Planning and Zoning

Duties & Responsibilities

Planning Services performs a vital role in creating and communicating a vision of the County and acts as the primary coordinating agency in the development, adoption, and implementation of the County's land use plans and policies. Planning Services provides both short and long range planning services to various County boards including the Planning and Zoning Commission and the County Commissioners, as well as to the general public. Planning Services also provides assistance to outside agencies focusing on development opportunities in the County.

Comprehensive Plan

View the most recent Comprehensive Plan

New Permitting Software 

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All Building Permits and Land-Use Permits will be handled through Cloudpermit! Access it here.

We have integrated Cloudpermit to facilitate the submission of online applications for all building and land-use related permits beginning January 1, 2025. The addition of this tool will greatly enhance the transparency and accountability of our Planning & Zoning process, for both staff and applicants. 

Standard Building Permits will now require a two-pronged approach: a Building Permit and a Land-Use Permit. The Building Permit will govern that the project meets building codes. The Land-Use Permit will help guide structural placement, ground grading, and other environmental concerns. 

Additional functionality (ie; code enforcement) will eventually be added to the Cloudpermit interface making it easier to communicate with and track projects alongside our Planning & Zoning team. 

With the Cloudpermit Building Permit system, you can conveniently apply for permits and track their status. Additionally, the system allows you to initiate an application and save progress for completion at a later time. You will also receive timely email updates regarding the status of your permit application.

Take the first step today by creating your account. Beginning January 1, you will be able to start using the system fully. To create a Cloudpermit account, CLICK HERE.

To Create an Account

To get started with Cloudpermit, you need to Create an Account. Note: you will need an email address to use the system.
  1. Go to the Cloudpermit site
  2.  Click on “CREATE NOW” found under the Register for an account column.
  3. Provide your email address.
  4. Cloudpermit will send an email to the address you have provided.
  5. Open the email and complete the registration process.

Note: this email is only valid for 24 hours. The next time you visit the site, you’ll login using your email and password.

Where Do I Start?

The Planning & Zoning Division in broken down into several Departments. Use the list below as a reference on where to start.

BUILDING SAFETY OFFICE
Building Permit Applications
Construction Drawing Review and Release
Building Code Information
Building Inspections

CODES OFFICE
Abandoned Vehicles
Junk Abatement
Salvage Yards
Unsafe Structures
Zoning Infractions

GIS OFFICE
Mapping
Data Management and Purchasing
GIS Dashboard Maintenance

PERMITS OFFICE
Land Use Permits
Building Permits
Licensing

PLANNING OFFICE
Comprehensive Plan Maintenance and Updates
Metropolitan Planning Organization Coordinator
Review Coordinator of State (Project) Clearing Hous Process
Allegany County Transit Planning and Administration

ZONING OFFICE
Zoning Certifications
Subdivision Regulations
Lot Line Adjustment (LLAS) and Lot Splits
Road Closings
E911 Location Address Program