Zoning Officials

Baltimore County's deputy zoning commissioner ruled yesterday that Apostolic Truth Tabernacle's proposed sanctuary and counseling, day-care and school buildings would be incompatible with the Owings Mills neighborhood where they would be built. The church, founded by the Rev. Thomas Cobb in 1980, bought a house and 8.6-acre lot in the McDonogh-Field neighborhood in 2001 in hopes of building a sanctuary to replace one in Hampden that was destroyed in a 1999 fire. Neighbors, however, mounted a vigorous opposition, saying the complex of buildings would disrupt the neighborhood and would bring too much traffic.

The Baltimore County zoning commissioner has approved plans by a Cleveland developer to transform the historic Oella Mill into 175 upscale apartments. In a 26-page opinion, Lawrence E. Schmidt said that opponents' concerns about things such as parking, traffic congestion and the number of units to be created were unfounded. The ruling opens the way for renovation of the 193-year-old building, now home to an eclectic mix of art and antiques dealers, unless neighbors appeal to the county's Board of Special Appeals.

In Baltimore City Robbery victim shot in October dies of wound A 46-year-old man who was shot in the neck during a robbery attempt in October died last week, and his death was ruled a homicide by the state medical examiner, police said yesterday. Dennis F. Wilkerson was in the 200 block of W. Clay St. about 11:45 p.m. Oct. 19 when a man approached and tried to rob him at gunpoint, police said. Wilkerson hesitated and the gunman shot him once in the neck, police said. Wilkerson died Saturday at Deaton Medical Center on South Charles Street, where he was being treated for paralysis from the neck down, police said.

The Tunnel, a troubled downtown Baltimore nightclub long criticized by police for attracting violence, has been forced to shut its doors after city inspectors determined it was violating zoning regulations, officials said yesterday. Acting on complaints from the mayor's office and City Council members, zoning officials said they inspected the club - in the 300 block of N. Eutaw St. - on June 28 and found it was violating its "banquet hall" zoning designation. The violations were that the Tunnel was charging admission and operating as a nightclub, said Michael Savino, city superintendent for zoning enforcement.

Former Carroll County Attorney Laurell Taylor has been hired as Westminster's new city clerk and zoning administrator. Taylor, who resigned from the county post in August, replaces John Dudderar, who retired last month after working 37 years for the city. "She's a perfect fit," Council President Damian L. Halstad said of Taylor, who was appointed to the post at last night's Common Council meeting. "She's very smart, approachable and friendly. Her experience at the county with zoning issues of all types will really help her with this job."

Edward Azrael became a lawyer in 1930, after paying $5 a night for classes at the University of Baltimore School of Law. He went on to a legal career that spanned more than 70 years and included service as a state senator and a member of the city zoning board. Mr. Azrael, 94, a longtime Northwest Baltimore resident, died Saturday of pneumonia at Levindale Hebrew Geriatric Center & Hospital in Baltimore. He practiced in the Towson law firm of Azrael, Gann & Franz - with a son and a grandson - until August, when he was incapacitated after being injured in a fall, said son Jonathan Azrael of Towson, a member of the firm.

If Les Jenkins has his way, a 32-acre stretch between Ritchie Highway and the Dover Road dump will be brimming with go-cart tracks, skateboard parks and other amusements he says are lacking in Glen Burnie. If certain residents and state representatives have anything to say about it, Jenkins will have to take his idea elsewhere. Yesterday, zoning hearing officer Stephen LeGendre heard from both sides about the proposed Les Jenkins Family Fun Park during a daylong hearing on whether to grant Jenkins a special exception to build an amusement park in a commercially zoned district.

Some Glen Burnie residents were not amused last week when they heard of a developer's plans to build a "fun park" near Ritchie Highway that would include go-carts and paintball. They'll take their concerns today to a county zoning officer. Les Jenkins, developer of the proposed Les Jenkins Family Fun Park, is seeking a special exception to build the park in a commercially zoned district near Dover Road and Ritchie Highway. The developer also has applied for a variance to build the park on the site, which is farther from a freeway than allowed for an amusement park.

Responding to the outcry of Poplar Point residents over a cell-phone tower they say has destroyed the character of their Edgewater community, County Executive Janet S. Owens ordered planning and permits officials yesterday to review the laws governing tower location and recommend changes within 60 days. Owens said she is particularly concerned that county laws do not require cellular carriers or county zoning officials to notify owners of adjoining property when cell towers are built on commercially zoned land.

Pia Vining took the call on her cell phone as she was driving home, and she heard an ominous tone in her husband's voice. "Honey, there's something I need to tell you," he said. "Before you drive into our yard, you should know that the tower is up." Vining said it hit her "like a blow to the stomach." As she pulled into her driveway in Poplar Point she was greeted by a 130-foot cellular telephone tower rising out of the landscape next door - despite an Anne Arundel County ordinance once seen as a model for curbing the proliferation of towers in residential neighborhoods.