In accordance with Article 24, § 9-1002
of the Annotated Code of Maryland (Chapter 401, Acts of the Maryland
General Assembly 2004), as amended:
A. The County Council of Dorchester County may, by ordinance,
fix and impose a building excise tax on any building construction
within Dorchester County.
B. The County Council shall specify in the ordinance:
(1) The types of building construction subject to the
building excise tax;
(2) The criteria and formulas used to assess the tax;
and
C. The County Council may impose different rates of the
building excise tax on different types of building construction subject
to the building excise tax. The tax rates:
(1) Shall relate to the development or growth-related
infrastructure needs in the County; and
(2) May not exceed:
(a)
Per unit for residential development where building
construction is to occur: $5,000; or
(b)
For any category of nonresidential development:
$1 per square foot, not to exceed $5,000 per lot or parcel.
D. The revenues from the building excise tax shall be
deposited in a special fund. The special fund may only be used for
the capital costs of additional or expanded public works, improvements,
and facilities required to accommodate new construction or development,
including: emergency services; sheriff's offices; and schools.
E. The building excise tax may be imposed throughout
the County, including within municipal corporations.
In accordance with Article 24, § 9-1002
of the Annotated Code of Maryland (Chapter 401, Acts of the Maryland
General Assembly of 2004), there is a building excise tax on all new
construction and addition construction within Dorchester County and
the incorporated municipalities of Dorchester County, which tax will
finance the costs for additional or expanded capital improvements
necessary to accommodate new residential and nonresidential construction
or development.
Words and phrases used in this article shall
have their usual meaning, unless otherwise defined in this section.
ADDITION CONSTRUCTION
The construction, rehabilitation, renovation or alteration
to a building or structure where the work requires a Dorchester County
or municipality building permit and where the addition either:
[Amended 10-5-2010 by Bill No. 2010-18]
A.
For a residential structure, increases the number of dwelling
units intended for occupancy of an existing structure, or converting
a nonresidential structure to a residential structure; or
B.
For a nonresidential structure, increases the number of gross
square feet on the property and is intended occupancy.
APPLICANT
Any individual, firm, partnership, corporation, association,
society, trust or other legal entity which files an application with
the County or with any municipality for a building permit/zoning certificate.
CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT
Any public facility acquisition, architectural, engineering
or site design, site development, equipment, facilities or other construction
activity and associated costs related to schools, public safety communication
systems and the sheriff's office. "Capital improvement" includes sheriff's
office vehicles and equipment.
DWELLING UNIT
A single unit providing complete, independent living facilities
for at least one person, including permanent provisions for sanitation,
cooking, eating, sleeping and other activities routinely associated
with daily life. "Dwelling unit" includes a living quarters for a
domestic or other employee or tenant, an in-law or accessory apartment,
a guest house or a caretaker residence. A dwelling unit shall be located
in a structure containing a minimum gross floor area of 600 square
feet.
[Added 10-5-2010 by Bill No. 2010-18]
NEW CONSTRUCTION
Construction of a building or structure which requires a
Dorchester County or municipality building permit. For a residential
structure where the building replaces an existing residential building,
new construction does not include replacement of a building due to
casualty, loss or demolition within three years of that casualty,
loss or demolition, or replacement of a mobile home on a site. For
a nonresidential structure where the building replaces an existing
building, new construction does not include replacement of a building
ready for occupancy except to the extent that the gross square footage
of the replacement building exceeds the gross square footage of the
building being replaced.
OCCUPANCY
Designed for human occupancy in which individuals may live,
work, or congregate for amusement, educational or similar purposes
and which is equipped with means of egress, light and ventilation
facilities.
RESIDENTIAL
A building which contains one or more dwelling units, including
boardinghouses but not including transient accommodations such as
hotels, country inns, bed-and-breakfast inns, camping trailers or
recreational vehicles (RVs). "Residential" includes all areas that
are contained within a residential building such as attached garages
or home occupations, but does not include nonresidential uses in mixed-use
structures. "Residential" does not include detached accessory buildings
such as detached garages or sheds which do not contain any living
quarters.
The Director of Finance shall prepare and submit
an annual report on or before July 31 of each fiscal year to the County
Council which shall include the following information:
A. Total amount of building excise taxes collected.
B. Amount of funds appropriated from the Building Excise
Tax Fund.
C. Amount of funds expended from the Building Excise
Tax Fund.
D. Funds remaining in the Building Excise Tax Fund.
E. Total amount of building excise tax refunds.
[Added 5-20-2014 by Bill
No. 2014-7; 4-5-2016 by Bill No. 2006-1; amended 5-8-2018 by Bill No. 2018-3; 6-15-2020 by Bill No. 2020-3; 9-20-2022 by Bill No. 2022-9; 11-21-2023 by Bill No. 2023-9]
The applicability of the building excise tax imposed by this Article
X of Chapter
144 of the Dorchester County Code is suspended for a period of one year commencing on July 1, 2023, and ending on June 30, 2024, and to provide that the building excise tax does not apply to building permits filed between July 1, 2023, and June 30, 2024.