BZA OKs conditional use and driveway variance for private K–8 Amish school in agricultural zone

The Carroll County Board of Zoning Appeals approved an application to allow a private K–8 Amish school and granted a variance to the driveway width at 2444 Old Bachman Valley Road (case 6553).

Staff entered planning and agency responses into the record, including a planning memo finding the application consistent with the Carroll County Master Plan (2019). The property is encumbered by a Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation easement; the Agricultural Land Preservation (MALF) board of trustees had already approved the use of the schoolhouse on the easement, and that approval was reflected in the record.

Applicant Joseph Lapp testified that the single‑classroom school would serve grades 1 through 8 and normally accommodate about 35 students and one teacher, with limited vehicular traffic (he estimated about three vehicle trips in the morning and three in the evening). He said children primarily walk to school and that the existing driveway is narrow (about 10–12 feet) and crosses a creek, making widening expensive and burdensome.

A neighbor, Morris Ann Martin Wilson, testified in support, noting local agricultural stewardship and support for the school’s mission. Board members who reviewed the site visit said the limited intensity of use and the practical hardship of widening the stream crossing supported the driveway variance. The board voted to approve both the conditional use and the driveway‑width variance by voice votes. The chair advised that the oral decision will be followed by a written decision within 30 days and explained appeal rights to the Circuit Court for Carroll County.