MARYLAND MD
New Laws Affecting Home Building
During the 2018 session, the General Assembly enacted laws affecting home builders, which are effective October 1, 2018.
New Law Fact Sheet
 ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTYaa
New Erosion and Sediment Penalties Thwarted
On October 15th, MBIA objections defeated Councilman Trumbauer's effort to dramatically increase penalties for violations of erosion and sediment control requirements. The legislation, Council Bill 96, would have raised fines up to $10,000 per occurrence. Read MBIA's letter of opposition >>>
   BALTIMORE CITYcity
Mayor and City Council Strike Deal to Fund Affordable Housing, Raise Transfer and Recordation Taxes 
Over MBIA's objections, Mayor Catherine Pugh and Council President Jack Young, struck a deal with affordable housing advocates to fund the Affordable Housing Trust Fund at roughly $20 million per year using a combination of tax increases, bond spending and general fund commitments. The agreement raises the Transfer Tax .6 percent and the Recordation Tax .15 percent on transactions over $1 million. The MBIA predicts these increases will drive down property sale prices resulting in lower property tax assessments, ultimately costing the City taxable revenue. The MBIA is disappointed in this deal, which was memorialized in a Memorandum of Understanding between the Mayor and the bill's proponents on Wednesday September 26th prior to a sham public hearing in the City Council on September 27th. The bill has passed the City Council and moved to the Mayor's desk for final signature at this time.
 
City Set to Increase Traffic Mitigation Fees Drastically
The City of Baltimore has proposed a very significant increase in traffic mitigation fees in the City's five traffic mitigation zones phased in over 5 years as shown on the table below. At this time, this Executive action is on hold as a result of MBIA objections, but the MBIA believes it may move forward in the future over MBIA objections. If the traffic mitigation fees will impact projects of interest to you, please  click this link  to directly contact the City Administration as well as members of the Board of Estimates.  If you have personal relationships with any of the officials, MBIA is asking you to call your contacts and urge them to reject this massive tax increase.

   HOWARD COUNTYhoward
Electric Vehicle Charging Station Mandates Proposed
Councilwoman Jen Terrasa proposed Council Bill 76, which mandates all new homes be equipped with dedicated supply for future installation of electric vehicle charging stations and also requires one electric vehicle charging station on-site for every 25 residential units in a shared parking situation. The MBIA is opposed to these new mandates arguing this is a statewide challenge requiring statewide solutions rather than a piecemeal approach in different jurisdictions. The legislation passed over MBIA objections on October 29th, but was amended significantly as a result of MBIA advocacy. Read MBIA's letter of opposition>>>
   MONTGOMERY COUNTYmontcoun
County Council Approves MPDU Zoning Text Amendment
On October 9th, the County Council unanimously approved Councilmember Floreen's Zoning Text Amendment (ZTA) 18-06, MPDU - Bonus Density, which provides bonus density to accommodate the creation of additional moderately priced dwelling units (MPDU). Under the new ZTA, if a project builds more than the minimum required number of MPDUs, the construction of more market-rate units is allowed. In residential zones, current law caps density bonuses once a project includes 15 percent affordable housing as part of a development plan. Currently, in mixed-use zones, projects with more than 12.5 percent MPDUs but less than 15 percent do not receive bonus density for the additional MPDUs. ZTA 18-06 allows bonus density in all zones for the construction of more than 12.5 percent MPDUs and removes the caps on bonus density for MPDUs in all zones. Additionally, under this zoning change, developments can earn public benefit points for providing more than 12.5 percent of MPDUs in a project, even if 15 percent is required by law. MBIA worked very closely with the Sponsor, Department of Housing and Community Affairs and stakeholder agencies to develop a new zoning measure that both supports the County's need of more affordable housing and ensures that developers receive the offsets necessary for projects to remain viable.  Review the ZTA >>>
 
ZTA to Streamline Requirements for Accessory Apartments Passes County Council
The County Council unanimously approved a ZTA to make it easier to develop accessory dwelling units. Accessory dwelling units include living spaces constructed over garages, basement apartments and small backyard homes. County officials believe these types of units will increase affordable housing options, allow seniors to age in place and provide other benefits to the housing market. ZTA 18-07 would remove the requirement for conditional use approval for all accessory apartments and revise the limited use provisions for attached and detached accessory apartments. A conditional use is one that requires a subjective finding of compatibility after a public hearing. It is decided by a County hearing examiner and can be appealed to the Board of Appeals. A limited use allows the Council to detail standards under which a use is acceptable. Review the ZTA >>>
 
Council Votes to Extend Expiration Date for Bill 10-17, Recordation Tax - Rates - Amendments
On October 2nd, two days before Bill 10-17 was set to expire, the Council voted to extend the bill's expiration date until June 30, 2019. Bill 10-17 would modify the recordation tax rates levied for certain transactions. The goal of this bill is to lower the premium rate for transactions that are less than $1 million. No worksession has been scheduled for the bill.

  PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTYprinceg
Zoning Ordinance Rewrite passed by the County Council
The County Council adopted, a legislative package to rewrite the County's Zoning ordinance at its final session for Legislative Year 2018. That legislative package consisted of following bills:  
CB-013-2018   Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance Rewrite
CB-014-2018   Countywide Comprehensive Map Amendment Process
CB-015-2018   Comprehensive Subdivision Regulations Rewrite
CB-065-2018   Revision to Landscape Manual
Before the legislative package becomes effective, a comprehensive countywide map amendment process is needed to implement the zones in the new zoning ordinance. The County Council advised that this process will take approximately 18 months.
 
Extension Bills Approved by the County Council
The County Council adopted two extension bills that would extend the validity periods of all approved applications for Preliminary Plans of Subdivision, DSP & SDP for the next two years. Both CB-59-2018 and CB-60-2018 would temporarily extend the validity period for all approved applications for Preliminary Plans of Subdivision, Detailed Site Plans and Specific Design Plans with a valid status as of January 1, 2018. Both bills will temporarily extend the validity period until December 31, 2020.
 
County Council overrides County Executive's Veto
The Prince George's County Council overrode County Executive Rushern Baker's veto of CB-6-2018, a bill concerning School Facilities Surcharge 7-2. The County Council voted favorably to allow school facilities surcharge fees to be waived for some residential developers that had multifamily dwelling units, or multifamily dwelling units or apartments created through the conversion of vacant office buildings. The County Council feels that by waiving the surcharge, it would lead to new projects and that would bring in additional tax revenue for the school system.
 
Noise Ordinance Bill
The Prince George's County Council passes CB- 18-2018, a bill that amends the County's current noise control law. The bill sets a maximum allowable noise levels and specific maximum allowable noise levels for construction. The bill also provides for temporary and general waivers from the law. MBIA testified on CB-18 and has shared its concerns with respect to the time that construction could take place. In the original bill, the timeframe was 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. In the amended bill, the new proposed timeframe is now 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
 
Public Financing Bill  
The Prince George's County Council approved public financing for local political candidates. The legislation, which was backed by a variety of progressive groups, follows similar measures that were approved in recent years in Montgomery County, Howard County and the District. Candidates must agree not to accept donations exceeding $250 to participate in the program, which provides matching funds for donations up to $150.
  ST MARY'S COUNTYstmar
Stormwater Compliance
The Maryland Department of the Environment is set to enforce strict storm water management rules on the county through the Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) permit; the county estimates the improvements to storm water collection facilities required to fulfill the expectations of the permit could cost about $12 million.
 
Lexington Park Opportunity Zone
The St. Mary's County Department of Economic Development will host a public information session on Thursday November 8, from 10 a.m. until noon, regarding a new, federally designated Opportunity Zone in Lexington Park. The meeting will be held at Precise Systems' Curtiss Room, 22290 Exploration Drive, Suite 300, in Lexington Park. To learn more about Opportunity Zones log on to: https://www.stmarysmd.com/ded/opportunityzone
  WICOMICO COUNTYwicomico
Pirates Wharf Grant
The National Parks Service has awarded Wicomico County a federal grant worth $820,000 for development of Pirates Warf-a recreational park. The grant comes from the Land and Water Conservation Fund. An input session for the development plan for Pirates Warf has been scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2018, from 6-7:30 pm at the Wicomico Youth & Civic Center Flanders Room. The grant requires the County to complete the project within four years.
 
Salisbury Rail-Trail Project
The City of Salisbury has received a $722,000 Maryland Department of Transportation grant to construct the first phase of Salisbury's rail-trail project. The trail project will follow the tracks, but it will not eliminate the railroad tracks. Toole Design is working with the city on the overall plan for the project. The rail-trail system will connect with the east-west urban greenway, City Park and eventually connect neighborhoods and businesses across the city to make transportation easier for bikes and pedestrians.
  WORCESTER COUNTYworchester
EDU Proposal Approved
An EDU proposal for West Ocean City for two new restaurants has been approved. The 45 proposed EDU's would be obtained for "sanitary sewer service from the Mystic Harbour Sanitary Service Area."   However, the 11 EDU's under the jurisdiction of West Ocean City, currently assigned to the property, cannot be used in conjunction with the Mystic Harbour units.
The Alamo Motel currently sits on this property.

Town of Ocean City Tax Differential
The Worcester County Circuit Court has rejected Ocean City's suit seeking declaratory judgment on their tax differential. The Town of Ocean City filed suit against the Worcester County Commissioners on January 16, 2018 regarding the resort's right to a split tax schedule that would levy one property rate on resort property owners and another on county properties. The city has until November 15, 2018 to appeal the decision.
 
Town of Ocean City Election
Mayor Rick Meehan is being challenged by former Councilman Joe Hall. There are five people running for 3 Town Council seats: incumbent Lloyd Martin, incumbent Matt James, Mark Paddock, Christopher Rudolf, and Emily Nock. The election will take place on November 6, 2018.

Construction Career Cafe
The Eastern Shore Builders Chapter participated in a Construction Career Café at Snow Hill Middle School on Wednesday, October 10, 2018. Representing the Chapter were Greg Sauter, Geo Technology Associates, Inc. and John Kotoski, River Run. Both Greg and John did hands on demonstrations for the students and showed our "Consider the Trades as Career" video. We were successful in getting the students in attendance talking and thinking about the careers they are interested in pursuing in the future. This is very important as these 8th graders will be choosing their classes for 9th grade in the beginning of 2019. Currently, Worcester Technical High School offers 6 trades classes: Carpentry Program, Construction Design & Management Program, Heating, Ventilation & Air Conditioning (HVAC) Program, Masonry Program, Renewable Energies/Electrical Program and Welding Program.
  OTHER INDUSTRY NEWS other
Registration is now open for the Watershed Implementation Plan (WIP) Workshops scheduled to take place throughout the state this fall. Registration is free and we encourage all members to attend! Please let Angelica Bailey know if you plan on attending at [email protected].
More information >>>

Sunset Information for 2012 NGBS Green Certification
In MD, projects can use the 2012 NGBS if they are registered by midnight EDT December 31, 2018 and completed by December 31, 2021. This applies to single family homes and multifamily buildings. Otherwise projects in these states must register for the 2015 NGBS.
A high-level comparison between the two versions   - 2012 and 2015 NGBS - that is intended to be used as a starting point as you make the transition. To determine comprehensive project compliance, please do not rely on this simplified comparison; rather, refer to the full version of the NGBS.
NOVEMBER 2018
IN THIS ISSUE
Maryland
Anne Arundel County
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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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