Sec. 14-8. Executive Fiscal Report.

(d) may be used to finance an infrastructure improvement located outside the district if the improvement is located in the County and related to the development or use of land in that development district. (1994 L.M.C., ch. 12, § 1.)

Sec. 14-6. First Council Resolution.

(a) If a petition to create a development district signed by at least 80 percent of the owners of real property and the owners of at least 80 percent in value of the real property, as shown by the most recent assessment records available from the State Department of Assessments and Taxation or any successor agency on the date the petition is filed, located in a proposed development district, is filed with the Council, the Council must hold a public hearing after at least 15 days notice in two newspapers of general circulation in the County. The petition must specify the boundaries of the proposed district and list the maximum number of housing units and the maximum nonresidential space that the signing property owners intend to build in the district.

(b) Alternatively, the Council, on request of the Executive or on its own motion, may hold a public hearing after giving notice as required in subsection (a). The notice must:

(1) specify the proposed boundaries of the proposed district, and

(2) list the maximum number of housing units and the maximum nonresidential space expected to be built in the district.

(c) After holding a hearing under subsection (a), the Council, by resolution approved by the Executive, may declare its intent to create a development district consisting of a specified geographic area. In the resolution the Council must explain why intensive development of and public investment in that area during the term of the district will benefit the public interest.

(d) If the Executive disapproves a resolution adopted under this Section within 10 days after it is adopted and the Council readopts it by a vote of 7 Councilmembers, or if the Executive does not act within 10 days after the Council adopts it, the resolution takes effect.

(e) For the purposes of this Section, multiple owners of a single parcel of real property must be treated as one owner and a single owner of multiple parcels must be treated as one owner.

(f) The adoption of a resolution under this Section does not:

(1) obligate the Council to create a development district;

(2) confer any contract, property, or other right on any person; or

(3) limit a district to the area described in the resolution.

(g) After the Council has adopted a resolution under Section 14-6, the Executive may require any applicant for provisional adequate public facilities approval under Section 14-7 to pay one or more filing fees or provide other financial assurances, in amounts and installments set by Executive regulation, to cover all costs of:

(1) Executive review of the proposed district;

(2) preparation of the fiscal report required under Section 14-8; and

(3) preparation of any bond issue or other financing after the district is created. (1994 L.M.C., ch. 12, § 1; 1996 L.M.C., ch. 1, § 1; 2008 L.M.C., ch. 34, § 1; 2022 L.M.C., ch. 40, §1.)

2008 L.M.C., ch. 34, took effect on January 26, 2009.

2008 L.M.C., ch. 34, § 3, states: Applicability; interpretation.

(a) Any amendment to County Code Chapter 14 made in Section 1 of this Act applies to any action taken after this Act take effect.

(b) Any amendment to County Code Chapter 14 made in Section 1 of this Act does not alter or affect any Council resolution adopted, or other action taken with respect to a development district, before this Act takes effect.

(c) Any amendment to County Code Chapter 14 made in Section 1 of this Act does not indicate that the previous version of a provision amended by Section 1 of this Act should be interpreted differently from the same provision as amended by Section 1 of this Act.

(d) Any notice or disclosure requirement in Section 14-17, as amended by Section 1 of this Act, applies to any sale contract signed, and any sales material or advertisement for sale disseminated, after this Act takes effect in any development district created, and in any proposed development district for which the Council adopted a resolution under Section 14-6, after January 1, 2001.

Sec. 14-7. Planning Board Review; Compliance with Adequate Public Facilities and Annual Growth Policy Requirements.

(a) After the Council has adopted a resolution under Section 14-6, one or more owners of land located in the proposed district may submit an application for provisional adequate public facilities approval, covering the entire proposed district, to the Planning Board. The application must:

(1) explain how each development located in the proposed district will comply with all applicable zoning and subdivision requirements, including any action necessary under Section 50-35(k);

(2) identify any infrastructure improvement necessary to satisfy the Growth Policy's adequate public facilities requirements for a development district; and

(3) estimate the cost to provide each such improvement.

(b) Within 180 days after receiving an application under subsection (a) and all information needed to review that application, the Board must jointly review for compliance with Section 50-35(k) and the Growth Policy all developments located in the proposed district as if they were one development. The Board may extend the deadline in this subsection for another 90 days, by notifying each applicant and the Executive and Council, if delays beyond the Board’s control require more time to conduct the required review. The Council at any time may waive any applicable deadline under this Section if the public interest so requires. In its review, the Board must apply all otherwise applicable standards and procedures. The Board may conditionally approve an application if it finds that the proposed district will meet all requirements under Section 50-35(k) and any added requirements which apply to a district under the Growth Policy. The Board may condition its approval on, among other things, the creation and funding of the district and the building of no more than the maximum number of housing units and the maximum nonresidential space listed in the petition filed under Section 14-6 or any later amendment to the petition.

(c) In the aggregate, the applications approved must commit the applicants to produce (through the funding of the proposed development district or otherwise) the infrastructure improvements needed to meet the applicants' adequate public facility requirements in the proposed district and any added requirements which apply to an applicant under the Growth Policy. In its approval, the Board must list those infrastructure improvements.

(d) An applicant may withdraw a development from a district before the district is created under Section 14-9(c). An applicant must not withdraw a development after the district is created. If an applicant withdraws a development before the district is created, the applicant's provisional adequate public facility approval is cancelled. If any withdrawal would significantly impair the ability of the proposed district to finance the required infrastructure improvements, the Planning Board may modify or cancel any approval under subsection (b) and may attach new conditions to any previous approval.

(e) (1) After a development district is created and the financing of all required infrastructure improvements is arranged, any development located in the district has for all purposes satisfied:

(A) the adequate public facility requirements of Section 50-35(k);

(B) any added requirements which apply to a district under the Growth Policy; and

(C) any other requirement to provide infrastructure improvements which the County adopts within 12 years after the district is created.

(2) This subsection does not relieve any taxpayer from paying a generally applicable County tax, assessment, fee, or charge.

(f) The County may reserve for its own use or transfer to other owners through regular development approval processes, or as otherwise provided by law, any additional public facility capacity attributable to improvements financed by the district which exceeds the capacity required for developments in the district. (1994 L.M.C., ch. 12, § 1; 2004 L.M.C., ch. 2, § 2; 2008 L.M.C., ch. 34, § 1.)

Editor’s note—See County Attorney Opinion dated 7/26/07 discussing multiple issues deriving from the Clarksburg Master Plan and related issues regarding development districts. See County Attorney Opinion dated 4/12/06 regarding the method of creating a development district and sources for the Executive Fiscal Report. See County Attorney Opinion dated 4/12/06, concerning development districts, which cites Section 14-7.

2008 L.M.C., ch. 34, took effect on January 26, 2009.

2008 L.M.C., ch. 34, § 3, states: Applicability; interpretation.

(a) Any amendment to County Code Chapter 14 made in Section 1 of this Act applies to any action taken after this Act take effect.

Sec. 14-8. Executive Fiscal Report.

(a) After the Planning Board has acted under Section 14-7(b) and within 180 days after the Executive has received all information necessary to review the application, the Executive, after consulting the Superintendent of Schools with respect to school facilities and the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission with respect to water and sewer facilities, must submit a report estimating:

(1) the cost of each infrastructure improvement listed by the Planning Board under Section 14-7(c) or recommended by the Executive under subsection (b); and

(2) (A) the amount of revenue needed annually to finance all infrastructure improvements funded, fully or partly, by a district; and

(B) the rate for each tax, assessment, fee, or charge available to the district that would produce the necessary revenue.

The Executive should compare these estimates to those submitted by the applicants under Section 14-7(a). The Executive may extend the 180-day deadline in this subsection for another 90 days, by notifying the Council, if delays beyond the Executive’s control require more time to produce the required report. The Council at any time may waive any applicable deadline under this subsection if the public interest so requires.

(b) In this report the Executive should also recommend whether to create a district, its boundaries if one is created, whether any subdistricts should be created in the district and, if so, their boundaries, which infrastructure improvements the district should fully or partly fund, and alternative financing or revenue-raising measures. (1994 L.M.C., ch. 12, § 1; 2008 L.M.C., ch. 34, § 1.)

2008 L.M.C., ch. 34, took effect on January 26, 2009.

2008 L.M.C., ch. 34, § 3, states: Applicability; interpretation.

(a) Any amendment to County Code Chapter 14 made in Section 1 of this Act applies to any action taken after this Act take effect.

Sec. 14-9. Second Council Resolution.

(a) The Council must hold a public hearing on the final resolution to create a development district not earlier than 45 days after the Planning Board has acted on all applications filed under Section 14-7 for that district.

(b) (1) The Council must give notice of the hearing by:

(A) advertisement in at least two newspapers of general circulation in the County at least 21 days before the hearing; and

(B) first-class mail to the record owner of each property located in the proposed district at the address shown on the most recent tax assessment records available 30 days before the hearing from the State Department of Assessments and Taxation or any successor agency. The Council must retain sufficient proof that each required notice was mailed. However, the failure of any property owner to receive notice by mail does not invalidate the adoption of a resolution under this Section or any later action by the Council or Executive.

(2) Each notice mailed under this subsection must include:

(A) a copy of the proposed resolution to create a district; and

(B) an estimated rate for any tax, assessment, fee, or charge proposed to fund infrastructure improvements for the district, or, if the estimated rate cannot reasonably be determined, a description of how the rate will be set.

(c) If the Council intends to use special obligation debt to finance the district, and the district was initiated by the Council under subsection 14-6(b), before the Council adopts a resolution under this Section the Council must receive a petition to create a development district signed by at least 80 percent of the owners of real property and the owners of at least 80 percent in value of the real property, as shown on the latest tax assessment records available from the State Department of Assessments and Taxation or any successor agency, located in the proposed district.

(d) If the district to be approved under this Section would extend beyond the specified geographic area approved under Section 14-6(c), before the Council adopts a resolution under this Section the Council must also receive a petition to create the district signed by at least 80 percent of the owners of the real property and the owners of at least 80 percent in value of the real property located in the area added to the district, as shown on the latest tax assessment records available from the State Department of Assessments and Taxation or any successor agency.

(e) After the public hearing, the Council by resolution approved by the Executive may create a development district. If the Executive disapproves a resolution within 10 days after it is adopted and the Council readopts it by a vote of 7 Councilmembers, or if the Executive does not act within 10 days after the Council adopts it, the resolution takes effect.

(f) A resolution adopted under this Section must:

(1) define the development district by specifying its boundaries and listing the tax account number of each property in the district;

(2) list each infrastructure improvement that will be financed by the development district, the estimated completion date and cost of that improvement, and the share of that cost which the County or another government agency will pay;

(3) create, and specify the amount or percentage of, a contingency account for unexpected cost overruns; and

(4) create a special fund for the development district.

(g) A resolution adopted under this Section may also require that a building permit must not be issued for any listed development (or part of a development) in the district until the earlier of:

(1) the date a specific infrastructure improvement begins construction; or

(2) a specific date.

(h) An infrastructure improvement financed by a development district may include any infrastructure required by the Planning Board as a condition of project, preliminary, or site plan approval. Except as expressly approved by a Council resolution, a development district must not finance that part of the cost of any infrastructure improvement that has:

(1) been paid for by any other government agency, or;

(2) received a credit toward the payment of the development impact tax or any other tax, fee, or charge.

(i) A district may finance an infrastructure improvement which primarily serves residents or occupants of only one development or subdivision only if:

(1) the improvement also provides added transportation capacity, enhanced public services, or other significant public benefits to residents or occupants of one or more other developments or subdivisions; or

(2) (A) either the Planning Board or the Executive recommends that the district finance that improvement; and

(B) the Council concludes that the public interest justifies the district financing that improvement.

(j) The Council may amend a resolution adopted under this Section after giving notice as required by subsection (b), including notice by mail to each property owner in the district. If the Executive disapproves an amended resolution within 10 days after it is adopted and the Council readopts it by a vote of 6 Councilmembers, or if the Executive does not act within 10 days after the Council adopts it, the amended resolution takes effect.

(k) A resolution adopted under this Section may create one or more subdistricts in a development district if the petition to create the development district filed under Section 14-6 was signed by at least 80 percent of the owners of real property and the owners of at least 80 percent in value of the real property located in the proposed subdistrict. All special taxes, assessments, fees, or charges levied on the properties located in any subdistrict must be dedicated to a subaccount of the special fund and used to fund the construction of specified infrastructure improvements in or which benefit the district. If any subdistrict is created, the resolution adopted under this Section must:

(1) specify the boundaries of each subdistrict;

(2) list the tax account number of each property in the subdistrict;

(3) list the amount of each infrastructure improvement to be financed by special taxes, assessments, fees, or charges applicable in the subdistrict; and

(4) create designated subaccounts in the special fund.

(l) The adoption of a resolution under this Section does not:

(1) obligate the County to finance any infrastructure improvement or levy any tax, assessment, fee, or charge in the development district; or

(2) confer any contract, property or other right on any person. (1994 L.M.C., ch. 12, § 1; 1996 L.M.C., ch. 1, § 1; 2008 L.M.C., ch. 34, § 1; 2012 L.M.C., ch. 26, § 1; 2022 L.M.C., ch. 40, §1.)

Editor’s note—See County Attorney Opinion dated 9/7/07 discussing methods of acquiring the construction of infrastructure for development districts. See County Attorney Opinion dated 7/26/07 discussing multiple issues deriving from the Clarksburg Master Plan and related issues regarding development districts. See County Attorney Opinion dated 4/12/06 regarding the method of creating a development district and sources for the Executive Fiscal Report.

2012 L.M.C., ch. 26, § 2, states: Statement of Intent. The Council intends that, if any further special taxing district is created by law:

(a) except as expressly approved by a Council resolution, a tax imposed under the authorizing law must not pay for that part of the cost of any infrastructure improvement that has:

(1) been paid for by any other government agency, or;

(2) received a credit toward the payment of the development impact tax or any other tax, fee, or charge; and

(b) the County must not allow a credit toward the payment of any development impact tax levied under Chapter 52, or any other tax, fee, or charge, for that part of any infrastructure improvement financed by the special taxing district.

2008 L.M.C., ch. 34, took effect on January 26, 2009.

2008 L.M.C., ch. 34, § 3, states: Applicability; interpretation.

(a) Any amendment to County Code Chapter 14 made in Section 1 of this Act applies to any action taken after this Act take effect.

Article III. Financing A Development District.

Sec. 14-10. Special Taxes and Assessments.

(a) A resolution adopted under Section 14-9 must also authorize the imposition of a special assessment, special tax, fee, or charge, or any combination of them, in the development district at a rate designed to provide adequate revenues to:

(1) pay the principal of, interest on, and redemption premium, if any, on the bonds;

(2) replenish any debt service reserve fund;

(3) pay the cost of any approved infrastructure improvement, or reimburse the County for the cost of any approved infrastructure improvement paid from other County funds;

(4) pay directly the cost of any approved infrastructure improvement built or funded other than by the County; and

(5) pay the administrative expenses of the development district.

The resolution may reserve the Council's authority to adjust any rate schedule.

(b) The resolution must provide, except when clearly inconsistent with state law, that:

(1) any property which is fully developed before the development district is created is exempt from any special assessment, special tax, fee, or charge imposed under this Chapter; and

(2) the owner of any property exempt from payment under paragraph (1) which is later developed more intensively and benefits from any development capacity attributable to infrastructure improvements financed by the district must pay any tax, fee, or charge that it would have otherwise paid under this Chapter.

Under paragraph (1), “fully developed” property does not include any property developed after the Council adopted a resolution under Section 14-6 by any property owner who signed a petition under subsection 14-6(a) or that owner’s successor in interest, and any such property is not exempt from any special assessment, special tax, fee, or charge imposed under this Chapter.

(1) be levied and collected in the same manner, for the same period or periods, and with the same date or dates of finality as otherwise provided by law; and

(2) end when all bonds issued for the district have been paid in full and the County has been fully paid for each infrastructure improvement built or funded by the County.

(d) The special assessments, special taxes, fees, or charges authorized under subsection (a) must be payable as otherwise provided by law or (if state and County law are silent) as provided in the resolution adopted under Section 14-9. Any special assessment, special tax, fee, or charge must not be levied until each infrastructure improvement to be financed or refinanced has been approved in the County capital improvements program.

(e) The resolution may establish procedures for the prepayment of any special tax, special assessment, fee, or charge levied in the district. The resolution also must, subject to modification by a resolution adopted under Section 14-13:

(1) specify (to the extent not already controlled by state or County law) the basis of and any exemptions from any special assessment, special tax, fee, or charge;

(2) set a maximum special assessment, special tax, fee, or charge applicable to each individual property in the district; and

(3) prohibit any increase in, or extension of the term of, the maximum special assessment, special tax, fee, or charge applicable to any individual property because of any delinquency or default by any other taxpayer.

(f) (1) A taxpayer who did not sign a petition under Section 14-6(a), and that taxpayer's successor in interest, may defer any special ad valorem tax on real property imposed to support that debt until the Planning Board approves a plan of subdivision or resubdivision for that taxpayer's property, or, if no subdivision plan is necessary, until the first building permit is issued for any building on the affected property.

(2) The Director of Finance and the taxpayer may agree on a payment schedule.

(3) The taxpayer must pay interest on any deferred tax at the rate set by law for unpaid real property taxes during each year that taxes are deferred.

(g) The County must not allow a credit toward the payment of any development impact tax levied under Chapter 52, or any other tax, fee, or charge, for that part of any infrastructure improvement financed by a development district. (1994 L.M.C., ch. 12, § 1; 2008 L.M.C., ch. 34, § 1; 2012 L.M.C., ch. 26, § 1.)

Editor’s note—2012 L.M.C., ch. 26, § 2, states: Statement of Intent. The Council intends that, if any further special taxing district is created by law:

(a) except as expressly approved by a Council resolution, a tax imposed under the authorizing law must not pay for that part of the cost of any infrastructure improvement that has:

(1) been paid for by any other government agency, or;

(2) received a credit toward the payment of the development impact tax or any other tax, fee, or charge; and

2008 L.M.C., ch. 34, took effect on January 26, 2009.

2008 L.M.C., ch. 34, § 3, states: Applicability; interpretation.

(a) Any amendment to County Code Chapter 14 made in Section 1 of this Act applies to any action taken after this Act take effect.

Sec. 14-11. Special Fund.

(a) The resolution creating a special fund under Section 14-9 must:

(1) pledge to the special fund the proceeds of any special assessment, special tax, fee, or charge levied under Section 14-10; and

(2) require that proceeds from any special tax, special assessment, fee, or charge be paid into the special fund.

(b) When any bonds authorized by this Chapter with respect to a development district are outstanding, the County has not been reimbursed for the cost of any infrastructure improvement funded or reimbursed by the County, or the cost of any infrastructure improvement to be paid by the County directly from special assessments or special taxes have not been paid, funds in the special fund must be used in any fiscal year to pay the principal of, interest on, and redemption premium, if any, on the bonds, to pay or reimburse the County for infrastructure improvements, to pay administrative expenses, and to replenish any debt service reserve fund established with respect to the bonds.

(c) After the bonds authorized by this Chapter with respect to a development district are fully paid, the County has been reimbursed for the cost of any infrastructure improvement funded or reimbursed by the County, and the cost of any infrastructure improvement to be paid by the County directly from special assessments or special taxes has been paid, further special assessments, special taxes, fees, or charges must not be levied and the district terminates by operation of law. If the Council so determines, any balance in the special fund must be paid to the general fund of the County. (1994 L.M.C., ch. 12, § 1; 2008 L.M.C., ch. 34, § 1.)

Editor’s note —2008 L.M.C., ch. 34, took effect on January 26, 2009.

2008 L.M.C., ch. 34, § 3, states: Applicability; interpretation.

(a) Any amendment to County Code Chapter 14 made in Section 1 of this Act applies to any action taken after this Act take effect.

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