Queen Anne's County, MD Building Setbacks & Zoning: Structure Height Limits (2026)

Section 18:1-45 is the residential accessory structures section, and subsection D is its height rule. A building on a residential lot of less than two acres cannot exceed 20 feet. A building on a residential lot greater than two acres and less than five acres cannot exceed the greater of 20 feet or the height of the principal building. The subsection speaks to those two lot sizes, and the amendments to it date from 2004.

The same section limits how much of the lot accessory buildings cover. On a residential lot of less than two acres in any district, all buildings other than the principal building cannot cover more than 60% of the area covered by the principal building. On lots between two and five acres outside the AG, CS and APKIG Districts the figure is 80%, and in the AG, CS and APKIG Districts it is 200% with the total square footage of all accessory structures capped at 5,000 square feet. In the CS District, accessory structures such as barns, stables and sheds on existing large lots must have a pitched roof.

Principal dwellings follow the district tables. In the Agricultural District, § 18:1-14E(1)(e) sets 40 feet for large-lot and sliding-scale subdivisions. In the Suburban Residential District, § 18:1-18E sets 35 feet for large-lot subdivisions. Single-family cluster lots in both districts point to § 18:1-36. Nonresidential buildings run taller: in the AG District the limit is 45 feet for all other uses, 135 feet for on-lot agricultural and commercial buildings, and 200 feet for telecommunications facilities, while in the SR District nonresidential buildings are held to 30 feet for all other uses and 55 feet for telecommunications facilities.

A height variance goes to the Board of Appeals. Section 18:1-121 limits variances to density, bulk or area requirements, and § 18:1-122A caps relief at the minimum needed to ameliorate the hardship.