Cecil Land Use Alliance: Land Use Information

Land Use Information

Land Use Glossary
Cecil County 2010 Comprehensive Plan for land use (Note: this file is 9.1 Mb)
Cecil County 2010 Land Use Plan (map)
Cecil County BRAC Action Plan
Cecil County Planning Commission subcommittee report on Home Owners' Associations and Open Space

Notes from CLUA meeting with attorney J. Carroll Holzer
Saving the Bay from the Bench: Baltimore Sun op/ed about the legal paradigm governing land use decisions
1979 Gaster case opinion giving legal status to Cecil County Comprehensive Plan over Zoning Ordinance
1998 Bucktail case opinion requiring county administrative decisions to be rational and based on facts

Maryland Smart Growth: Past, Present, and Future — a conference at Salisbury University, April 2010
A Guide to Preserving Agricultural Lands in the Chesapeake Region: Keeping Stewards on the Land
Area Officials Struggle to Fit Lid on Growth — Washington Post article about obstacles to controlling growth
Who's Minding the Shore? — Baltimore Sun editorial about uncontrolled growth on the Maryland Eastern Shore
Growing Pains on Shore — Baltimore Sun article about Maryland Department of Planning report on impact of growth on the Maryland Eastern Shore
Growing! Growing! Gone! The Chesapeake Bay and the Myth of Endless Growth — Tom Horton paper (38 pages of text) raising fundamental questions about growth, the environment, and our economy
Bay Journal article summarizing the Horton paper
Water Problems Due to Growth:
- Running Dry? — Baltimore Sun article about the state's dwindling water resources Map from article
- Delaware Draining Water Supply, Study Finds — article from Delaware Online
- Cecil County Sees Threat in Plan to Save Bay — Baltimore Sun article about state-imposed limits on sewer capacity in the Cecil County growth corridor Map from article
- Baltimore Sun two-part series about the decline in the Bay's health and its causes:
  - Tainted Waters
  - Weak Laws

Transfer of Development Rights (TDRs):
- The ABC's of TDR's and Rural Zoning in Cecil County
- Chart of allowed density and open space requirements in various zoning categories (not yet updated to 2010 Comprehensive Plan)
- Text of TDR provisions in Zoning Ordinance Article XI
Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance (APFO):
- APFO Introduction for Cecil County
- Guide to APFOs from Maryland Department of Planning
- Case Studies in APFOs in Maryland
- Draft APFO for Cecil County

Chesapeake Bay Critical Area Law:
- Maryland Department of Natural Resources Critical Area web site
- Chesapeake Bay Foundation citizens' guide
- Critical Area Commission "Bay Smart" citizens' guide (Note: this file is 9.8 Mb)
- Presentation summarizing the law and the 2008 changes (Note: this file is 2.3 Mb)
Cecil County Green Infrastructure presentation to county commissioners by The Conservation Fund, November, 2007 Notes on the presentation
Maryland Stormwater Management Act of 2007
An overview of Environmental Site Design for stormwater management
Report: Urban Runoff Impeding Chesapeake Bay Cleanup Efforts — article from Lancaster Farming

MARC Aims to Triple Service — Baltimore Sun article on commuter rail expansion plan, including extending service to Elkton
Pictorial overview of the Amtrak rail corridor in Cecil County, from east to west (Note: this file is 5.4 Mb)