Council meets on Nov. 16 to vote on the 2020-2024 Subdivision Staging Policy and related bills

For Immediate Release: Friday, November 13, 2020

The Council will meet virtually on Monday, Nov. 16 at 1:30 p.m. Council staff reports and additional information on items scheduled for Council review can be viewed at: http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/COUNCIL/ondemand/index.html. The Council meeting schedule may change from time to time. The current Council agendas can be viewed at: http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/COUNCIL/ondemand/index.html.

On the guidance of Health Officer and Chief of Public Health Services Dr. Travis Gayles, there is currently no public access to the Council Office Building. The virtual Council meeting will be streamed live on the Council’s web page via YouTube and on Facebook Live and can be watched on County Cable Montgomery on: Xfinity/RCN 6 HD 996/1056 and Fios 30.

Council Agenda Items

2020-2024 Subdivision Staging Policy (Growth and Infrastructure Policy)
The Council will meet at 1:30 p.m. to vote on the County’s 2020-2024 Subdivision Staging Policy, which is one of the many ways that policymakers maintain and enhance Montgomery County's outstanding quality of life. The Subdivision Staging Policy is based on having sufficient infrastructure to support new development. It includes criteria and guidance for the administration of Montgomery County’s Adequate Public Facility Ordinance (APFO), which matches the timing of private development with the availability of public infrastructure. Every four years, recommendations for policy updates reflecting current growth patterns start with the Montgomery Planning Department, before being reviewed and approved by the Montgomery County Planning Board and the Council. This year's update provided an enhanced focus on schools in relation to growth and development in Montgomery County. The transportation side of the Subdivision Staging Policy evaluated transportation policy areas, modes of travel, areawide development impacts and modeling data with a new focus on Vision Zero safety standards.

The Council is scheduled to vote to change the name of the Subdivision Staging Policy to the Growth and Infrastructure Policy to help encourage more public interest and involvement in the topic. 

Some key changes related to schools, transportation and taxes are listed below.

In the area of schools, the Council is scheduled to vote on the following provisions:

Classify County neighborhoods into School Impact Areas, termed Infill or Turnover Areas, based on the area’s recent and anticipated growth. The goal of this change is to provide a more context-sensitive measure for the calculation of school impact taxes and development evaluation. Require the Planning Board to adopt, by Jan. 1, 2021, a set of Annual School Test Guidelines, which outline the methodologies used to conduct the Annual School Test and to evaluate the enrollment impacts of development applications in order to provide a more transparent process for the evaluation and adoption of the Annual School Test. Eliminate the development moratorium Countywide, replacing it with a three-tiered Utilization Premium Payment where the payment required increases with increased levels of overutilization. The aim of this change is to eliminate the uncertainty and inefficiency associated with residential development moratoria and to further support the County’s housing goals, while still addressing the fiscal needs of school facility conditions.

In the area of transportation, the Council scheduled to vote on the following provisions:

Prioritize motor vehicle mitigation strategies designed to improve travel safety. Introduce a Vision Zero Impact Statement for certain transportation studies depending on the project's size. Eliminate the transportation study requirement for motor vehicle adequacy in Red Policy Areas (Metrorail Station Policy Areas and Purple Line Station Areas). There will no longer be traffic congestion standards or traffic analysis test in the vicinity of these areas. Exempt bioscience facilities, for the next four years, from all Local Area Transportation Review (LATR) tests to provide faster approval of facilities that support COVID-19 research and provide significant employment opportunities in the County. Update the requirements for developer-funded bikeways, sidewalks and bus shelters to be more robust.

Notable tax-related changes in the Growth and Infrastructure Policy include the following:

Calculate standard school impact taxes at 100 percent of the cost of a student seat using School Impact Area student generation rates. Currently, school impact taxes are based on 120 percent of the cost of a student seat. This change more accurately reflects the true cost of school facilities. Provide a discount on transportation impact taxes in desired growth and investment areas to further incentivize development in these areas. Exempt from both school and transportation impact taxes any development located in a Qualified Opportunity Zone certified by the U.S. Treasury Department, to further incentivize growth and development in areas recognized as needing investment. Allow 60 percent impact tax credit for construction of three-bedroom units in Infill School Impact Areas. Encourage construction of more family-sized multifamily housing near transit.

The Council staff report can be viewed here.

Bill 37-20, Subdivision – Preliminary Plan – Adequate Public Facilities – Amendments
The Council is scheduled to vote on Bill 37-20, which would authorize the Planning Board to make a new adequate public facilities determination for school adequacy for the remaining unbuilt units under the school test in effect at the time of board review when an applicant requests an extension of an adequate public facilities determination. The new determination would be done if the unbuilt units generate more than 10 students at any school serving the development.

The Council staff report can be viewed here.

#ValidityPeriod is being used for this bill on social media.

Bill 38-20, Taxation – Development Impact Taxes for Transportation and Public School Improvements – Amendments
The Council will vote on Bill 38-20, which would amend transportation and school impact tax district designations and the impact tax rates that apply in these districts. Bill 38-20 also would modify the applicability of development impact tax exemptions for certain uses and in certain locations, and generally amend the law governing transportation and school development impact taxes.

The Council staff report can be viewed here.

#ImpactTax is being used for this bill on social media

Resolution to Amend the Development Impact Tax Rates for Transportation and Public School Improvements
The Council will also vote on a resolution to amend development impact tax rates for transportation and public school improvements. The rates in the resolution reflect the Council’s straw votes as an outcome of its review of the Draft 2020-2024 Subdivision Staging Policy and Bill 38-20, Development Impact Taxes. The Council’s straw votes reflect the creation of two zones for the School Impact Tax. The Council added a use category to the transportation impact tax table for agricultural facilities with a $0.00 rate. The Council recommends no other rate changes to the transportation impact tax rate schedule.

The Council staff report can be viewed here.

Resolution to Establish Utilization Premium Payment Rates for Public School Improvements
The Council will introduce a Resolution to Establish Utilization Premium Payment Rates for public school improvements. The rates in the resolution reflect the recommendations of the Council as an outcome of its review of the Draft 2020-2024 Subdivision Staging Policy (SSP) and Bill 38-20, Development Impact Taxes. The Council recommendations reflect the creation of three utilization thresholds at which a Utilization Premium Payment (UPP) will apply. In any school service area with a utilization rate of 105 percent up to a utilization rate of 120 percent, a UPP equal to 40 percent of the portion of the applicable impact tax for the inadequate school level will apply. In any school service area with a utilization rate of 120 percent up to a utilization rate of 135 percent, a UPP equal to 80 percent of the portion of the applicable impact tax for the inadequate school level will apply. In any school service area with a utilization rate of 135 percent or higher, a UPP equal to 120 percent of the portion of the applicable impact tax for the inadequate school level will apply.

The Council staff report can be viewed here.

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Release ID: 20-453
Media Contact: Sonya Healy 240-777-7926, Juan Jovel 240-777-7931