Development Review

The Department of Planning & Zoning processes land development plans for review and approval under the Plan Approval Process. The Department of Planning & Zoning is the only submission point for all new project submittals. All plans are to be submitted online via the Accela Citizen Access (ACA) portal located at: https://accela.washco-md.net/CitizenAccess/Default.aspx.  Pre-packaged application documents and plans should be prepared and submitted by a surveyor licensed in the State of Maryland. The Department of Planning & Zoning will screen the submission for acceptability and distribute to reviewing agencies for approval. Applicants will be notified via email regarding incomplete submittals.  All revised submissions must be processed through the ACA portal with the Department of Planning & Zoning as a prepackaged re-submittal. This process allows for concurrent agency reviews. Individual project consultations are available upon request.

In addition, all plan review fees are collected by the Department of Planning & Zoning for Engineering and Land Use reviews and Soil Conservation District at the time of project acceptance. The goal is to have all county fees paid at the time of submission. Applicants shall submit a completed fee summary at the first submittal and will be notified via email that a submission has been accepted with fees due. Fees can be paid online through the ACA portal with a credit card or checks, made payable to the ‘Washington County Treasurer’ can be submitted to the Department of Planning & Zoning at 747 Northern Avenue, Hagerstown, MD 21742. Additional fees may be assessed at a later date and must be paid prior to originals being signed. In addition, the application submittal shall include a fee calculation worksheet for each outside agency, when applicable. Please contact the Soil Conservation District regarding their fee requirements for your project.