Showing ordinances that apply to Riva, MD
Riva is an unincorporated community (population 4,257) in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. Because Riva is not an incorporated city, it does not have its own municipal code. Instead, Anne Arundel County ordinances apply directly to properties here. The hoa restrictions rules below are the ones that govern your area.
Maryland Real Property §2-119 bars HOAs from prohibiting rooftop solar. HOAs may impose reasonable aesthetic rules that do not significantly increase cost or decrease output. The law applies to Anne Arundel County HOAs in Crofton, Piney Orchard, Two Rivers, and Annapolis-area communities.
Maryland Real Property §2-119 (the Maryland Solar Rights Act, expanded in 2022) preempts HOA and condominium restrictions that prohibit or unreasonably burden the installation of solar collectors on a homeowner's roof or yard. Restrictions that would increase installation cost by more than 5% or reduce expected output by more than 10% are presumed unreasonable and unenforceable. HOAs retain authority to require architectural-review submittals, conduit routing, and color-matching mounting hardware, but they must act on a complete application within 60 days. The statute applies broadly to Anne Arundel County planned communities, including the large HOA governance structure in Crofton Civic Association, Piney Orchard Community Association, Two Rivers (Odenton), Heritage Harbour, Seven Oaks, Pointe West, and condominium associations in downtown Annapolis and Kent Island-adjacent communities. The Maryland Attorney General's HOA-condo conciliation process is available for disputes, and homeowners who prevail in enforcement actions may recover attorney's fees under §2-119(d).
HOA fines issued under CC&Rs that violate §2-119 are unenforceable; homeowner may seek declaratory judgment and attorney's fees. HOA failure to act within 60 days on a complete application is treated as approval. Bad-faith enforcement may trigger additional fee-shifting.
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