Harford County bill allows development of 20 acres at a time, aims to reduce sediment runoff

Developers in Harford County can now develop a maximum of 20 acres of land at a time after the County Council passed a bill June 4 reinstating the regulation in an effort to reduce sediment runoff.

The regulation requires developers to consult with county officials before development before the start of development of another 20-acre unit and before the removal of sediment control measures.

For sites larger than 20 acres, 50% of the subsequent 20 acres being developed must be stabilized and approved by the county before development can begin on the next 20-acre portion. No more than two 20-acre units may be developed at the same time.

In the new bill, violation fines are doubled from what the county set in the original regulation and range from $500 to $5,000.

Approved developments before the passage of this legislation will not be subject to the 20-acre regulation.

Prior to 2017, Harford – along with 19 of Maryland’s 24 counties – had a regulation that allowed developers to remove trees, dirt and other resources in increments of 20 acres at a time.

The regulation was repealed by the county shortly after the Maryland Department of the Environment decided local jurisdiction, not the state, should establish its own regulations.

The bill to reinstate the regulation was introduced by Councilman Dion Guthrie in early May after he said he was concerned with the growing number of times the Gunpowder River had turned orange after rainfall.

Guthrie, a Joppatowne Democrat, said the issue impacted much of the river surrounding Joppatowne and blamed the 388 single-family home development, Ridgely’s Reserve, for the runoff.

Ridgely’s Reserve broke ground in 2022 and, according to Guthrie, cleared more than 100 acres of woodlands all at once. Guthrie believes the mass clearing destabilized the land and has since resulted in high amounts of sediment runoff.

“We never had a problem like this in the 58 years I have lived here until that development came in,” Guthrie said. “You clear 20 acres at a time, and you can control it, whereas if you clear 100 acres, you can’t control it because it’s a massive amount of land open to drainage.”

With the passage of Guthrie’s bill, Harford is again one of the 20 counties in Maryland to have active acreage development regulations.