Street Naming/Addressing Guidelines

General Rules for New Street Names

• No adverse impact to Public Safety, accurate dispatch and ability to locate by emergency responders is the priority
• Least impact to existing conditions and neighborhood characteristics
• Minimize impact on individual property owner

Duplication of entire or portion of existing street names will not be allowed unless:

• The request is to extend an existing road and continue the existing name
• The request creates an intersecting feature such as a court or cul-de-sac that uses the primary road name and different suffix type. (i.e. Arundel Ct. is created as a new street intersecting with existing Arundel Dr.)
• Portions of a street name may be repeated if the use is not excessive and approved by public safety. (example: the use of bridge may be allowed in some names, however the use of pine will not be allowed because of the number of streets already using pine as part of the core name.)
• Geographic names must be within the geographic area (zip code) that is implied by the name. (Annapolis Estates must be within an Annapolis Zip Code boundary)
• Feature or Landmark names must be reasonable and within close proximity to the feature or landmark to be used. (Severn River Overlook, implies one could actually see the Severn River)

Additional Requirements:

• No use of "Old" and "New" with a base name
• No use of abbreviations or a single letter of the alphabet for the base name
• No use of a number as the base name
• No names that sound like others already in the system (e.g. Wray, Ray, Reigh)
• No unusual punctuation that will confuse the addressing computer system
• No use of uncommon foreign words or hard to pronounce words

All street name and address assignment will follow the same basic review process. Names will be reviewed by Planning and Zoning to ensure compliance with the above "General Rules". The process includes the following steps:

Step 1 Submittal -  A name request or change can be submitted to the Office of Planning and Zoning in various ways.

• Central Intake Center: Applicant for a New or Changed Street name or house number could submit a subdivision/street name request or a change of address request form that would be sent to the OPZ house number and street name section for review
• Phone calls and e-mails directly to the house number and street name section: This is the method used to report the majority of questions from Public Safety and the Office of Information Technology
• Map counter on the 4th floor of 2664 Riva Rd.: Customers could bring their queries to us directly, (this is most often the case when applying for a building permit that needs a valid address)
• Permit Clerks will usually notify us with an account number when they have a question or need a house number assigned to a building permit

Step 2  Review - Street names are reviewed for compliance with United States Postal Service (USPS) Publication 28. Duplications and sound alikes are checked first.

1. The proposed name(s) is compared to the Master Street Address Guide, provided by the Police Department. The name(s) is/are then compared to the consolidated property file. Finally, the name(s) is/are checked against the Reserved/Rejected list. If the name(s) are unique and available for use it is added to the reserved list along with the date and name of the person seeking its use.
2. Geographic and Landmark names will be validated. Geographic names will be checked against the zip code file to ensure proper use. Landmark data will be verified by local resources, including the historical and archeological staff in the office.
3. In cases where part of a name is duplicated such as Pine____, it may be allowed depending on the number of occurrences of that name. It has been determined that no more than 10 iterations of a name should be allowed. (10 is the number of lines displayed on a 911 dispatch screen).
4. Approval or denial of a street name will be confirmed with a letter from this office to the applicant informing them to proceed or submit alternate names.

If a name is not approved, it is added to Street Names Rejected List. If the name proposed is satisfactory, a letter of confirmation is sent, and the street name is available for use. Public Safety, Information Technology, Development, the local post office, Verizon and BG&E will be notified of the new street name.

House numbers will be assigned with one of the following methods. 

• Grid: Where there are no numbers already in place, we will employ the addressing grid to get a reasonable start for the numbering range
• Existing: Where there are existing numbers neighboring or in use nearby we will build sequentially from those numbers
• Spacing: We will allow for a single address every 50 feet on unimproved property, less if needed.

On residential properties numbers must be at least 3-inches high, displayed on a contrasting background, and posted so as to be unobstructed and clearly visible from the street named in the address of the property. On commercial properties, the address shall be displayed in numbers 6-inches high. The rear entrance shall also be identified with the address.

Anne Arundel County maintains street signs on public roads and right-of-ways. New roads in subdivisions are covered under the public works agreement portion of the development process. However, private roads and right-of-ways are the responsibilities of the owner. If a private road is named, it is required to have signage; this is very important to public safety agencies. A private sign should conform to the minimum 6” in height with 4” letters, green background and white reflective text. An Orange stripe is required on all private road signs.

Report a Street Sign that is down to Public Works Traffic Maintenance.

The naming of subdivision plats in Anne Arundel County must conform to the following:

• Geographical Names - Names that are indicative of a specific area such as a region or a city may be used a maximum of ten (10) times. A portion of the plat name must be significantly different. Examples of a allowable names are: "South River Mountain Estates", " South River Mountain Park", " South River Mountain Woods."
• Similarly, the use of other words such as "Fox",. "Pine", "Bay", "Water", etc. will be governed by the same rule. Examples of allowable names are: "Pine Bluff", "Pine Gate", "Pine Ridge." The use of "Pine Ridge Estates" would not be allowed when a subdivision has previously been recorded as "Pine Ridge."
• No subdivision shall begin with "A", "The" or other similar words, or use the words "Subdivision" or "Plat" in the name of the subdivision.
• Initials will not be allowed in subdivision names.
• Plat names shall not begin with a number (ie: 78th, 102nd) unless the number is spelled out (ie: ONE ROSA PLACE). Subdivision names may be reserved with the Office of Planning and Zoning for a period of two (2) years by the completion and approval of a Subdivision Name Request Form. A plat name reserved, but not used, for two years will be placed on a list of available names.