Zoning Appeals

The Hampstead Board of Zoning Appeals resumes its hearing at 7 p.m. tonight on developer Martin K. P. Hill's appeal of a "stop work" order issued in September over alleged zoning violations at the Robert's Field condominium development.The panel has heard three nights of testimony on the case, which began in November, and has scheduled another hearing for 7 p.m. tomorrow.The zoning dispute arose from a September incident in which Hampstead Town Manager Neil Ridgely ordered Hill's crew to stop construction at the Robert's Field condominium site, citing the developer's failure to meet town requirements relating to open space and density issues.

A Baltimore developer was given zoning approval Tuesday to build apartments on one of Hampden's last remaining vacant lots. The Baltimore Board of Municipal and Zoning Appeals signed off on plans for 10 apartment units with 12 off-street parking spaces to be built on a triangular plot near the intersection of Roland Avenue, Hickory Avenue and West 34th Street. The development wraps around the corner lot and each apartment unit is designed to look like a modern rowhouse. According to the developer's renderings, four units will face Roland Avenue, six will look out onto Hickory Avenue and an entrance to the building will open onto the sidewalk off West 34th Street.

James Norvell, administrator for the Carroll County Board of Zoning Appeals, has accepted responsibility for the county liquor board as well, the county commissioners confirmed this week.The liquor board administrator's position became open when J. Ronald Lau retired in March. Mr. Lau had been the administrator for six years."We're combining both positions," said Commissioner Julia W. Gouge. "We're going to try this for a three-month period to see if it works."The commissioners decided to merge the positions because the workload for the Board of Zoning Appeals diminished recently, she said.

The Friendly Inn's neighbors have lost another round in their quest to stop the Ellicott City tavern from building an outdoor patio, though the yearlong struggle may be far from over. The bar and restaurant, known in recent years as a gathering place for blues music, has been an outpost on once-rural Frederick Road at Folly Quarter Road since before Howard County adopted zoning in 1948, but newcomers who bought new retirement homes around it say the patio would change the neighborhood they've come to love.

In their latest attempt to slow residential growth in the southern end of the county, the Carroll County commissioners announced last week that they had appointed a new member to the Board of Zoning Appeals.Claude Rash, a farmer and longtime chairman of the appealsboard, was not reappointed.Woodrow Raver and Karl Reichlin, both nonfarmers, will continue on the board.TTC "We view this as another way to address the growth problem," Commissioner Richard T. Yates said.Commissioner Donald I. Dell, a farmer, disagreed with thedecision, much as he did with the ouster of Dennis Bowman, another farmer, as planning commission chairman.

The Board of Zoning Appeals of Carroll County has conditionally approved a one-chair beauty salon in a home on Stones Throw Drive in Manchester.Beth and Bill Smith made the request for the part-time business so Beth Smith can stay at home with their baby. The salon would be in the basement of the home and would operate 15 hours a week over two or three weeknights and alternate Saturdays.The couple plans to provide three parking spaces for patrons and display a small sign on the property.Despite opposition from two neighbors, the board approved the request, finding that the Smiths' property is screened from the opposing residents and that traffic from the business would be minimal.

A proposal for four 30,000-gallon and three 15,000-gallon petroleum storage tanks will go to the Mount Airy zoning appeals board with a favorable recommendation from the town planning commission.Southern States Cooperative Inc. plans to put the tanks on a 6.2-acre industrial site in the Pleasants property on East Ridge- ville Boulevard near Century Drive."We're interested in a terminal facility at Mount Airy," said Jerry Gass, Southern States director of communications.But plans are preliminary, and the corporation has not bought the proposed site from owners William Pleasants Sr. and Jr., he said.

Opponents of a proposed Shell Oil Co. gas station near Mount Airy are asking the Frederick County Board of Zoning Appeals to overturn the Planning Commission's approval of the project.The Frederick County Planning Commission approved Shell's plans last month for a gas station, carwash and convenience store south of Mount Airy near the Interstate 70 interchange.Opponents fear that ground water in the area is vulnerable to even a small gasoline spill.Others are concerned about possible traffic safety problems and the capacity of the septic system, which is inadequate to accommodate public restrooms.

The county Board of Zoning Appeals has again overturned a planning commission decision aimed at curbing growth in South Carroll, the county's most populous area.The board ruled Tuesday that Masonry Contractors Inc. can build 24 homes -- phase six of Eldersburg Estates, a subdivision at MacBeth Way near Tydings Road.It was the seventh time this year that the three-member panel has overruled the commission, and more appeals are pending.Noting overcrowded schools, the planning commission had denied approval for the 24 houses last month.

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.

The owner of a vacant nine-story office building at 11 E. Chase St. in Midtown-Belvedere is seeking city approval to convert the property to 56 apartments. A group called Daejan 11 E. Chase LLC, represented by Samuel Monderer, has applied to Baltimore's Board of Municipal and Zoning Appeals to convert the historic Algonquin building to residential use. Monderer also controls the neighboring apartment building at 1010 St. Paul St. and a parking lot between the two buildings. A zoning board hearing has been set for Tuesday.

The owner of a vacant nine-story office building at 11 E. Chase Street in Midtown-Belvedere is seeking city approval to convert the property to 56 apartments. A group called Daejan 11 E. Chase LLC, represented by Samuel Monderer, has applied to Baltimore's Board of Municipal and Zoning Appeals to convert the historic Algonquin building to residential use. Monderer also controls the neighboring apartment building at 1010 St. Paul St. and a parking lot between the two buildings. A zoning board hearing has been set for Tuesday.

Hobart Daniel "Hoby" Wolf Jr., an airport owner, newspaper columnist and political gadfly who had served as a member of the Carroll County Board of Zoning Appeals, died Feb. 15 of heart failure at his Eldersburg farm. He was 85. Mr. Wolf, the son of a Montgomery Ward manager and a homemaker, was born in St. Paul, Minn. Because of his father's work, Mr. Wolf was raised in St. Paul as well as Albany, N.Y., and Baltimore. After graduating in 1942 from Brecks School for Boys in St. Paul, Mr. Wolf enlisted in the Army, where he served in the United States as a translator for German prisoners.

Mayor Sheila Dixon signed a bill Monday that could drastically change the city's nightlife scene by making it easier for bars and restaurants to host live performances. Although proponents say the measure will promote a more vibrant city and generate profits for business owners, some community groups fear it will add noise and rowdy crowds. During a break in her criminal trial Monday, the mayor told reporters that the legislation "is not that good of a bill." Dixon had delayed signing the bill for nearly a month and said she would rather have waited for the overhaul to the zoning code being crafted by her planning department.

The Baltimore City Council voted Monday to allow bars and restaurants in some of the city's trendiest neighborhoods to hire bands, singers and other performers, overturning a decades-old prohibition that City Council President Stephanie C. Rawlings-Blake says has stifled nightlife in town. "This is an opportunity in lean times for establishments to expand the entertainment they are able to offer," she said after the measure passed by voice vote. "It also makes us more marketable as a city."

Gilbert Vernon Rubin, former longtime executive director of Baltimore's Board of Municipal and Zoning Appeals, died of an undisclosed illness Oct. 13 at his Northwest Baltimore home. He was 89. Born in Baltimore, the son of Russian immigrants who owned and operated a Park Circle grocery store, Mr. Rubin was raised in Northwest Baltimore. He was a 1938 graduate of City College and earned a bachelor's degree from the Johns Hopkins University. During World War II, he enlisted in the Army Air Forces, where he attained the rank of captain and was a flight controller.

The County Commissioners -- frustrated by the Board of Zoning Appeals reversal of several of its slow-growth decisions -- decided yesterday to cut the board out of the subdivision review process.The commissioners voted to change local law and make Circuit Court the sole arbiter of subdivision disputes.Before yesterday's vote, planning decisions could be appealed to the court but first were heard by the appeals board.The Board of Zoning Appeals has reversed the planning commission four times recently, county attorney George L. Lahey told the commissioners yesterday.

The Carroll Board of Zoning Appeals approved yesterday an Eldersburg group's request to allow a 55-unit retirement home on a 3.8-acre site south of Liberty Road.The three-member board's decision followed several hours of testimony during hearings held yesterday and in May in which more than a dozen residents from neighboring Carrolltowne voiced concerns that the project proposed by Magic Partnership would lower property values."I do not think this project will have any adverse effect, regardless of the testimony we've heard today and last month," chairman William Law said.

Maryland's second-highest court gave its go-ahead yesterday to a contested 4,300-home development on a scenic stretch of highway in mountainous Allegany County, renewing debate about whether the project represents the best or worst of the state's Smart Growth policy. The Court of Special Appeals declared that the Allegany Board of Zoning Appeals acted appropriately in approving Terrapin Run, which a Columbia-based developer wants to build on 1,000 partly wooded acres off Scenic Route 40 near Green Ridge State Forest.