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Planning commission recommends annexation of three Belle Hill Road parcels for highway‑interchange zoning
Summary
The Planning Commission unanimously recommended annexation of three parcels (128 Belle Hill Road; 100 Belle Hill Road; 17 Swallow Drive) to avoid unincorporated enclaves and to permit future C-3 (highway interchange) zoning; one parcel includes a proposed industrial/warehouse use and the town and county consent process remains required for zoning changes.
The Town of Elkton Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend annexation of three parcels along Belle Hill Road so they may be incorporated into the town and, pending county consent, reclassified under Town zoning as C-3 (highway interchange).
Jeanne Minner, Director of Planning, said the annexation of 128 Belle Hill Road was initiated by the Mayor and Commissioners to prevent an unincorporated enclave. "There's no one residing on the property, no voters on the property," Minner said, and the town contacted the property owner (Philadelphia Electric Company real estate section) with no objection recorded. If Cecil County declines to consent to a C-3 reclassification, Minner said the town could still annex the parcel and maintain residential zoning for up to five years before local rezoning would be pursued.
Jessica Campbell, landscape architect for Frederick Ward, described the 100 Belle Hill Road parcel (about 1.17 acres) as proposed for industrial warehousing with planned access to Route 279 and no truck access onto Belle Hill Road. She also described 17 Swallow Drive as the key parcel that completes a larger tract intended for industrial development; that parcel contains an older house that would be folded into a unified tract.
Commissioners emphasized that access management would limit truck traffic onto Belle Hill Road and that the annexations are being recommended to the Mayor and Commissioners for final action. The commission’s votes were recorded as favorable recommendations; county review and consent remain necessary before any local rezoning or development proceeds.
Next steps: the Mayor and Commissioners will consider formal annexation ordinances and the county must be asked to consent to any change from County RM to Town C-3 zoning; public hearings on zoning consent were scheduled in the transcript timeline.
