Queen Anne's County, MD Special Events & Permits: Sidewalk Dining & Cafés (2026)

The outdoor cafe rule sits in § 18:1-27.1 of the Queen Anne's County Code, the Neighborhood and Village Center (NVC) District, which the County Commissioners created for lands designated as the Chester Village Expansion Area in the Chester/Stevensville Community Plan. It governs unincorporated Queen Anne's County in that Chester and Stevensville area of Kent Island. Restaurants in the incorporated towns, including Centreville and Queenstown, follow their own codes.

Subsection P covers street and pedestrian way standards, and paragraph (9) says restaurants shall be permitted to operate outdoor cafes on sidewalks, including areas within the public right-of-way and in courtyards. The permission carries one stated condition: pedestrian circulation and access to store entrances shall not be impaired to less than four feet of clearance or width.

The cafe rule reads alongside the sidewalk widths in the same subsection. Paragraph (4) requires sidewalks at least five feet in width, except for the Mixed/Neighborhood Village Center (T6). Paragraph (6) requires sidewalks at least 10 feet in width the entire length of property fronting the T6 main street core commercial areas, with connections to existing sidewalks adjacent to the property when appropriate. The wider T6 main street sidewalks are where outdoor tables have the most room to sit beside a four-foot walking path.

Paragraph (7) protects the same four-foot clear width from a different obstruction: the bike parking area required for nonresidential buildings must include a bike rack and shall not impair sidewalks, pedestrianways and access to less than four feet of clearance or width. Paragraph (8) states the purpose behind these rules: neighborhood design shall provide a streetscape interesting to pedestrians that encourages more people to walk.

Paragraph (9) itself prints no fee, application form, hours limit or alcohol-service condition. A restaurant owner who wants tables on a public sidewalk in the NVC District should confirm with the Department of Planning and Zoning how use of the public right-of-way is approved, since the code language grants the permission but names no separate permit.