County Zoning Board

A story in Friday's Howard County edition of The Sun about a Planning Board decision on a two-family dwelling in Fulton failed to mention that the matter now must be considered by the county Zoning Board.The Sun regrets the error.Pub Date: 4/28/97

A man who lives on the eastern edge of historic Doughoregan Manor in Ellicott City has filed a circuit court appeal of Howard County rezoning to allow development of hundreds of new homes — a key part of a plan that allows some development in order to preserve the rest of the property. The Carroll family, descendants of Charles Carroll of Carrolton, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, wants to develop part of the 892-acre property to raise money for restoration and maintenance of the estate that once comprised more than 10,000 acres, while keeping it in family hands.

A requested zoning change that would create a 54-acre shopping center site at U.S. 29 and Route 100 will not be heard before comprehensive rezoning of the eastern county is completed, the county Zoning Board decided last week.In a 5-0 vote Wednesday, the County Council, sitting as the board, rejected a request by developer Robert Moxley to hear the case before the lengthy comprehensive process ends. That process could last until March, planning officials have said.However, Chairman C. Vernon Gray said the board is likely to consider rezoning the parcel during comprehensive rezoning.

As Maryland's secretary of tansportation under Republican Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., former Howard County Del. Robert L. Flanagan was a strong supporter of the idea of building apartments, stores, offices and hotels next to commuter rail stations. What is called a Transit Oriented Development at the MARC train station in Savage, for example, was a big priority. But now, as a GOP candidate for District 1 of the County Council, covering Ellicott City and Elkridge, Flanagan is actively opposing rezoning for a TOD that includes a free 20-acre school site plus $4 million proposed for 122 acres near the Dorsey MARC station in Elkridge.

Columbia Council addresses annexation Plans to annex a future Rouse Co. development in North Laurel met with skepticism from some residents and several Columbia Council members Thursday night, who expressed financial and philo-sophical concerns. Despite estimates that the deal would add $2.7 million to $22.8 mil-lion to the Columbia Association's coffers over 20 years, several peo-ple were worried that the associa-tion would wind up in the hole. "This is a high-risk venture with scant benefit to offset the risk.

The developers of Maple Lawn Farms, the neo-traditional, mixed-use project under construction in Fulton, began the formal process yesterday that would expand the development by about 50 percent. An amended preliminary plan containing changes to the project discussed with residents at a public meeting in July was filed with county planners, who must examine it and schedule a Planning Board hearing. After Planning Board consideration, the county Zoning Board would also hold a public hearing and decide whether the additions should be allowed.

A Howard County Circuit judge has declared that a civic organization must pay for reproducing a transcript of an entire hearing if the association intends to fight the development of a Columbia-style village in North Laurel.The ruling means that the Southern Howard Land Use Committee will be forced to ask the Howard County Zoning Board to transcribe all 1,332 pages of testimony from 15 nights of hearings at a cost to the committee of $6,600.Thomas Dernoga, an attorney representing the committee, said his clients had hoped to pay for testimony applying only to the argument regarding a zoning mistake or a change in the character of the neighborhood.

In a reminder that the Rouse Co.'s largest new proposed development is not a done deal, the Court of Special Appeals in Annapolis hears oral arguments today in the appeal of Howard County's approval of the Key project at the juncture of Interstate 95 and Route 216. Residents alarmed at the size of the proposed mixed-use project--1,200 housing units and 1 million square feet of commercial space on 517 acres -- appealed a March ruling by Circuit Judge Diane...

The county zoning board has agreed to rezone 24 acres of land for construction of a neighborhood shopping center on the former Freestate Raceway site in North Laurel.The 320,000-square-foot shopping center will include a grocery store, bowling alley and movie theater."We're pleased. . . . It's going to have a very positive benefit for the neighborhood and the community and for both the county and its citizens," said David Carney, the Columbia attorney who represents Freestate Associates Limited Partnership.

A man who lives on the eastern edge of historic Doughoregan Manor in Ellicott City has filed a circuit court appeal of Howard County rezoning to allow development of hundreds of new homes — a key part of a plan that allows some development in order to preserve the rest of the property. The Carroll family, descendants of Charles Carroll of Carrolton, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, wants to develop part of the 892-acre property to raise money for restoration and maintenance of the estate that once comprised more than 10,000 acres, while keeping it in family hands.

A zoning bill that would change the way Columbia's village centers may be redeveloped should be ready for County Council introduction in April, though the county Planning Board still must vote on it. That vote is tentatively scheduled for March 12, after a third board work session last week on the issue that produced no formal decision. Board members spent most of the meeting, which lasted more than three hours, debating minor word changes in the measure, though all agree on the concept - to allow property owners in Columbia's village centers the right to propose zoning changes.

GOP begins talks on replacement for Kittleman The Howard County Republican Party is advertising for candidates to replace state Sen. Robert H. Kittleman and plans a final vote Sept. 29, said Howard Rensin, the county party chairman. Most Republicans are publicly declining to speculate about a replacement for Kittleman, a popular 78-year-old farmer who died Sept. 11 of leukemia, as maneuvering for the job goes on behind the scenes. Howard County Councilman Christopher J. Merdon of Ellicott City and western county Del. Gail H. Bates appear to be likely contenders to replace Kittleman, but the situation is more complicated than usual.

The developers of Maple Lawn Farms, the neo-traditional, mixed-use project under construction in Fulton, began the formal process yesterday that would expand the development by about 50 percent. An amended preliminary plan containing changes to the project discussed with residents at a public meeting in July was filed with county planners, who must examine it and schedule a Planning Board hearing. After Planning Board consideration, the county Zoning Board would also hold a public hearing and decide whether the additions should be allowed.

Even as the Freedom Area Citizens Council takes a bigger role in county government, it faces criticism from the community's Old Guard. The council, formed five years ago as a liaison between South Carroll residents and county officials, played a key role in the 2002 commissioner elections. And it soon will have a nonvoting seat on the new Carroll County Council of Governments. Tonight, at a joint meeting, FACC and the county commissioners are scheduled to discuss other key issues, including community relations and road improvements.

In a reminder that the Rouse Co.'s largest new proposed development is not a done deal, the Court of Special Appeals in Annapolis hears oral arguments today in the appeal of Howard County's approval of the Key project at the juncture of Interstate 95 and Route 216. Residents alarmed at the size of the proposed mixed-use project--1,200 housing units and 1 million square feet of commercial space on 517 acres -- appealed a March ruling by Circuit Judge Diane...

Ed Walter's quest to let Howard County voters decide in November whether to create a full-fledged people's counsel fell short yesterday, but he's not giving up. He collected 3,114 signatures in seven weeks, far fewer than the 10,000 registered voters needed to place the issue on the ballot, he said. But now he's aiming for the 2002 election. "I think we would have come up with enough signatures if we had more time. The early deadline and the late start did us in," he said. The deadline for filing a petition was yesterday.

Once again, the Howard County Zoning Board has postponed a hearing for a controversial Columbia-style village that Rouse Co. wants to build on a 522-acre site in North Laurel -- and the rescheduling may not be over yet.The board, which consists of the five-member County Council, will review the case on Sept. 24. Last week, the board had pushed back the case's original date from Sept. 10 to Sept. 17 because it could not complete a zoning case last Wednesday night.Robin Regner, an administrative assistant for the board, said the second delay was caused by the inability of one of the attorneys in the unfinished zoning case to attend the Sept.