Howard County Board of Appeals denies challenge to DPZ's decision closing zoning complaint against W.R. Grace

The Howard County Board of Appeals on Sept. 4, 2025 denied an appeal of the Department of Planning and Zoning's (DPZ) Sept. 13, 2024 closeout letter that found no zoning violation at W.R. Grace's Building 30. The board voted 4-0 to deny the appellants' request to overturn DPZ's determination (Chair Jean Ryan; Board members Fairchild, Harris and Phillips voted to deny).

The appeal challenged DPZ's handling of zoning complaint CE24107, filed Aug. 8, 2024 by neighborhood residents alleging that activities in Building 30 went beyond a legally existing nonconforming "research and development" (R&D) use and into an impermissible operation (petitioners also raised concerns about a proposed pilot plastics-recycling operation). DPZ closed the complaint in a Sept. 13, 2024 letter and attached explanation after a site inspection and correspondence; the appeal to the hearing authority was filed Oct. 10, 2024.

Why it mattered: The dispute centers on whether DPZ properly investigated and applied Howard County's zoning code when determining whether the activity at Building 30 remained a lawful, existing nonconforming R&D use or had become a different, disallowed use or an unlawful expansion. Appellants urged the board that DPZ's file lacked…