Howard County hearing on Troy Farms variance requests focuses on setbacks, drainage and neighbor concerns

The Howard County administrative hearing on April 10, 2025, considered a request by Michael Singh, doing business as Troy Farms Liquors LLC, for three variances from the county’s 30-foot structure-and-use setback requirements to accommodate parking and retaining walls at a rebuilt liquor store property on Meadow Ridge Road in Ellicott City.

The variances sought would reduce the 30-foot setback to 17.66 feet along the northern property line for parking, to 19.68 feet along the northern line for a retaining wall, and to 16 feet along the eastern property line for a retaining wall. The hearing examiner closed the record and said a decision and order would be rendered later; no final decision was announced at the hearing.

Why it matters: the property sits on roughly 1 acre and is bordered on three sides by residences. Neighbors raised concerns about stormwater runoff, driveway access for emergency vehicles and loss of preexisting yard area. The applicant’s witnesses said the variances are needed to provide code-compliant parking and required stormwater controls for a building that was rebuilt after a fire.

Testimony and technical findings Jeffrey Scenario, a civil engineer with CMS Associates who prepared the plans, testified that he had reviewed and…