Showing ordinances that apply to Jessup CDP (part), Anne Arundel County, Maryland, MD
Jessup CDP (part), Anne Arundel County, Maryland is an unincorporated community (population 6,781) in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. Because Jessup CDP (part), Anne Arundel County, Maryland is not an incorporated city, it does not have its own municipal code. Instead, Anne Arundel County ordinances apply directly to properties here. The retaining walls rules below are the ones that govern your area.
Anne Arundel County requires a building permit for retaining walls over 4 feet (measured from footing) or any wall supporting a surcharge. Walls in the Chesapeake Bay Critical Area or in a floodplain face additional review and often require a Maryland-licensed PE seal.
Anne Arundel County Inspections & Permits enforces the 2018 IBC (as amended by Maryland) for retaining walls. Walls 4 feet or less from the bottom of the footing to the top of the wall, without a surcharge, are exempt from building permit. Walls over 4 feet or any wall supporting a surcharge (driveway, pool, structure, or slope above) require a permit with plans sealed by a Maryland-licensed professional engineer. Drainage (weep holes, geotextile, clean gravel backfill) is required for all walls. Walls in the Chesapeake Bay Critical Area 1,000-foot buffer (tidal waters of the Severn, Magothy, South, West, Rhode, and Patuxent Rivers, Chesapeake Bay, Stony Creek, Bodkin Creek) must meet RCA/LDA impervious-cover caps and disturbance limits, and often require Critical Area Commission or county Office of Planning and Zoning review. Walls within a FEMA floodplain must comply with Article 16 floodplain standards and not displace flood storage. Setback: a minimum 2 feet from any side/rear property line is typical; front-yard walls over 30 inches may be limited by sight-triangle rules.
Unpermitted wall: stop-work order, sealed engineering letter required post hoc, double-fee permit, and fines up to $1,000 per day. Critical Area impact: mitigation at 3:1 planting plus penalties up to $10,000 per violation under NR §8-1815.
See how Jessup CDP (part), Anne Arundel County, Maryland's retaining walls rules stack up against other locations.
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