Zoning Appeals

Noting concerns about noise and traffic, the Carroll Board of Zoning Appeals denied a developer's request yesterday to build the nation's first digital drive-in movie theaters on a hilly, 37-acre industrial site in Eldersburg. The three-member board unanimously rejected Alan Ackerman's petition to build a $5 million, drive-in theater complex along Liberty Road after concluding the third day of a hearing that began in late November. "I think their concept will work somewhere ... but I don't want to see Eldersburg or Carroll County be the guinea pig for something new," said board member Ronald Hoff, who expressed fear that the project would cause noise and traffic problems in an area that suffers from congested roads.

Ascension Episcopal Church, one of Westminster's oldest parishes, is planning a $1.6 million expansion to accommodate its growing congregation.The church will enlarge its parish house on North Court Street in two phases, said the Rev. Ronald S. Fisher, its rector for nine years.The expansion plans won approval last week from the city's Board of Zoning Appeals. There were no opponents to the request for a variance and a special exception."Part of this story is our commitment to stay in town," said Fisher.

The Carroll County Planning and Zoning Commission has turned down a proposal to build the final three sections of Eldersburg Estates, citing crowded schools and a rule that allows developers to record only 50 lots annually per subdivision.With Carrolltowne Elementary and Liberty High schools well above their enrollment capacities, the commission voted 3-1 yesterday to deny approval to Masonry Contractors Inc. for 63 lots in the subdivision at MacBeth Way and Tydings Road,But one South Carroll activist said the ruling also should have considered the adequacy of fire and emergency services, which would have strengthened the commission's decision in case of appeal.

Basing its decision on strict interpretation of city zoning regulations, the Westminster Board of Zoning Appeals yesterday denied a methadone clinic the right to open on Main Street. The three-member board's vote was unanimous. "The crux of the matter is terms," said appeals board member Gary Beard. "This is a clinic and as such it is not a permitted use in the downtown business zone." While medical, dental and law offices are permitted in the downtown area, which includes all of Main Street and a portion of Green Street, a clinic could only be located in the city's business zone, which is predominantly along Route 140, the board ruled.

Carroll County's Board of Zoning Appeals yesterday upheld the planning commission's rejection of a developer's plans to build 250-plus rental units in South Carroll because the project would strain inadequate schools, roads and emergency services.The three-man board voted unanimously against Security Development Corp. of Howard County, which wants to complete construction of its Carrolltowne subdivision after almost 25 years. Its proposal calls for 254 rental units on 20 acres at Ridge Road and Kali Drive in Eldersburg.

Owners of Cascade Lake, one of Carroll County's most popular recreation areas, won approval yesterday for a major expansion of their water resort, including two new pools, a banquet hall, and a playing field.The county Board of Zoning Appeals voted unanimously to allow Patrick and Susanne Flynn to build the new recreational facilities on 19 acres of farmland next to the lake and to expand parking.Spring-fed Cascade Lake, located off Snydersburg Road outside Hampstead, draws as many as 1,400 people each day during the summer.

A routine appointment two weeks ago to the county Board of Zoning Appeals continues to produce political sparks for Commissioner Richard T. Yates in South Carroll, where concerns about development have become paramount for a growing number of neighborhood activists.Slow-growth advocates in the county's fastest-growing area say the appointment Feb. 20 of Yates confidant Hobart D. "Hoby" Wolf Jr. over Carolyn Fairbank, chairwoman of Freedom Area Community Planning Council, was a political payback aimed at punishing them for their activism.

Before a radio station builds six towers on farmland in Carroll County, it will have to reckon with residents who say they don't want their views of the sky altered.WCBM-AM Radio in Owings Mills in Baltimore County has purchased a 389-acre farm on Hoods Mill Road near Route 97 and the Howard County line, and plans to build six 350-foot towers on about 55 acres at the east end of the property."The towers will stretch across an area similar to the South Carroll High School campus," C. Michael Wheeler, an area resident, told about 125 residents of Carroll and Howard counties who met at the school last night.

A television executive's dream of an elegant private academy in Finksburg cleared a major zoning hurdle yesterday, allowing Dr. Frederick G. Smith to build the red-brick and white-columned Georgian quadrangle he envisions.Carroll County Board of Zoning Appeals voted unanimously to grant a height variance for buildings on the 95-acre campus in the 2600 block of Old Westminster Pike.Smith, a 49-year-old dentist and vice president at his family's Sinclair Broadcasting Group Inc. in Baltimore, has a contract to purchase the land to build his Gerstell Academy.

Residents and merchants opposed to a proposed $32 million shopping center in Eldersburg will meet with their attorney today to decide whether to join the planning commission in its appeal of a May 29 decision approving the project."