County Commissioners Extend Chesterhaven Beach Public Works Agreement 

At a recent Queen Anne’s County Commissioners meeting, the Commissioners voted to extend an existing Public Works Agreement associated with the Chesterhaven Beach property in Chester. 

The property was originally platted in 1959, before the existence of modern County zoning and subdivision regulations. The property received sewer allocation in 2011 for 178 lots, with the agreement requiring the property owner to meet certain construction milestones and pay a deposit toward the sewer allocation.

When required milestones were not met, additional non-refundable deposits were made to maintain the sewer allocation. An additional deposit was paid in 2019, and in 2020, the property owner requested additional time to begin construction and made another deposit. To date, $315,060 in non-refundable sewer allocation deposits has been paid to the County.

In 2023, the Public Works Agreement was amended again, reducing the sewer allocation from 178 lots to no more than 90 lots. This allowed the County to recapture 22,500 gallons per day of sewer capacity, which was reserved for future commercial uses. 

The Commissioners’ recent vote extends the timeframe for the property owner to meet the “under construction” milestone, allowing additional time for the project to proceed through the required development review process while maintaining the existing sewer allocation.

There has also been some confusion regarding the property because of a separate court case decided in 2025. The property was not included in the Chester Growth Area when the County adopted its Comprehensive Plan in 2022. In 2024, at the request of the property owner, the Commissioners voted to re-include the property in the Growth Area. Inclusion in the Growth Area would have allowed the property owner to pursue access to public water in addition to the public sewer allocation already associated with the property. 

That 2024 decision was challenged, and in December 2025, the Queen Anne’s County Circuit Court declared the Commissioners’ action to re-include the property in the Growth Area void. Specifically, the Court found that the Commissioners should have given the Critical Area Commission the required notice before acting on the request and that the Commissioners’ 2024 decision to reconsider and partly approve the request was outside their authority. The reconsideration occurred outside the prescribed time limit, and changes to the County’s growth-area maps needed to proceed through the Planning Commission.

Because of these procedural issues, the Court voided the Commissioners’ 2024 decision to add Chesterhaven Beach to the growth area. The Court specifically clarified that the separate question of whether the historic platted lots are legal or “grandfathered” was not before the Court to decide. 

As a result of the Circuit Court decision, Chesterhaven Beach is not included in the Growth Area and cannot pursue public water through that Growth Area designation. The decision did not eliminate the sewer allocation that has been associated with the property since 2011. It simply means the property returns to the status it had before the 2024 decision. 

The Commissioners’ recent vote does not approve the proposed development, place the property back into the Growth Area or provide access to public water. The action only extends the “under construction” milestone associated with the existing sewer allocation from September 10, 2026, to September 10, 2030. The property owner must still proceed through the applicable development review and approval processes. If the project does not move forward and the allocation ultimately expires, the $315,060 in sewer allocation deposits previously paid to the County remain non-refundable. 

The recent County Commissioners meeting and discussion can be viewed here:
https://www.youtube.com/live/oBUp6Ac6jck?si=TVMibtKo7zm5QHiC

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