Howard County v. Dorsey

• Decision Date: 12 June 1980
• Docket Number: No. 1141,1141
• Citation: 45 Md.App. 692,416 A.2d 23
• Parties: HOWARD COUNTY, Maryland et al. v. William P. DORSEY.
• Court: Court of Special Appeals of Maryland

Page 692

45 Md.App. 692

416 A.2d 23

HOWARD COUNTY, Maryland et al. v. William P. DORSEY.

No. 1141.

Court of Special Appeals of Maryland.

June 12, 1980.

Carol B. O'Keeffe, Asst. County Sol., with whom was Timothy E. Welsh, County Sol., on the brief, for appellants.

Bernard F. Goldberg, Ellicott City, for appellee.

Argued before THOMPSON, LOWE, and MacDANIEL, JJ.

MacDANIEL, Judge.

Appellee William P. Dorsey is the owner of a parcel of land, 4.76 acres more or less, in the Sixth Election District of Howard County, Maryland. In March 1978, he filed a petition to the Howard County Zoning Board requesting a change of zoning for his property, from R-12 (Residential, 12,000 square feet minimum lot size) to M-1 (light manufacture). The requested change was opposed by the Howard County Office of Planning and Zoning, the Planning Board of Howard County and several neighboring residents. Hearing on the petition was held and testimony presented on August 7, 1978. The Zoning Board rendered its decision denying the petition on September 8, 1978. On October 2, 1978, an appeal was taken to the Circuit Court for Howard County (Guy J. Cicone, J., presiding) in accordance with provisions of the Howard County Code. The circuit court heard arguments on April 24, 1979, and, in a Decision and Order dated September 17, 1979, reversed the Zoning Board's decision. The circuit court ruled that the decision to zone the property R-12 was in error, and that the Zoning Board's denial of proper zoning (M-1) was arbitrary and without proper foundation. The court ordered that the present zoning of the property be M-1, and remanded the case to the Zoning Board for proceedings consistent with its decision.

Howard County has filed this appeal alleging error in the circuit court's reversal of the Zoning Board's decision. We shall affirm the decision of the circuit court.

The 4.76 acre tract of smooth, somewhat graded, mostly undeveloped land lies nearby the Town of Guilford (see Appendix). Looking to the north and then clockwise, it is bordered by Berger Road, Oakland Mills Road, and plant/warehouse and a set of railroad tracks which runs through the northern part of Guilford, and some other warehouses. One dwelling sits on the property, in the northeastern corner; it is rented out. Five other houses sit nearby: one across from the property on the northern side of Berger Road, and four in a line due west from the property on the south side of that road. One of these four houses serves as the offices of a contracting company, and not as a residence. Berger Road, which provides access to all of these houses, is a dead end. The road was cut in half as part of the redevelopment of the area when Columbia, Maryland, was planned.

Immediately north of the property, east of the house on the north side of Berger Road, is a parcel of land zoned "New Town," which currently is being developed by the Howard County Research and Development Corporation to accommodate business or industry of some kind. Farther to the north lies the Snowden River Parkway, a divided highway and major thoroughfare for Columbia. North of the Parkway stands the Village of Owen Brown, which is part of Columbia.

Oakland Mills Road, which abuts the eastern border of the property, runs roughly north to south, abutting the open end of Berger Road and intersecting the Snowden River Parkway. On the southeast corner of the intersection of the Parkway and Oakland Mills Road stands a sign proclaiming "Guilford Industrial Center." East of the property, across Oakland Mills Road, is a warehouse or plant. Near this is another sign: "Guilford Industrial Center East." Slightly farther south lies a parcel of land under development as another warehouse or plant. Farther to the east of these properties is a parcel belonging to the General Electric Company, known as Appliance Park East.

Immediately south of the Dorsey property run the tracks of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Between the property and the tracks sits the manufacturing plant and warehouse of the Ryland Company, which builds prefabricated houses. Other warehouses also lie in this vicinity, and together they generate considerable rail and truck traffic. The railroad tracks skirt the northern portion of Guilford; the area contains small and medium-size houses which are much older than those situated in Owen Brown and Columbia, to the north.

Finally, to the west of the single house on the north side of Berger Road lies an empty grassed lot designated New Town Open Space. And farther to the west, past the dead end of Berger Road, the land slopes downward and leads to a large site of manufacturing and industrial firms, notably Eastern Products Corporation.

In summary, we think the circuit court aptly described the property in its Decision and Order when it wrote:

"The situation, as evident from a description of the surrounding properties and their uses, is a parcel of residentially zoned land almost totally surrounded by manufacturing uses and separated from any residential development by a divided highway to the north and railroad tracks to the south. The publicly-declared use of that area, as the signs indicate, is industrial or light manufacturing. Development is continuing for industrial uses for this property. No residential development is occurring in the immediate vicinity of the subject parcel. It sits alone as a residentially zoned piece of land (along with the small cluster of five houses) while industrial use and development continues around it."

According to the record, the Dorsey property was originally zoned R-20 (Residential, 20,000 square feet minimum lot size). In the mid-1970's however, the Howard County Office of Planning and Zoning (OPZ) developed a comprehensive rezoning plan, and as a part of which they recommended that the property be reclassified R-12. Appellee opposed this and requested an M-1 zone. Nevertheless, in October 1977, the Howard County Council adopted the comprehensive rezoning plan as recommended by the OPZ.

Appellee attacked the comprehensive plan by filing a petition with the Howard County Planning Board in March 1978, requesting an M-1 zone for his property. ¹ The Planning Board reviewed the petition and the opinion of the OPZ on the matter, and ultimately recommended to the Howard County Zoning Board that the petition be denied. We quote from the Planning Board's recommendation in part, as follows:

"The Board notes that the parcel in question is practically surrounded by Industrial Zoning classifications and is of the opinion that the parcel in question probably should have been zoned in such a classification.

On the other hand, the zoning authority apparently considered this parcel in its study and review prior to the adoption of the comprehensive Zoning on October 3, 1977, and chose to classify it in the R-12 District, it previously having been zoned in the R-20 District.

The Planning Board's review of the above cited documentation reveals no evidence of a mistake in the legal sense, in reference to the zoning of this parcel as part of the Comprehensive Zoning Maps adopted October 3, 1977.

The Planning Board also finds no evidence of change in the character of the neighborhood of the subject parcel subsequent to October 3, 1977."

Appellee's petition and the Planning Board's recommendation were then forwarded to the Howard County Zoning Board for its decision. ² In its September 8, 1978, Decision and Order the Zoning Board reviewed the evidence and testimony presented at its August 7, 1978, hearing on the petition, and denied appellee's request after making the following findings of fact and conclusion of law:

"1. That the (Zoning) Board had considered the subject parcel in the course of its deliberations in formulating the comprehensive zoning map, a part of the Comprehensive Zoning Plan adopted October 3, 1977, held a specific public hearing thereon and at that time the parcel had been reclassified from an R-20 to an R-12 residential classification.

2. The Board further finds that there was no mistake in placing this parcel in the R-12 zoning classification at that time.

3. The Board agrees with the finding of the Department of Planning and Zoning of Howard County that the proposed zoning change is not in accordance or in harmony with the land use as shown on the Howard County General Plan adopted December 6, 1971, as amended on August 2, 1976 . . ..

4. The Board finds that there was no evidence of change in the character of the neighborhood subsequent to the adoption of the aforesaid amendment to the General Plan of Development of Howard County and subsequent to the adoption of the Comprehensive Zoning Plan of Howard County on October 3, 1977.

5. That a reclassification of the subject property as requested would further isolate a substantial residential area from the Guilford residential neighborhood and would have an adverse effect on other residential property fronting on Berger Road."

In accordance with provisions of the Howard County Code ³ appellee appealed the Zoning Board's decision to the Circuit Court for Howard County, ⁴ where, after a hearing on April 24, 1979, the Zoning Board's decision was reversed. In his Petition in Support of Appeal appellee alleged, inter alia, that: the decision of the Zoning Board was devoid of any competent, material and substantial evidence, in view of the entire record as submitted; the Zoning Board's findings were contrary to the evidence presented at the hearing; its decision was so grossly erroneous, when viewed in the light of the evidence produced at the time of the hearing, as to imply bad faith, and that its failure to grant the application as requested denied the appellee all reasonable use of his property and was therefore tantamount to confiscation without compensation.

In its September 17, 1979, Decision and Order, which was admirably thorough and well-reasoned, the circuit court carefully reviewed the situs...