Pole barns and barndominiums in Kent Island, Maryland.
Building in Kent Island.
Kent Island sits at the eastern end of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, and Kent Fort, the first English establishment on the island, was founded here in 1631. It is an island area rather than a town: Stevensville, Chester, Kent Narrows, Romancoke, Matapeake, Love Point and Broad Creek are all unincorporated, and the county’s Kent Island election district counted 19,446 residents in 2020.
Measured to the middle of the island, Kent Island is about 55 miles from our Dover office, around 82 minutes on the road. We handle the county permit, including the floodplain and Critical Area reviews many island lots need, and a project manager keeps you posted while our crew builds and through the final inspection.
- County
- Queen Anne's County, Maryland
- Population
- 19,446 (2020 Census)
- ZIP codes
- 21666, 21619
- From our office
- About 1 hr 22 min (55 miles) by car
- Permits
- Queen Anne's County Department of Planning & Zoning, Zoning & Permits Division
- Main roads
- US 50/301, MD 8, MD 18, MD 552
Permits and rules in Kent Island.
On the island, the Zoning & Permits Division of the Queen Anne’s County Department of Planning & Zoning, in Centreville at (410) 758-4088, issues every outbuilding permit. Expect a Critical Area review of lot coverage and the 100-foot buffer. On mapped Buffer Exempt lots, a new structure needs a finding that there is no feasible alternative, can’t extend shoreward of existing structures and requires mitigation. Sediment control, Environmental Health or Sanitary District and entrance approvals are added as needed, and MDIA inspects.
Flood rules are the other big piece. Hurricane Isabel’s 2003 surge reached about 7 feet, which matches the county’s Flood Protection Elevation: new or substantially improved buildings must be at least 2 feet above base flood elevation or at 7.0 feet NAVD, whichever is higher. Accessory buildings are limited to 600 square feet in A zones and must stay under 299 square feet in V zones, and any that aren’t raised must be wet-floodproofed. In a floodplain, Public Works needs the Elevation Certificate before the framing inspection.
Who issues the permit
Queen Anne's County Department of Planning & Zoning, Zoning & Permits Division
- Address
- 110 Vincit Street, Suite 104, Centreville, MD 21617
- Phone
- (410) 758-4088
- Website
- Permit information(opens in a new tab)
Where this comes from
- qac.org (opens in a new tab)
- qac.org (opens in a new tab)
- qac.org (opens in a new tab)
- qac.org (opens in a new tab)
- qac.org (opens in a new tab)
- qac.org (opens in a new tab)
Permit details checked October 2026. Rules change, so we confirm the current requirements for your parcel before anything is drawn.
What people build around Kent Island.
Island lots call for buildings sized to the rules: a garage or boat storage building that stays within lot coverage, or a workshop set back from the buffer. In the Airport Protection and Kent Island Gateway district, as in the AG and Countryside districts, a 2 to 5 acre lot can hold accessory buildings up to 200 percent of the house footprint, capped at 5,000 square feet. In the SKI sewer service area, tree-clearing limits can decide where a building goes.
Kent Island questions.
Have a question about your property? Call 302-399-4420 and we’ll look it up.
Is Kent Island its own town for permits?
No. Kent Island is an island area, and its communities, from Stevensville and Chester to Romancoke and Love Point, are unincorporated. Queen Anne’s County Planning & Zoning issues every permit, and MDIA inspects the work.
How much tree clearing is allowed in the SKI area?
The county’s July 2025 form for lots in the SKI sewer service area limits private residential clearing to 20 percent of the site’s woodlands in the Critical Area, or up to 30 percent with mitigation at 1.5 to 1, and 40 percent outside it. The fee-in-lieu for mitigation is $35 per tree.
How far is Kent Island from your office?
About 55 miles and 82 minutes from our office at 575 N Dupont Hwy in Dover, measured to the island’s center. Stevensville and Chester are a little closer, about 52 miles each, and we serve the whole island.
Let’s plan your building in Kent Island.
Tell us what you’d like to build and where, and we’ll come back with drawings and a free quote.
- info@pbuincde.com
- Office
- 575 N Dupont Hwy, Dover, DE 19901 (opens Google Maps in a new tab)
- Hours
- Mon to Fri, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm
- We build in
- Kent Island and all of Queen Anne's County