Wicomico County, MD Parking Rules: Driveway Rules (2026)

Section 225-134C of the Zoning Code targets front-yard parking directly: in the V-C Village Conservation District and all residential districts, no motor vehicle, whether operable or inoperable, may be parked in the front yard of a residence unless it is positioned in a driveway or a designated stabilized parking area with direct access to a public street. That means parking on bare lawn, gravel that has not been designated and stabilized as a parking surface, or anywhere else in the front yard outside a proper driveway is not allowed, and the rule applies equally to a car that runs and one that does not.

The front-yard rule works together with the county's general off-street parking standards in § 225-133, which require that off-street lots serving more than five vehicles be paved with tar-and-stone, bituminous asphalt or concrete (or an approved pervious alternative by special exception), properly drained, and set back from property lines by district (10 feet in R-8/R-15, 20 feet along front lines in R-20/R-30, five feet in other districts). Read together, the code steers residential parking onto an improved, stabilized surface rather than open yard space, protecting neighborhood appearance and drainage. The Planning, Zoning and Community Development Department enforces the standard, and the Zoning Administrator decides what qualifies as a 'designated stabilized parking area' on a given lot.