Getting Started and Adequate Public Facilities

Getting Started 

The Department of Planning and Zoning has many resources available to help people who need permitting and planning approval.

Basic Questions

Do you have some basic questions about Planning and Zoning? Look at our frequently asked questions.

Search for Permits or Projects

To find out about a specific permit or project (such as a building permit, site design or variance), visit the Licenses and Permits page.

Adequate Public Facilities

For information on Title 22, visit Adequate Public Facilities.  This includes standards required by code and additional published applied standards that each department uses to evaluate public facilities and the impact of a new development.  

Technical Guidance

Are you working on a site plan and need technical guidance? Our Site Plan Production Guidance July 2016 (PDF) will help you work through the specific requirements for everything from tree preservation, water quality, soil management, planting, streetscape elements, and more.  You can also refer to:

1986 Parking and Landscaping Manual (PDF)

1997 Street Tree Master Plan (PDF)

If you are working on a forest conservation plan, the City has released a local Forest Conservation Technical Manual (PDF).  The Forest Conservation Technical Manual outlines submittal requirements for Forest Strand Delineations and includes required information for the approval of Forest Conservation Plans such as specific forest conservation criteria and protection techniques.

Trees

The City relies on the standards set forth by by the Tree Care Industry Association.  These ANSI A300 standards are the generally accepted industry standards for tree care practices.

For more information about the City's tree laws, see the Urban Forestry page.  

Zoning

Do you want to know the zoning for a particular property? Visit the Zoning Maps and then look for the street name in the index. Then go to the map number as indicated.

If you have other zoning questions, please call us between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. at 410-260-2200, or email:

Mail Notification

In order to determine who to notify via US Mail, please follow these instructions. 

Property owners' names and addresses can be obtained (in person) from the Tax Assessment Office located at 45 Calvert Street, 3rd Floor, Annapolis, MD.

You can also lookup ownership information at the State Department of Assessments and Taxation page.

Remember that the 200 or 400 feet is from the property as a whole (the 360 degree property line), not a dot inside the property.

As you go through the list, if the owner has a different address than the property address, you can assume that this is a rental property. For these, you need to address your letter both to the owner at the address where they reside, and to “Occupant” at the property address. If this is a commercial property, such as a shopping center where there several different storefronts belonging to different businesses, you may need to rely on Google maps or an in-person check to determine all of the occupants of a building.

You can locate alderpersons online.

The Mayor's Office maintains a list of homeowners associations

When you have a list of all parties with a financial or vested interest in the property, nearby property owners, occupants and neighborhood associations, the alderperson for that ward, you must send them notice of the hearing. Then you must then sign the affidavit and return it to our office to illustrate that you have mailed these notifications to everyone on the list.

Please refer to City Code Section 21.10.020 - Notice requirements.  These directions are informational and do not substitute for the requirements of the City Code.