Administrative Hearing Officer

A Ferndale woman who was denied a special exception to convert her single-family home into a two-family dwelling and a variance to make legal an existing deck is appealing the county's decisions.The Board of Appeals will hear both cases at 6:30 tonight at the Arundel Center in Annapolis.Last June, administrative hearing officer Robert C. Wilcox rejected Natalie Campbell's request for a special exception, citing the deck as a reason. Mr. Wilcox ordered Ms. Campbell to remove the 18-by-23-foot deck because it did not meet the county requirement for a 7-foot setback from the property line.

The president of the city fire officer's union was allowed to return to work last night, four days after he exchanged a series of sharply worded e-mails with Fire Chief William J. Goodwin Jr. and was suspended from duty. Stephan G. Fugate, president of Baltimore Fire Officers Association Local 964, still faces a charge of insubordination, which eventually will be adjudicated by an administrative hearing officer. Punishment could range from a reprimand to termination, Fugate said. Fugate was suspended without pay Thursday, one day after he set off the e-mail exchange by posting a message on the union's Web site that criticized Goodwin for a plan to have "rotating closures" of four firehouses.

A neighborhood group says it will oppose a developer's request to enlarge his residential subdivision near Hammonds Ferry Road in Linthicum.Cattail Associates Inc. of Severna Park has asked the county Board of Appeals to overrule an administrative hearing officer and rezone two parcels from open space to single-family residential.But Gerald P. Starr, president of the Linthicum Shipley Improvement Association, said yesterday that residents are opposed to any further development.Mr. Starr said they are worried that developing the land would create runoff problems, and destroy a wooded habitat for small animals as well as a buffer between the community and an industrial park.

Three members of Anne Arundel County Council introduced legislation last night that would throw a speed bump in the path of developers proposing a 61,600-seat auto racetrack in Pasadena.The bill proposed by 3rd District Councilwoman A. Shirley Murphy and two other Democrats would require Chesapeake Motorsports Development Corp. to appear before a public hearing before building on bay front land south of Key Bridge.Murphy's bill would reverse a much-criticized zoning law that the council rushed through in April to allow motor racing complexes as a "conditional use" on land zoned heavy industrial.

The Anne Arundel County Council declined last night to exempt churches from a controversial zoning bill that one council member said "pits Christian against Christian."North County Democrats George F. Bachman and James E. DeGrange sponsored an amendment that would have allowed a Baptist parish to proceed with plans to build a 110,000-square-foot complex in rural South County without submitting to additional public scrutiny.Under separate legislation being considered by the council, Riverdale Baptist Church would need permission from the county's administrative hearing officer before building a 1,500-seat sanctuary, recreation and learning center, basketball and racquetball courts and a 700-space parking lot on 41 acres in Davidsonville.

Anne Arundel County will schedule an evening hearing on the Washington Redskins' request for a special exception to build a football stadium, county officials said yesterday.Officials had said the hearing, now scheduled for 9 a.m. July 11 at Meade Senior High School, would meet only during regular business hours.But Administrative Hearing Officer Robert C. Wilcox has decided to hold one evening session so people who work during the day can testify, said Sharon Proctor, Mr. Wilcox's assistant.

People using Baltimore-Washington International Airport will have another parking option if a county administrative hearing officer approves a plan for a new 729-space lot on Camp Meade Road in Linthicum.The parking lot proposed by Flow Development Inc. of Lutherville would be on a wooded 6.89-acre parcel adjacent to the Park 'N' Go lot, which provides parking for BWI.A public hearing on the request is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. March 28 at Arundel Center in Annapolis before administrative hearing officer Robert C. Wilcox.

A county administrative hearing officer has granted Nextel Communications' request for a zoning variance and special exception to build a 102.5-foot cellular communications tower south of Andover Road in Linthicum.Columbia-based Nextel plans to lease 1.33 acres from BWI Partnership to build the tower and a small, unstaffed equipment building. A variance is required because zoning laws prohibit accessory structures higher than 25 feet.In the past few weeks, residents have expressed their opposition to the tower at several neighborhood association meetings.

Rubble landfill wins ruling from county appeals boardThe owner of a sand and gravel operation near Crofton can operate a rubble landfill on the 184-acre site, the county Board of Appeals has ruled.But the board attached several conditions, including a requirement that the owners of Cunningham Sand and Gravel erect a 30-foot high fence around the property, which is near Routes 3 and 424.The board also is requiring that the company build a berm to protect residents in the nearby Four Seasons development.

Salvage yard's permit revokedA Pasadena salvage yard has had its county permit revoked because an administrative hearing officer ruled last week that the owner has violated conditions of the permit.The county Office of Administrative Hearings awarded Thomas W. Redmond a special zoning exception on June 15, 1992, to operate an "automotive dismantling and recycling facility" at 8224 Baltimore-Annapolis Blvd.Robert C. Wilcox, administrative hearing officer, revoked that permit Mr. Redmond had not complied with eight conditions of the permit.

The Anne Arundel County Council declined last night to exempt churches from a controversial zoning bill that one council member said "pits Christian against Christian."North County Democrats George F. Bachman and James E. DeGrange sponsored an amendment that would have allowed a Baptist parish to proceed with plans to build a 110,000-square-foot complex in rural South County without submitting to additional public scrutiny.Under separate legislation being considered by the council, Riverdale Baptist Church would need permission from the county's administrative hearing officer before building a 1,500-seat sanctuary, recreation and learning center, basketball and racquetball courts and a 700-space parking lot on 41 acres in Davidsonville.

The County Council declined last night to exempt churches from a controversial zoning bill that one council member said "pits Christian against Christian."North County Democrats George F. Bachman and James E. DeGrange sponsored an amendment that would have allowed a Baptist parish to proceed with plans to build a 110,000-square-foot complex in rural South County without submitting to additional public scrutiny.Under separate legislation being considered by the council, Riverdale Baptist Church would need permission from the county's administrative hearing officer before building a 1,500-seat sanctuary, recreation and learning center, basketball and racquetball courts and a 700-space parking lot on 41 acres in Davidsonville.

A neighborhood group says it will oppose a developer's request to enlarge his residential subdivision near Hammonds Ferry Road in Linthicum.Cattail Associates Inc. of Severna Park has asked the county Board of Appeals to overrule an administrative hearing officer and rezone two parcels from open space to single-family residential.But Gerald P. Starr, president of the Linthicum Shipley Improvement Association, said yesterday that residents are opposed to any further development.Mr. Starr said they are worried that developing the land would create runoff problems, and destroy a wooded habitat for small animals as well as a buffer between the community and an industrial park.

A Ferndale woman who was denied a special exception to convert her single-family home into a two-family dwelling and a variance to make legal an existing deck is appealing the county's decisions.The Board of Appeals will hear both cases at 6:30 tonight at the Arundel Center in Annapolis.Last June, administrative hearing officer Robert C. Wilcox rejected Natalie Campbell's request for a special exception, citing the deck as a reason. Mr. Wilcox ordered Ms. Campbell to remove the 18-by-23-foot deck because it did not meet the county requirement for a 7-foot setback from the property line.

People using Baltimore-Washington International Airport will have another parking option if a county administrative hearing officer approves a plan for a new 729-space lot on Camp Meade Road in Linthicum.The parking lot proposed by Flow Development Inc. of Lutherville would be on a wooded 6.89-acre parcel adjacent to the Park 'N' Go lot, which provides parking for BWI.A public hearing on the request is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. March 28 at Arundel Center in Annapolis before administrative hearing officer Robert C. Wilcox.

The day after their plan to build a NFL stadium in Laurel was rejected, Redskins' lawyers said they will use the stinging zoning opinion as a road map to fix their proposal. But it is unclear whether they legally can make significant changes.Anne Arundel Circuit Judge Martin J. Wolff ruled last month that a Silver Spring developer should have submitted substantially the same plan to the county Board of Appeals that was before the administrative hearing officer.Harry C. Blumenthal, the Redskins' lawyer and one of the most respected practitioners of zoning and land use law in Anne Arundel, saw no problem with the decision in a case involving a proposed rubble landfill near Crofton.

County residents expressed concerns at a public hearing last night about proposed changes to zoning regulations that would allow larger houses on small lots and shorten the public notification requirement on rezoning hearings.The proposals are included in a bill that would make the first major modifications to the county's zoning law since 1985.Several representatives of community organizations complained that they hadn't had adequate time to study the bill to take a position on it. In response, Council Chairman David G. Boschert said there will be another public hearing on the issue Dec. 20.James R. Martin Jr., president of the Severn River Association, expressed reservations about a proposal to allow smaller setbacks in front, back and on the sides so that a larger house can be built on lots smaller than is currently allowed.

Opponents of a proposed 722-home planned unit development in Gambrills who lost the first round in March will get a second chance at blocking the project this afternoon before the Board of Zoning Appeals.Saying the development, proposed for 221 acres off Waugh Chapel Road, is incompatible with the rural land and that it would ruin a wilderness habitat, nearby residents want the seven-member panel to overturn a decision by an administrative hearing officer approving the project.Officials said today's testimony should be a replay of the March hearing where opponents streamed to the microphone to criticize the proposal.

An article in The Sun yesterday incorrectly reported a exchange between Robert C. Wilcox, Anne Arundel County administrative hearing officer, and participants at the zoning hearing on the Redskins' proposal to build a football stadium in Laurel. Mr. Wilcox chided the Redskins' lawyers -- not Citizens Against the Stadium II -- for offering a weak argument that was "held together by bubble gum and paper clips."The Sun regrets the errors.The Washington Redskins survived two legal challenges from opponents of their proposed NFL stadium in Laurel during the opening moments of a public hearing yesterday at Meade Senior High School.

Anne Arundel County will schedule an evening hearing on the Washington Redskins' request for a special exception to build a football stadium, county officials said yesterday.Officials had said the hearing, now scheduled for 9 a.m. July 11 at Meade Senior High School, would meet only during regular business hours.But Administrative Hearing Officer Robert C. Wilcox has decided to hold one evening session so people who work during the day can testify, said Sharon Proctor, Mr. Wilcox's assistant.