Pole barns and barndominiums in Princess Anne, Maryland.
Building in Princess Anne.
Princess Anne is the Somerset County seat and home to the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. Founded in 1733 at the head of the Manokin River, it has a National Register historic district of roughly 150 acres, with the Teackle Mansion among its landmarks. US 13, Somerset Avenue (MD 675) and Deal Island Road (MD 363) are its main roads.
The Town runs its own zoning and building permits, separate from Somerset County, and for a garage or pole building, First State Inspection Agency does the plan review and inspections. Princess Anne sits about 74 miles south of our Dover office, about 100 minutes by car, and we draw the building to the Town’s accessory rules, file at Town Hall and schedule each inspection.
- County
- Somerset County, Maryland
- Population
- 3,446 (2020 Census)
- ZIP code
- 21853
- From our office
- About 1 hr 40 min (74 miles) by car
- Permits
- Town of Princess Anne, Planning & Zoning / Permits (Town Hall)
- Main roads
- US 13, MD 675 (Somerset Avenue), MD 363 (Deal Island Road)
Permits and rules in Princess Anne.
The Town Code Enforcement Officer issues both the zoning certificate and the building permit inside town limits, and Somerset County’s building code doesn’t apply. Applications go to the Town of Princess Anne’s Planning & Zoning office at Town Hall, 30489 Broad Street (410-651-1818). The 2026 accessory building application asks for a site or plot plan and project plans. Inspections are footing (before concrete), foundation, framing and final, and footings go 12 inches below finish grade, except on accessory buildings under 600 square feet. Ordinary accessory structures skip Planning and Zoning Commission site plan review.
Town Code limits a residential lot to three detached accessory structures, with a combined footprint no larger than 1,000 square feet or the house’s floor area, whichever is less. They stay out of front and street setbacks, keep 5 feet from side and rear lines in R-1 and R-2, cover no more than 40% of the rear or side yard and stand no taller than the house or two stories, whichever is less. In a designated historic district, visible work, sheds included, needs a historic area work permit from the Historic District Commission.
Who issues the permit
Town of Princess Anne, Planning & Zoning / Permits (Town Hall)
- Address
- 30489 Broad Street, Princess Anne, MD 21853
- Phone
- 410-651-1818
- Website
- Permit information(opens in a new tab)
Where this comes from
- townofprincessanne.org (opens in a new tab)
- ecode360.com (opens in a new tab)
- website-media.com (opens in a new tab)
- ecode360.com (opens in a new tab)
- website-media.com (opens in a new tab)
- ecode360.com (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 Princess Anne.
Princess Anne’s code makes room for farming inside town limits: agriculture with the usual farm buildings is allowed in R-1 and R-2 on at least 10 acres, with crop storage buildings 200 feet from neighboring homes, schools, churches and care institutions. On a regular house lot, the 1,000-square-foot cap points to a detached garage, a workshop or a small pole barn. Outside town, among Somerset’s poultry and grain farms, implement sheds, machinery storage and barndominiums fit the land.
Princess Anne questions.
Have a question about your property? Call 302-399-4420 and we’ll look it up.
Is my lot in a Princess Anne historic district?
Maybe. The town has a National Register district of about 150 acres, but local historic districts are designated by resolution at the request of all the property owners in the area, and Historic District Commission review applies within those. The Town’s accessory application asks the question and has a historic sign-off, so we confirm it with Town Hall.
Does flooding affect building in Princess Anne?
In spots. Somerset County’s 2019 Nuisance Flooding Plan lists Somerset Avenue at Fluers Lane as a repetitive flooding location that cuts the town in half when it floods, plus stormwater flooding on Antioch Avenue, Kristwood Way and Spruce at Elm Street. The Town has its own floodplain chapter, so we check the flood map for your parcel.
How far is Princess Anne from your office?
The drive from our Dover office is about 74 miles, about 100 minutes by car. We cover the town and the Somerset County farmland around it, and outside town limits we file with Somerset County instead.
Let’s plan your building in Princess Anne.
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
- Princess Anne and all of Somerset County