Havre de Grace Board of Appeals Hears Conditional-Use Request for Home-Based Massage at 318 Victory Gallop Court

The Board of Appeals of Havre de Grace on Nov. 7 heard a request for a conditional-use permit to operate a home-occupation massage therapy business at 318 Victory Gallop Court in the Bulle Rock neighborhood. Department of Planning staff recommended approval, and a nearby resident urged limits on the scale of operations.

Eric Lawrence of the Department of Planning presented the staff report and told the board that the application is for a home-occupation massage therapy business at the listed address and that "the Department of Planning recommends approval for the conditional use request for a house occupation massage therapy at 318 Victory Gallop Court in Bulle Rock." Lawrence said the staff packet and supporting documents are available online.

A neighbor, Nancy Hall of 316 Victory Gallop, spoke against allowing a larger commercial operation next door. Hall said she is concerned the applicants already operate a larger massage business outside the town and that she does not want "a whole business being operated next door to me." Hall asked whether the board could cap the number of daily patients.

The applicant (name not provided in the record) told the board the service would be run out of the home and estimated service volume as low: "1 day, 1 patient, maybe." Board members and staff confirmed operational limits in the materials, including that appointments would be scheduled in advance and there would be no walk-in clients, and a board member confirmed the setup would use a single massage table and one person at a time.

The board did not take a final vote during the hearing. The presiding officer said the board would deliberate and return with a decision at a later meeting.

The case was identified as Case No. 548, and the staff report for the conditional-use request is available in the city calendar's agenda packet for the hearing date.