Hearing examiner reopens scrutiny of Manor Hill Brewing after neighbors, DPZ clash over events, farm-stand and traffic

An evidentiary hearing before the Howard County hearing examiner focused on whether the Department of Planning and Zoning (DPZ) properly followed a prior decision-and-order in its reinvestigation of activities at Manor Hill Brewing, 4411 Manor Lane in Ellicott City. Neighbors who live on Manor Lane testified that the property—s website and calendar show repeated public events they say fit the county—s festival description and have caused safety and traffic problems; DPZ—s acting code-enforcement supervisor said his office reopened the complaint file, conducted multiple inspections and required the owner to reapply for some permits while the investigation remains open.

The hearing matters because the prior hearing examiner ordered DPZ to determine whether events at Manor Hill were agritourism-related and whether accessory uses and event spaces on the property remain incidental to farm operations. Neighbors told the examiner they believe DPZ—s May 28 response letter and site visits were incomplete and did not account for multiple festival-type events, the scale of parking and vehicle traffic on Manor Lane, or whether beer sold at the farm stand is produced with a primary ingredient grown on the site.

Neighbors— testimony and evidence

Suzanne Hoffman, who lives about 0.7 miles from the brewery at 4815 Manor Lane, offered a site calendar screen shot as an exhibit and described a sequence of events she characterized as festival-like between February and May. "It's pretty obvious one could have looked at the calendar," Hoffman said, arguing DPZ—s May report did not evaluate multiple listed events. Joan Pontius, a Manor Lane resident at 4879 Manor Lane, described…