Historic District Commission

Although unable to stop the wrecking ball from destroying a century-old house last week, Westminster officials are considering a plan that would compel anyone who wants to raze a historic property to hear options before a single brick falls. "Ultimately this process will provide a means to ensure that somebody has to hear all the different perspectives from somebody on a building and hopefully decide not to demolish, having heard those options," said Thomas B. Beyard, the city's director of planning and public works.

Joseph W. Bavett Sr., 73, C&P Telephone supervisor Joseph Woodward Bavett Sr., a retired telephone supervisor, died Thursday of a brain hemorrhage at Christiana Medical Center in Christiana, Del. He was 73 and had lived in Bel Air for the past 20 years. He retired in 1985 from Chesapeake & Potomac Telephone Co., where he worked more than 38 years as a lineman, installer and supervisor. He also managed the installation of teletype systems in deaf persons' homes. He was a past president of the Telephone Pioneers Association of Maryland, the Televets and the Toastmasters of Maryland.

Howard County officials say the Historic District Commission's power to reject subdivisions isn't nearly as broad as members thought. The county's Office of Law has issued an opinion that the commission has no authority to turn down this type of development based on the number of houses proposed. The issue isn't theoretical: Developer Michael L. Pfau wants to construct 15 houses on 6 acres in historic Ellicott City, surrounded by 14 acres of woods. He needs a certificate of approval from the commission before building.

In a case that turned on the definition of "similar," the Historic District Commission decided last night not to throw out a developer's latest plans for offices in downtown Ellicott City. Under the Howard County Code, an applicant who is turned down by the commission must wait a year before trying again with a proposal that is the same or similar. In what officials believe is the first test of that regulation, developer Michael L. Pfau asked to build an office complex on Fels Lane several months after the commission turned down his previous plans for offices.

Developer Michael L. Pfau has cut three houses out of his proposed development for historic Ellicott City, which will send his plans back for another round of likely heated county Planning Board hearings. The board was to vote this month on Pfau's proposal for 18 homes on 15 acres at Church Road and Park Drive. The four members who attended all of the the hearings split in a vote last month, and the fifth member was going to listen to taped testimony so he could break the deadlock. But Pfau has submitted new plans that call for 15 houses and elimination of the project's cul-de-sac.

For the second time in less than two years, developer Michael L. Pfau has appealed a decision by the Historic District Commission that blocks his plans to build in downtown Ellicott City. It's the latest twist in the strained relationship between Pfau and the commission, which has turned down two of his proposals to construct buildings on Fels Lane, in the town's historic district. During the summer, the commission heard his plans to build 10 office units in four buildings on the site, surrounding a 19th-century house that sits in the center of the property.

Lately, the Howard County Historic District Commission has felt a little more tense than usual. Typically, its members spend much of their meetings discussing whether to allow residents of the county's two historic districts to paint their shutters a certain shade or install extra windows in their homes. Now they're faced with a significantly bigger issue: whether to approve major development on a 7-acre tract off Fels Lane in the center of historic Ellicott City. They find themselves not only faced with another difficult hearing but involved in a tiff with the county Department of Planning and Zoning, which seems to have different views about what does and does not belong in the Ellicott City historic district.

The Historic District Commission rejected late last night plans for an office complex in the heart of Ellicott City that residents said would harm the character of the scenic area. The panel voted 4-1 against the project, with Joseph F. Tieperman Jr. the only member to vote for it. Two members of the seven-member board were absent. The complex would have had 10 office units in four buildings designed to look like 19th-century homes, on a site off Fels Lane. Developer Michael L. Pfau, also planned 68 parking spaces.

An Ellicott City developer has submitted new plans for an office complex off Fels Lane in Ellicott City's historic district. The proposal calls for 10 office units within four historic-looking buildings. The county's Historic District Commission will hear the case at its meeting Thursday at 7: 30 p.m. in the George Howard Building. A vote that night is possible. Developer Michael Pfau has tried to develop the 7-acre property twice and met with substantial opposition from neighbors. Previous objections At last month's Historic District Commission meeting, neighbors objected to an office complex designed to look like a farmstead.

Howard County developer Michael Pfau has withdrawn his controversial plans to build four office buildings off Fels Lane in historic Ellicott City. The buildings, designed to look like an old farmstead, had received mixed reviews at a Historic District Commission hearing several weeks ago. Although the commission's staff had recommended approval of the plans, at least 10 Ellicott City residents attended the hearing to oppose them, saying they would destroy...