I am moving to Maryland near Annapolis, does anyone know the building code there, how flexible are they say to yurts or other types of non-tradionial structures. Thanks. Patricia

-- patricia mccormick (patrimccor@aol.com), March 29, 2001

Answers

In the rural areas, if you keep it under 600 square feet and call it a hunting cabin, you can get away with a lot. In a city area, you will need to go with the flow.

-- mitch hearn (moopups1@aol.com), March 30, 2001.

Patricia,

I am a real estate broker and general contractor in Maryland. Most of my primary area is within 30 to 45 minutes from Annapolis. Annapolis is in Anne Arundel County which has a pretty strict building code. I live on the eastern shore which runs from suburbs to farming belt. These eastern counties have less stringent codes, but in recent years have adopted more "up to date" codes drafted by "expert" consultants trained in the "art" of land "planning and management". We are now in conformity. What a wonderful place.

Anne Arundel County still has some rural areas, but growth is pressing. If you get out secluded enough you may be able to just do whatever you want. But, alas, there is nowhere to hide in our technocentric society anymore. Every parcel of land is now platted, scanned and downloaded in central government databases.

What area or town are you specifically planning to move to? Maybe I can give you some suggestions. As far as what you are planning, you probably could just call the planning office about your desires. As long as you meet the electrical, fire, plumbing and other various codes, you could do OK.

We have log cabins, dome homes, A frames, trailers, earth sheltered construction, farmhouses and even some near shanties in our area (I even saw a large teepee hiding in the woods behind a trailer once). This is all within 15-30 minutes of planned suburban type neighborhoods and million dollar waterfront homes. So there is a mix of housing types throughout Maryland.

I don't know about yurts, straw bale, etc. I live in a remodeled circa 1890 farmhouse.

-- Derrick Comfort (dcomfort@crosswalkmail.com), April 01, 2001.