Every new construction project and any significant improvement to an existing structure requires a building permit issued by the local government–the county or an incorporated municipality. All seven jurisdictions in the region—Baltimore City, and Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Harford, Howard and Queen Anne’s Counties—issue permits in the Baltimore region. In addition, permits are issued by the City of Annapolis and the towns of Aberdeen, Bel Air and Havre de Grace in Harford County.
The Baltimore Metropolitan Council has been compiling the region’s building permit information and organizing it into a standardized database for many years. The resulting information, collected from all permits with an estimated construction value of $10,000 or more, provides a continual record of plans for new and renovated residential and non-residential projects. The BMC staff itself makes use of this information as a leading indicator of new regional development patterns.