Pole barns and barndominiums in Shady Side, Maryland.

On the Shady Side peninsula, the West River and the Bay bring Critical Area and flood rules into many building plans. Our garages and boat storage buildings are drawn around both.

Get a free quote Call 302-399-4420

Building in Shady Side.

Shady Side is a rural peninsula on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay, bordered on the north and west by the West River and about 20 road miles south of Annapolis. The 2020 Census counted 5,806 residents. MD 468 (Shady Side Road) and MD 256 serve the peninsula, home to the Captain Salem Avery House Museum, the Lula G. Scott Community Center and Columbia Beach.

This is one of the longer drives in our Anne Arundel service area, about 84 miles from our Dover office or around 125 minutes, so we plan site visits carefully. We take care of the county permit and its flood-zone paperwork, and a project manager keeps you posted from the first drawings to the final inspection.

County: Anne Arundel County, Maryland
Population: 5,806 (2020 Census)
ZIP code: 20764
From our office: About 2 hr 5 min (84 miles) by car
Permits: Anne Arundel County Department of Inspections and Permits, Permit Center
Main roads: MD 468 (Shady Side Road), MD 256 (Deale Churchton Road)

Permits and rules in Shady Side.

Shady Side is unincorporated, so permits come through the Permit Center of the Anne Arundel County Department of Inspections and Permits, 2664 Riva Road in Annapolis, (410) 222-7730. Parts of the peninsula are in the Critical Area, where every shed needs a permit and the 100-foot buffer from tidal water is protected. In the Resource Conservation Area, the county allows only one dwelling per 20 acres, which matters if you are weighing a barndominium.

Parts of Shady Side also fall in FEMA flood zones. In a V zone, the county’s flood-zone design handout requires a column or pile foundation and plans certified by a Maryland registered design professional. In any flood zone, enclosed areas below the flood elevation need vents on at least two sides, the finished floor elevation must be certified, and the design flood elevation comes from Zoning.

25 psfGround snow load115 mphDesign wind speed30 inFrost line depth

Anne Arundel County’s design criteria, from its adopted building code: the loads every building here is engineered to carry. Source

Who issues the permit

Anne Arundel County Department of Inspections and Permits, Permit Center

Address: Heritage Office Complex, 2664 Riva Road, Annapolis, MD 21401
Phone: (410) 222-7730
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.

Our guide to pole barn permits on Maryland’s Eastern Shore

What people build around Shady Side.

For a Shady Side lot, a post-frame storage building for a boat and trailer, a detached garage or a workshop fits, sized to the impervious-surface cap and placed outside the buffer. In a V zone, the foundation has to be engineered as columns or piles, so the design starts there. Away from the shoreline and the flood zones, a larger garage or a pavilion has more room.

Shady Side questions.

Have a question about your property? Call 302-399-4420 and we’ll look it up.

Can I build a barndominium in Shady Side?

It depends on zoning and the Critical Area class. In the Resource Conservation Area, Anne Arundel County limits new homes to one dwelling per 20 acres, and anyone building a new home for you must hold a Maryland Home Builder registration; state rules also keep the residential sprinkler requirement. We look at your parcel’s classification first.

What foundation does a building in a V zone need?

Anne Arundel County’s flood-zone handout calls for a column or pile foundation in V zones, with building plans certified by a Maryland registered design professional. The finished floor elevation also has to be certified, and the design flood elevation comes from the county’s Zoning staff.

Do you build as far south as Shady Side?

Yes. Shady Side is about 84 miles, or 125 minutes, from 575 N Dupont Hwy in Dover, and it is within our Anne Arundel County service area for design, permits and construction.

Nearby towns we build in.

Let’s plan your building in Shady Side.

Tell us what you’d like to build and where, and we’ll come back with drawings and a free quote.

Get a free quote

302-399-4420

Email: 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: Shady Side and all of Anne Arundel County