Chesapeake Beach has its own accessory dwelling zoning rules, separate from Calvert County. The Town’s current code still publishes a restrictive legacy framework—7,500-square-foot lot minimum, 650-square-foot ADU cap, owner occupancy and an additional-parking rule—while the Town is actively rewriting those provisions for Maryland’s October 1, 2026 HB 1466 deadline.
Current status
🟠 TRANSITION — current §290-11 remains codified while Chesapeake Beach develops its HB 1466 alignment rules.
Current baseline: Town Code §290-11. 2026 work: Planning & Zoning public-hearing drafts propose removing the 7,500-sq-ft lot threshold and fixed 650-sq-ft cap, using above-grade living area for the state size calculation, and revising other ADU standards. Next published zoning hearing: September 23, 2026. Last editorial verification: September 8, 2026.
This guide separates current codified law from 2026 draft language. Draft provisions are not treated as enacted rules. Maryland ADU Guide is an independent research publication, not a zoning office or legal adviser.
1. Quick answer: are ADUs allowed in Chesapeake Beach?
| Question | Current published rule / status |
|---|---|
| Are accessory dwellings currently recognized? | Yes. Current §290-11 treats accessory dwellings as a conditional use in specified Town zoning districts. |
| Primary home type | Current code requires a single-family detached principal dwelling. |
| Current lot minimum | 7,500 sq ft and served by public water and sewer under current §290-11. |
| Current ADU size cap | 650 sq ft of floor area under current code. |
| Owner occupancy | Required under current code. |
| Parking | Official-code conflict. §290-11 says two additional off-street spaces; the current parking table lists one space per accessory dwelling. The Town is actively reviewing parking for HB 1466. |
| Site plan | Required under current §290-11. |
| Detached property-line setback | Current Town accessory-building rule generally allows a completely detached accessory building within required side/rear yards but no closer than 5 ft to a side or rear property line. |
| 2026 final aligned ordinance? | Not verified as enacted. Town Planning & Zoning materials remain in public-hearing / draft stage. |
2. Chesapeake Beach vs. Calvert County: two governments can touch the same ADU
Calvert County explicitly identifies Chesapeake Beach and North Beach as incorporated towns with separate governments and separate zoning regulations. For a Chesapeake Beach property, Town zoning controls the local land-use decision. But that does not mean Calvert County disappears from the project.
| Approval layer | Chesapeake Beach property |
|---|---|
| Zoning / land use | Town of Chesapeake Beach |
| Town zoning / “Beach” approval | Town approval is obtained before the County building-permit package. |
| Building permit | Calvert County |
| Electrical | Calvert County permit system |
| Grading | Calvert County final approval, with Town/environmental review where applicable |
| Use & occupancy | Calvert County final approval |
| Critical Area / Town environmental layer | Town review applies where the parcel is within the Critical Area; County permit materials may also require the applicable worksheet/documentation. |
Calvert County’s permit guidance says County permits are still required after municipal zoning permission is obtained. Its residential permit pages also specifically require a Beach Application Approval for projects inside Chesapeake Beach or North Beach.
3. What the current Chesapeake Beach ADU code still says
Current Town Code §290-11 remains unusually restrictive compared with the new state framework. It currently allows an accessory dwelling as a conditional use in R-LD, R-MD, R-HD, RV-1, RV-2, RPC, NC and TC districts, subject to the district rules and the ADU-specific conditions.
| Current §290-11 condition | Published rule |
|---|---|
| Primary dwelling | Single-family detached. |
| Lot / utilities | At least 7,500 sq ft and served by public water and sewer. |
| Owner occupancy | Accessory dwellings limited to owner-occupied lots. |
| Size | Maximum 650 sq ft floor area. |
| Bulk rules | Height, area and bulk requirements apply. |
| Parking | §290-11 says two off-street spaces in addition to those required for the principal dwelling. |
| Site plan | Required. |
| Design | Architecturally compatible with principal dwelling in building materials, roof type and roofline. |
| Number of units | One accessory dwelling/apartment per lot. |
Those are the currently codified local provisions. They should not be confused with the Town’s 2026 proposed replacement language.
4. What Chesapeake Beach is proposing to change for HB 1466
The Town’s 2026 ADU public-hearing materials explicitly say Chesapeake Beach is changing Chapter 290 to match Maryland’s new ADU requirements. The Town’s own “ADU Updates” document identifies the following proposed changes:
- change the ADU/dwelling definitions to align with state definitions;
- measure dwelling size using above-grade living area, with the Town pointing to Maryland SDAT data as the accessible reference;
- remove the current 7,500-square-foot ADU lot minimum;
- remove the current fixed ADU size limit;
- limit a detached ADU’s height to the principal home’s height;
- require separate ingress/egress for the ADU;
- propose an 8-foot minimum separation between the main house and a detached ADU;
- exclude the ADU from density calculations;
- require a conversion of an existing accessory structure to have vehicular access from a road rather than solely from an alley; and
- resolve parking separately after the Town determines whether to remove the requirement or support it through the state parking-study process.
5. The 650-sq-ft legacy cap vs. Maryland’s 75% rule
The size issue is one of the clearest reasons Chesapeake Beach must rewrite its current ordinance. Maryland Land Use §4-501 defines a qualifying ADU as no greater than 75% of the size of the primary single-family detached dwelling. Maryland Department of Planning says the statute does not prescribe one universal measurement method and recommends finished living area above grade.
Chesapeake Beach’s current code still says 650 sq ft maximum. The Town’s 2026 materials, however, expressly propose removing that fixed cap and using above-grade living area—referencing SDAT—for the size calculation.
For the statewide measurement issue and SDAT field definitions, use our Maryland 75% ADU Size Guide & Calculator.
6. Parking is Chesapeake Beach’s biggest unresolved source conflict
Current official materials do not produce one clean parking answer.
| Official source | What it says |
|---|---|
| Town Code §290-11(A)(5) | Accessory dwellings require two off-street parking spaces in addition to those required for the principal dwelling. |
| Current §290-20 parking table | Lists Dwelling, accessory — 1/dwelling unit. |
| 2026 Town ADU update document | Says no parking change was yet proposed and that the Town must either remove ADU parking requirements or complete a parking study; parking regulations would be updated after the study. |
Maryland §4-504(e) requires a local legislative body to complete a parking study before adopting additional off-street ADU parking requirements and requires a waiver process in the local law.
Because the current code itself contains parking language that does not read consistently across sections, homeowners should obtain the currently enforced requirement from Town Planning & Zoning in writing. Track the statewide issue in our Maryland ADU Parking Rules & Parking Study Tracker.
7. Chesapeake Beach setbacks: 5 ft to the lot line is not the same as 8 ft from the house
This is an easy number to misread in the 2026 draft.
Current Town Code §290-19(I) says a completely detached accessory building may occupy a required side or rear yard but may not be closer than 5 feet to a side or rear property line. Maryland §4-504(d) separately says a local ADU side/rear setback may not exceed the jurisdiction’s existing side/rear setback for accessory structures.
The Town’s 2026 ADU proposal adds a different measurement: a detached ADU would need to sit at least 8 feet from the principal structure for light, air and emergency access.
| Measurement | Rule / proposal |
|---|---|
| Detached accessory building → side/rear property line | Current Town accessory-building rule: generally at least 5 ft. |
| Proposed detached ADU → principal house | 2026 draft: at least 8 ft. |
Those numbers measure different things. The draft’s 8-foot separation should not be described as an 8-foot ADU property-line setback. See our Maryland ADU Setback Rules lookup guide.
8. Existing garages and alley-only access: the proposed conversion rule matters
Maryland law allows a local government to prohibit conversion of an accessory structure into an ADU when the structure’s only vehicular access is from an alley. Chesapeake Beach’s 2026 draft uses that authority: it proposes that an existing accessory-structure conversion must have vehicular access from a road, not solely an alleyway.
That could be especially important for an existing detached garage or other rear accessory building. It is a proposed conversion condition, not a statewide automatic ban on every alley-adjacent ADU.
For broader conversion issues, use Can I Convert My Garage Into an ADU in Maryland?.
9. Critical Area and coastal-site constraints can add another approval layer
Chesapeake Beach is a coastal municipality, and some parcels fall within Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay Critical Area. The Town administers Critical Area requirements as part of its land-use review, and its permit resources include Critical Area mapping and worksheets.
Calvert County’s accessory-apartment and accessory-structure permit guidance likewise says projects within the Critical Area require a Critical Area Worksheet. Depending on the property, impervious-surface limits, vegetation, buffer rules, floodplain issues or other environmental standards can shrink the usable ADU envelope even when the zoning use itself is allowed.
10. Chesapeake Beach ADU permit workflow
| Step | What to verify |
|---|---|
| 1. Confirm Town jurisdiction | Make sure the parcel is inside Chesapeake Beach rather than unincorporated Calvert County or North Beach. |
| 2. Identify Town zoning district | Confirm the current conditional-use path and applicable bulk/accessory-structure rules. |
| 3. Check 2026 transition status | Ask which current vs. proposed ADU provisions Town staff is administering on the application date. |
| 4. Town zoning / Beach approval | Obtain the Town approval required for the County building-permit package. |
| 5. Critical Area / environmental review | Complete the Town/County environmental documentation if the parcel is affected. |
| 6. Calvert County building permit | Submit Town approval with the County package; County handles building, electrical, grading and use/occupancy approvals. |
| 7. Construction and inspections | Meet County building-code inspection requirements plus applicable Town conditions. |
| 8. Rental licensing | If rented, verify Town rental-license/inspection requirements and any final ADU-specific rental restrictions. |
11. What Chesapeake Beach homeowners should verify before spending
- Confirm the parcel is inside Town limits. Do not use Calvert County zoning just because the mailing address says Chesapeake Beach.
- Confirm the current zoning district. Current accessory dwellings are a conditional use only in the districts specified by §290-11.
- Ask whether the 650-sq-ft and 7,500-sq-ft legacy limits are still being administered on new applications. The Town is actively proposing their removal.
- Get the size measurement method in writing. The draft points to above-grade living area / SDAT, but final enacted text has not yet been verified.
- Ask for the currently enforced parking requirement. Current codified materials conflict, and the HB 1466 parking study has not been located by this site.
- For a detached unit, distinguish property-line setback from house-to-ADU separation. The relevant numbers are not interchangeable.
- If converting a garage/accessory structure, verify vehicular access. The draft specifically addresses alley-only conversions.
- Check the Critical Area and flood/environmental overlays.
- Obtain Town approval before submitting the Calvert County building permit.
- Re-check the legislative record immediately before final design. The Town is still in an active public-hearing cycle ahead of October 1.
12. Bottom line
Chesapeake Beach is one of the clearest examples of why Maryland homeowners need municipal—not just county—ADU research. Its current code still contains a 650-sq-ft cap, 7,500-sq-ft lot threshold, owner occupancy and restrictive parking language, while the Town’s own 2026 materials openly propose removing the size/lot restrictions and acknowledge that parking must be reconciled with HB 1466.
The strongest planning approach right now is: verify Town jurisdiction → current zoning district → current-vs-draft ADU rule → parking interpretation → setbacks/access → Critical Area → Town zoning approval → Calvert County building permit.
Primary sources used for this Chesapeake Beach guide
- Town of Chesapeake Beach Code §290-11 — current accessory-dwelling conditions
- Town Code §290-19 / §290-20 — dimensional and parking standards
- Town of Chesapeake Beach — 2026 ADU Updates / public-hearing explainer
- Chesapeake Beach Planning & Zoning Commission — 2026 public-hearing materials
- Planning & Zoning materials — HB 1466 / parking-study statutory text
- Chesapeake Beach Town Council work-session record — ADU parking discussion
- Town of Chesapeake Beach — permits and Town vs. County responsibilities
- Town of Chesapeake Beach — zoning and land-use resources
- Calvert County — municipal zoning vs. County permit responsibilities
- Calvert County — accessory apartment permit / Critical Area requirements
- Calvert County — accessory structure / Critical Area permit guidance
- Maryland Department of Planning — HB 1466 FAQ
- Maryland Land Use §4-501 — ADU definition
- Maryland Land Use §4-504 — local ADU requirements
Maryland ADU Guide is maintained by Gijo John as an independent research publication. We prioritize enacted code, official municipal records, legislative materials and state guidance. Proposed legislation is not treated as law. Source-backed corrections can be sent to gijo.j@marylandaduguide.com.