Baltimore County, MD Building Setbacks & Zoning: Structure Height Limits (2026)

Section 1B02.2.A of the Baltimore County Zoning Regulations sets the maximum height of dwellings in the Density Residential (D.R.) zones, in the same table that fixes maximum gross residential density. Five of the six classifications share one number: 50 feet applies in D.R.1 (1.0 dwelling units per acre), D.R.2 (2.0), D.R.3.5 (3.5), D.R.5.5 (5.5) and D.R.10.5 (10.5). D.R.16 is the densest classification, printed in the table at 16.0 density units, and it is the only one with a higher ceiling: 60 feet.

The table is a starting point, not a final answer. The same subsection says standards providing for greater heights of buildings in appropriate circumstances, as set forth in Section 504, control when they are adopted under the authority of that section. Section 504.1 lets the Planning Board adopt administrative, project-design or planning policies by resolution, and Section 504.2 directs the Department of Planning to compile those policies into a comprehensive manual that takes effect 45 days after it is submitted to the County Council unless the Council objects within that period. If the Council objects, the manual or change needs legislative approval. A height check on a D.R. parcel therefore reads the table first and then looks for an adopted Section 504 standard that overrides it.

The table covers dwellings only. Section 1B02.2.B hands density, bulk and open space regulations for every other principal use to provisions adopted under Section 504, so a nonresidential principal building does not take its height from the 50 and 60 foot figures. Section 1B01.2.C.1 repeats the point for the setback and height tables that follow it: they apply except as otherwise provided under standards adopted pursuant to Section 504.2.

Section 1B01.2.B.3 adds a hard cap that sits below the table. In D.R.16, a new noncommercial building cannot exceed 30 feet, half the 60 foot table figure, when three conditions line up: the lot area is greater than four acres, the property boundary is within one mile of a public school that is over 105 percent of State-rated capacity, and the property is in or within 1,000 feet of a Tier II growth area. The Editor's Note to Bill No. 54-2019 says the act took effect on November 18, 2019, applies retroactively from January 1, 2019, and stays in force until enrollment at any such school within one mile of the area falls below 105% of State-rated capacity.