Zoning Approval

The county Board of Zoning Appeals unanimously approved a proposed 265-unit retirement community in Eldersburg yesterday, after finding the project would not detract from the character of the neighborhood. "I don't think this development will create problems, and the demand is obvious," said board member Howard B. Kramer, a senior citizen who has looked in several states for a similar community. "This project will be upscale and an asset to the area. Any negative impact was not proven."

FOR MORE THAN three decades, the building at 501 St. Paul Place housed local offices of Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey, Western Maryland Railway and Chesapeake & Potomac Telephone Co. of Maryland, among others.It might soon be reborn as one of Baltimore's newest apartment complexes, if a Silver Spring-based developer moves ahead with a proposed conversion.Baltimore's Board of Municipal and Zoning Appeals approved plans last week by Omega Development II LLC to convert the 15-story building to 143 apartments, with two levels of office space and on-site parking for 44 cars.

Clearing the way for Random House Inc. to turn Westminster into its sole national distribution center, the county Planning and Zoning Commission approved a package of rezoning and site plan changes yesterday for expanding the publisher's facilities. In a unanimous decision, the seven-member commission approved plans for a 325,000-square-foot warehouse -- 47,000 square feet larger than originally planned -- at Random House Inc.'s facility on the northeast edge of Westminster. Construction is expected to be completed early next year.

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.

Woodbine residents opposed to reopening a glider port in their neighborhood will have to wait until next month to tell their story to the Carroll County Board of Zoning Appeals.But a 21-day delay is no big deal for people who have been fighting glider port operations at the Woodbine airfield for two decades.The land in the dispute is Michael R. Harrison's farm on Gillis Falls Road. Although opponents did not testify at yesterday's six-hour hearing, real estate appraiser James H. Dulany IV gave the board a preview of the testimony expected Sept.

Stable owners are being asked to seek zoning approval to board horses in the heart of horse country as Baltimore County officials crack down on unlicensed animal "holding facilities.""It's ridiculous," said Patricia Burton-Bowden, part-owner of Rainbow View Farm in Parkton, which already holds a state license for what she describes as a small boarding operation. Burton-Bowden is one of at least 10 owners who were told recently that they must not only be licensed, but also must obtain zoning approval for their boarding facilities -- an exercise that probably would cost hundreds of dollars.

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."

The city zoning board cleared the way yesterday for completion of the $250,000 city-financed rehabilitation of two Little Italy rowhouses.Housing officials had ordered work stopped on both houses in late February after discovering that one lacked required approval for the four apartments that were being constructed there.The houses are owned by Pascal Rose Development LLC, a corporation formed by Rosa Aquia, the 73-year-old mother of Gia Blattermann, a former zoning board member with close ties to Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke.

OPPONENTS OF THE PROPOSAL to develop a mixed-use center on 517 acres in North Laurel must realize that growth was destined to come to their community, as it sits smack in the middle of the Baltimore-Washington corridor.The Rouse Co.'s plan to develop its Key Property for 1,395 homes and for business is both Smart Growth and logical growth. The site is near already commercialized U.S. 1 and existing neighborhoods. The Howard County Council, sitting as the Zoning Board, should approve the request to change the zoning designation to allow mixed use there.

The Anne Arundel County Circuit Court must determine the constitutionality of county zoning restrictions on peep shows and adult bookstores, the state's highest court ruled yesterday.The ruling by the Court of Appeals -- a setback for the county, which had won in lower courts -- pointed to what might be a constitutional flaw in the county's law, which allows a zoning official to decide what is obscene.Harry Levy, a lawyer for Annapolis Road Ltd., had argued that the county never spelled out how it would decide whether movies are obscene.