Bowie, MD Building Safety: Building Permits (2026)

City Code § 5-4 establishes the City of Bowie's own building permit requirement, layered on top of Prince George's County's building authority. A City permit is required whenever the county requires a permit, and separately whenever the proposed construction is subject to a City standard stricter than the county's, regardless of whether the county requires its own permit for that work. Where a county permit is required, that permit must be obtained first, before the City will issue its own. Applications must include scaled plans and specifications, a site plan showing lot lines and grading drawn from an accurate boundary survey, the location of any private sewage disposal system, and, for property inside a Chesapeake Bay Critical Area Overlay Zone, a conservation plan and conservation agreement.

The City Manager reviews every application for impacts on public transportation, fence placement, refuse removal, noise, stormwater, soil erosion, water and sewer systems, public safety, and road requirements, and may not approve a permit for a property with unpaid real property taxes. A $500 easement/right-of-way bond and a separate $100 debris-removal bond can be required before work begins. If construction starts, is partially completed, or is concealed before a permit issues, the City Manager may post a stop-work order on the property and mail it to the owner; work must stop immediately except corrective work, and the owner must pay a $10 investigation fee in addition to the regular permit fee before reapplying. Permit fees themselves are set each year in the City's annual budget ordinance rather than fixed in the Code.