County seeks code updates to watershed fee: condos, private roads and appeals process targeted

Anne Arundel County’s Department of Public Works asked the County Council on July 15 to approve a package of code amendments designed to clarify how the Watershed Protection and Restoration Fee is assessed and administered. The administration said the changes reflect a decade of experience administering the fee and aim to ensure consistent, equitable assessments. The proposal would: treat condominium properties as aggregated properties consistent with the State Department of Assessments and Taxation approach; change how private roads are assessed so properties are treated consistently before and after developer-to-HOA handoff; codify current administrative handling of farm properties; provide relief pathways for economically stressed landowners consistent with other county programs; and remove a September 30 annual deadline so property owners can appeal fee calculations at any time. “We were looking basically for a way to, with a decade of experience, clean up some of the inconsistencies that we've seen,” said Eric Michaelson, Deputy Director of the Bureau of Watershed Protection and Restoration. He added some items could increase revenue for the program. Staff also explained internal QA/QC processes for impervious-surface measurements and an appeals process that allows property owners to contest square-footage calculations; the department reviews any impervious-change that increases a property’s fee by more than $500 before billing. Councilmembers asked about community engagement and how many property owners might be affected. Michaelson said department staff had primarily heard from Growth Action Network and one individual so far and did not yet have a formal outreach process. The department said it could produce an estimate of affected tax accounts with additional analysis. The bill also clarifies that the 50% credit for stormwater remediation is not a repeated annual application; rather, property owners submit a one-time application and, if the required BMP inspections continue to pass (inspections are on a three-year cycle under state code), the credit remains in place. The department said it will assist landowners with documentation where records are incomplete. No formal vote was taken during the work session; staff said they would provide additional materials for council consideration.