Jablon

Arnold Jablon can't remember the last time a business in Baltimore County was forced to tear down an illegally built addition. But Jablon, the county's chief zoning official, is threatening to force a Catonsville group home to do just that.Jablon said the owners of Parkside Assisted Living flouted the law by building a 2 1/2-story addition when permits called for a one-story addition, and by then using the new space to house elderly residents."He's making money every month," Jablon said. " He's violating the law. Are we going to allow that?"

Baltimore County officials are not wasting any time when it comes to enforcing a long-awaited law that takes effect tomorrowand is intended to force adult video stores out of neighborhoods.Councilman Wayne M. Skinner, a Towson Republican, asked zoning officials in a letter this week to inspect two stores, and the zoning administrator said the inspections will be conducted Monday, the first working day after the law takes effect.Zoning Administrator Arnold Jablon said he would order inspections at other adult video stores, if similar requests for inspections are filed.

Angered that a law protecting historic structures was bypassed, Baltimore County's permits director vowed yesterday to seek fines in last week's demolition of a 19th-century house in Green Spring Valley.Arnold Jablon, director of the county's Department of Permits and Development Management, also said he would require the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur -- owners of the now-demolished Maryvale Tenant House -- to seek after-the-fact approval for destruction of the house, because it was listed on the Maryland Historical Trust inventory.

Politicians say it is constituent service and bureaucrats call it coincidence, but nearly half of Baltimore County's 11 newest inspectors have ties to county officials.Critics charge that the recent hirings smack of old-fashioned political patronage -- running counter to a civil service system created decades ago to eliminate such practices.For example, County Council members forwarded the resumes of three inspectors, including one whose wife is a councilman's aide. Another inspector worked for County Executive C. A. Dutch Ruppersberger when he was a councilman.

PeopleKayla Tollen of Kayla Advertising in Columbia has been awarded the designation of certified advertising specialist by the Promotional Products Association International. The designation is given to recognize commitment to educational growth. To achieve the designation, industry professionals must complete a minimum of 70 hours of continuing education.Oren D. Saltzman, an independent practicing attorney, and Brian S. Jablon, formerly a partner with Smith, Somerville & Case L.L.C., have formed a new law firm -- Saltzman & Jablon L.L.C.

Jack Bowen says people sometimes drive through his Middle River neighborhood just to see the ramshackle house that stands out like a sore thumb."It's known all over the area," says Bowen, a 50-year resident of Aero Acres. "It's pretty bad." The interior is crowded floor-to-ceiling with items the owner has collected from the streets, he says.But starting tomorrow, Baltimore County officials will have a new tool to use against homes that are neighborhood eyesores but are owner-occupied and exempt from the housing code.

A dispute between Lansdowne residents and a neighboring beverage company may be headed to a zoning commissioner.Members of the Lansdowne Improvement Association recently voted to request a zoning hearing to limit the hours of operation of Beverage Capital Corp. and to determine whether the company has the proper zoning. Neighbors of the 312,000-square-foot building at 2209 Sulphur Spring Road have complained of heavy truck traffic, noise and air pollution.At the heart of the conflict is a dispute over whether the firm is a warehouse or a trucking facility.

Baltimore County's announced crackdown on illegal roadside vendors over Mother's Day weekend produced no arrests, but )) will result in dozens of letters to violators threatening $200-a-day fines if they continue such operations, permits chief Arnold Jablon said yesterday.A dozen county inspectors, aided by police, checked hundreds of locations on major roadways around the Beltway in the action aimed largely at flower sales.They took names and addresses of violators -- not only of those selling flowers, but people with goods such as furniture and purportedly Persian carpets -- who were told to move on and not return.

Michael Bussacca feels lost in the forest of real estate developers' signs that sprout every weekend in his community of Cub Hill.For the past eight months, Mr. Bussacca has waged a lonely fight to get more restrictions on the signs, which are technically illegal in the first place.Marsha Weber runs a small business in Rosedale that makes wrought iron railings. She employs eight workers. Over 70 percent of her work is for builders of new homes.Mrs. Weber is worried that limits on the signs that direct people to new developments could hurt house sales -- and her livelihood The Baltimore County Planning Board is developing legislation that it hopes will satisfy them both.

Michael Bussacca feels lost in the forest of real estate developers' signs that sprout every weekend in his community of Cub Hill.For the past eight months, Mr. Bussacca has waged a lonely fight to get more restrictions on the signs, which are technically illegal in the first place.Marsha Weber runs a small business in Rosedale that makes wrought iron railings. She employs eight workers. Over 70 percent of her work is for builders of new homes.Mrs. Weber is worried that limits on the signs that direct people to new developments could hurt house sales -- and her livelihood The Baltimore County Planning Board is developing legislation that it hopes will satisfy them both.