman introduced Bill 34 to extend the High Performance Homes tax credit an additional 5 years. The MBIA testified in support of this bill that helps homebuyers afford energy saving and renewable features in their homes creating a win-win for the County and the home buyer.
Read our testimony in support of Bill 34 >>>
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MONTGOMERY COUNTY
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Montgomery County Council Recess
The Montgomery County Council is in recess from Monday, May 29th to Monday, June 12th.
2018 Budget
On May 25, 2017, the Montgomery County Council unanimously approved a $5.4 billion operating budget for Fiscal Year 2018. This budget reflects a 2.7 percent increase over the approved FY 2017 budget. The property tax rate outlined in the budget is $1.0013 per $100 of taxable value, which keeps the property tax rate within the Montgomery County Charter limit. The property tax rate is lower than the $1.0264 per $100 of value in FY 17. The budget also maintains the current property tax credit of $692 for homeowners whose properties are their primary residences. Additionally, the budget appropriated approximately $39,000,000 to the Department of Permitting Services and estimates that the County will receive $41,000,000 in revenues from licenses and permits in FY 18. The budget will go into effect on July 1st.
Bethesda Sector Plan
On Thursday May 25th, Montgomery County Council approved the Bethesda Downtown Sector Plan by an 8-1 vote. The approved plan reduced the height limits near existing neighborhoods recommended by the Planning Board, and sets a cap on development in the area. Including existing buildings, the total density in the plan area is not to exceed 32.4 million square feet of gross floor area. The plan also increases the minimum MPDU requirement from 12.5 percent to 15 percent and recommends incentives to developers to provide 25 percent or more MPDUs. To encourage the preservation of market-rate affordable housing, the plan recommends offering public benefit points to developers if they preserve a specified amount of existing affordable units, or replace affordable units within the sector plan area.
New Planning Board Member
Thursday, May 25th, the County Council appointed Tina Patterson to the County Planning Board.
Patterson will replace Marye Wells-Harley, whose second term will expire on June 14th.On May 11th, the Council held public interviews with four finalists for the position. The applicants selected for interviews were Peter Myo Khin of Silver Spring, Tina Patterson of Germantown, Dan Reed of Silver Spring and Bruce Romer of Bethesda. The appointment was not unanimous.
Learn more about Ms. Tina Patterson >>>
Montgomery County Tree Canopy Annual Report
The County released the 2017
report on the County shade tree planting program. Of note, this year's report shifts from reporting based on calendar year to fiscal year to align data with the tree planting period. In FY 2016, nearly 3,400 shade trees were required as mitigation and 487 trees were planted. Fees were paid to meet the mitigation requirement for 2,896 shade trees totaling $727,000.
Montgomery County DPS eServices Training
Effective September 11, 2017, the Montgomery County Department of Permitting Services (DPS) will require the use of eServices for all New Home Permits. To help you prepare for the change take advantage of their free, 90 minute, training sessions. Training occurs every Monday at 9:00 a.m. in DPS' office located at 255 Rockville Pike in Rockville. For more information, email
[email protected].
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PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY
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Nonconforming Use Bill
Council Member Deni Taveras has proposed CB-49-2017; the bill would incorporate additional approval criteria in the Zoning Ordinance, for certification of nonconforming uses, including compliance with certain County Landscape Manual requirements for screening or enclosure of trash collection and recycling facilities and compliance with any off-street parking and loading requirements. This bill was referred to the Planning, Zoning and Economic Development Committee.
M-NCPPC Plan Review
DPIE has advised that the M-NCPPC Plan Review will be conducted from the County Administration Building located at:
Prince George's County Administration Building (CAB)
Fourth Floor
14741 Governor Oden Bowie Drive
Upper Marlboro, MD 20772
Those needing M-NCPPC plan review have 2 options:
1)
Drop off plans while at DPIE. Once M-NCPPC review is completed, you will be notified for further processing
2)
Take plans to CAB for review after being processed at DPIE. For more information, please call M-NCPPC at 301-952-3530.
Application Requirement Change for New Commercial Building Construction Projects
Effective Monday, July 10, 2017, plans for all new commercial building construction projects are required to be submitted through the County's electronic plan review system (ePlan).
Visit Online Permit Services on DPIE's website to: access the online portal, submit building permit application(s) directly into the County's Permitting System, and select the ePlan option on the application so plans can be electronically submitted for review.
Purple Line Setback
On May 22nd, U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon ruled to delay construction of the Purple Line light-rail project in the Washington suburbs and potentially jeopardizing its chances to secure critical federal funding. Part of the judge's rationale was due to the impact of Metro's declining ridership. Congress has appropriated $325 million toward the Purple Line.
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WASHINGTON DC
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Upgraded Online Construction Permit Intake
Applicants for intermediate and complex jobs will now be able to submit their application entirely online, upload plans through DCRA's ProjectDox system, and then pay for and obtain a copy of the issued permit without setting foot in the agency. Previously, applicants needed to visit the agency when they initially submitted their application and then again when it was time to pay remaining fees and pick the permit up. For questions, users can reference the OCPI User Guide. If you have any questions regarding this email, please contact [email protected]. |
WICOMICO COUNTY
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2018 Budget
Wicomico County Executive Bob Culver has presented his proposed $2.8 million budget to the Wicomico County Council. Council members are still reviewing the budget. The budget is scheduled to be adopted June 6, 2017.
Elections
The Town of Hebron has re-elected Commissioner Davis Hooper and Commissioner Amelia Handy to an at-large seat. Also re-elected to an at-large seat, after a tie-breaker election, was Commissioner Chester Seabald.
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WORCESTER COUNTY
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Offshore Wind Projects
The Maryland Public Service Commission has approved both proposed offshore wind projects off Ocean City's coast. US Wind, Inc. has proposed putting 62 turbines as close as 12-17 miles from the coast and Deepwater Wind's Skipjack has proposed a smaller project in scale at 15 turbines as close as 17-21 miles off the coast. The PSC believes this will position Maryland as a national leader in offshore wind energy. The approval of both projects will result in a combined 368 megawatts of capacity, yield over $1.8 billion of in-state spending, spur the creation of almost 9,700 direct and indirect jobs and contribute $74 million in state tax revenues over the next 20 years. The Ocean City Mayor and Council have written letters to the PSC requesting that the turbines be 26 miles off the coast so you cannot see them from the beach.
FEMA Upgrade
FEMA has awarded Ocean City an upgrade to a Class 6 in the National Flood Insurance Program Community Rating System, due to the town's floodplain management activities. The classification brings with it a 5 percent discount in flood insurance premiums as an incentive for participating communities to improve public safety by lowering flood risk and mitigating possible flood damage.
Workforce Housing Project
Cannery Village, Berlin's new workforce housing project has been completed. The 45-lot subdivision off Flower Street is the town's first rent-to-own community. Individuals will rent the homes for 15 years and then have the option to buy them. Osprey Property Company was the developer behind the project.
Zoning Change
Worcester County Commissioners introduced zoning legislation that would support living facilities in the C-2 General Commercial District. A public hearing is scheduled for June 20, 2017.
2018 Budget
Worcester County Commissioners have balanced their 2017-2018 budget at $198.9 million. The current tax rate of 83.5 cents per $100 of assessed value is expected to remain in effect for the budget.
Elections
Latoya Purnell has won the town council seat for Snow Hill's Western District. In a close race Purnell defeated Mike Pruitt by 9 votes. Jenny Hall, running unopposed, will return as the Central District representative.
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OTHER INDUSTRY NEWS
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Feds Seek Feedback on Regulations
The Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy has created
an online platform
where small business owners can directly provide ideas and feedback. As noted by an Office of Advocacy in its
media release
about the new platform: "Agency implementation of these executive orders offers significant opportunities for regulatory relief targeted to small businesses. As an independent voice for small business within the federal government, Advocacy has a unique and important role to aid agency implementation of the [President Trump's] executive orders." SBA's mission is to advance the views, concerns, and interests of small businesses before Congress, the White House, federal agencies, federal courts and state policymakers.
WSSC Adopts 2017 Pipeline Design Manual
On May 17th, WSSC Commissioners adopted the updated 2017 Pipeline Design Manual (May 12, 2017 version).
Click here for a copy
. MBIA's WSSC Liaison Committee had commented on several recent versions of the Manual, as well as submitted a letter in support of adoption. The update addresses several important areas, including variances, requirements for zinc coated ductile iron pipe, and looping water systems, In order to allow further review and revision, requirements involving Environmental Site Design and retaining walls were not included. The updated Manual will be in effect after a 30-day public comment period that began on May 18th; with comments to be sent to
[email protected]
.
MD Energy-Efficient Homes Construction Loan Program
In the
May 12, 2017 MD Register
, The Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development is proposing new regulations to establish policies, procedures, and eligibility requirements for loans under the Energy-Efficient Homes Construction Loan Program. $300,000 in loans expected to be made in FY 2017 which ends June 30, 2017, with an estimated administrative cost of $36,393. The maximum loan, when added to any superior debts, may not exceed the greater of the (1) amount of permanent financing approved for the project; or (2) 100 percent of the market value of the eligible building and property after construction as determined by DHCD. Comments will be accepted through June 12th to Joe Seehusen at
[email protected]
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Multilingual NAHB Ladder Safety Video Online
OSHA estimates that at least five construction workers in the U.S. get injured each day while using a ladder. Builders need to make every effort to ensure such injuries never occur on their watch, NAHB in collaboration with the Job-Site Safety Institute and the National Housing Endowment, made this an easy task by creating a brief Toolbox Talk video on ladder safety. The six-minute video is a quick and simple way to start the discussion about the dos and don'ts of ladder usage,
Both the English and Spanish versions of the video are available
.
Additional information about the National Safety Stand-Down, including training guides, videos and step-by-step resources on how to conduct your own stand-down are available at
nahb.org/safetystanddown
.
Appraisal Institute Improves Green Valuation Tool, From Builderonline.com
The Appraisal Institute's
Residential Green and Energy Efficient Addendum
was recently updated to address industry developments including solar systems.
"The objective of this addendum is to standardize the communication of the high performance features of residential properties," said Appraisal Institute president Jim Amorin. The Appraisal Institute encourages builders, contractors, homeowners and third-party verifiers to complete the addendum and present it to appraisers, real estate agents and lenders. The addendum can be attached to the MLS listing to provide sufficient detail on the high-performance features of the property.
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Acronym Glossary
Acronyms are often used as time saving, shorthand ways to communicate lengthy titles or basic concepts. This glossary provides a quick reference to the terms, acronyms and abbreviations commonly used in this industry.
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Maryland Building
Industry Association
11825 West Market Place
Fulton, MD 20759
301-776-MBIA (6242)
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Chief Executive Officer
Vice President,
Government Affairs
Vice President,
Government Affairs
Director,
Regulatory Affairs
Vice President,
Government Affairs
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WHO DO YOU KNOW?
Help us make a connection.
Tell us if you know a Federal or Maryland State legislator and how you know them. Are you a neighbor, friend, business associate or second cousin twice removed? We want to know. In the future, we may call on you to introduce us to that legislator. This can make a big difference when important legislation effecting the building industry comes our way.
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Together We Can Do More
Join MBIA Today
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The Maryland Building Industry Association has a government affairs staff of representing you and your interests in each county and at the state level from the Maryland State Builders Association and federally f
rom the National Association of Home Builders.
Add up the dollar value of our advocacy victories and you're talking real money - from $6,882 up to $61,000 per housing start depending on the jurisdiction. That's a big number, and a big step toward success.
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Look back through the monthly reports of issues impacting the home building industry.
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