Zoning Board

The county zoning board has set aside three nights in late March to receive testimony on the administration's petition to comprehensivelyrezone western Howard County.Unlike the county's new adequate facilities ordinance, which the zoning board sitting as the County Council approved with virtually no alteration last week, the zoning department's proposals may be substantially amended.The planning department proposes to make cluster development the centerpiece of its plan to rezone 49,579 rural acres still uncommitted to development.

The Baltimore zoning board last night rejected a proposal for a shop in Fells Point specializing in the sale of condoms.The 4-1 vote by the Board of Municipal and Zoning Appeals overturns a decision by the city zoning administrator to grant a permit for the store. The store was bitterly opposed by dozens of Fells Point business owners and residents but applauded by health advocates. Last night's decision came after two days of often emotional public hearings.Jeanne L. Brown, the proprietor of the proposed store, The Rubber Tree, sharply condemned the board for what she called a "Neanderthal decision."

Opponents of the Maple Lawn development proposed for southern Howard County say they will decide in the coming days whether to appeal the county Zoning Board's formal approval of the project, which was released last week. The board's 40-page "Decision and Order" made final its October ruling, in a 3-2 vote, to approve the project after more than 30 public hearings. The plan brought forward by developer Stewart Greenebaum calls for about 1,100 housing units and about 1.2 million square feet of commercial space on the approximately 500-acre property, a Fulton turkey farm off Route 216. "The plan and criteria will foster orderly growth, integration of uses, appropriate fiscal impact, and development consistent with the purposes of the (mixed-use)

A plan to bring a gas station and carwash to the Waverly Woods Village Center in western Howard County died Wednesday when the county Zoning Board unanimously voted against a zoning change in the fifth hearing on the matter. "I'm obviously very disappointed in the outcome of the case," Rick Levitan, co-owner of the petitioner, Convenience Retailing LLC, said in an e-mailed statement yesterday. "I'm shocked that this Zoning Board showed no regard for the recommendations of its own Department of Planning and Zoning (DPZ)

A sign that has divided Baltimore's Little Italy community will not be calling Inner Harbor tourists to the famous neighborhood and its restaurants.The city Board of Municipal and Zoning Appeals voted unanimously yesterday against granting permission for the 15-by-20 foot sign after two hours of debate between Little Italy ,, residents and business groups.City building officials testified that the sign -- which restaurateurs called a mural -- was a lighted advertisement under city definition because the restaurateurs planned to include the logos of 14 Little Italy restaurants.

The Republicans who control Howard County's most important governing bodies -- the County Council and the zoning board -- swapped chairmen last night during a council meeting.In separate 5-0 votes, Darrel E. Drown was named council chairman and Charles C. Feaga was named zoning board chairman. The same five officials -- three Republicans and two Democrats -- sit on each governing body.And as in years past, the quick votes for chairs were based on earlier agreements set by the majority party.

Was Baltimore's Pier 4 Power Plant spared from the wrecker's ball only to be buried beneath an avalanche of signs?That's a question the city zoning board will ponder next week when it considers whether to allow developers to display up to 37 large signs on virtually every surface of the Inner Harbor landmark, including its four huge smokestacks.The Cordish Co., which is converting the former power generating station into a $30 million entertainment complex, is .. seeking approval to put up to 25,000 square feet of signs on the city-owned complex, one of the oldest and most distinctive structures in the Inner Harbor area.

The Carroll County Board of Zoning Appeals has affirmed the planning commission's decision to deny a site plan for a 254-unit rental complex in Eldersburg by a vote of 4 to 1. The vote Friday followed an hour of spirited debate on the townhouse subdivision that Carrolltowne Development Partnership has attempted to build on a 20-acre parcel near Kali Drive and Ridge Road for nine years. The Carroll County Planning and Zoning Commission refused to approve the site plan in 1995 and again a year later, but the Circuit Court for Carroll County reversed those decisions and ordered the panel to approve the development.

A group of Highland and Clarksville residents has joined in opposition to a developer's plan to convert a rural turkey farm in Fulton into one of the largest mixed-use communities in Howard County since the founding of Columbia three decades ago.These residents have joined forces with the Greater Beaufort Park Citizens Association to fight developer Stewart G. Greenebaum's proposal to create a Columbia-style village of homes, offices and retail stores....

Developers and slow-growth proponents will square off again this week before the county Zoning Board, but there's a catch: They won't be permitted to talk about mixed-use centers, the focal point of the battle over rezoning the eastern half of the county.Still, county planners and land owners have proposed plenty of other changes to the zoning map with enough inherent controversy to fill the Banneker Room in the George Howard county office building in Ellicott City tomorrow and Wednesday.