Zoning Regulations

Carroll County's zoning administrator said he will soon begin issuing citations that carry fines starting at $100 to persistent violators of county zoning regulations. The fines, which would be levied daily until the violation stops, are intended to encourage violators to fix their infraction immediately rather than wait for a court order, a tedious and expensive process that often takes months, said zoning administrator Neil Ridgely. Approved unanimously by the commissioners Tuesday, the measure will likely take effect by the end of the month, after Ridgely determines exactly which violators should be eligible for the fines.

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.

Three Baltimore County community groups are raising concerns over proposed zoning regulations that would ease restrictions on the establishment of bed-and-breakfast inns. The county Planning Department drew up the proposed inn regulations recently, hoping to tap into the tourist industry nationwide. The county now has one bed-and-breakfast. The two key provisions of the rules would be raising the maximum number of rooms allowed at an inn from 12 to 18 and removing a limit of 16 guests at one time.

The state's highest court ruled yesterday that a Glen Arm man's snake-breeding business violates Baltimore County zoning regulations, ending a four-year legal battle between the breeder and his neighbors. In a 44-page opinion, the Maryland Court of Appeals sided with the county Board of Appeals, which found in 1998 that Peter Kahl Reptiles Inc. "does not satisfy the definition of `commercial agriculture,' because [Kahl] was not involved in the use of the land or in animal husbandry." The business is in an agricultural zone called RC4. A permit granted to Kahl's business by the county in 1997 did not comply with zoning regulations, the court wrote.

The debate over how to overhaul Howard County's zoning regulations - to cover everything from helicopter landing zones to more varied housing for seniors - is highlighting again the clashing perspectives of the county's urbanized east and rural west. The County Council is to discuss possible changes to a 114-page zoning bill that includes a proposal for "floating" senior zones at a work session late today. A final vote on the bill, which grew from changes suggested in the General Plan adopted last year, is scheduled May 7. Some, such as west Columbia Democrat Mary C. Lorsung, want to lower the minimum size of proposed senior developments from 100 units to 50 to make it easier for developers to qualify under the zoning rule.

Ed Walter is the first to acknowledge that seven weeks isn't much time to collect 10,000 signatures. But that's exactly what the Woodstock resident is hoping to do, in a long-shot bid to put a zoning proposal on the ballot in November. Walter wants to see a people's counsel in Howard County - an independent attorney who defends current zoning regulations - and he's willing to work for a referendum, even though two County Council members are trying the simpler method of creating the job through legislation.

Eight months after two Howard County Council members floated a proposal designed to level the playing field in zoning battles, the initiative appears to be gaining momentum. Supporters of the concept, commonly known as a people's counsel, are hopeful that a proposal could go to the voters in November. The idea is to use taxpayer funds to hire an attorney who would serve as an independent advocate for existing zoning laws. To residents who have fought zoning changes proposed for new developments or businesses, it's an attractive proposal.

A lawyer representing an adult entertainment store in Elkridge argued yesterday in Howard County Circuit Court that his client's business was actually a theater and permitted under zoning regulations.Yesterday's arguments were the latest in a long legal battle over the future of Adult Video & Books, owned by Nathaniel Lightfoot, on U.S. 1.Lawyer Howard J. Schulman told Judge James B. Dudley that the store was a theater -- a use permitted in manufacturing zones like the one where the store is located -- because it has several viewing booths that show adult movies for a price.

The expansion of Green Spring Station -- criticized by neighbors who fear increased traffic congestion -- could be pre-empted by legislation before the Baltimore County Council that would to limit the construction of large office buildings near rural areas.Councilman T. Bryan McIntire, a Republican who represents Owings Mills and the northwestern part of the county, said he introduced the bill to protect county farmlands that is adjacent to business zones.He declined to say whether the bill targets the Green Spring projects.

When people are interested in a lot at Paternal Gift, Sue Scheidt drives them past the meadows and then the trees, fanning by like a pictorial flip book, and says, "It's all the land on the left."Actually, when someone buys an acre or an acre-and-a-half for $190,000 to $245,000, they're buying more than a lot, they're buying a concept.Scheidt, who is developing her husband's 203-acre family farm, is banking that people will pay a premium to live in this development in pristine western Howard County.