§ 20-706. St. Mary's County

   (a) Building permit fees. --

   (1) The County Commissioners of St. Mary's County may impose building permit fees in an amount up to 2% of the cost of any new construction of any living units:

      (i) built in St. Mary's County; or

      (ii) prebuilt and brought into St. Mary's County.

   (2) The county commissioners shall set the building permit fees in December of each year.

(b) Development impact fee. --

   (1) Subject to paragraphs (2), (3), and (4) of this subsection, by ordinance or resolution, the County Commissioners of St. Mary's County may impose a development impact fee to finance any of the costs for facilities described in subsection (c) of this section required to accommodate new construction or development.

   (2) By ordinance, the county commissioners may enact an exemption to the development impact fee imposed under paragraph (1) of this subsection for the first three lots in a minor subdivision that are:

      (i) recorded after June 1, 2000, and created from a parcel of record or a lot of record; and

      (ii) transferred to a natural, direct lineal descendant or a legally adopted child or grandchild.

   (3) (i) Subject to subparagraphs (ii) and (iii) of this paragraph, for each fiscal year, the county commissioners may:

         1. waive the development impact fee imposed under paragraph (1) of this subsection for up to 60 newly constructed living units, excluding mobile homes; and

         2. defer or provide for the amortization of the development impact fee for up to 70 newly constructed living units, excluding mobile homes.

      (ii) The county commissioners may waive, defer, or amortize the development impact fee only for newly constructed living units that:

         1. are considered affordable for individuals whose family income in the previous fiscal year was less than 60% of the county median family income as reported by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; and

         2. do not exceed a specified square footage determined by the county commissioners.

      (iii) The total amount of development impact fees waived, deferred, or amortized shall be reflected in the St. Mary's County annual capital budget for the fiscal year in which the waiver, deferral, or amortization is granted.

   (4) The county commissioners may defer the building impact fee imposed on a newly constructed living unit constructed in accordance with a building trades program approved by the St. Mary's County Board of Education until the earlier of:

      (i) 1 year from the time the fee would otherwise have been payable; or

      (ii) the time the living unit is sold and conveyed.

(c) Use of revenues. -- The revenue derived from this section shall be used to defray the cost to St. Mary's County for additional educational, water, sewerage, road, sanitation, solid waste, park, or similar facilities.

HISTORY: An. Code 1957, art. 25, § 10D-1; 2013, ch. 119, § 2; ch. 378.