Sykesville board OKs conditional warehouse use at downtown Springfield Avenue property

The Sykesville Board of Zoning Appeals on Nov. 19 approved a conditional-use request permitting limited warehouse operations at 7452 Springfield Avenue, the former Dunright warehouse, while requiring a new structural analysis, a revised site plan and Historic District Commission review before operations begin.

Town staff and commission members framed the decision as a compromise between preserving downtown character and returning a vacant building to productive use. Staff noted the property sits in the business-local zone and in the historic district and that a warehouse use could be consistent with town code provided conditions are met to limit traffic, noise and other impacts.

Applicant Aaron Warren, sworn to testify at the hearing, said the plan envisions retail in the street-front portion of the first floor and storage in the rear and portions of the second floor, arguing that mixed retail-and-storage use is the most economically viable option. "The first floor, street front would be retail. The rest of the building, we would like to have a conditional use of a warehouse granted," Warren said. He told the board he had sought additional engineering opinions after a prior feasibility report and that remediation to make the building safe was possible without full demolition.

Historic District Commission chair Chad Jericho told the board the HDC had reviewed a structural feasibility study at its June 25 meeting that "recommended the building to be demolished for future usage of other buildings" because the earlier report found structural failures and floor-load limitations. Jericho said the HDC's recommendation was based on that feasibility analysis, but he acknowledged that the applicant had since sought further engineering review.

Nearby business owner Lee Hirschman, whose bath shop sits adjacent to the property, urged caution and focused on parking and delivery logistics, saying limited maneuvering space, a transformer and a dumpster behind the building already constrain operations and that increased deliveries could worsen safety and customer access. "If we add additional businesses, we're just point blank out of parking over there, and it's gonna be a big concern for me," Hirschman said.

Town staff (Kevin) walked the board through the code standard and conditional-use criteria, including traffic impacts, effects on neighboring residents and businesses, potential noise or odors and the requirement that deliveries not "unduly burden any public way or unreasonably inhibit the regular flow of vehicular traffic and pedestrian traffic." Staff recommended that, because the site will require site-plan approval and HDC review, the town is not opposed to a conditional-use approval if conditions address those issues.

Board members expressed that they were inclined to approve the use but wanted firm conditions to ensure compliance. The motion to approve — moved by the chair and seconded by a board member — included these conditions: submission of a new structural analysis; submission of a revised site plan to the planning commission; HDC review of any exterior modifications; compliance with local and Carroll County codes governing storage and hazardous materials; and meeting all applicable safety requirements. The board approved the motion by voice vote.

The board also voted to add the application, staff report and related materials for Case No. 2025-05 into the official hearing record. Next steps for the applicant include completing the structural analysis and following the town's established site-plan and HDC review processes before any change-of-use or building permit is granted.

This decision allows the property owner to pursue a mixed retail-and-light-storage reuse while preserving the town's review checkpoints intended to protect the downtown historic character and public safety.