Commission reviews GeoPermits rollout and navigates new state permitting limits under House Bill 1037

Howard County stormwater staff reported that GeoPermits software is now active and being used for post-construction inspections and that the county is adapting operations after passage of House Bill 1037, which staff said prevents permitting of projects below one acre in a way that is more restrictive than previous local practice.

Staff described GeoPermits as fully implemented for post‑construction inspections, with Aiden beginning to use it and plans to transfer management of the software to IT next year. "The software is up and running. Aiden's starting to use it in post construction inspections," staff said. Stormwater paid initial setup costs and has been covering annual assessments; Jeremy was mentioned as the planned IT assignee for the subscription next year.

On state rule changes, staff summarized House Bill 1037 and its impact: "House Bill 1037... says that we cannot permit any construction less than an acre in size," and staff said the county must not be more restrictive than the state's general permit. The staff explanation noted that the state's general construction permit allows individual-lot permitting only when those lots are part of a larger common sale; the local practice of treating single‑lot subdivisions as individual lots has been affected. Staff said several existing individual-lot permits in process are being terminated or converted to notices of termination, and the office will use exempt permits as a procedural workaround so planning commission review continues and building permits can be issued where appropriate.

Staff warned that the state general permit will be updated in 2027 and that the county will likely have to update ordinances at that time, noting recurring five‑year ordinance reviews. Staff said the county anticipates making ordinance changes during the 2027 permit cycle.

Staff also provided project updates tied to permitting: a Duke Circuit replacement project received a notice of termination after satisfactory work; Shamrock Storage’s application remains in progress with no new plans submitted since late last year; and Emerald Green solar had submitted a stormwater application, responded to plan corrections, and staff expected to review corrected plans and issue a permit if satisfactory. "We anticipate issuing that permit this week if things are satisfactory," staff said of Emerald Green solar. Staff also said revisions will be needed to clarify solar-related language in section 13 of the county ordinance.

No ordinance changes were adopted at the meeting; staff presented the operational changes and the need to revise the county code when the state permit is updated in 2027.