Zoning Commission

FireManchester: Firefighters from Manchester, Hampstead and Lineboro responded at 5: 52 p.m. Thursday to a house fire in the 4200 block of Hanover Pike.Public meetingHampstead planning: Hampstead Planning and Zoning Commission will meet at 7 p.m. today at Town Hall, 1034 S. Carroll St. Information: 410-239-7408.Pub Date: 8/30/99

A decision on the Promenade, a proposed $32 shopping and theater complex in Eldersburg, once again falls to the Carroll County Planning and Zoning Commission.The county commissioners discussed the Promenade briefly yesterday but deferred comment to the planning commission, which must decide whether to appeal a circuit judge's opinion. Last week, the judge upheld a county zoning board decision allowing construction of the complex.The developer is preparing for the planning commission's review of a site plan for the 36-acre industrial site at Route 32 and Londontown Boulevard.

A move by Random House Inc. to turn Westminster into its sole national distribution center was dealt a blow last night by the city's Planning and Zoning Commission.The panel voted to extend water and sewerage service to 9 acres Random House needs to expand its distribution facility only if the property is annexed by Westminster.If the property is annexed, Random House would have to pay property taxes to Westminster.Random House is the No. 3 media and publishing company in the world behind Time Warner Inc. and Walt Disney Co. Its distribution center is on Lucabaugh Mill Road near Route 27 near Cranberry Mall.

The Taneytown City Council is considering how much of a stretch of East Baltimore Street should be changed from a residential zone to one that allows some restricted business.One proposal is to let the new zone extend from Fairground Avenue to Ash Drive, on the south side of East Baltimore Street. The north side of that stretch is a less restricted general business zone.But nearby residents say the proposed zone would endanger a block of the historic district and put more commercial development close to their homes.

An obscure yet stubborn Westminster zoning commission -- that includes a nurse, a high school wrestling coach and a college history professor -- is threatening a multimillion-dollar expansion by Random House, Carroll County's largest employer.The New York publishing giant wants to increase its sprawling warehouse complex and create a single, nationwide distribution center for its extensive list of imprints: Random House, Knopf, Ballantine, Bantam, Doubleday, Dell and Broadway Books. The expansion -- aided by a $2.5 million state grant -- has breezed through regulatory bodies.

An ordinance approved last night by the Taneytown City Council will allow developers and planning boards more flexibility in designing developments with a mix of architectural styles and housing types.The Community Village ordinance can be applied to existing housing developments, said Mayor Henry C. Heine. The ordinance keeps the existing zoning structure, but allows a developer to seek exceptions in a give-and-take process with the Planning and Zoning Commission.Until now, a developer was limited in designing homes to exact specifications in the zoning laws, such as how deep the front yard can be and whether the units would be single-family, duplex or townhouses, Heine said.

Public meetingsSykesville planning: The Sykesville Planning and Zoning Commission will meet at 7 p.m. today in the Town House meeting room at 7547 Main St. Information: 410-795-6390.

The Westminster Planning and Zoning Commission approved a proposal yesterday to expand the Englar Road branch of Carroll County Bank and Trust Co., a key player in downtown revitalization.With little public discussion, the five-member commission voted unanimously to approve the project.Plans for the 2,200-square-foot addition also must be approved by Thomas B. Beyard, Westminster's director of planning and public works, before construction can begin."We're hoping to break ground in June," said Ed Gottleib, senior vice president of the bank.

FireSykesville: Firefighters responded at 8: 36 a.m. Wednesday to an automatic alarm on Henryton Road. Units were out 25 minutes.Public meetingSykesville planning: Sykesville Planning and Zoning Commission will meet at 7 p.m. Monday in the Town House meeting room at 7547 Main St. Information: 410-795- 6390.Pub Date: 7/31/98

The Mount Airy Planning and Zoning Commission will continue its review of the site plan for expanding a 20-year-old shopping center on Route 27 today.After a nearly four-hour meeting last month that included a lengthy presentation on traffic issues, two items, both concerning the Mount Airy Shopping Center, remain unsettled.The developer has presented plans for expanding the center by about 38,000 square feet, including enlarging the Safeway Supermarket, the anchor store. The plan also includes adding an 85,000-square-foot discount store, such as Wal-Mart, on 14 acres behind the grocery.

The Aberdeen planning commission has recommended single-family dwellings for a development that had originally sought to build more than 1,600 homes and condominiums. Several members of the city's Planning and Zoning commission said the petition to build the dwellings on 497 acres, which would be annexed by Aberdeen, was too dense. Christopher Michaels, management director of the project called Glengarry, said last week it was unclear what the property owners would pursue next. "I don't mean to sound ambiguous," he said.

A Uniontown dog kennel still has a few more hoops to jump through before getting approval to expand its business to handle up to 200 canines. Earlier this month, the Carroll County Planning and Zoning Commission raised questions about Camp Yuppie Puppy's request to construct a kennel in the 3400 block of Uniontown Road, where the dog boarding and grooming business has operated since 1994. County officials told kennel co-owner William Quinn that he would need to provide more details about the project and account for discrepancies between plans he supplied to the commission recently and those presented in 2004 to the county Board of Zoning Appeals.

Neuman speaks out on ethics complaint Yesterday I received a letter from the Town of Mount Airy Ethics Commission releasing me from any confidentiality on the allegations pertaining to me. Up until this formal release from the Ethics Commission, I have been powerless to defend myself against these vicious leaks of this allegation before the Ethics Commission has concluded their work. I would like to offer you my statement on the allegation being considered by the Ethics Commission. I believe this complaint, now leaked to the press, is a low mudslinging attempt to discredit and gag me in my duties as a Town of Mount Airy Planning & Zoning commission member and now as a candidate for Town Council.

Dunkin' Donuts/Baskin Robbins, Eldersburg Location: South side of Liberty Road, east of Marvin Avenue Owner: Sunbeam Investors, Westminster Developer: Same Engineer: BL Cos., Linthicum Zoning: Business Description: A proposed 1,920-square-foot building with a drive-through on a 0.67-acre site. Access will be from Marvin Avenue, with no entry from Liberty Road. The property is near a planned major street, Ridenour Way. Status: The Carroll County Planning and Zoning Commission has reviewed a concept site plan and recommended changes in the signs, lighting and roof lines and construction of a sidewalk.

TOMORROW Westminster Common Council -- meets at 7 p.m. at City Hall, 1838 Emerald Hill Lane. 410-848-9000. Sykesville Town Council -- meets at 7 p.m. in the Town House meeting room at 7547 Main St. 410-795-6390. Union Bridge Town Council -- meets at 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 104 W. Locust St. 410-775-2711. Mount Airy Planning and Zoning Commission -- meets at 7:30 p.m. in the lower-level meeting room of the Mount Airy Volunteer Fire Company, 702 N. Main St. The agenda includes proposed changes to the Fields of Nottingham, special exception use for meal assembly in an industrial zone, and streetscape and downtown design guidelines.

TOMORROW Carroll County commissioners -- 7 p.m. public hearing in Room 003 of the County Office Building, 225 N. Center St., Westminster, on a proposal to allow the clustering and transferring of lot yields across certain zoning lines. 410-386-2043. TUESDAY Carroll County commissioners -- 9:30 a.m. meeting for an open community discussion in Room 300 of the County Office Building. The morning agenda includes discussion of a road closure on a small portion of Freedom Avenue, bid approvals, capital budget resolutions for subdivision overlays and recreation self-help projects, 2006 matching funds for easement purchases, options to purchase land preservation easements, discussion on a public hearing to amend the expanded tax credit for fallen rescue workers, and decisions on a rezoning case.

Poole Road Professional Center II Location: Southwest side of Poole Road, near Route 97 in Westminster Developer: Chitrachedu & Vimala Naganna Engineer: CLSI, Westminster Description: A 73,000-square-foot, three-story building for medical and dental offices. The L-shaped brick building will sit on a 7-acre parcel, adjacent to existing medical offices, and house more than 40 medical practices. Access will be from Poole Road through an existing parking lot. Project also includes 290 parking places.

TOMORROW Taneytown Planning and Zoning Commission -- 7:30 p.m. meeting at City Hall, 17 E. Baltimore St. 410-751-1100. TUESDAY Carroll County commissioners -- 10 a.m. meeting in Room 300 of the County Office Building, 225 N. Center St., Westminster. On the agenda is a transfer of funds for Rural Legacy Easements; approval of self-help recreation projects; bid approvals; and environmental health updates, including water/wastewater emergencies, MTBE regulations and public water/wastewater capacity issues.

TOMORROW Carroll County Board of Zoning Appeals -- 9:30 a.m. meeting in Room 003 of the County Office Building, 225 N. Center St., Westminster. Cases include a variance for a storage shed on Sam's Creek Road; conditional use requests for a one-chair beauty shop on MacBeth Way; parking for commercial vehicles on Route 482; applying protective coatings to pickup truck beds on Sykesville Road in Finksburg; and appeals for a building permit that did not...

TUESDAY Social Services board -- 8 a.m. meeting of board of directors of the county Department of Social Services in Room 138 at 10 Distillery Drive, Suite 100, Westminster. 410-386-3307. Carroll County Planning and Zoning Commission -- 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and at 12:45 p.m. in Room 003/004 of the County Office Building, 225 N. Center St., Westminster. The morning agenda includes site plan reviews for the Seventh-day Adventist Church on Crest Lane, and Wastler Automotive on Ridge Road in Eldersburg; preliminary plan reviews for Canaan Run on Westminster Pike, and Clearfield on old Westminster Pike; and concept plan reviews of Eternity Estates on Exeter Road, Gerstell Academy athletic facility in Finksburg, and Poole Road Professional Center II in Westminster.