Zoning, building permits and septic rules in Town of Grantsville, Maryland

Town of Grantsville’s own rules

• Local zoningPresent

  All land inside Grantsville town limits, administered by the town under its own Zoning Ordinance (not the Garrett County unincorporated zoning)

  • Section 300 states that every parcel of land and every building in the town is subject to the regulations for the district in which it is located.
  • The ordinance text is hosted on the Garrett County website; the town adopted it by resolution.

  “zoning ordinance of grantsville, maryland as adopted by the mayor and town council of the town of grantsville on july 7, 1997, with an effective date of july 7, 1997.”

• Zoning districtsPublished

  Land inside Grantsville town limits

  • Four districts are named in section 300: SR (suburban residential), TR (town residential), TC (town center), EC (employment center).
  • District boundaries are shown on the adopted 'zoning map - town of grantsville' (section 301).

  “for the purposes of these regulations, the town is hereby divided into classes of districts, which are established as follows: a. b. c. d. sr suburban residential district tr town residential district tc town center district ec employment center district”

• SetbacksDistrict specific (with conditions)

  Minimum front, side and rear yards for principal buildings in Grantsville town, by district (SR and TR shown)

  • Yard values (front, side, rear) are given per district in the section 500 table; the PDF text extraction does not reliably map the numbers to columns, so no numeric yard values are recorded here.
  • Section 506 (accessory structures in side and rear yards), 503 (front yard reduction), and 504 (traffic visibility) also modify setbacks; not transcribed.

  “the regulations for each district pertaining to minimum lot area, minimum lot area per dwelling unit, minimum lot width, maximum height, and minimum required yards shall be as specified in the "table of dimensional requirements for principal and accessory uses"”

• Manufactured homesLimited

  Mobile or manufactured home parks inside Grantsville town

  • Use table row 6 shows 'se' in the SR column and 'n' in TR, TC and EC.
  • Further park provisions (maximum number of units and other conditions after item b) were not transcribed.

  minimum lot area per mobile home space: >= 10000 sq ft (within a mobile home park) · minimum width at building setback line per space: >= 90 ft (exclusive of easements)

  “a. individual mobile home spaces within a mobile home park shall include a minimum of 10,000 square feet of lot area, and a minimum width at the building setback line of 90 feet, exclusive of easements.”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Limited — Individual manufactured or mobile home on its own lot inside Grantsville town, SR district

    “individual mobile/ manufactured home, meeting all of the same requirements as a single family detached dwelling, and also provided that any such home placed within the town after the effective date of this ordinance shall comply with the 1976 or later u.s. department of housing and urban development safety and construction standards for manufactured housing. se n n n”

• Mandatory utility hookupWater and sewer (with conditions)

  New non-agricultural principal buildings (such as a new house) inside Grantsville town

  • Requirement applies only if central sewage and central water systems are 'reasonably feasible and available'.
  • The ordinance states no distance threshold for connection.
  • Where central systems are not feasible or available, the ordinance is silent in this section; septic and well rules come from other authorities (not verified here).

  “a non-agricultural principal building shall not be constructed following the adoption of this ordinance unless it is served by both central sewage and central water systems, if such systems are reasonably feasible and available.”

• Permit feesVariable (with conditions)

  Zoning permits, special exceptions, and variance/interpretation appeals in Grantsville town

  • Fees are set by a fee schedule adopted and amended by town council resolution; the schedule amounts were not located in the ordinance or on the pages opened.

  “pay to the town for the use of the town, a fee in accordance with the fee schedule which may be adopted and amended by resolution of the town council.”

• Permit processPartial

  Zoning permits issued by Grantsville town for erection, construction, moving or change of use

  • Permit must be acted on within one year of issuance or it is void; the zoning administrator may grant one additional year for good cause.
  • Application requirements (section 902) and the building-permit side (county or state) were not verified.

  permit validity period: 1 year (one additional year by zoning administrator for good cause)

  “if not, the permit shall be considered null and void. the zoning administrator may grant a written extension of one total additional year if an applicant proves good cause.”

Still unanswered

We looked and could not find an official answer yet. Silence is not permission; ask Town of Grantsville or Garrett County directly.

• Building permit — Building permits for new homes inside Grantsville town
• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder exemption for building inside Grantsville town
• Building code adopted — Building code adopted for construction inside Grantsville town
• Inspections — Building inspections for work inside Grantsville town
• Certificate of occupancy — Certificate of occupancy for new homes inside Grantsville town

Each answer was extracted from an official source and independently re-checked against that source by a second reviewer. That is an evidence check, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with the authority before you buy or build.