REPORT FROM EXCISE TAX COMMITTEE
The Excise Tax Committee formed by the Board of County Commissioners as
required by the Legislation to remove the cap from the current tax rate
presented its report to the BOCC on Tuesday, October 9. To view
the report
click here, to view the handouts
included with the report which show the collection of the excise tax as
well as permits issued,
please click here. To view
the suggested changes to the current Excise Tax Ordinance
please click here. At the
October 9 meeting the Commissioners requested time be scheduled for
further discussion on the report. |
CHARTER HOME RULE FOR WASHINGTON COUNTY
To read the DRAFT for Public Comment compiled by the Charter Home Rule
Board
please click here. For an
Executive Summary of the DRAFT
please click here. |
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LICENSING OF SALES AGENTS OF NEW HOME BUILDERS- Chapter 274 of the
Laws of Maryland 2007 (HB1288) - Includes changes made on July 23, 2007
Effective October 1, 2007, sales agents of new home builders in Maryland
must hold real estate licenses issued by the Maryland Real Estate
Commission. There are three categories of licenses issued by the
Commission-broker, associate broker, and salesperson. Salespersons
and associate brokers must be affiliated with a real estate brokerage
that is headed by a broker. The broker is responsible for
supervising the activities of the salespersons and associate brokers;
they in turn offer real estate brokerage services through that
brokerage. The requirements for obtaining these licenses are found
on the Commission's website. The Real Estate Commission and the
Home Builder Registration Unit have received a number of questions and
their answers can be viewed
by clicking here for a PDF paper. Please keep in
mind these questions and answers are provided only for general
information, and should not be regarded as declaratory rulings of the
Real Estate Commission or legal advice. |
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TRANSFERABLE DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS
CONSULTANT REPORT- To read this report
please click here |
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CITY OF HAGERSTOWN DRAFT 2007 SEWER CAPACITY
ALLOCATION POLICY |
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The Mayor and City Council have reviewed the attached
draft SCAP for 2007. Provided MDE does not have any problems with the
draft, we are scheduled to adopt on December 19. To read the draft
policy
please click here. |
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TO READ THE ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS SENT TO THE
CANDIDATES FOR THE WASHINGTON COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONER
PLEASE CLICK HERE |
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BOARD OF EDUCATION DRAFT DEVELOPER FUNDED SCHOOL
CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS AND PROPOSED MITIGATION PLANS (10.16.06) |
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To read the WORKING DRAFT of the above listed plan
please click here |
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CITY OF HAGERSTOWN SUBDIVISION ORDINANCE REVISIONS |
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The City of Hagerstown will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, August
30, 7pm in Council Chambers on proposed revisions to its Subdivision
Ordinance.
Please click here to review the
revisions. |
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COUNTY ADOPTS NEW PLANNING DEPARTMENT FEES |
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The BOCC at its May 23, 2006 meeting adopted by
resolution a new set of fees relating to plan review and services
relating to its department. These fees will take effect on July 1,
2006. To view these fees,
please click here. |
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COUNTY ADOPTS INCREASE IN PERMITTING FEES FOR
BUILDING, ELECTRICAL, MECHANICAL AND PLUMBING |
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The BOCC at its May 23, 2006 meeting adopted by
resolution increases in all permitting fees relating to building,
electrical, plumbing and mechanical. These fee increases take
effect on July 1, 2006. To view these new fees,
please click here. |
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BOARD OF EDUCATION PUPIL GENERATION
CALCULATION
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Section 5.5 of the
Adequate Public Facility Ordinance states: “(d) Pupil generation rates
shall be determined using the formulas proposed by the BOE and adopted
by the Board of County Commissioners and shall reflect the
characteristics of the school attendance area within which the proposed
development is located.”
At the December 13.
2005 meeting of the Board of County Commissioners, the Board of
Education requested the BOCC adopt new percentages for the calculation
of Public Generation from subdivisions. The BOE is in process of
calculating the pupil generation from both existing and new
subdivisions.
To read the letter to the BOCC from
the BOE on the calculation of these numbers, view the new calculations
and see a sample of the data used to determine the numbers,
please click here. |
| BOARD OF EDUCATION DRAFT PROPOSED MITIGATION
POLICY |
| To read the draft of the Board of Education Mitigation Policy
please click here. |
| URBAN AREA APPROVED LOTS-BUILDABLE INVENTORY |
| Please note - the accompanying documents are in red and are in Adobe
PDF format for viewing and printing. Please le advised the map is
a large file and may take a few minutes to open.
As quoted from the BOCC packet for the August 29, 2005 meeting:
"Staff presented the Board with a map a number of months ago showing the
major developments within the area in and around the City of Hagerstown.
This map indicated the total number of units within each
existing or proposed development. Staff has refined some of this data
and wants to update the Board on our findings at this time. The
previous map was designed to provide information as to what major
developments were being developed in and around the City of Hagerstown.
Previously, the only information was the location of the developments
and the total number of dwelling units.
The
updated map, as of August 15, 2005, has the location of
these developments for project both in the county as well as within the
City of Hagerstown. Some projects were removed from the previous map, as
it was determined that all the units within the development had been
completed, and new projects that have been added reflecting new
proposals. Accompanying the map is a
chart for both
the City and
County projects, which outlines the
number of lots that have been proposed for development, beginning with
ones in the concept stage. The number of potential units in this
category totals 9,121. The point to remember here is that many of the
projects in this category have been discussed only in the preliminary
consultation stage and have not proceeded further in the development
process due to issues with schools and or water and sewer. The number of
importance is the last number, which is the number of approved lots
having final plat approval that have not obtained permits.
This number reflects the number of lots within the developments for
which permits could be obtained. At present, the number is 1,538.
This number does not reflect the total development potential, but only
the lots within these major development within the City of Hagerstown
and surrounding areas. Staff will continue to work with the City staff
and the Maryland Department of Planning to more accurately define the
total development potential within the county. |
| APFO RELATING TO SCHOOL CAPACITY |
| Planning Director Mike Thompson presented a new set of revisions to
the APFO relating to school capacity and the testing for adequacy.
The biggest change is the addition of section 9 to the APFO, and the
removal of the exemption from testing for minor subdivisions. After
hearing the proposed revisions the BOCC determined it would hold another
public hearing on the revisions. A date for the hearing has not as
yet been set. To read the revised APFO
please click here. |
| RURAL REZONING TRANSITION POLICY |
| At its August 23 meeting County Attorney Richard Douglas presented
the BOCC with a formal Transition Policy on the rezoning relating to
projects in the pipeline. To read the Transition Policy
please click here. |
| HEALTH DEPARTMENT FEE INCREASE AND IMPLEMENTATION |
| The Board of Health has requested an increase in current fees and
permission to implement new fees. A public hearing was held on
these fees during the BOCC meeting on August 23. To review these
fees
please click here. |
| Revisions to the County Building Related Codes-
SEMINARS |
| On July 12, 2005 the Permits & Inspections Department are scheduled
to request that the Board Of County Commissioners approve the adoption
of the 2003 International Residential Codes with amendments. To
educate you as to the technical differences between the CABO Code and
the 2000 International Residential Code
please
click here and to see the changes to the 2000 for the
adoption of the 2003 Code
please click here.
To view To read the local amendments to these Codes please click the
appropriate category.
BOCA Code,
One and Two Dwelling Unit Code, the
Electrical Code, the
Mechanical Code and the
Plumbing Code |
| Engineering Review Fee Increase |
| The Engineering Department has requested, and the BOCC have approved
an increase in fees associated with the Engineering Department.
The new fees go into effect on August 15, 2006. The worksheets
used to calculate the new fees can be found as follows by clicking on
the appropriate link:
Calculated Fees Collected Fiscal Year 2003,
Old and
New Fee Comparison,
Select Project Fee Comparison,
Staff Costs. |
| Building Excise Tax- Rate Revision |
| The County Commissioners asked for an received legislation to
increase the Excise Tax. The Board is set to discuss changes to
the current Ordinance to implement those increases as well as other
requirements set forth in the legislation. The BOCC held a Public
Hearing on the revisions to the Ordinance on Tuesday, June 21. To
read the version that was used for the public hearing
please click here. |
| Washington County Infrastructure Development Plan |
| As part of the budget presentation on Utilities, a presentation made
by the Department of Water Quality Department Director Greg Murray as
part of his presentation on a rate increase for service, included a
request for as stated in the summary of the March 14, 2005 County
meeting summary; "Murray also requested implementation of an
Infrastructure Management Program which, he said, would offset
operational costs through a $400 per Equivalent Dwelling Unit (EDU)
charge to be included with water and sewer allocation fees. Murray
also requested a $1,000 per EDU Infrastructure Development Plan fee that
would be used to ensure that adequate pumping and transmission
infrastructure is available based on projected service area needs."
The official minutes of the meeting state: " He (Murray) also reviewed a
proposed infrastructure management program fee for full service
customers at Conococheague Wastewater Treatment Plant to be used to
offset the administrative costs associated with operating the program
and an Infrastructure Development Plan or required regional
infrastructure contribution equivalent to a minimum of $1,000 per EDU to
be used to ensure that adequate pumping and transmission infrastructure
is available based on projected service area needs." On April 5,
2005, the BOCC held a public hearing on the rate increases which
included these new fees. The measure was adopted by unanimous
vote. There is no transition policy for these fee. To view
the policy published by the County,
please click here. To see the "flow chart" on
these fees
please click here. |
| Revised Excise Tax Transition Policy |
| The Board of County Commissioners is set to revise the current
Excise Tax Ordinance to reflect the increase in the tax rate as passed
by the Maryland General Assembly. The increase in the tax rate is
anticipated to be in place on July 1, 2005. The BOCC has directed
staff to draft a Transition Policy to be put into place at that time.
After the preliminary meeting, County Attorney Douglas was asked to add
clarification to the policy. To view this policy with the
latest revisions,
please click
here. The BOCC adopted the transition policy to
be effective 07.01.05 when the new Excise Tax becomes effective.
It should be noted that any developer with a current APFO Agreement,
will have to pay the full Excise Tax amount per unit. Credit will
be given for the amount paid into the APFO. Discussion is also
being held on the possibility of releasing APFO Agreements on a case by
case basis. |
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| City of Hagerstown APFO |
| When the County adopts the Ordinance to increase the Excise Tax,
HB1272 states that municipalities with APFO's in place may retain the
portion of the excise tax collected that is not related to schools.
It is the intention of City staff to recommend to the new Council that
it draft and adopt an APFO so it may retain these funds. To view
the letter from the City outlining this intention
please click here.
To see the projects within the City that will be affected by this
policy,
please click here. |
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| Washington County School Capacity |
| The capacity of Washington County schools is being used to determine
the approval/disapproval of projects in the County. To view the
School Board Capital Project Schedule and the number of seats these
projects are projected to produce, please
click here. To view the school capacity report as issued by
the Board of Education as of 09/05
please click here. |
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| Policy to Determine the Adequacy of Existing
Highways |
| The County Public Works Department held several workshops and
meetings during which the revisions to the policy on the adequacy of
existing county highways were discussed. HBAWC staff and members,
as well as other interested parties attended. Revisions were
made to the Policy as a result of these meetings and the revisions to be
presented to the BOCC can be viewed by
clicking
here. These revisions were adopted by the BOCC on
05.17.05. The full policy can be viewed
by clicking
here. |
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| Adoption of IRC - International Residential Code |
| The County is currently in the process
of repealing the 1995 CABO ONE AND TWO DWELLING CODE to enact the 2006
FOURTH PRINTING OF THE INTERNATIONAL RESIDENTIAL CODE (IRC). To
revisions may be viewed by
clicking here.
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| Electrical Code Revisions |
| The County is also currently in the
process of revising the Electrical Code in the County, To read the
Local Amendments for Washington County to the 2005 National Electrical
Code please
click here. |
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| City of Hagerstown Sewer Capacity Issue |
| The City of Hagerstown is in the process of complying
with the requirements of MDE concerning its allocation of sewer policy
relating to its wastewater plant. A meeting was held for
interested parties. HBAWC staff and members attended. To
view the documentation received concerning this meeting please click the
appropriate file:
Letter
concerning the meeting,
Administrative Policy,
Effect of
Policy on Projects in the Pipeline and
Timeline for Implementation.
During the meeting City staff explained that while the current interim
policy allows for allocation to 25 units in new sub-divisions and 40
units in existing sub-divisions, this is meant to be on a 6 month basis
and they will be recommending to the Council that when this Policy is
adopted that this amount be 50 and 80 per year. |
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