Howard County Board of Appeals finds it has jurisdiction to consider Charles Saperico’s go‑kart track conditional‑use application

The Howard County Board of Appeals voted unanimously on June 10 to proceed to a full conditional‑use hearing on a privately built go‑kart track, finding the board has jurisdiction to consider whether the track qualifies as an "outdoor athletic facility." The board’s decision clears a single legal threshold that will let parties present evidence on the merits at a later date.

The vote matters because it decides whether the panel can hear the applicant’s request that the paved go‑kart course on an 11‑acre property be approved under the zoning regulation that permits outdoor athletic facilities as a conditional use in rural/residential districts.

At a hearing that lasted several hours, the board focused on the narrow legal question: does the proposed track qualify as an “athletic field” or other listed outdoor athletic facility under Howard County’s zoning code? The petitioner, Charles Saperico, and his witnesses argued that karting is a sporting activity and that the prepared track is the kind of land an athletic facility definition is meant to cover. Opponents and county staff argued that the zoning list of permitted conditional uses does not explicitly include motorized tracks and that prior county decisions treated similar uses as non‑accessory or regulated commercially.

“Good morning. Today is 06/10/2024. This is a scheduled session of the Howard County Board of Appeals,” Chair Gene Ryan began the session, and he framed the day as a continuation of BA‑24‑022‑C,…