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

Section 225-71A defines the height of a building as the vertical distance from the average elevation of the proposed or existing finished grade to the highest point of the roof on a flat roof, to the deck of a mansard roof, or to the mean height between the eaves and the ridge on gable, hip and gambrel roofs; for a wall or structure other than a building, height runs from its highest point down to the average ground level where it meets grade. Where a lot fronts on streets or alleys of different established grades, the higher grade controls the measurement.

The actual maximum heights permitted for each residential, commercial and industrial district are fixed in the Schedule of District Regulations at § 225-74, which § 225-71B expressly incorporates. A long list of features is carved out of those district maximums entirely under § 225-71C: belfries, steeples, silos, conveyors, cupolas, derricks, domes, gas holders, fire escapes, fire towers, flagpoles, flues, minarets, monuments, observation towers, parapet walls, smokestacks, television antennas, farm buildings, chimneys and water towers face no chapter height limit, and bulkheads, cooling towers, elevator enclosures, penthouses and skylights are exempt as long as they occupy less than 25% of the roof area they sit on.

Television antennas are allowed in every zoning district under § 225-71D. 5 feet and eight feet high inside the sight triangle formed by measuring 25 feet back along each intersecting street line.