(a) A development impact tax must be imposed before a building permit is issued for development in the County.
(c) The following impact tax districts are established:
(1) White Flint: The part of the White Flint Metro Station Policy Area included in the White Flint Special Taxing District in Section 68C-2;
(2) Red Policy Areas: Bethesda CBD, Chevy Chase Lake, Forest Glen, Friendship Heights, Grosvenor, Glenmont,, Lyttonsville, Medical Center, Purple Line East, Rockville Town Center, Shady Grove, Silver Spring CBD, Takoma, Twinbrook, Wheaton CBD and Woodside Metro Station Policy Areas;
(3) Orange Policy Areas: Bethesda/Chevy Chase, Burtonsville Crossroads, Clarksburg Town Center, Derwood, Gaithersburg City, Germantown Town Center, Kensington/Wheaton, North Bethesda, R&D Village, Rockville City, Silver Spring/Takoma Park, White Flint, except the portion that is included in the White Flint Special Taxing District in Section 68C-2, and White Oak Policy Areas;
(4) Yellow Policy Areas: Aspen Hill, Clarksburg, Cloverly, Fairland/Colesville, Germantown East, Germantown West, Montgomery Village/Airpark, North Potomac, Olney, and Potomac Policy Areas; and
(5) Green Policy Areas: Damascus, Rural East, and Rural West Policy Areas.
(d) A Clergy House must pay the impact tax rate that applies to a place of worship if the house:
(1) is on the same lot or parcel, adjacent to. or confronting the property on which the place of worship is located; and
(2) is incidental and subordinate to the principal building used by the religious organization as its place of worship.
The place of worship tax rate does not apply to any portion of a Clergy House that is nonresidential development.
(e) Development impact taxes collected from developments located in the cities of Gaithersburg and Rockville must be accounted for separately according to the municipality where the funds originated. These tax revenues must be used only to fund transportation improvements listed in a memorandum of understanding between the County and the respective City, which must be approved by the County Council. If the County and the respective City do not agree on a memorandum of understanding regarding the use of impact tax revenues, the County Council may appropriate funds to improvements which are consistent with the master plan of the respective City after holding a separate hearing on any specific improvement if the City so requests.
(f) A development impact tax must not be imposed on any building owned, and used primarily, by any agency or instrumentality of federal, state, County, or municipal government.
(g) A development impact tax must not be imposed on:
(1) any Moderately Priced Dwelling Unit built under Chapter 25A or any similar program enacted by either Gaithersburg or Rockville;
(2) any other dwelling unit built under a government regulation or binding agreement that limits for at least 15 years the price or rent charged for the unit in order to make the unit affordable to households earning less than 60% of the area median income, adjusted for family size;
(3) any Personal Living Quarters unit built under Section 59-3.3.2.D, which meets the price or rent eligibility standards for a moderately priced dwelling unit under Chapter 25A;
(4) any dwelling unit in an Opportunity Housing Project built under Sections 56-28 through 56-32, which meets the price or rent eligibility standards for a moderately priced dwelling unit under Chapter 25A;
(5) any development located in an enterprise zone designated by the State;
(6) except for a development located in the City of Rockville, any development located in a Qualified Opportunity Zone certified by the United States Treasury Department;
(7) a house built by high school students under a program operated by the Montgomery County Board of Education; or
(8) a farm tenant dwelling.
(h) The development impact tax does not apply to:
(1) any reconstruction or alteration of an existing building or part of a building that does not increase the gross floor area of the building;
(2) any ancillary building in a residential development that:
(A) does not increase the number of dwelling units in that development; and
(B) is used only by residents of that development and their guests, and is not open to the public; and
(3) any building that replaces an existing building on the same site or in the same project (as approved by the Planning Board or the equivalent body in Rockville or Gaithersburg) to the extent of the gross floor area of the previous building, if:
(A) an application for a building permit is filed within four years after demolition or destruction of the previous building was substantially completed;
(B) the Director of the Department of Permitting Services or the Director’s designee finds that the applicant was unable to apply for a building permit or commence construction within four years after demolition or destruction of the previous building was substantially completed due to circumstances beyond the control of the applicant or the applicant’s agents; or
(C) the previous building is demolished or destroyed, after the replacement building is built, by a date specified in a phasing plan approved by the Planning Board or equivalent body.
However, if in any case the development impact tax that would be due on the new, reconstructed, or altered building is greater than the tax that would have been due on the previous building if it were taxed at the same time, the applicant must pay the difference between those amounts. (1986 L.M.C., ch. 54, § 1; 1989 L.M.C., ch. 17, § 1; 1990 L.M.C., ch. 40, § 1; 1992 L.M.C., ch. 17, § 1; 1995 L.M.C., ch. 25, § 1; 2001 L.M.C., ch. 10, § 1; 2002 L.M.C., ch. 4, § 1 § 1; 2003 L.M.C., ch. 27, § 1; 2004 L.M.C., ch. 2, § 2; 2007 L.M.C., ch. 16, § 1; 2010 L.M.C., ch. 35, § 2; 2011 L.M.C., ch. 1, § 1; 2015 L.M.C., ch. 4, § 1; 2015 L.M.C., ch. 37, § 1; 2016 L.M.C., ch. 7, § 2; 2016 L.M.C., ch. 36, § 1; 2020 L.M.C., ch. 37, §1.)
Editor’s note—Section 52-41 (formerly Section 52-49, 2016 L.M.C., ch. 7, § 1) is cited in F.D.R. Srour Partnership v. Montgomery County, 179 Md. App. 109, 944 A.2d 1149 (2008), aff’d., 407 Md. 233, 964 A.2d 650 (2009).
See County Attorney Opinion dated 3/28/91 commenting and proposing legislation to amend the County Code so that it will not conflict with State law regarding development impact tax.
2018 L.M.C., ch. 18, § 1, states: Sec. 2. Effective date; Transition. This Act takes effect on March 1, 2017. The amendments to the development impact tax for transportation improvements and the development impact tax for public school improvements added by Section 1 of this Act, must apply to any application for a building permit filed on or after March 1, 2017. If a property owner is required to pay the development impact tax rates for transportation or public school improvements that take effect on March 1, 2017, the Director of Finance:
(a) must not require the payment of a transportation mitigation payment or a school facilities payment for the same development; and
(b) must refund the payment or give the property owner a credit against the development impact tax for transportation due for the development in the amount of any transportation mitigation payment made for the same development prior to March 1, 2017.
2018 L.M.C., ch. 18, § 2 states: Expedited Effective Date. .... This Act takes effect on the date on which it becomes law and must apply to any transportation mitigation payment made on or after November 29, 2016.
2018 L.M.C., ch. 2, § 1, amends 2015 L.M.C., ch. 37, § 2, to state: Sec. 2. Applicability.
(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) or (c), County Code Section 52-41(g)(5), formerly 52-49(g)(5), and Section 52-54(c)(5), formerly 52-89(c)(5), both inserted by Section 1 of this Act, do not apply to any development which received preliminary subdivision plan approval or site plan approval (or a similar approval in a municipality) before October 22, 2015.
(b) If a development approved before October 22, 2015 is amended any time thereafter to include additional dwelling units and at least 25% of the additional dwelling units are exempt under paragraph (1), (2), (3), or (4) of Section 52-54(c), or any combination of them, then Section 52-41(g)(5) and Section 52-54(c)(5), apply to the additional units.
(c) If the relevant preliminary subdivision plan was approved before January 1, 2008, Sections 52-41(g)(5) and 52-54(c) apply to building permit applications for the unbuilt portion of the development.
2016 L.M.C., ch. 36, § 2, states: Effective date; Transition. This Act takes effect on March 1, 2017. The amendments to the development impact tax for transportation improvements and the development impact tax for public school improvements added by Section 1 of this Act, must apply to any application for a building permit filed on or after March 1, 2017. Any property owner who is required to pay the development impact tax rates for transportation or public school improvements that take effect on March 1, 2017 must not be required to pay a transportation mitigation payment or a school facilities payment.
2016 L.M.C., ch. 7, § 3, states: Reporting. When a development proposes at least 25% affordable dwelling units under Section 52-41(g)(5) and Section 52-54(c)(5), the Department of Housing and Community Affairs must report to the Council the location of the development, the total number of units in the development, and the number of affordable units within 30 days from the date of the agreement to build MPDUs. If a development with 25% of affordable dwelling units does not obtain an agreement to build MPDUs with the Department of Housing and Community Affairs, then the Department of Permitting Services must report to the Council the use of any impact tax exemption under Section 52-41(g)(5) and Section 52-54(c)(5) within 30 days from the date the exemption is granted.
2015 L.M.C., ch. 37, § 2, states: Applicability. County Code Section 52-49(g)(5) (now Section 52-41(g)(5), 2016 L.M.C., ch. 7, § 1) and Section 52-89(c)(5) (now Section 52-54(c)(5), 2016 L.M.C., ch. 7, § 1), both inserted by Section 1 of this Act, do not apply to any development which received preliminary subdivision plan approval or site plan approval (or a similar approval in a municipality) before this Act took effect.
2011 L.M.C., ch. 1, § 2, amended by 2013 L.M.C., ch. 4, § 3, states, in part: ... Applicability; Refunds. ... This Act takes effect on December 1, 2010, and applies to any development located in the White Flint impact tax district for which a building permit is issued on or after December 1, 2010. If any development impact tax was collected under Article VII (now Article IV, 2016 L.M.C., ch. 7, § 1) of County Code Chapter 52 before this Act took effect for any development to which this Act applies, the Director of Finance must promptly refund that tax as if a refund were due and claimed under County Code Section 52-54 (now Section 52-46, 2016 L.M.C., ch. 7, § 1).
Formerly, § 49A-4.