Special Exception

Almost no one showed up to testify before the county Planning Board yesterday against a 116-foot cellular telephone antenna pole for downtown Clarksville -- except the neighbor across the road.That neighbor turned out to be Columbia, or at least, the developer of the unincorporated city."It would dominate the skyline of the planned expansion of Pheasant Ridge," said David E. Forester, vice president and development director for River Hill, the 10th and last village being developed in Columbia by the Rouse Co. Pheasant Ridge is one of the village's two neighborhoods.

Officials at Terrific Inc. -- a nonprofit Washington group that cares for children ill with the AIDS virus -- say they will hold their first employee retreat in January at a $655,000 farmhouse the group owns on 32 acres in western Howard County.The retreat, to held Jan. 6-8, comes two weeks before the expiration of the group's special exception allowing it to hold weekday retreats with up to 10 people at the house on Ed Warfield Road in Daisy, officials at the county's planning and zoning office say.The group's president, the Rev. Debbie Tate, received a special exception from the Howard County Board of Appeals three years ago.Since then, neighbors of the property have complained, the group has not had any retreats at the house.

RIVERDALE BAPTIST CHURCH believes that it has made significant concessions to the southern Anne Arundel community of Davidsonville by scaling back its project. It is dropping plans to build a family life and recreation center and reducing the amount of parking.Because of those changes, the church also now doesn't require a special exception hearing by the county. This exploitation of a loophole is grossly unfair to the current residents.After much conflict over the issue, the County Council this winter passed Bill 93-96 to ensure that when large, non-profit organizations move into rural areas, there would be community participation and county oversight.

A zoning hearing officer has approved an 18-hole miniature golf course, driving range, baseball batting cages and pro shop that Pasadena residents fear will increase congestion along Mountain Road.Richard A. Fine, whose family owns the Ritchie Car Wash, received a special exception July 31 allowing a "commercial recreational facility" on 32 acres zoned for low-density residential development.The facility, on the north side of Mountain Road at the intersection with Route 100, would include 40 permanent tees and 138 parking spaces.

Site plans for 100 town houses in downtown Columbia -- the first houses to be built in Town Center since 1985 -- were approved by the Planning Board yesterday.The unnamed project will feature 50 standard town houses and 50 "back-to-back" town house condominiums, said Maurice Simpkins, vice president for the Columbia Division of Ryland Homes.The 14-acre development, on Banneker Road in Town Center's southwest corner, is adjacent to land the Rouse Co. is trying to rezone from commercial to residential to help bring more residents, and consequently more urban character, to Columbia's downtown area.

The Mount Airy Board of Appeals voted 3-2 Monday night to grant a special exception to a proposed microbrewery, despite protests from local church members that a brewery would destory the town's family image and promote alcohol abuse.Michael Trammel, pastor of Mount Airy Baptist Church, expressed disappointment after the vote."I had hoped that there would be a greater concern for the moral considerations and for the overall image of our community," Mr. Trammel said. "There's nobody considering the potential impact this is going to have on families and the potential damage to lives and marriages."

The county Planning Board has split on a recommendation that the county Board of Appeals approve a day care center on Route 108 on the eastern edge of Columbia.Helen Ruther, Planning Board chairwoman, and vice chairwoman Kay Partridge favored approval, while board members Nelson Fenwick and William Manning voted against it.Partridge, referring to a Planning and Zoning Department staff recommendation against a special exception for the property, said, "I think the concern of the staff was that it would be overwhelmingly commercial-looking, and I don't see that."

Anne Arundel County will schedule an evening hearing on the Washington Redskins' request for a special exception to build a football stadium, county officials said yesterday.Officials had said the hearing, now scheduled for 9 a.m. July 11 at Meade Senior High School, would meet only during regular business hours.But Administrative Hearing Officer Robert C. Wilcox has decided to hold one evening session so people who work during the day can testify, said Sharon Proctor, Mr. Wilcox's assistant.

Two sisters who wish to operate a retreat in Daisy for people who care for the terminally ill spent more than two hours defending their program to the county Board of Appeals last night."

A Lower Broadneck developer wants to build 78 town homes, nearly a third of them in an environmentally protected Critical Area near Cape St. Claire.Robert Wilcox, the county's administrative hearing officer, said yesterday that he will grant property owner Mark Clark a special exception to build on the 21-acre parcel, previously known as the Peregoy property.After a 30-minute hearing in Annapolis, Wilcox said: "(Resident) opposition was tepid at best. . . . The best result for the residentswould be to allow no development, but that really isn't legal."