Harford County controls how much of a lot may be built on through minimum lot area and yards in Section 267-55. Near tidal water, the Chesapeake Bay Critical Area caps lot coverage at 15% in Limited Development Areas, the county's sharpest coverage limit.
Harford's home-rule zoning sets intensity of use in the R1, R2, and R3 districts mainly through minimum lot area, lot width, and required yards under Section 267-55, rather than a single blanket coverage percentage. The hard number comes near the shore: within the Chesapeake Bay Critical Area, the 1,000-foot band landward of tidal waters and wetlands along the Bush, Gunpowder, and Susquehanna and the Chesapeake shoreline at Havre de Grace and Aberdeen, lot coverage in a Limited Development Area is capped at 15% of the site. Existing residential lots over half an acre in the Critical Area may not exceed 50% impervious. These limits trigger stormwater management and, for unforested sites, a 15% afforestation requirement.
Planning and Zoning enforces coverage and Critical Area limits during site-plan and building-permit review; over-covering a Critical Area lot blocks approval and can require removal of impervious surface. Relief requires a variance and Critical Area mitigation.
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Harford County, MD
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Harford County, MD
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Harford County, MD
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Harford County, MD
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See how Harford County's lot coverage limits rules stack up against other locations.
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