Queen Anne's County, MD Zoning Overlays & Bonuses: Density Bonus Law (2026)

The density bonus is subsection N of § 18:1-108, the Moderately Priced Dwelling Unit article in Part 6 of Chapter 18:1. It reads that an applicant who complies with the article may be granted a density bonus of 10% above the maximum amount permitted in a zone, provided that the development complies with the provisions of Chapter 18. The bonus is discretionary language, not an entitlement, and it is tied to compliance with the whole article.

Compliance is triggered by size. Subsection C requires the article for all residential development, including commercial apartments, in any district except SI, SIBE, and LIHS. In growth areas the threshold is 20 or more lots or dwelling units; outside growth areas it is 60 or more lots or dwelling units. An applicant cannot avoid the article by submitting or phasing new development in increments below those thresholds.

The obligation itself is subsection D(1): at least 10% of the units in a residential development subject to the article shall be designated as MPDUs. Compliance can be met by constructing MPDUs on site, or off site if the Planning Commission approves the location; by paying fees in lieu into the Moderately Priced Housing Fund where the Planning Commission makes the printed findings; or by donating land to the County. The applicant must record covenants that the unit stays an MPDU for the control period and sign an MPDU agreement kept on file at the Planning Department.

The control period is 15 years for sale units and 25 years for rental units. An eligible person has a household median income of 80% or less of the Baltimore MSA average, with adjustments for household size. Rental MPDUs are priced at eighty percent of HUD's fair market rents if the landlord pays all utilities, or sixty-five percent if the landlord does not. The Housing Department means the Queen Anne's County Department of Housing and Community Services.

Separately, the Planning Commission can authorize an increase in an MPDU sale price of no more than 10% in exceptional cases, which is a price adjustment, not a density bonus.