Queen Anne's County, MD Code Violation Reporting: Common Violations (2026)

Chapter 18:1 gives the County Commissioners a civil ticketing system for zoning. Under § 18:1-212 A, a person who commits or assists in any enumerated act is guilty of a civil zoning violation and is subject to an original preset fine not to exceed $500, and each item on the list prints ($500). Each day the violation continues is a separate violation.

The list in § 18:1-212 C(2) covers ten kinds of conduct: an act that needs a building permit done without applying for one; an act done after the permit expired; an act on a permitted lot that violates or exceeds the authority of the permit; using or occupying property before the Planning Director has finally inspected and approved it; violating an express covenant or condition of an approval from the Planning Commission, the Board, or the Planning Director; continuing a nonconforming use or structure after the time Chapter 18:1 requires it to end; changing, moving, enlarging, expanding, extending, or modifying a nonconforming use or structure in an unauthorized way; doing something that needs a conditional use permit, including a forestry use, without applying for or obtaining one; doing something that needs a zoning certificate, including for signs and banners, without applying or beyond the certificate's authority; and any other use of property that Chapter 18:1 prohibits.

Section 18:1-213 B(1) lets the Planning Director, the Deputy Planning Director, the Zoning Administrator, or a designated Department of Planning and Zoning employee issue the original citation. A copy goes to the County Commissioners and the County Finance Director. The Finance Director files citations, mails formal notices to people who neither pay nor give notice of intention to stand trial, and notifies the District Court when a fine goes unpaid. The citing employee testifies at the District Court trial and the County Attorney prosecutes.

Fines are not the only tool. Section 18:1-210 B lets the County Commissioners, the Planning Commission, or the Planning Director bring an action to prevent, restrain, correct, or abate a violation, or to prevent occupancy of a building, structure, or land. Section 18:1-211 adds a civil penalty for each lot sold by reference to a plat before the plat is approved and recorded.