Cecil County Government: Additional 236 Agricultural Acres Permanently Protected In Cecil County

Press release from Cecil County Government:

06/14/2021

Elkton, MD: County Executive Hornberger is pleased to announce that an additional 236 acres of prime agricultural land is now permanently protected in Cecil County through the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation (MALPF). The property, owned by Lee Vosters, is located on Randalia Road in Chesapeake City.

The farm was once part of the larger 913-acre Polk Steele Howard farm which occupied most of the Randalia peninsula. An apiary was operated on the farm until the 1950s, and again in recent years. The farm was also previously used for asparagus and beef cattle. Currently, the farm is used for field crops and Randalia Bee Hives.

The property is located within a Priority Preservation Area (PPA), meets future land use objectives, and is consistent with the 2010 Comprehensive Plan. Specifically, it encourages the conservation of agricultural and forested lands; encourages sustainable agribusiness and other natural resource-based industries; maintains the equity value of agricultural land; maintains the rural character of the County; and protects private property rights.

“Preserving agricultural land is vital to our County’s environment, community, and heritage. I am pleased that we have taken another step towards our 55,000-acre agricultural preservation goal”, stated County Executive Danielle Hornberger.

The Cecil County Department of Land Use & Development Services continues to work toward the 55,000-acre agricultural preservation goal set in 2000. 30,520 acres have been placed into protective agricultural easement and an additional 22,766 acres is owned by federal, state, and local governments. With this new addition, Cecil County will have a total of 53,286 acres of land that is permanently protected from development.

For more information regarding the MALPF program please visit mda.maryland.gov/malpf. For more information regarding land preservation in Cecil County, please contact the Department of Land Use & Development Services at 410-996-5220 or by email at dluds@ccgov.org.

For media inquiries, please contact Kevin Alkinburg at kalkinburg@ccgov.org or 410-996-8454. 

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This press release was produced by Cecil County Government. The views expressed here are the author’s own.