Opinion ID: 2294280
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The County's Extensions

Text: The County began collecting impact fees in fiscal year 1988. The County's fiscal year runs from July 1 through June 30. Beginning in 1994, the County PZO purported to grant several three-year extensions to the period in which the County was required to expend or encumber collected impact fees as provided in Section 17-11-210(e). The County purported to effectuate the first extension in the following March 21, 1994 inter-office correspondence from the County's director of planning and code enforcement, entitled Extension of Time to Use Impact Fees[,] to the County's financial officer: We have determined that impact fees collected in Road Districts 2 and 4 will not be expended or encumbered within the sixth year following collections, as required in [Section 17-11-210(a) ]. In accordance with Section [XX-XX-XXX(e)] I hereby extend use of funds collected in 1988 and 1989 for three years beyond the sixth year requirement. Capital projects in district 2 (Solley Road) and district 4 (Md 170 Odenton Junction) (Towncenter to MD 175) and (Towncenter to Reece) (Patuxent Conway Road) are programmed and are expected to be constructed as capital projects. These projects are identified in the FY94 and proposed FY95 capital program. The County issued extension decisions in 1996, 1997, 2001, 2002, and 2003 by way of interoffice memoranda in a format substantially the same as the correspondence above. The County now concedes that the extension decisions all failed to (1) identify the properties that would be directly benefitted by the planned improvements and (2) comply with the Section 17-11-210(e) limitation that extensions be granted only to expend or encumber fees paid with respect to these properties. It is also undisputed that the County did not advertise that any refunds were available, because it considered the extensions effective at the time they were made.