Howard County hearing examiner inclined to grant variance for homeowner’s retaining wall

Howard County Zoning Hearing Examiner Catherine Taylor said she is inclined to grant a variance requested by petitioner Arthur Sorak that would allow a segmented block retaining wall to be sited at or near the property line and within the usual 10-foot setback.

Taylor said at the hearing that, based on the petition, revised plans and testimony, the property’s steep slope and the house placement created physical constraints that make the wall’s current location the minimum deviation necessary from the setback. “So based upon what I’ve seen in the petition, what I’ve heard here, I’m inclined to grant the, the, request,” Taylor said, adding that any formal approval will be issued in a written decision and order and is not effective until that written decision is issued.

Sorak testified that a timber retaining wall originally built by the developer had failed and that the segmented block wall was placed roughly where the timber wall stood. “The wall’s already constructed,” Sorak said. He told the examiner the failed timber succeeded only temporarily and that the new wall is meant to stabilize a steep slope between his lot and an adjacent lot; Sorak said part of the failed wall was on the property line and that the current wall touches the split-rail fence on the boundary. Sorak told the examiner the wall is approximately seven feet tall and that retaining-wall rules exempt walls 3 feet or less and describe treatment of walls up to 6 feet, which would not cover the existing height.

The hearing record includes the petition and revised petition, site plans (including a Centennial Manor site development plan submitted with the petition packet), agent comments, and a retaining-wall maintenance easement and survey Sorak said were filed with the county real estate office. Taylor noted that ownership or easement questions between neighbors are separate from the zoning variance and that a variance would apply only to Sorak’s parcel. Taylor also discussed that the site development plan would have to be redlined after any permit approval so the wall’s placement is shown on official plans; Sorak said his attorney and an engineering firm were prepared to submit required redlines.

Taylor closed the hearing record at the end of the session and said hearing examiners generally have 30 days from the close of the record to issue a written decision; she said she would attempt to issue the order sooner. The transcript shows no formal vote at the hearing; the examiner’s written decision will determine the final outcome and any conditions for permitting or required redlines.