Pole barns and barndominiums in Ocean Pines, Maryland.
Building in Ocean Pines.
Ocean Pines is Worcester County’s largest residential community, a waterfront planned development that Boise Cascade began in 1968. It had 12,145 residents in the 2020 Census, and its population swells by more than half in summer. The Ocean Pines Golf Club, a Robert Trent Jones design that opened in 1972, and White Horse Park are local landmarks, and Ocean Parkway is the main road through it.
Here the projects are residential, and the buildings that suit them are the ones the community’s rules allow: a detached garage built to match the house, a shed, a carport or a gazebo. The drive from our Dover office is about 64 miles and takes about 95 minutes, and we handle both the county and the association approvals.
- County
- Worcester County, Maryland
- Population
- 12,145 (2020 Census)
- ZIP code
- 21811
- From our office
- About 1 hr 35 min (64 miles) by car
- Permits
- Worcester County Department of Development Review & Permitting (DRP)
- Main roads
- MD 589 (Racetrack Road), MD 90 (Ocean City Expressway), Ocean Parkway (main road through Ocean Pines)
Permits and rules in Ocean Pines.
Ocean Pines is unincorporated, so the Worcester County Department of Development Review & Permitting (DRP) issues building and zoning permits from the Government Center, 1 W. Market St., Room 1201, in Snow Hill, at (410) 632-1200. The Ocean Pines Association adds its own layer: deed restrictions require written approval from OPA’s Compliance, Permits & Inspections (CPI) department and an ARC-authorized OPA permit before any work on a numbered lot, and OPA wants a copy of the approved county building permit before work starts. Where county and OPA rules differ, the stricter one applies.
On the county side, size sets the paperwork. An accessory structure under 500 square feet goes in on a zoning permit with a simplified floor plan, and one of 500 square feet or more needs a building permit with three sets of quarter-scale construction plans. A two-car garage at OPA’s 24 by 28 foot maximum is 672 square feet, so it takes the building permit. Removing any tree 6 inches or more in diameter also needs an OPA tree removal permit from CPI (410-641-7425).
Who issues the permit
Worcester County Department of Development Review & Permitting (DRP)
- Address
- Worcester County Government Center, 1 W. Market St., Room 1201, Snow Hill, MD 21863
- Phone
- (410) 632-1200
- Website
- Permit information(opens in a new tab)
Where this comes from
Permit details checked October 2026. Rules change, so we confirm the current requirements for your parcel before anything is drawn.
What people build around Ocean Pines.
OPA’s Architectural Review Committee guidelines, revised May 2, 2026, spell out the garage. It has to match the house in height, materials, color, roof style and pitch, sit on a foundation with a concrete floor, and fall between a one-car 12 by 20 and a two-car 24 by 28 design, with a driveway at least 11 feet wide. Carports, gazebos and pools need an ARC permit too, and every outbuilding stays behind the front foundation line of the house.
Ocean Pines questions.
Have a question about your property? Call 302-399-4420 and we’ll look it up.
Can I put up a metal shed in Ocean Pines?
Not on a residential lot. OPA allows one shed per lot, no larger than 144 square feet, with walls no taller than 8 feet, a roof pitch of at least 4:12 and no second story, set at least 6 feet from other structures and the side line. For more room than that, a detached garage is the route.
How close to the water can an outbuilding go?
Under OPA’s guidelines, outbuildings stay at least 15 feet from a bulkhead and 10 feet from the rear property line. Lots in a designated Critical Area are reviewed by Worcester County Environmental Programs before construction, and some Ocean Pines lots contain regulated non-tidal wetlands, so we check the lot early.
Do you build in Ocean Pines?
Yes. It is about 64 miles from 575 N Dupont Hwy, or about 95 minutes by car. You can try garage sizes and layouts in our online 3D designer first, then we check them against OPA’s limits.
Let’s plan your building in Ocean Pines.
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
- Ocean Pines and all of Worcester County