Queen Anne's County, MD Environmental Rules: Boat Dock Permits (2026)

Section 18:1-42 starts from a prohibition: except as Subsection B provides, a pier cannot be allowed as an accessory use or structure, and none can be constructed on a residential lot in a subdivision approved after June 29, 1988, on a plat that included a community pier. Subsection B then permits one pier as an accessory structure on a residential lot that has a minimum of 150 feet of water frontage, or that fits one of the listed alternatives: a lot in an NC District subdivision with no community pier or dock facility, or one with fewer slips than lots where the owner proves no right or ability to acquire a slip; a lot in a subdivision validly approved before April 9, 1987 on the same terms; a lot that on April 9, 1987 was part of another lot since subdivided into five or fewer lots; or a legal lot of record before April 9, 1987. Subsection C sets the pier building restriction line: no private pier within six feet of any side or front lot lines.

Length is capped in § 18:1-41. A pier cannot extend into any body of water more than 150 feet from the mean high water line unless the Board of Appeals approves a variance for a greater length, and in no case can the length exceed 1/2 of the distance from the mean high water line to the center line of the body of water. All proposed piers must obtain approval of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the State of Maryland as necessary.

Shared piers under § 18:1-42(D) can sit at or near a common property line if they serve no more than two adjacent lots with combined shoreline frontage of at least 150 feet, the owners record an instrument acceptable to the Zoning Administrator, and the pier is not leased to anyone other than a record owner or resident. Community piers fall under § 18:1-43 and the Critical Area rules of § 14:1-42, which allow new or expanded water-dependent facilities in the Buffer only when they are water-dependent, meet a recognized private right or public need, and minimize adverse effects on water quality and fish and wildlife habitat.