Marine Sonic Technology, a White Marsh manufacturer of advanced underwater detection equipment, has announced plans to leave Gloucester and relocate to York County.

The announcement caught Gloucester County officials off-guard. Supervisor John Meyer said during a meeting of the Gloucester Planning Commission last Thursday night that Marine Sonic’s move might have been caused by too many restrictions imposed on businesses based here.

Douglas Meredith, Gloucester’s economic development director, said that Marine Sonic, now based off Route 17 just south of the old Page Middle School property, had once discussed the possibility of relocating to the Gloucester Business Park, a short distance to the north. But Gloucester did not have a building available for Marine Sonic to move into—like the company later found in York County.

Regan Lipinski, marketing manager for Marine Sonic, said the company plans to move into a portion of an existing building, located off Newsome Dr...