Anne Arundel County Accepts the ICC National Green Building Standard
By: Ed Lee
In 2007, the National Association of Home Builders and the International Code Council released the ICC 700 National Green Building Standard. The National Green Building Standard (the “NGBS”) provides a definition for residential green building with respect to single family and multifamily homes, residential remodeling projects, and site development projects.
On February 21, 2012, Anne Arundel County became the first local Maryland jurisdiction to expressly include the standard in property tax credit legislation for green residential development. In approving Council Bill 3-12, the Anne Arundel County Council added the National Green Building Standard to the definition of a High Performance Dwelling under the County’s existing High Performance Dwelling Tax Credit. Prior to approving the bill, only the USGBC’s LEED for Homes rating system was approved for use under the tax credit program. Inclusion of the Standard in the tax program will facilitate greater use of the Standard by residential developers, home builders and remodelers. The Bill will be effective on April 6, 2012.
The Anne Arundel County High Performance Dwelling Tax Credit provides a property tax credit for high performance dwellings built on or after July 1, 2010, that meet or exceed USGBC’s LEED Silver standards. Upon Council Bill 3-12 becoming effective, the property tax credit also will be afforded to high performance dwellings that meet or exceed the National Green Building Standard’s Silver standards. In addition to a silver rating, NGBS buildings may also be rated at the gold or platinum level.
The local tax credit is available for five years and is calculated as a percentage of the county property taxes owed on the dwelling only, but excludes property taxes on the land. The amount of the credit increases with the performance rating level achieved for the dwelling:
- LEED or NGBS Silver: 40% of taxes up to $1,000.
- LEED or NGBS Gold: 60% of taxes up to $2,000.
- LEED or NGBS Platinum: 80% of taxes up to $3,000.