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Havre de Grace Board of Appeals approves ADU expansion at 801 Tidings Road
Summary
The Board of Appeals approved a conditional use and variance March 6 to allow an expansion of an accessory dwelling unit at 801 Tidings Road, subject to Department of Planning conditions limiting added square footage and requiring construction standards.
The Havre de Grace Board of Appeals voted March 6 to approve a conditional use and variance allowing an expansion of an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) at 801 Tidings Road, contingent on conditions set by the Department of Planning.
Eric Lawrence, planner with the City of Havre de Grace Department of Planning, told the board the department reviewed the application under city code 25-16(e) and recommended approval with conditions to “maintain the intent of relevant city and state code.” Lawrence said the department’s recommended limits would cap the proposed ADU expansion at 432 square feet and preserve a specified total living-area cap for the property (transcript noted the total as “12 75,” recorded and interpreted here as 1,275 square feet). Lawrence also noted that a capital cost recovery fee for a preexisting ADU would not apply to this project.
Homeowner Brian Beam described the expansion as intended to create a residence on the property that would allow family members to provide care: “My youngest son is autistic. So the thing is is making that area so that way my son will hopefully take care of us,” Beam said during the hearing. Christine Amos, a contractor with JCG Contractors who said she will perform the work, told the board the project would be completed “within 60 days once we get a permit” and pledged to keep the site tidy and use a dumpster to remove construction debris.
Board members recessed to discuss the testimony and then returned to the hearing. A motion to approve the plans and to follow the Department of Planning’s outlined requirements was made on the record and seconded; the board approved the motion by voice vote. Two members were recorded saying “Aye” on the public record: Richard Witter, president, and Bill Putland. The transcript shows the motion was moved by the same planner who presented the recommendation and seconded by Witter; other members did not announce individual votes on the record. The approval incorporates the Department of Planning’s conditions, including the stated square-foot limits and adherence to zoning standards per lot specification type B and table 1 of the zoning code.
The board’s clerk noted the city’s codified zoning ordinances are public record and available at City Hall. With the vote concluded the appeals hearing adjourned.
