Zoning Law

The Westminster City Council agreed by consensus last night not to charge property owners to join the new historic district and resolved a local attorney's complaint that he hadn't been allowed to lobby council members after the public hearing record was closed.The council also asked City Attorney John B. Walsh Jr. to draft a resolution that will give the planned historic district commission a role in the application process.Councilwoman Rebecca A. Orenstein tried unsuccessfully to get an immediate vote to make historic district applications free.

Carroll County planning officials identified yesterday the four South Carroll subdivisions where development will be halted because of crowded elementary and middle schools. In an unprecedented move, county planners announced last month that they would deny building permits to four proposed developments in Sykesville, Mount Airy and Eldersburg - a practice that has been common in Howard County for a decade. They delayed naming the subdivisions until they had mailed a letter to the developer of each.

WORLD Logistics of Iraq war faulted The American military has not properly tracked hundreds of thousands of weapons intended for Iraqi security forces and has failed to provide spare parts, maintenance personnel or even repair manuals to the Iraqis, a federal report released yesterday has concluded. pg 1a Israeli president pressured Israeli President Moshe Katsav, clinging defiantly to his office two weeks after police recommended his indictment on rape charges, came under pressure yesterday from the country's top law enforcement official to step down.

Hahn's gets OK to expand buildingThe Carroll County zoning appeals board has cleared the way for a Westminster meat-packing plant to expand its building.On Wednesday, the board authorized Hahn's of Westminster to extend its building to 10 feet from the rear property line for a refrigerator area that will be used to trim and package cooked meat. The city zoning law requires a 30-foot clearance between the building and the property line.The change will bring the building on Route 27 closer to the line of property owned by the state of Maryland or the Maryland Midland Railway Co. Attorney Charles M. Preston, representing Hahn's, said ownership of the property occupied by the railroad track could not be determined without an extensive title search.

In a move that is likely to extend a long-running dispute with residents of a White Marsh neighborhood, a trucking company owner has asked the state's highest court to overturn a decision that could force him to move or change his business.Leo J. Umerley Sr., owner of Umerley Trucking Co., filed papers Monday asking the Court of Appeals to reverse a ruling that his large trucking company cease operations near the small community of Nottingham.Mr. Umerley, who has been in business at his property on Philadelphia Road for nearly four decades, has been operating outside zoning laws since the late 1970s, according to a ruling issued last month by the Maryland Court of Special Appeals.

If Jack Kent Cooke hopes to speed approval of his 78,600-seat football stadium in Laurel by going directly to the Anne Arundel County Council, he'd better think again.Four of seven council members say they would not vote to bypass the appeals process and change the county zoning law for the Redskins owner."We should not circumvent the Board of Appeals because the next thing is someone will say, 'Hey, you did it for the stadium, now let's do it for an umpty squat or some kind of facility out here,' " said Bert L. Rice, who was elected last week to represent the district that includes the stadium site.

The Baltimore County Council is set to vote on a bill to clarify the rules for so-called in-law apartments, a measure that has drawn strong opposition from community activists who claim that it could allow neighborhoods to become more densely populated than zoning allows. The proposal, to be taken up Tuesday evening, puts guidelines in the code for single-family homeowners who want to set up an apartment in their home to accommodate a relative. The county has procedures it has followed for years that allow this, but up to now there's been nothing in zoning law governing these arrangements.

With a less-than-definitive opinion from a federal appeals court, Baltimore County officials say they have no intention of scrapping their restrictions on the location of methadone clinics. As a result, at least one proposed methadone clinic in Baltimore County could find it harder to open. A panel of federal judges, sitting one level below the U.S. Supreme Court, issued an opinion this month, finding that a Pikesville methadone clinic should be allowed to stay open. But the appellate court didn't directly answer whether the county law violates the Americans with Disabilities Act - which was the chief complaint made by a Pikesville methadone clinic and the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland.

Two Westminster restaurants are in the running for an off-track betting parlor, but they have a handicap -- state racing officials say establishments in other counties will get the nod before they select a site here.While Champs Restaurant Inc. at 4 East Main St. and the Westminster Inn at 5 S. Center St. await the complicated selection process, the City Council appears poised to adopt new zoning regulations covering OTB.City attorney John B. Walsh Jr. said he believes a prospective betting parlor would have to comply with the proposed city ordinance, despite having a letter saying off-track betting is a permitted use.City Zoning Administrator John D. Dudderar confirmed that he sent written responses to inquiries from representatives of both restaurants last year, advising them that OTB is not regulated under current zoning law."

Maryland Reclamation Associates Inc. has received a state permit to build and operate a rubble and asbestos fill near Havre de Grace.Maryland Reclamation's proposal for the 68-acre dump on Gravel Hill Road has stirred controversy for more than two years. The dispute has resulted in several lawsuits between the company, the county and residents opposed to the plan.The Churchville-based company was granted the permit by the stateDepartment of the Environment. The department said, however, it willnot allow the company to begin construction until a county zoning dispute is resolved.