Carroll County BZA approves expansion of Bethenia Home Care, grants driveway-width variance

Westminster, Md. — The Carroll County Board of Zoning Appeals approved a conditional use and an access-drive variance for Bethenia Home Care, allowing the operator to build a second 16-bed structure on a split-zoned property on Bell Road and expand the facility to 32 beds.

The board voted to approve the conditional use request and to reduce the required driveway width from 18 feet to 15 feet, with a wider 20–25-foot entrance apron at Bell Road retained to provide vehicle stacking and emergency access. The approval was entered as Case No. 6577; the board said its written decision will be issued within 30 days and outlined appeal procedures under Maryland rules.

The applicants, co-founders Melson Muneses and Machiko ("Chico") Waminal, told the board they already operate a licensed 16-bed assisted living at the site and proposed a new, architecturally similar building to add 16 private rooms and private bathrooms, bringing the facility to a combined 32 beds. "I chose Carroll County — a very homey place," Muneses said, describing the operator's intent to maintain a residential, farm-like setting for residents. Waminal, a nurse and the facility's on-site manager, described current operations: 24-hour supervision with three staff on daytime coverage and one overnight, roughly 15 total employees across shifts, regular visits from therapists and hospice, occasional ambulance transports (about once every two to three months) and small delivery vehicles, not tractor-trailers.

Engineer Pete Podolak of Leon Podolak and Associates presented site and technical materials including an aerial plan, a photograph showing two passenger vehicles passing on the existing driveway, and a trip-generation summary based on a 32-bed count. Podolak said percolation and soils testing indicate the site has sufficient septic capacity for the additional building but that final approval of well and septic will be reviewed and confirmed by the Carroll County Health Department during the site development plan and permitting process. He also testified that the property is not on the county or City of Westminster public water/sewer master plan and thus relies on private well and septic systems; that constraint informed the site layout and bed-count feasibility.

On parking and circulation, Podolak said county code requires one parking space per four beds plus one per two employees; combining the existing and proposed structures yields a 14-space requirement and the plan provides 17 spaces. The access drive was previously approved and constructed with a 15-foot width, with a 25-foot-wide entrance near Bell Road. The applicants requested a formal variance from the 18-foot width requirement to preserve the residential character of the driveway and avoid adding impervious surface. "15 feet is just enough," Podolak said, noting the widened entrance and the length of the driveway provide sight distance and space for brief queuing without blocking Bell Road.

Board members questioned staffing, emergency access, distances from the road (the driveway extends several hundred feet to the existing house; the engineer estimated roughly 700–750 feet to the current building), the location of percolation tests and the farm uses on the property (a farmer leases portions and keeps cows/hay). Counsel for the applicants noted a Department of Planning memo in the record that concluded the conditional use is consistent with the Carroll County master plan (2014, amended 2019) and other functional plans.

After deliberation, board members said they found the application met applicable standards (including the Schultz v. Pritz factors cited in the hearing) and that documented site constraints — soil/percolation locations, a drainage swale and need to maintain a residential appearance — supported locating the building where proposed. The board voted in favor of the conditional use and the driveway-width variance; the motion carried unanimously. The board's oral ruling noted that a written decision will be issued within 30 days and described the 30-day appeal period to the Circuit Court for Carroll County under Maryland Rule Chapter 200, Title 7.

The approval does not remove the applicants' obligations to obtain site development plan approval, building permits, and county health department sign-off on wells and septic systems before construction and occupancy. The board record indicates site-plan technical reviews and standard permitting conditions remain required.

Votes at a glance: Case No. 6577 — Motion to approve conditional use for a second 16-bed assisted living building (total 32 beds) and to grant an access-drive variance reducing required width from 18 feet to 15 feet; motion moved and seconded on the record; board vote: approved (unanimous).