Howard County issued its fewest number of building permits last year since officials began collecting data three decades ago, according to new figures that planners say don't include the steepest part of the recession.
In an annual development report, planning director Marsha S. McLaughlin said 1,157 building permits were issued during the year that ended Sept. 30, down from 1,899 the year before - a 39 percent decline.
"This is the smallest annual amount since 1979, the earliest year for which the Department of Planning and Zoning has permit data," McLaughlin wrote in the report, noting that development is expected to drop even more next year.
County Executive Ken Ulman said that the global downturn is affecting more than just builders and real estate agents but that Howard has suffered less than other places, and he predicted that the county will bounce back.
"One thing to recognize is that until the downturn hit, I don't think people fully realized the impact of construction on the county's economy," Ulman said.
If there is a silver lining, the county executive said, "it allows us to take a breath from some of the growth pressures we've faced."
Commercial development is also off, McLaughlin reported. Building permits for 1.4 million square feet of space were issued during the reporting period, compared with 2.2 million square feet the previous year, while the number of projects awaiting permits declined 47 percent.
The report showed the peak year for commercial activity was in 2004-2005, when 3.5 million square feet was built. The average for commercial projects over the past five years was 2.4 million square feet. The annual report is the county's way of tracking development since growth controls were enacted in 1992.
"We're seeing layoffs and a general decline of activity in the county," said Michael W. Harrison, government affairs director for the Home Builders Association of Maryland. "They're doing what they can to survive."
Despite the slump, McLaughlin, who was unavailable for comment on the report, wrote that the county is poised for a rebound whenever the economy recovers.
"There is a sizable amount in the planning pipeline," she wrote, noting that requests for permits for 7,557 residential units are moving through the county review process.
