Some Bel Air residents near Prospect Mill Elementary School were concerned after receiving a letter that they thought was sent by Harford County Council member Jessica Boyle-Tsottles informing them of a 300-home development proposal for the Wagner Farm. Boyle-Tsottles did not actually send the letters and no new homes are coming to the area.

The letter, whose author is unknown, outlined comprehensive rezoning requests for parcels of land near East Churchville Road and Prospect Mill Elementary, and accurately stated that two of the requests concern land owned by Robert Wagner that is currently zoned for Agricultural/Rural Residential use, and that Wagner is asking that it be rezoned to the lowest housing density, R1 Residential.

Further into the letter, however, the author stated that as part of the rezoning requests, there “is a request for 300 residential home sites on this farm with access from Highland Avenue.” The letter urged residents to attend public meetings for the rezoning requests and also provided contact information for the district’s council representative, Boyle-Tsottles.

Tudor Lane resident Catherine Uhland posted a picture of the letter on Facebook outlining the information it provided along with context about the area and current zoning requests and urged residents to do their own research into the facts. Uhland’s post was shared in numerous Harford County-related Facebook groups and shared by residents — all of whom expressed negative feelings toward the alleged development.

“My main thing was I wanted to post it, urging people to do their own research and to inform people of the meetings and the process because it is very easy to believe that something like 300 houses would be true and out there officially, just not advertised by county officials,” Uhland said.

Uhland, like other residents including property owner Robert Wagner, were initially under the impression that the letter had come from Boyle-Tsottles. But Boyle-Tsottles told The Aegis that she had not written or provided any formal statements on the rezoning and that she was not aware of any letters sent to residents.

Wagner’s rezoning applications, outlined in requests E-007 and E-009 on the county’s comprehensive rezoning application tracker, do not have additional requests or proposals for 300 homes. In fact, the applications contain no mention of any houses or additional developments.

All proposed development plans would go through the county’s Department of Planning and Zoning, not through the comprehensive rezoning application or process.

The letter also stated that rezoning application E-004 was part of the Wagner Farm property when, according to the comprehensive rezoning tracker, the land is not. The property is owned by Prospect Mill Venture LLC — not Wagner — and the company is requesting rezoning to B2 Business Community, making the request irrelevant to the Wagner Farm R1 Residential applications.

Due to the influx of residential growth in the area, Wagner — who has farmed the nearly 80-acre property his entire life — said farming on the property and in the area is no longer a viable option due to farmers being “squeezed out.” Because of that he said he is opting to rezone the land.

“There aren’t cattle markets around like there used to be, grain markets are some distance away and the residential growth has squeezed out the farmers,” Wagner said.

Wagner noted that his nearly 80 acres off East Churchville Road is the only Agricultural/Rural Residential zoned land in the area, and is surrounded by residential zoning.

Comprehensive rezoning occurs every eight years, per county charter, and allows property owners like Wagner to apply to have their property rezoned to adjust to land use changes and the needs of the community. If Wagner’s rezoning request is granted, the land could be developed; however, the R1 Residential zoning Wagner is requesting would not allow 300 homes because the zoning designation permits only single-family homes on 15,000 to 20,000 square-foot lots.

“With the acreage I am requesting that is adjacent to residential land, the best you could get off of that might be somewhere in the neighborhood of 50 to 60 homes at best and that is stretching it,” Wagner said.

Wagner said if his rezoning request is approved, he is not looking to develop the land at this time. He also noted that the rezoning process takes years.

Public hearings for Wagner’s applications will be held Nov. 4 at 7 p.m. at Aberdeen High School and on Nov. 18 at 7 p.m. at Bel Air High School.

To view current comprehensive rezoning applications, visit the Harford County Department of Planning and Zoning’s website and navigate to the “2025 rezoning tracker.” To stay up to date with all official development proposals in the county, navigate to the county’s “Track-it Planning and Zoning Activity Tracker” also on the department’s website.

Any questions regarding planning, zoning and development in Harford County should be directed to the department’s director, Shane Grimm, at 410-638-3103 or by email at zoning@harfordcountymd.gov.

Have a news tip? Contact Matt Hubbard at mhubbard@baltsun.com, 443-651-0101 or @mthubb on X.