Anne Arundel County Article 12 requires vacant lot owners to control weeds/grass over 8 inches, remove trash, and abate trespass and dumping. Chesapeake Bay Critical Area lots must also maintain buffer vegetation. The county may mow and lien costs to the property.
Under Article 12 of the Anne Arundel County Code, owners of vacant residential lots must keep vegetation under 8 inches (outside of registered natural or meadow areas and outside the Chesapeake Bay Critical Area 100-foot buffer where natives are protected). Owners must remove accumulated trash, tires, construction debris, and illegally dumped material within 15 days of notice. Vacant lots adjacent to occupied homes must not harbor vermin, create a fire hazard, or support standing water that breeds mosquitoes (a particular concern near tidal wetlands and stormwater management ponds countywide). Lots within the Chesapeake Bay Critical Area must maintain buffer vegetation under the Critical Area Program — removing native vegetation requires a buffer management plan. Code Enforcement issues a Notice of Violation with a 10- to 15-day cure period; non-compliance results in county-contracted mowing and cleanup with charges billed to the owner and, if unpaid, liened against the property collectible with real property taxes. Some waterfront lots in Shady Side, Deale, and Galesville face stricter enforcement due to tidal buffer rules.
Notice with 10–15 day cure. Abatement: mowing/cleanup cost ($200–$1,000+) billed to owner, lien if unpaid. Critical Area violations: up to $10,000/day under MD Natural Resources §8-1815. Repeated dumping: misdemeanor exposure under Article 12.
Annapolis, MD
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