Sec. 34.04.07.02. Definitions

A. In this chapter, the following terms have the meanings indicated.

B. Terms Defined.

(1) “Act” means State Finance and Procurement Article, §5A-303, Annotated Code of Maryland.

(2) “Affordable housing” means a housing project that has received an allocation of federal low-income housing tax credits by the Department of Housing and Community Development.

(3) “Agricultural structure” means a certified historic structure that is used or ever was used to directly contribute to the production, conversion, processing, storage, sale, or management of agricultural products such as livestock, horses, poultry, crops, trees, shrubs, plants, other vegetation, or aquaculture.

(4) “Business entity”:

(a) Means a person, as defined in State Finance and Procurement Article, §1-101(d), Annotated Code of Maryland, who conducts or operates a trade or business in the State that is:

(i) Registered to do business and in good standing with the Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation; and

(ii) Subject to State income tax as defined in Tax-General Article, §10-101(n), Annotated Code of Maryland;

(b) Means an organization conducting or operating a business in the State that is:

(i) Registered to do business and in good standing with the Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation; and

(ii) Exempt from taxation under §501(c)(3) of the federal Internal Revenue Code; and

(c) Includes the governing body of a condominium or cooperative housing corporation.

(5) “Certified historic structure” means a structure that is:

(a) Located in the State;

(b) Not owned by the State, a political subdivision of the State, or the federal government; and

(c) One of the following:

(i) Listed on the National Register of Historic Places;

(ii) Designated as a historic property under local law and determined by the Director to be eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places;

(iii) Located in a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places or in a local historic district that the Director determines is eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, and certified by the Director as contributing to the significance of the district; or

(iv) Located in an area established as a certified heritage area under Financial Institutions Article, §13-1101, Annotated Code of Maryland, and certified by the Maryland Heritage Areas Authority as contributing to the significance of the certified heritage area.

(6) “Certified rehabilitation” means the rehabilitation of a certified historic structure that the Director determines was completed in conformance with the Standards for Certified Historic Structure Rehabilitation.

(7) “Common elements” means:

(a) All of a condominium except for the condominium units within the condominium; or

(b) All of a cooperative project except for the portions of the cooperative project that are leased, or are made available for lease, for exclusive occupancy by a stockholder or member of the cooperative housing corporation under a proprietary lease.

(8) “Condominium” means property subject to the condominium regime established under Real Property Article, Title 11, Annotated Code of Maryland.

(9) Condominium Unit.

(a) “Condominium unit” means a three-dimensional space identified as a unit in a declaration and on a condominium plat recorded in accordance with Real Property Article, Title 11, Annotated Code of Maryland, and includes all improvements contained within the space.

(b) Unless otherwise specified in the declaration or plat for the condominium, for a condominium created after July 1, 1981, “condominium unit” includes:

(i) If walls, floors, or ceiling are designated as boundaries for the unit, all lath, furring, wallboard, plasterboard, plaster, paneling, tiles, wallpaper, paint, finished flooring, and any other materials constituting any part of the finished surfaces of the unit;

(ii) If any chute, flue, duct, wire, conduit, or any other fixture lies partially within and partially outside the designated boundaries of the unit, any portion thereof serving only the unit; and

(iii) All spaces, interior partitions, and other fixtures and improvements within the boundaries of the unit.

(10) “Cooperative housing corporation” means a domestic or foreign corporation qualified in the State, either stock or nonstock, having only one class of stock or membership, in which each stockholder or member, by virtue of such ownership or membership, has an interest in a cooperative housing corporation, which interest is coupled with a possessory interest in real or personal property or both and evidenced by a membership certificate.

(11) “Cooperative project” means all real and personal property in the State owned or leased by a cooperative housing corporation for the primary purpose of residential use.

(12) “Director” means the Director of the Maryland Historical Trust.

(13) “Governing body” means:

(a) With respect to a condominium, the council of unit owners, board of directors, or any committee of the council of unit owners or board of directors of the condominium; or

(b) With respect to a cooperative housing corporation, the board of directors or other entity established to govern the cooperative housing corporation.

(14) “High performance building” means a building that:

(a) Meets or exceeds the current version of the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building rating system gold rating; or

(b) Achieves at least a comparable rating according to a nationally recognized, accepted, and appropriate numeric sustainable development rating system, guideline, or standard approved by the Secretaries of Budget and Management and General Services.

(15) Historic Property.

(a) “Historic property” means a district, site, building, structure, monument, or object significant to:

(i) The prehistory or history of the State; or

(ii) The terrestrial or underwater archeology, architecture, engineering, or culture of the State.

(b) “Historic property” includes related artifacts, records, and remains.

(16) “Level 1 opportunity zone project” means a project that qualifies for either the Small Commercial Tax Credit or the Competitive Commercial Tax Credit under Regulation .03 of this chapter and is completed by a qualified opportunity zone business if, at the time of the Part 3 application under Regulation .06 of this chapter, the applicant includes in the application:

(a) The date of the qualified opportunity fund’s investment in the opportunity zone project and the amount of the investment;

(b) The total project or business investment, including leverage;

(c) The address and census tract for both the qualified opportunity zone business and the qualified opportunity fund; and

(d) An impact report that includes:

(i) Both qualitative and quantitative data on the qualified opportunity fund’s investment in the opportunity zone project; and

(ii) The progress of the qualified opportunity fund’s investment.

(17) “Level 2 opportunity zone project” means a project that qualifies for either the Small Commercial Tax Credit or the Competitive Commercial Tax Credit under Regulation .03 of this chapter and is completed by a qualified opportunity zone business if, at the time of the Part 3 application under Regulation .06 of this chapter, the applicant includes in the application:

(a) The date of the qualified opportunity fund’s investment in the opportunity zone project and the amount of the investment;

(b) The total project or business investment, including leverage;

(c) The address and census tract for both the qualified opportunity zone business and the qualified opportunity fund;

(d) An impact report that includes:

(i) Both qualitative and quantitative data on the qualified opportunity fund’s investment in the opportunity zone project; and

(ii) The progress of the qualified opportunity fund’s investment;

(e) Information demonstrating that:

(i) Accountability to residents of the communities within the qualified opportunity zone is maintained through representation on any governing or advisory board of the qualified opportunity zone business; or

(ii) A community benefits agreement has been negotiated and agreed to by and between the qualified opportunity zone business and community groups or strategic industry partnerships, as defined by Labor and Employment Article, §11-701, Annotated Code of Maryland, within the qualified opportunity zone that specifies a range of community benefits that the qualified opportunity zone business agrees to provide as part of the development project; and

(f) For an opportunity zone project:

(i) Located within a municipal corporation, a resolution or letter of the municipal corporation that demonstrates the municipality’s approval of the provision within the municipality of the tax credit; or

(ii) Not located within a municipal corporation, a resolution or letter of the county that demonstrates the county’s approval of the provision within the county of the tax credit.

(18) “Local historic district” means a district that has been designated by a county or municipal corporation, or the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore, as historic in accordance with local authority under Land Use Article, §8-105, Annotated Code of Maryland.

(19) “Opportunity zone project” means a certified rehabilitation that is located within a geographic area of the State designated and in effect as a qualified opportunity zone in the State under §1400Z-1 of the Internal Revenue Code.

(20) “Political subdivision” means a county or municipal corporation of the State.

(21) “Program” means the Historic Revitalization Tax Credit Program established under Regulation .03 of this chapter and authorized by the Act.

(22) “Post-World War II structure” mean a certified historic structure that was built after December 31, 1944, but before January 1, 1970.

(23) “Qualified opportunity fund” has the meaning stated in Economic Development Article, §6-1001, Annotated Code of Maryland.

(24) “Qualified opportunity zone” has the meaning stated in Economic Development Article, §6-1001, Annotated Code of Maryland.

(25) “Qualified opportunity zone business” has the meaning stated in Economic Development Article, §6-1001, Annotated Code of Maryland.

(26) “Qualified rehabilitation expenditure” means any amount that is:

(a) Properly chargeable to a capital account;

(b) Expended on a certified rehabilitation:

(i) Of a structure that is certified by the Director as a certified historic structure under Regulation .04 of this chapter (Part 1) by no later than the end of the calendar year during which the certified rehabilitation is completed;

(ii) In compliance with a rehabilitation plan approved by the Director under Regulation .05 of this chapter (Part 2); and

(iii) For work undertaken after approval by the Director of the rehabilitation plan under Part 2 and during a continuous 24-month period selected by the applicant; and

(c) Not funded, financed, or otherwise reimbursed by any:

(i) State or local grant;

(ii) Grant made from the proceeds of tax-exempt bonds issued by either the State or a political subdivision of the State, or any instrumentality thereof;

(iii) State tax credit other than the tax credit provided for under the Act; or

(iv) Other grant, loan, loan guarantee, tax benefit, or insurance made or financed by the State or a State unit, as defined by State Government Article, §11-101, Annotated Code of Maryland, other than a loan that must be repaid at an interest rate that is greater than the interest rate on general obligation bonds issued by the State at the most recent bond sale prior to the time the loan is made.

(27) “Rehabilitation” means the process of returning a structure to a state of utility, through repair or alteration, which makes possible an efficient use while preserving those portions and features of the structure and its site and environment which make the structure and its site and environment historically, architecturally, or culturally significant, and excludes alteration which is primarily remodeling, landscaping, or interior décor.

(28) “Reserve Fund” means the Heritage Structure Rehabilitation Tax Credit Reserve Fund established under the Act.

(29) “Secretary” means the Secretary of the Maryland Department of Planning.

(30) “Single-family, owner-occupied residence” means:

(a) A structure or a portion of a structure occupied by the owner and the owner’s immediate family as a primary or secondary residence; or

(b) A residential unit in a cooperative project owned by or leased to a cooperative housing corporation, as defined in Corporations and Associations Article, §5-6B-01, Annotated Code of Maryland, and leased for exclusive occupancy to, and occupied by, a member of the corporation and the member’s immediate family under a proprietary lease.

(31) “Standards for Certified Historic Structure Rehabilitation” means the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation, 36 CFR §§67.7 and 67.6(b)(1)-(7), as amended, or successor standards.

(32) “State” means the State of Maryland.

(33) “Trust” means the Maryland Historical Trust.