Racquet

The owners of the Greenspring Racquet Club again have failed in their effort to persuade Baltimore County officials to allow them to build two office buildings and a parking garage on 5.5 acres at Falls and Greenspring Valley roads.A county hearing officer ruled this week that William and Loretta Hirshfeld, the club's owners, fell short in proving that their project should be exempt from a new county law that restricts development next to rural areas.Timothy Kotroco, the hearing officer, said the Hirshfelds failed to show that their project would not be detrimental to the surrounding area.

The owners of Greenspring Racquet Club again are trying to get around a new county law that limits development of their property -- this time asking a county zoning commissioner for permission to build two office buildings and a garage.Yesterday, in the first day of a two-day hearing, a consultant hired by the club's owners argued that the five- and six-story office buildings and attached four-deck garage would be in keeping with state efforts to curb sprawl."This is in line with the Smart Growth Initiative," said land planning consultant Sean Davis.

On one side of the road stand office buildings, upscale retail shops, a popular indoor racquet club and medical offices -- all within easy access of Interstate 83, downtown Baltimore and the Beltway.On the other side is a rolling expanse of field and woodland that forms the threshold to Baltimore County's Green Spring Valley, with wealthy estates and working farms and a community determined to preserve its rural landscape."You've got a recipe for major fighting," said Baltimore County Planning Director Arnold F. "Pat" Keller.

The owners of Greenspring Racquet Club have sued Baltimore County in federal and state court, charging that a new law designed to limit growth at Falls Road just north of Interstate 695 deprives them of the right to develop their land.The suits by William and Loretta Hirshfeld in U.S. District Court in Baltimore and in Baltimore County Circuit Court seek injunctions preventing the county from enforcing the law, which they call unconstitutional.They also seek millions of dollars in damages because of the law's effect on their 5.5-acre tract, where they would like to replace the club with offices and parking.

An eight-story retail and office complex may be built at Green Spring Station in Lutherville, a Baltimore County panel ruled yesterday after a three-hour hearing marked by angry protests from eight community groups in Ruxton and Green Spring Valley.County review group members Bob Bowling and Lynn Lanham, representing the Department of Public Works and Office of Planning and Community Conservation, agreed that developers can move forward with the 130,000-square-foot structure, which would include five levels of parking, three stories of offices and 30,000 square feet of retail space.

About 50 residents of communities that surround Green Spring Station in Lutherville hope to persuade Baltimore County bureaucrats today to delay approval of an eight-story building at the busy complex.The building, planned by Foxleigh Enterprises at Falls and Greenspring Valley roads, includes five levels of parking, three stories of offices and 30,000 square feet of retail space.The project would be built on the site of what is now a 250-space parking lot between two retail buildings and the Greenspring Racquet Club.

Carl Gustav Swensson was an optician whose philosophy to do everything "the very best you can" led him to numerous interests and a tennis career that began when he retired. He died Monday of heart failure at the Greater Baltimore Medical Center.Mr. Swensson, 84, of Timonium owned and operated the Contact Lens and Artificial Eye Service downtown on East Chase Street from 1965 until he retired in 1980. He had previously worked as an optician in Montgomery, Ala., for 20 years.In his retirement, tennis was his passion.

For the second time in a month, developers are proposing office buildings at Green Spring Station despite concerns from residents that the projects would overwhelm congested roads.Developer Howard Brown and William Hirshfeld, owner of the Greenspring Racquet Club, are seeking county approval to build two office buildings and a parking deck at the north end of the property where the racquet club sits.They plan to ask county officials today to let them apply for building permits, bypassing a public hearing and community input meetings.

Claude England may have lost a step since his playing days at the University of Maryland, but he's the one man everyone will be chasing when the Mid-Atlantic Tennis Association's Indoor 35-and-over Singles Championships begin tomorrow at the Cross Keys Tennis Club.A field of 32 players from the Mid-Atlantic region that encompasses Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and Washington, D.C., will begin play in the single-elimination tournament at 4 p.m. tomorrow. The event is open to the public.

NAFTA talks to continueNegotiators from the United States, Canada and Mexico reported progress but no breakthrough in efforts to resolve environmental and labor concerns about their plan to create the world's largest free trade zone.After 16 hours of discussions Thursday and yesterday, the top trade negotiators said they planned to meet again Wednesday and Thursday.American Airlines strike warningFlight attendants at American Airlines Inc., the nation's largest airline, warned yesterday that they are preparing to strike if they do not reach a contract agreement with management by Labor Day.The airline said flight attendants cannot strike until a federal mediator declares parties are at an impasse and establishes a 30-day cooling off period.