Did you know that an HSIA Building Permit is required every time an Anne Arundel County Building Permit is issued for any work done at your property? However, there are several situations where a County Permit is not required but an HSIA Permit is. Please check the AA County requirements as well as the HSIA Covenants before undertaking any building projects at your property. The responsibility of obtaining an HSIA Building Permit falls on the owner, not the contractor.
Why does HSIA require and issue building permits? Per HSIA Covenants & Deed Restrictions, HSIA’s sideline setbacks (15’) are different from the County (7’). We encourage anyone having work done at their property to reach out to the HSIA Building Permit Chair, before designing your structure or applying to the County. Failure to obtain a HSIA Building Permit will result in a stop work order. You may reach the permit chair via email, [email protected], or by calling 410-263-4456 (HSIA 24-hour voicemail), and leaving a message.
The fee for an HSIA Building Permit is $25.00. The following items are required to obtain a HSIA Building Permit:
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A copy of the Anne Arundel County Building Permit.*
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A TO SCALE copy of the site plan.*
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A TO SCALE copy of the plans and elevations of the structure(s).*
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Cash or check in the amount of $25.00, made payable to HSIA.
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Mail payment and all required documents to HSIA, PO BOX 3485, Annapolis MD 21403
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Provide current mailing address, as your HSIA permit will be mailed via USPS.
*PLEASE NOTE THAT AN EMAILED PDF OF THE COUNTY PERMIT, THE TO-SCALE SITE PLAN and/or TO-SCALE PLANS & ELEVATIONS OF THE STRUCTURE(S) IS PREFERRED AND MAY EXPEDITE THE PROCESS OF OBTAINING A HSIA BUILDING PERMIT.
HSIA Covenants & Deed Restrictions, recorded among the Land Record of Anne Arundel County, Maryland in Liber 900, Folio 334, are binding as a matter of law and are for the benefit of all other lot owners in Hillsmere.
Anne Arundel County Code, 2005, Article 18, Zoning, Title 2, General Provisions, Subtitle 3, Setbacks
A word about processing time – for permit approval, please allow 10 working days to receive your permit in order to allow time to make sure all of your documents are legible (do not take photos of documents and email them), review it, verify your request meets HSIA Covenants and setbacks, and contact you for any questions on the submission. Your permit will also be mailed, via USPS, which may take several days. Please be sure to provide your current mailing address, if it is different than the address on the AA County Building Permit.
If you have any questions on the setbacks, please revisit the HSIA Covenants, or, feel free to ask before you go to the trouble of getting a County permit and find you cannot get an HSIA permit. When in doubt, or, if you have any questions, please contact HSIA Building Permit Chairman via email, [email protected] or voice mail, 410-263-4456. For information on requesting a variance from the HSIA Board of Directors, please review the document below (link provided).