# Land Use (GLU)

## Title 7. Other Development Management Tools

### Subtitle 1. Development Mechanisms

#### Section 7-101

To encourage the preservation of natural resources or the provision of affordable housing and to facilitate orderly development and growth, a local jurisdiction that exercises authority granted by this division may enact, and is encouraged to enact, local laws providing for or requiring:

(1) the planning, staging, or provision of adequate public facilities and affordable housing;

(2) off-site improvements or the dedication of land for public facilities essential for a development;

(3) moderately priced dwelling unit programs;

(4) mixed use developments;

(5) cluster developments;

(6) planned unit developments;

(7) alternative subdivision requirements that:

  (i) meet minimum performance standards set by the local jurisdiction; and

  (ii) reduce infrastructure costs;

(8) floating zones;

(9) incentive zoning; and

(10) performance zoning.

#### Section 7-102

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a legislative body that exercises authority granted by this division may enact local laws providing for the transfer, with or without consideration, of real property belonging to the local jurisdiction to a public or private entity, to use in developing or preserving affordable housing.

#### Section 7-103

The authority granted under this subtitle is not intended to limit a local jurisdiction's authority to:

(1) exercise any planning and zoning powers not expressly authorized under this subtitle; or

(2) adopt other methods to:

  (i) facilitate orderly development and growth;

  (ii) encourage the preservation of natural resources; or

  (iii) provide affordable housing.

#### Section 7-104

(a) In this section, "restriction" means a restriction, moratorium, or capacity limitation imposed on development as a result of a local law enacted under this subtitle.

(b)

  (1) If an adequate public facility law has resulted in a restriction within a priority funding area, on or before July 1 every 2 years, a local jurisdiction shall report on the restriction to the Department of Planning.

  (2) The report shall include:

    (i) the location of the restriction;

    (ii) the type of infrastructure affected by the restriction;

    (iii) the proposed resolution of the restriction, if available;

    (iv) the estimated date for the resolution of the restriction, if available;

    (v) if a restriction was lifted, the date the restriction was lifted;

    (vi) the local law or resolution that lifted the restriction;

    (vii) any waiver of the restriction that was proposed; and

    (viii) any waiver of the restriction that was implemented.

(c)

  (1) On or before January 1 every 2 years, the Department of Planning shall prepare and publish a report on the statewide impacts of adequate public facility laws.

  (2) The report shall include the identification of:

    (i) geographic areas and facilities within priority funding areas that fail to meet local adequate public facility standards; and

    (ii) improvements to facilities scheduled or proposed in the local jurisdiction's capital improvement program.

#### Section 7-105

(a) Except as provided in subsection (c)(2) of this section, this section applies only to a local jurisdiction with at least 150,000 residents.

(b) On or before July 1 each year, each local jurisdiction subject to the requirements of this section shall report to the Department of Housing and Community Development and the Department of Planning the following information for each building or development permit application which includes a residential housing component as part of the development considered by the local jurisdiction during the immediately preceding calendar year:

  (1) the total number of complete applications received by type;

  (2) the total number of complete applications issued by type;

  (3) the total number of complete applications rejected by type;

  (4) the net total number of residential units approved;

  (5) the mean and median processing times for permit applications and the standard deviation from the mean;

  (6) the amount of time spent processing applications, including the time spent by agencies reviewing applications, by applicants making edits, and any public notice or comment time periods;

  (7) any type of expedited permit application process that the local jurisdiction employed to accelerate residential housing development projects;

  (8) the total number of residential housing development projects that benefited from an expedited permit application process in the local jurisdiction and which type of expedited process was used; and

  (9) any other information the jurisdiction considers relevant.

(c)

  (1) Beginning January 1, 2027, and each quarter thereafter, each county subject to the requirements of this section shall report to the Department of Planning the following information for each building or development permit that includes a residential housing component as part of the development issued by the county during the immediately preceding quarter:

    (i) the permit number;

    (ii) the permit approval date;

    (iii) the date on which the use and occupancy permit was issued;

    (iv) the parcel tax identification number;

    (v) the site address;

    (vi) the housing type authorized under the permit;

    (vii) the permit type;

    (viii) the total number of residential units authorized under the permit;

    (ix) a general description of the work authorized under the permit;

    (x) the total cost of construction; and

    (xi) any other information the jurisdiction considers relevant.

  (2) Beginning January 1, 2027, and each quarter thereafter, each local municipality may report the information under paragraph (1) of this subsection to the Department of Planning for each building or development permit that includes a residential housing component as part of the development issued by the local municipality during the immediately preceding quarter.

(d) On or before July 1, 2027, and as the information becomes available thereafter, the Department of Planning shall publish the information reported by local jurisdictions under subsection (c) of this section for the immediately preceding fiscal year:

  (1) on a public, interactive, and searchable website;

  (2) by housing type, specifically labeled as single family, townhouses, apartments, duplexes, triplexes, or quadplexes;

  (3) by the total built and existing housing supply, organized by housing type, in each county in the State; and

  (4) by data source.

(e)

  (1)

    (i) Subject to paragraph (2) of this subsection, a local jurisdiction shall make the reports required under this section publicly available on its website.

    (ii) An announcement posted to a local jurisdiction's website stating that a person should contact the relevant local department for access to the reports does not fulfill the requirements of subparagraph (i) of this paragraph.

  (2) A local jurisdiction that does not maintain a website shall make the reports publicly available through any other reasonable method.

  (3) To the extent practicable, a local jurisdiction may submit and transmit a report required under this section as part of another report required to be filed under this article.

(f) On or before December 31 each year, the Department of Planning shall submit a report on the building permit information collected under this section to the Governor and, in accordance with Sec. 2-1257 of the State Government Article, the General Assembly.

(g) The Department of Planning may adopt regulations to carry out this section.

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Md. Code Ann., Land Use (as displayed at mgaleg.maryland.gov, October 16, 2026)