Oakmont

Every time a guy smacked what looked to be a fine approach shot at the Oakmont greens during the past five days in the U.S. Open, it was like a not-so-instant replay of the last time there was a three-man playoff in this hallowed event. With a couple of minor differences.If you caught any of the 4,000 hours of coverage from the course east of Pittsburgh, no doubt you were impressed with the size of the greens. Some were the size of counties in Maryland. And tough to putt? Almost ridiculous.

OAKMONT, Pa. -- He has gone from afterthought to contender, from defending champion without a legitimate chance to win this year's U.S. Open to a player poised to win his second tournament in as many weeks.Before his victory in last week's Buick Open at Westchester Country Club in the suburbs of New York City, Lee Janzen hadn't won since stunning the golf world across the river at Baltusrol last summer.When he tees it up today at storied Oakmont Country Club outside Pittsburgh for the start of the 94th Open, Janzen won't have to think about getting the magic back.

The Hampstead Board of Zoning Appeals affirmed the town Planning and Zoning Commission's approval of the Oakmont Green Retail Center, Hampstead Town Attorney Richard C. Murray said Thursday.At a Tuesday meeting, the board "said Ordinance 230 was valid," Mr. Murray said.Ordinance 230 is the rewrite of the town's zoning code. The council adopted the ordinance in January.Before Ordinance 230 was adopted, the town's Board of Zoning Appeals had said construction of the Oakmont Green Retail Center could not proceed because its storm water management pond did not meet the existing code's requirements.

The Oakmont Green Retail Center controversy raised its head again last night as the Hampstead Board of Planning and Zoning Appeals considered whether changes made to the town's zoning ordinance in December and January were valid.Clark Shaffer, attorney for H. M. Mall Associates and Hampstead resident Marilyn Gill, suggested that "Ordinance No. 230 was enacted for the sole and exclusive purpose" of eliminating grounds for two appeals against the center that were then before the Carroll County Circuit Court.

When new Hampstead Town Council members take the oath of office, they swear to uphold the Constitution of the United States of America.But opponents of the Oakmont Green Retail Center, under construction on Route 30, said an ordinance enacted by the Town Council in January violates the U.S. and Maryland Constitutions.Legal warfare has erupted."It's like a chess game," Clark R. Shaffer, attorney for the center's opponents, said yesterday. "There are many, many possible actions that both sides could take."

Hampstead's current contretemps over the Oakmont Green Center is a not an example of good town planning. From appearances, it seems that Hampstead's council changed its zoning law just to suit this proposed retail complex. The council's handling of this project has damaged the integrity of the town's planning process.Over this winter, the town government did an about-face on the Oakmont center. Initially, the plan was rejected. Within six weeks,However, the zoning code was revised to more easily accommodate developments such as this, and a month later, voila, it was approved.

When free-market forces collide with government regulations, the shock waves can travel far.They've been felt in Hampstead, where the proposed Oakmont Green shopping center has forced the town government to reconsider the role it plays in deciding how much retail space is desirable.The planned shopping center would include a 42,716-square-foot grocery store and 13,800 square feet of additional retail space on the east side of Route 30 across from Brodbeck Road.Opponents of the new shopping center say there is no need for more retail space in Hampstead, and it's the town's duty to prevent over-development.

The Hampstead Planning and Zoning Commission last night approved, for the second time, the site plan for the proposed Oakmont Green shopping center on the east side of Route 30, across from Brodbeck Road.But a representative of the owners of North Carroll Plaza, which is across Route 30 from the proposed Oakmont Green center, said the planning commission does not have jurisdiction to grant that approval.Clark Shaffer, a representative of North Carroll Plaza's owners, H. M. Mall Associates Ltd., said his clients and the developers of Oakmont Green have both appealed a related Hampstead Board of Zoning Appeals decision to the Carroll County Circuit Court.

The Hampstead Town Council last night unanimously approved revamping the town's zoning ordinances, which have not undergone a major update since 1972.Town Manager John A. Riley responded to criticism that the town was changing the ordinance to accommodate the developers of the Oakmont Green Retail Center."The town is not changing the ordinance for Oakmont, we're changing it because Oakmont brought to light a lot of inconsistencies in the zoning ordinance," he said.The former zoning ordinance was a copy of the county zoning ordinance.

The Hampstead Board of Zoning Appeals denied approval of the proposed Oakmont Green retail center last night, saying that the proposed development does not meet town zoning requirements."