Farm or Agricultural Heritage Site Special Events are a use of property where events are conducted on a farm or on an agricultural heritage site where guests assemble for parties, weddings, celebrations, or similar uses for compensation.
Anne Arundel County Code, Article 18-2-203(b) permits farm or agricultural heritage site special events on a property in the RA, RLD, or R1 zoning districts as a temporary use subject to the following restrictions:
- The same property may host no more than eight (8) special events in a 12-month period.
- Authorization is given for each individual event to be held on a property.
- An event may not exceed one (1) day.
- Outdoor assembly areas are located and designed to shield surrounding residential properties from the effects of noise, hazards, or other offensive conditions.
- The maximum capacity for an event will not exceed 25 attendees per acre.
- The owner has owned the property for the immediately preceding two years and has been engaged in active farming for the immediately preceding two years.
Applications require multiple agency reviews (Fire Marshal, Health Department, Inspections & Permits, and Zoning Enforcement). To allow time for all agency reviews and processing, applicants are urged to submit applications no later than three weeks prior to an event start date. Applications submitted less than 14 days prior to the event start date may not have enough time for review and approval. Applications that are submitted less than 14 days prior to an event may not have sufficient review time and risk not being approved in time for the event.
Questions can be directed to the Zoning Administration Section at (410) 222-7437
- Apply online using the Land Use Navigator (LUN).
- For information about getting started with the system, visit the System Help page.
Submittal Requirements
The plans must be drawn to scale (engineering scale) and must include the items listed below:
- Distance to property lines
- Size of property
- North arrow
- Scale of plan
- Tax map, parcel and lot number of subject property
- Existing and proposed uses, structures, parking spaces, driveways, and points of access on the subject property
- Location of well and private sewerage easement, if applicable
- Floor area and height of structures
- Any other information necessary for full and proper consideration of the petition