Washington County - Public Safety - Buildings Used for Agritourism
Summary
HB749 expands Maryland’s agritourism building safety exemption to include Washington County. The bill amends Public Safety Article §12-508 to add Washington County to the list of counties where agricultural buildings used for agritourism are exempt from certain building performance standards, and where an existing agricultural building used for agritourism may avoid being treated as a change of occupancy that would otherwise require a building permit, subject to occupancy and egress limits.
Under the bill, Washington County joins a group of counties already covered by the statute. In those counties, an existing agricultural building used for agritourism may be used without a building permit if the agritourism use is subordinate, the building meets specified egress requirements, and occupancy does not exceed 200 people at one time. The bill also preserves broader statewide rules that agricultural buildings used for agritourism must be structurally sound and in good repair, while exempting them from certain bathroom, sprinkler, elevator, and other code requirements as implemented by Department regulations. The act takes effect June 1, 2025.
Impact
The bill directly amends Maryland Public Safety Article §12-508 by adding Washington County to the counties covered by the agritourism exemption framework. This changes how certain agricultural buildings in Washington County are regulated, reducing the likelihood that agritourism use will trigger a change-of-occupancy determination or building permit requirement, so long as the statutory conditions are met. The practical effect is to ease code compliance and permitting burdens for farm-based agritourism operators in Washington County while leaving Department rulemaking authority and safety-related occupancy/egress conditions in place.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have been broadly favorable and noncontroversial. It passed the House 136-0 and the Senate 47-0, indicating unanimous support in both chambers. No committee transcript material was provided, but the voting history suggests consensus around supporting agritourism and aligning Washington County with other counties already receiving this regulatory treatment.
Contention
No notable opposition is reflected in the available record. The main policy choice in the bill is whether Washington County should receive the same agritourism-related building code exemptions already available in other counties. Any potential concern would likely center on balancing rural economic development and farm diversification against building safety and occupancy limits, but the bill retains structural soundness, egress, and occupancy safeguards, which likely reduced controversy.