Legislation Passed By Harford County Council Caps Warehouse Sizes

HARFORD COUNTY, MD — The Harford County Council passed legislation at its meeting Tuesday that amends the county zoning code to tighten rules guiding warehouse developments.

The council voted five to two with council members Aaron Penman and Jessica Boyle-Tsottles both voting against the bill. For some time, residents have expressed concerns about large warehouse development plans in Perryman.

Harford County Executive Bob Cassilly enacted a moratorium on new warehouse developments shortly after taking office. That temporary halt on new warehouse development gave the administration time to review the county's existing zoning and adequate public facilities regulations, which had not taken into account the modern day mega-warehouses that can span more than 1 million square feet.

Bill 23-026 amends the county zoning code to add definitions of “distribution and local delivery center," “freight terminal" and “warehousing.” It also limits the size of warehouses built in the county to 250,000 square feet.

A public hearing was held for the bill Oct. 2.

"Our citizens have made it clear that they do not want unrestrained growth," Cassilly said previously. "This update to our development regulations clarifies ambiguous language in existing law and adds conditions for responsible development. It is, frankly, long overdue."