MARYLAND 

   ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY

   BALTIMORE CITY

 BALTIMORE COUNTY

 CALVERT COUNTY

   MONTGOMERY COUNTY

County Executive Leggett Releases Recommended FY19 Operating Budget

On March 15, the County Executive released a Recommended FY19 Operating Budget of $5.56 billion for the fiscal year that begins on July 1, 2018. Of note, under the FY19 Recommended Operating Budget, the proposed property tax rate is 98.1 cents per $100 of assessed valuation - 1.98 cents below the current rate. The median tax bill (for a house assessed at $400,000) will see an annual increase of $27 from $4,005 currently to $4,132 in the coming year. It includes a $692 tax credit for owner-occupied residences.  The budget increases funding for the Montgomery County Public Schools by 3.1 percent, funding 100 percent of the Board of Education's request. The $75 million increase over the current year's budget is $19 million more than the required Maintenance of Effort level.

The proposed FY19 budget increases spending overall by only 2 percent. County government spending is actually reduced over the current year's level by 0.5 percent. The recommended budgets for Montgomery College and the Maryland-National Capital Park & Planning Commission each rose by 0.8 percent.  The budget can be reviewed on-line. You can review the County's commitment to Affordable Housing and DHCA on-line .

 

County Council Introduces Bill 8-18, Streets and Roads - Storm Drainage Right-of-Way - Abandonments

At the request of County Executive Leggett, Council President Riemer introduced Bill 8-18 on March 13th. Bill 8-18 would allow the County Executive to abandon a right-of-way that is used exclusively for storm drainage. The goal of the bill is to streamline and simplify the abandonment of unnecessary storm drain easements. A public hearing is tentatively scheduled for April 3, at 1:30 p.m.

 

County Council Introduces bills on Climate Policy, Green Roofs and Solar Panels

On March 20th, the Council introduced three environmental bills:

* Bill 10-18, Administration - Director of County Climate Policy - Established;

* Bill 11-18, Buildings - Environmental Roof Design - Non-residential and Multi-family Buildings;

* Bill 12-18, Real Property - New Home Sales Contracts - Solar Panel Systems.

 

Bill 10-18 is sponsored by Councilmember Leventhal and Councilmembers Berliner and Hucker are cosponsors. The Bill would require the County Executive to designate an employee as the Director of County Climate Policy. The Director's role would be to develop awareness campaigns, promote coordination between various offices and agencies to achieve climate goals and recommend legislation as necessary.

 

Sponsored by Councilmember Elrich, Bill 11-18 would require an environmentally sustainable roof on certain new and extensively modified commercial or multi-family buildings. According to the bill, eligible buildings must satisfy either Section 408.3 of the International Green Construction Code, with  at least 15 percent of the roof area covered by solar power system or alternative requirements for roof coverings established by Executive Regulation that are at least as stringent as Section 408.3 of the International Green Construction Code. A full or partial waiver may be approved if compliance would be impractical or unduly burdensome and the public interest would be served by the waiver. If the solar energy requirement is waived, the Director of DPS must then consider if a requirement for a vegetative roof for at least 15 percent of the roof area is practical.

 

Also sponsored by Councilmember Marc Elrich, Bill 12-18 would require the seller of a new single-family home to give the buyer an option to install a solar panel system. It would also require the seller to disclose the benefits of a solar panel system and an estimate of the cost to install the system. The purpose of Bill 12-18 is to increase the use of renewable energy in the County. The bill is co-sponsored by Councilmember Hucker.

 

Public hearings for these bills will be held on April 10th at 1:30 p.m.

 

Learn More about Montgomery County Candidates

With so many candidates in the 2018 election, it can be daunting keeping track of those that have filed for elected office. Please review the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce Questionnaire to learn where candidates stand on policy issues of importance to the business community.

Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce Candidate Questionnaire

  PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY

Sediment Control Requirements for Solar Panel Installations

Effective immediately all proposed solar panel installations shall consider the entire area of the installed panels, in addition to any access routes to be used during installation (work area) as disturbed. An applicable plan to address grading, erosion and sediment control is thus required in accordance with COMR 26.17.01.05. Grading, Erosion, and Sediment Control documents shall be submitted to the Prince George's Soil Conservation District for review and approval and is a requirement for issuance of the Site Development permit applied for. If you have an questions, please contact the District office at  301-574-5162.

 

Water and Sewer Amendments Filing Deadline

The April 2018 Cycle of Amendments to the 2008 Water and Sewer Plan is quickly approaching! This will be the last water and sewer amendments cycle review for the current administration, as Prince George's County typically does not hold an August Cycle of Amendments during an election year. This is due to constraints imposed on certain legislations that are mandated, and adhere to specific schedules, times and dates.

The April 2018 Cycle has a filing deadline of Monday, April 2, 2018. The County strongly urges that you file your application as soon as possible to ensure receipt and acceptance by the application filing deadline. Late submittals may not be accepted, and may not be reviewed until the December 2018 Cycle, with the election of the new administration. Should you have any questions regarding the cycles of amendments, please feel free to contact the Water and Sewer Plan Coordinator, Shirley A. Branch, at 301-636-2060 or at sabranch@co.pg.md.us.

FREE ePlan Customer Training

On Thursday, April 19, 2018 at 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. DPIE is offering its monthly ePlan Customer Training to show how to complete online applications and upload plans for review in our ePlan system. Training sessions are free and are held the third Thursday of every month. The training will be held at ath  Department of Permitting, Inspections and Enforcement,  9400 Peppercorn Place,  Conference Room 410,  Largo, MD 20774.

  ST. MARY'S COUNTY

Sign Focus Group to Meet

The Sign Focus Group will hold a meeting on Wednesday, April 4, 2018, at 6 p.m. in the commissioners meeting room inside the Chesapeake Building in Leonardtown. Agenda topics include the selection of a chairperson and discussion of permanent freestanding and temporary business signage. The meeting is open to the public. For more information, please contact Bill Hunt, Land Use and Growth Management Director, at 301-475-4200, ext.1508.

  WICOMICO COUNTY

Proposed Charter Amendments

  WORCESTER COUNTY

Worcester County Town Funding Request

Local municipalities are seeking slight increases in funding for 2019 fiscal year.

 

Sectional Rezoning Request Denied

Worcester County Commissioners denied rezoning an entire section of land across from the Ocean Downs Casino from E-1 Estate to either C-2 Commercial or C-1 Neighborhood Commercial. The section of land encompassed five current applications for rezoning, and 10 other property owners in the same area but had not asked for the zoning of their land to be reconsidered. The five applicants will be given separate hearings; however, no hearings were set for the applicants' requests. This section was previously considered for rezoning during 2009's comprehensive rezoning, as part of the comprehensive plan review, but was not changed.

 

HB 1135 Opposition to Permanent Offshore Wind Turbines Visible From Ocean City

Delegate Chris Adam's HB 1135 to push wind turbines farther offshore in Ocean City has received an unfavorable report from the House Economic Committee. The bill would have altered distance requirements for turbines from between 10-30 nautical miles to not less than 26 nautical miles off the coast.

 

Worcester County FY 2019 Budget

General fund revenues are estimated to be $202.6 million this year, while the requested expenditures total about $211.6 million, leaving a shortfall of almost $8.95 million. The Commissioners will be holding budget meetings to eliminate the shortfall. They are scheduled to hold a public hearing on the budget May 1, 2018.

The next meeting of the Eastern Shore Builders Chapter will be held on Tuesday, May 8, 2018 from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm at the Ocean Pines Library, 11107 Cathell Road, Berlin. We will meet in the small conference room on the left of the hall. If you have any questions, please contact Joan Strang at jstrang@marylandbuilders.org or call 410-845-0132.

  OTHER INDUSTRY NEWS

EPA's formaldehyde rule originally gave the composite wood industry until December 2017 to comply with the emissions, labeling and recordkeeping requirements. However, the rule was delayed for five months because of the transition between presidential administrations. That delay prevented EPA from properly implementing the rule, so it extended the deadline by one year to December 2018.  The Sierra Club filed suit against EPA, arguing that the extension was too long. NAHB joined with other trade associations to file a brief in the case, urging the court to uphold the extension and to consider the consequences the composite wood industries along with the industries that rely on these products would experience if EPA's extension were removed. NAHB economist Paul Emrath provided an overview of the breadth of the remodeling industry and its impact on the economy, pointing out the far-reaching effects of regulatory uncertainty on businesses, their employees and the communities they support. Emrath estimated that if the extension rule were invalidated, the resulting delay in obtaining compliant cabinets and flooring would cost residential construction more than $1.4 billion.  Nonetheless, the judge ruled against EPA on Feb. 16, but provided EPA and the Sierra Club with three weeks to consult with the impacted industries and come to an agreement. On March 13, an agreement on how the formaldehyde rule will be implemented was reached by EPA, the Sierra Club, and industry trade associations including NAHB. The agreement was then approved by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

The agreement provides certainty to the composite wood industry, and in turn, the home building industry that relies on these products, by:

NAHB and three other national trade associations - the Utility Water Act Group, National Rural Electric Cooperative Association and American Petroleum Institute - have reached a major settlement agreement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service, committing the Services to reconsider two rules finalized by the previous Administration that made sweeping changes to long-existing Endangered Species Act (ESA) regulations.  The rules at issue govern the designation of public and private land as "critical habitat," and determine whether federal actions cause "adverse modification" of land designated as critical habitat. The coalition's complaint detailed how the changes to the critical habitat regulations went far beyond the limits Congress specified in the ESA, resulting in burdensome and costly implications for a wide range of commercial activities on private, state and federal lands and waters. A group of 20 states likewise challenged the rules on the same or similar grounds.