2023 Maryland Statutes › Public Utilities › Division II - Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission › Title 25 - Rates and Charges › Subtitle 4 - System Development Charge › Section 25-403 - Amount of System Development Charge

(a)    (1)    Each year the Montgomery County Council and the Prince George’s County Council shall meet to determine the amount of the system development charge.
(2)    The amount of the system development charge for a particular property:
(i)    shall be based on the number of plumbing fixtures and the assigned values for those fixtures as set forth in the Commission’s plumbing and gas fitting regulations;
(ii)    except as provided in item (iii) of this paragraph and subsection (c) of this section, may not exceed $200 per fixture unit; and
(iii)    for residential properties with five or fewer toilets, shall be based on the number of toilets per dwelling unit and:
1.    for each apartment unit, may not exceed $2,000;
2.    for dwellings with one or two toilets, may not exceed $3,000;
3.    for dwellings with three or four toilets, may not exceed $5,000;
4.    for dwellings with five toilets, may not exceed $7,000; and
5.    for dwellings with more than five toilets, shall be calculated on a fixture unit basis.
(3)    When determining the system development charge, the county councils shall consider the actual cost of construction of Commission facilities.
(b)    When determining the system development charge, under criteria established jointly and agreed on by the county councils, the county councils:
(1)    shall grant a full or partial exemption from the charge for public sponsored or affordable housing as jointly defined and agreed on by the county councils;
(2)    may grant a full or partial exemption from the charge for:
(i)    revitalization projects;
(ii)    property owned by a community–based organization that is exempt from taxation under § 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and has the primary mission and purpose of providing recreational and educational programs and services to youth, if:
1.    the property is used primarily for recreational and educational programs and services to youth; and
2.    the exemption amount is limited to $80,000;
(iii)    property used primarily for child care or after–school care; or
(iv)    property used primarily for programs and services for developmentally disabled individuals; and
(3)    may grant a full or partial exemption from the system development charge, under conditions set forth by the county councils, for:
(i)    residential property located in a mixed retirement development as defined in the zoning ordinance of Prince George’s County;
(ii)    residential property located in a planned retirement community as defined in the zoning ordinance of Montgomery County;
(iii)    elderly housing other than that included in item (i) or (ii) of this item; or
(iv)    properties used for manufacturing or biotechnology research and development.
(c)    On July 1, 1999, and July 1 of each succeeding year, the maximum charge, as established in subsection (a)(2) of this section, may be changed by an amount equal to the prior calendar year’s change in the Consumer Price Index published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor for urban wage earners and clerical workers for all items for the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, or the successor index.
(d)    If the county councils do not agree on the amount of the system development charge, the system development charge imposed during the previous year shall continue in effect for the following fiscal year.
(e)    If the system development charge established by the county councils is less than the amount necessary to recover the full cost of constructing growth related facilities, the Commission shall identify the part of the cost of that growth that will be paid by current ratepayers as:
(1)    a percentage of any rate increase; and
(2)    the annual monetary amount on a typical residential customer’s annual water and sewer bill.