Zoning board continues 1340 Main St. use-variance hearing after neighbors voice opposition; schedules site walk

The Coventry Zoning Board continued the public hearing on a use-variance and dimensional-relief application for 1340 Main Street (AP 53 Lot 24) to its August 6 meeting and directed the applicant to stake the proposed structure so the board can conduct a site walk.

The applicant’s attorney, Thomas Cronin, described the lot as 47,916 square feet (about 1.1 acres) with an irregular shape and noted the property abuts the Patuxent River. The applicant seeks a use variance to allow residential use in an Industrial 1 (I-1) zone and dimensional relief for side-yard setbacks. Updated site plans supplied to the board showed the proposed ranch-style home would measure about 4,325 square feet including porches and garages and would sit near the lot’s widest point.

Cronin told the board that the revised plan places the proposed house approximately 23 feet from the southern property line (requesting roughly 7 feet of relief from the 30-foot side setback) and about 22 feet from the northern property line (about 8 feet of relief). He said the project will remain outside the Patuxent River buffer and that public water and sewer are available.

Neighbors who live at River's Edge Condominium and nearby homes spoke in opposition, raising documented complaints about past on-site disturbances, open burning and animal-control calls. Patricia Beauchimen, who identified herself as living at 9 River's Edge Drive and described professional experience in social work, told the board the property’s prior tenants included adults with developmental disabilities and that neighbors had reported “excessive noise inclusive of yelling, screaming, intense fighting” and repeated police calls. Margaret Shelton of 12 River's Edge Drive asked the board to deny the relief, citing public-safety concerns and records she said document police, animal-control and open-burning calls.

Applicant Julie Mae Bailey (identified in the record variously as Julie/Marjorie Bailey) addressed the board and said she and family members provide “shared living” residential support for adults with developmental disabilities and described the arrangement as similar to adult foster care. Bailey said the household would comply with state oversight for shared living arrangements and that prior tenant issues had been addressed.

Board members and the solicitor discussed how the application should be categorized under the zoning code (options included taking of boarders, renting of rooms, group-home or nursing/retirement categories) and reviewed variance standards. The solicitor explained that granting a use variance requires a showing of hardship and the lack of any other beneficial use; dimensional relief carries a lower evidentiary standard but is contingent on zoning criteria.

Because several board members who participated in earlier hearings needed to be present to complete the record and because neighbors requested the board inspect the property in person, a motion was made and passed to continue the hearing to Aug. 6. The continuation includes a requirement that the applicant stake the proposed structure’s corners (or otherwise mark the footprint) so the board and interested parties can perform a site walk before the next hearing.

No final decision was made on the use or dimensional variances; the matter remains pending. The board noted any favorable decision would still be subject to review by building and fire officials.