Two public hearings are set in November to allow residents to provide input on the 66 comprehensive rezoning applications submitted by Harford County property owners — 64 of which request an increase in density and a wider range of permitted land uses.

The hearings are hosted by the county’s Department of Planning and Zoning and the Planning Advisory Board and will be held:

Monday, Nov. 4, 7-9 p.m., at Aberdeen High School
Monday, Nov. 18, 7-9 p.m., at Bel Air High School

The purpose of comprehensive rezoning — required by county charter every eight years — is to give property owners the opportunity to adjust to land use changes and the needs of the community.

Applications for rezoning opened in early June and closed Aug. 2. The 66 applications received for the county’s comprehensive rezoning process cover 87 parcels across all districts with the most requests coming from District A — primarily covering Joppatowne and Edgewood.

The applicant parcels in District A are primarily zoned at the lowest density residential zoning, known as R1, and seek a change to the highest residential classification of R4 and greater.

Representatives from the Department of Planning and Zoning will be available before the start of the hearings at 6 p.m. to answer questions about comprehensive rezoning, the process and to assist attendees with locating zoning issues on a county map.

Attendees who wish to speak during the hearings must sign up at the meeting, before the start and will have three minutes to speak. Those speaking on behalf of a group will have five minutes to address the five-member Planning Advisory Board.

Board members will not respond to questions during the meeting and written comments may also be submitted.

The board receives recommendations on each rezoning application from the Department of Planning and Zoning. County Executive Bob Cassilly’s administration will also review and provide recommendations before forwarding a comprehensive rezoning bill to the County Council, which is the only county entity with authority to rezone properties.

The county executive and Department of Planning and Zoning can only make rezoning recommendations to the council.

Once the comprehensive rezoning bill is forwarded to the council — which county officials anticipate happening in March 2025 — the council will review the bill and host its own public hearings.

Public hearings on comprehensive rezoning are important as they allow county officials the opportunity to hear from residents who may be directly affected by zoning changes.

Applicant properties can be found online through the Harford County Comprehensive Zoning Tracker which is accessible from the homepage of the county website and will be updated in real time as applications are processed.

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