Remodeling in Pasadena, MD

Where does Pasadena start and stop?

Pasadena is wider than its census boundary. The Pasadena CDP is centered on Mountain Road (MD 177), but residents of neighboring Riviera Beach and Lake Shore share the 21122 ZIP code and usually say they live in Pasadena too. Oddly, the original Pasadena crossroads, at Pasadena Road and Ritchie Highway, sits inside the Severna Park CDP.

For a remodeling project, the exact boundary rarely changes anything. The whole area is unincorporated Anne Arundel County, so the same permit office and the same Critical Area rules apply in Green Haven, Ashburn, Bayside Beach or Lake Shore. Permits for all of them go in online through the county’s Land Use Navigator.

Two kinds of Pasadena projects

Pasadena projects usually fall into one of two groups.

Newer townhouses and subdivisions. Much of Pasadena’s housing is recent, and townhouses are a big part of it. These houses are rarely in bad shape, so the usual job is upgrading builder-grade rooms: bathroom remodeling in Pasadena often means a tub-to-shower conversion or a new basement bath, and lower levels get finished with our basement finishing work.

Older homes near the water. Green Haven, the largest neighborhood, grew from a day-trip spot into a year-round community in the early 20th century, and the beach communities have their own share of converted cottages and mid-century houses. Here the questions about the Critical Area and the floodplain come before the questions about finishes. Our Pasadena kitchen remodeling page covers the floodplain substantial-improvement rule in detail.

Why the water shapes exterior work

Close to the Bay and its creeks, a deck, fence or shed needs more planning than the same project inland. Inside the Critical Area, decks and walkways count against a lot-coverage cap, and the 100-foot Buffer is off limits without a buffer management plan and usually a variance. Our deck building in Pasadena page walks through how we plan around those limits.

The county has good reason for caution. When Hurricane Isabel hit in September 2003, more than 570 homes and 15 businesses in Anne Arundel County were left uninhabitable by flooding, and about 100 structures collapsed, according to county emergency management figures reported by Patch.

Fences, sheds and small projects near the water

Small outdoor jobs follow stricter rules on Pasadena’s waterfront lots. A fence on a waterfront property needs an Anne Arundel permit whatever its height, while elsewhere in the county a fence generally needs one only above 6 feet or on a corner lot. Inside the Critical Area, every shed and gazebo needs a permit too. Clearing trees or brush for any of these calls for native replacement planting. None of that stops a project, but it belongs in the plan from day one, and our fencing work is scoped with it in mind.

Before any of this is designed, we check whether your lot is in the Critical Area or the floodplain and tell you what that means for the plan.