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County and municipal officials tell committee infrastructure, permitting and local differences limit housing production
Summary
Representatives of the Maryland Association of Counties and Maryland Municipal League told the Environment and Transportation Committee that physical infrastructure, permitting complexity and local political realities constrain housing production and complicate implementation of new state housing laws.
Speakers from the Maryland Association of Counties (MACo) and the Maryland Municipal League (MML) told the Environment and Transportation Committee that infrastructure limits, permitting timelines and wide differences among local jurisdictions are major constraints on housing production.
"Counties and municipalities, we are the closest level of government to our mutual constituents," Dawn Butchka of MACo said, urging the committee to consider local infrastructure needs in statewide policy.
The local officials listed concrete infrastructure constraints that can block development: Queen Anne's County has reached wastewater treatment capacity and must invest roughly $1,000,000 to expand facilities; parts of Calvert County lack sewer in several town centers; and much of Wicomico County relies on septic systems, limiting new development unless sewer service is extended. Representatives warned that classroom capacity, emergency services and broadband also must be considered when sites are rezoned or densified.
Local leaders said the state's new Housing Expansion and Affordability Act (HEAA) presents varied reactions across jurisdictions. MACo and MML representatives said some counties are cooperating and others have taken additional local steps (for example, Carroll County passed conforming local legislation). They raised concerns that HEAA's "unreasonable standards" language could spur litigation and slow projects, though that standard had not yet been tested in court. The associations recommended coordinated technical assistance, predictable permitting and funding for infrastructure to make HEAA work in places with limited sewer or schools capacity.
Why it matters: county and municipal officials stressed that a single statewide rule will not work for Maryland's 23 counties and 160 municipalities. They urged state lawmakers to pair housing mandates or incentives with infrastructure funding and flexible implementation tools.
MACo and MML also urged careful monitoring of implementation and recommended avoiding rapid statutory changes while HEAA remains in early implementation to reduce confusion and delays for developers and local governments.
Both organizations said they are continuing discussions with the Department of Housing and Community Development and local planning agencies and offered to serve as implementation partners.
