The Division of Planning & Zoning provides staff support to the County Executive, the Planning Commission, the Board of Appeals, the Historic District Commission, and the entirety of the Department of Land Use and Development Services. This division also implements the goals and objectives of the County's Comprehensive Plan through the administration of the Zoning Ordinance, Subdivision Regulations and the Forest Conservation Regulations. The Division of Planning & Zoning is comprised of seven individuals located in the County Administration Building.

Tree Removal Request - Critical Areas only

To request authorization to remove a tree(s) from a property located within the Critical Areas (1000-ft from tidal waters) please click here.  You will need to create an account and follow the prompts to complete the request.

Zoning Ordinance Update 

At their meeting of June 4, 2025 the County Council approved a series of text amendments with an effective date of August 2 2025. This series of amendments is to update the zoning ordinance by removing inconsistencies within the document between the table of permissible uses and the text; to amend the major site plan requirement in business zoning districts , recognize the difference between a home occupation where patronage occurs versus a self-employed business without patrons, allowing communication towers in mineral extraction districts to improve reliability in the network and updates to the dispensary regulations to align with state requirements. An updated version of the Zoning Ordinance can be found here.

Proposed Major Subdivisions Web Application

Available from the County’s GIS “Map Gallery” page, the app allows users to search for a proposed subdivision using the text box in the upper left of the screen. 

Once a proposed subdivision is selected, the app automatically zooms to the subdivision’s location and displays pertinent attributes regarding the proposal (i.e. number of lots, developer name, plat expiration date, etc).  The final attribute is a link to the most recent plat for the selected subdivision.  

Staff is pleased to provide an efficient and customer friendly application to those individuals curious to learn more about subdivision activity in Cecil County.

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