Cecil County, Maryland - County Development Fees
Cecil County Department of Land Use & Development Services | Elkton (county seat) | Northeast Maryland / I-95 corridor
Cecil County is the northeasternmost county in Maryland, on the I-95 corridor between Baltimore and Wilmington, with its county seat at Elkton. The County administers land-use entitlement and development-review fees through the Department of Land Use & Development Services, Division of Planning & Zoning, under the County Zoning Ordinance and Subdivision Regulations. Unlike the larger high-growth Maryland counties (Montgomery, Howard, Frederick, Prince George's) that levy development impact taxes or school-facilities surcharges, Cecil County levies no development impact or excise fee. Water and sewer service is provided principally by the incorporated towns (Elkton, North East, Perryville, Rising Sun, Chesapeake City, Port Deposit) and specific county sanitary sub-districts, each of which sets its own connection fees, rather than by a single county-wide developer tap-fee schedule. Maryland does not use Virginia-style cash proffers. All amounts below are drawn from the Cecil County Division of Planning & Zoning Development Fee Schedule and MISC Fee Schedule (updated February 2024). Verify current amounts with Cecil County before relying on them.
Fee Summary
| Fee Type | Status | Top-Line Figure | Effective Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zoning and Development Review Fees (Division of Planning & Zoning) | Confirmed | Rezoning $250; Special Exception $250; Variance $200; Appeal to Board of Appeals $250; Site Plans $250; Minor Subdivision $50 + $50/lot; Major Subdivision tiered from $125 + $10/unit | Updated February 2024 |
| Impact Fees | Not administered | Cecil County levies no development impact fee or school excise fee (unlike the larger high-growth Maryland counties); its Planning & Zoning and Building Services fee schedules contain no impact or excise line item | - |
| Utility Tap Fees (water and sewer) | Not administered by the County | Water and sewer service is provided by the incorporated towns and specific county sanitary sub-districts, each of which sets its own connection fees; the County's Water & Sewer Planning Division performs master planning, not a county-wide developer tap-fee schedule | - |
| Special District Fees | Not administered | Cecil County's sanitary sub-districts are utility service areas funded through user charges and benefit assessments, not developer-phase application fees; no special-district developer application fee appears on the County's fee schedules | - |
| Proffers | Not applicable | Maryland has no cash-proffer regime; Maryland counties use Adequate Public Facilities Ordinances (APFO) and, in some counties, impact taxes rather than Virginia-style proffers | - |
Zoning and Development Review Fees
Source: Cecil County Department of Land Use & Development Services, Division of Planning & Zoning - Development Fee Schedule and MISC Fee Schedule (updated February 2024). These fees are set under the Cecil County Zoning Ordinance and Subdivision Regulations, and all fees must be paid upon submittal of development plans.
Subdivision review
| Application Type | Fee |
|---|---|
| Minor Subdivision - new unit(s) | $50 + $50 per lot |
| Minor Subdivision - revisions with no new units proposed | $25 |
| Major Subdivision (per submittal to TAC or Planning Commission) - 0 to 19 units | $125 + $10 per unit |
| Major Subdivision - 20 to 49 units | $150 + $9 per unit |
| Major Subdivision - 50 to 99 units | $175 + $8 per unit |
| Major Subdivision - 100 to 249 units | $350 + $7 per unit |
| Major Subdivision - 250 units and over | $500 + $6 per unit |
| Major Subdivision - revisions after approval | $250 |
| Major Subdivision - extensions of approval | $250 |
| Record Plat Review - 0 to 19 units | $100 + $10 per unit (tiered down to $100 + $5 per unit at 100+ units) |
| Administrative Review | $100 |
| Modification of Record Plat | $100 |
Site plans and public hearings
| Application Type | Fee |
|---|---|
| Site Plans | $250 |
| Rezoning Application | $250 |
| Special Exception Application | $250 |
| Variance Application | $200 |
| Appeal (to the Board of Appeals) | $250 |
Zoning
| Item | Fee |
|---|---|
| Certificate of Zoning | $10 |
| Salvage Yard License (two-year license) | $200 |
Fee authority: Cecil County Department of Land Use & Development Services, Division of Planning & Zoning. Building permit fees are set separately in the County's Building Services Fee Schedule.
Coverage Notes - What This Page Does Not Cover
Per ZoneFee's Partial-Verified Publication Standard, the items below were either closed by official-source review as not administered by the County, or point to the separate authority that administers them rather than being estimated or omitted silently. These items remain under limited-coverage review until these gaps are closed.
Impact Fees
Cecil County, a smaller northeastern-Maryland county, levies no development impact fee or school excise fee. Unlike the larger high-growth Maryland counties such as Howard County, which levy development impact taxes or school-facilities surcharges, Cecil County's published Planning & Zoning Development Fee Schedule and Building Services Fee Schedule contain zero impact-fee or excise line items. Closed-search outcome: this fee family is not administered by this jurisdiction.
Water and Sewer Tap Fees
Water and sewer service in Cecil County is provided principally by the incorporated towns (Elkton, North East, Perryville, Rising Sun, Chesapeake City, Port Deposit) and specific county sanitary sub-districts, each of which sets its own connection and tap fees. The County's Water & Sewer Planning Division performs master planning, not a county-wide developer tap-fee schedule, and no county-wide developer connection-fee schedule is published on the County's Land Use & Development Services fee surfaces. Town and sanitary-district connection fees are out of scope for this County jurisdiction page. Closed-search outcome: utility tap fees are not administered at the County level.
Special District Fees
Cecil County's sanitary sub-districts are utility service areas funded through user charges and benefit assessments, not developer-phase application fees. No special-district developer application fee appears on the County's Land Use & Development Services fee surfaces. Closed-search outcome: this fee family is not administered by this jurisdiction.
Proffers
Maryland does not use Virginia-style cash proffers. Cash proffers are a Virginia conditional-zoning instrument (Virginia Code Section 15.2-2303.4); Maryland counties instead use Adequate Public Facilities Ordinances (APFO) and, in some high-growth counties, development impact taxes or school-facilities surcharges. Cecil County levies neither a proffer nor an impact or excise fee. Closed-search outcome: this fee family does not apply to this jurisdiction.
Fee Authorities
| Authority | Fee Types | Official Website |
|---|---|---|
| Cecil County Department of Land Use & Development Services - Division of Planning & Zoning | Rezoning, special exception, variance, Board of Appeals appeal, site plan review, minor and major subdivision review, certificate of zoning, and salvage yard license fees | cecilcountymd.gov |
| Incorporated towns and Cecil County sanitary sub-districts (water and sewer) | Water and sewer connection and tap fees, set at the town or sanitary-district level; the County Water & Sewer Planning Division performs master planning only | cecilcountymd.gov |
Sources
| Document | Agency | Accessed |
|---|---|---|
| Division of Planning & Zoning Development Fee Schedule and MISC Fee Schedule (updated February 2024, 5 pp) | Cecil County Department of Land Use & Development Services | 2026-08-04 |
| Building Services Fee Schedule (building permit fees by structure group, 7 pp; corroborating secondary) | Cecil County Land Use & Development Services - Permits & Inspections | 2026-08-04 |
Last verified by ZoneFee: 2026-08-04. Fee schedules are subject to change. Verify current rates directly with the Cecil County Department of Land Use & Development Services, or with the applicable town or sanitary sub-district for water and sewer fees, before relying on this data for any financial decision.
This page reflects fee data sourced from the Cecil County Division of Planning & Zoning Development Fee Schedule and MISC Fee Schedule (updated February 2024), as of the last-verified date above. ZoneFee does not guarantee that fee amounts are current at the time you read this page. Fee schedules change. Water and sewer connection fees are administered by the incorporated towns and county sanitary sub-districts, not by a county-wide schedule, and are not covered on this page. Cecil County charges no development impact or excise fee and no Virginia-style cash proffer, and its sanitary sub-districts are assessment-funded service areas rather than a developer application fee. Verify all current rates directly with Cecil County before relying on this data for land acquisition, project budgeting, or any financial decision. This page is for research and due-diligence reference only - it is not legal or financial advice.