Washington County, MD Parking Rules: RV & Boat Parking (2026)

12(e) of the Washington County Zoning Ordinance treats recreational travel and off-road vehicle parking as an accessory use permitted in every zoning district, so a homeowner does not need a special exception just to keep an RV, camper, boat or trailer on residential property. The vehicle must belong to the owner occupying the lot, and it may be parked in a garage or other accessory building, or left outside in the rear yard, side yard or driveway. If it sits outside a storage building, the ordinance sets hard setbacks: no closer than four feet to the side and rear lot lines, and no closer than ten feet from the front lot line or from the road/street edge, curb or sidewalk, whichever line is closest to the vehicle.

Multi-family and planned developments face an added requirement: in the RM and PUD districts, recreational vehicle parking spaces must be provided on top of the site's regular parking count, at a ratio of one space per fifty passenger vehicle spaces, each space at least 30 feet long and 15 feet wide, with a minimum of one space required even if the ratio rounds to zero. Plans and permits for these facilities run through the Department of Land Development Engineering and the Planning Commission under the surrounding provisions of Article 22, Division I.