This New House - Howard County Considers Green Building Tax Credits
Friday, 11 November 2011 11:52
The Howard County Council is considering this month a bill to authorize property tax credits for homeowners whose property meets environmental design standards, a measure that would make the county one of the few local governments to give such breaks.
Under the bill, owners of newly built homes that meet the "silver" standard in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED certification, awarded by the U.S. Green Building Council, could receive up to a 25 percent discount on their county property tax bill, while homes with the highest LEED rating could earn a 75 percent discount the first year.
LEED ratings award points for environmentally sustainable building design, construction and maintenance.
"We need to be leaders on the things that count — how we hand this world over to our future," said Council Chairman Calvin B. Ball, a Columbia Democrat who sponsored the bill.
The legislation would give homeowners in Howard who have a LEED-certified silver rating a 25 percent tax credit. Those with "gold" certifications would receive a 50 percent discount, and "platinum" ratings would yield a 75 percent discount against county property taxes.
After the second year registering for the credit, a homeowner would have a 25 percent decrease each year, lowering their tax credit allotment. After four years, the credit would expire.
"It's an incentive to offset the cost for building. It's not intended to be a tax credit forever," said the bill's co-sponsor, Councilwoman Courtney Watson, an Ellicott City Democrat.
But she added that a sunset clause is included in the bill to allow the council to re-evaluate its effectiveness in five years.
"I think it's a good bill. I think it will provide real incentives for folks considering green building" in Howard County, said Stuart Kaplow, chairman of the Maryland chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council, which administers LEED standards. "Howard County has been and continues to be a leader in the nation of promoting green building."