Land Annexations
A December 2005 Maryland Department of Planning report indicated that, from 1997
through 2005, the acreage of municipal corporations in Maryland had grown by an estimated
11%, or 27,453 acres, as a result of annexation, with the greatest percentage increases occurring
in Western Maryland and on the Eastern Shore. Chapter 381 of 2006 altered State law regarding
municipal annexation by, among other things, requiring municipalities that exercise zoning
authority to include a municipal growth element in their comprehensive plans and for
annexations on or after October 2009, requiring a municipal annexation plan that is consistent
with the municipal growth element.
Senate Bill 350/House Bill 220 (both passed) exempt proposed municipal annexations of
parcels of land that are five acres or less, and that are part of a lot containing at least one other
parcel that has been part of the municipal corporate area for at least three years, from the
requirements that consent be obtained from a specified percentage of area residents and property
owners and that the proposed annexation be subject to a referendum. A municipal corporation,
however, may not annex a total of more than 25 acres under the exceptions of the bills, and the
bills do not apply to land zoned for agricultural use. Provisions of the bills terminate
September 30, 2011.
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