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ARTICLE · 11 JULY 2017

Two Recent Maryland Rulings On Development Rights And Responsibility Agreements

Miles & Stockbridge
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In The Give and Take of Development," I discussed the purpose and requirements for a DRRA between a land developer and the local government having jurisdiction over the property.

United StatesReal Estate and Construction
Anne-Herbert Rollins
Anne-Herbert Rollins

In my previous blog post, "Development Rights and Responsibility Agreements: The Give and Take of Development," I discussed the purpose and requirements for a Development Rights and Responsibility Agreement ("DRRA") between a land developer and the local government having jurisdiction over the property. Now that developers are using DRRAs, and as issues inevitably arise regarding the interpretation and enforcement of a DRRA, those agreements are being put to judicial scrutiny.

Under Maryland case law, the rights of a land developer do not "vest" until there is some evidence of visible, lawful construction on the property. So until some visible construction exists, changes could be enacted to the local laws, which may affect the property, even if the developer has already expended considerable amounts of time and money on the development in ways that may not be visible and involve actual construction. The Maryland legislature adopted the use of DRRAs to provide

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