Charles County, MD Building Safety: Green Building Code (2026)

Section 224-1.2(22) modifies IRC Section N1102.1.1, 'Above code programs,' by adding language that treats compliance with the silver rating of the ICC/ASHRAE 700-2015 National Green Building Standard, as codified at § 12-509(a) of the Annotated Code of Maryland, as satisfying that section of the Charles County Building Code. This sits inside the county's broader energy chapter amendments: § 224-1.2(21) modifies IRC N1101.13.5 to require additional energy features under Section 1108.3 for buildings complying with the alternative path in N1102.1.3.1, and § 224-1.2(23) adds a Maryland-specific alternative R-value table (Table N1102.1.3.1) with minimum insulation R-values by climate zone that a builder can use instead of the standard U-factor table. Read together, these sections show Charles County did not write its own green-building program; it plugged a nationally recognized third-party standard, NGBS silver, into the IRC's own above-code-programs slot as one recognized way to demonstrate energy-code compliance, alongside the state-specific insulation alternative.