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Board OKs expansion of contractor equipment yard on St. Paul Road, citing operational and stormwater needs
Summary
The BZA granted conditional use and variance requests allowing TripleM/LS Lee to expand a contractor equipment yard at 4195 St. Paul Road to accommodate stormwater requirements and safe equipment maneuvering; board found the site unique and the expansion consistent with master‑plan goals.
The Carroll County Board of Zoning Appeals approved a conditional use and related variances on April 26 to allow TripleM Associates LP (lessee LS Lee Incorporated) to expand a contractor equipment storage yard at 4195 St. Paul Road to address required stormwater management and maintain safe material storage.
Attorney Kelly Schaefer Miller told the board the expansion is not an intensification of operations but a reconfiguration driven by a previously approved site‑development plan that requires relocating stormwater facilities from the existing lower yard. Matthew Shorb, majority owner of TripleM and CEO of LS Lee, testified the company stores large highway‑safety equipment and routinely dispatches crews statewide; losing the lower yard would impair safe staging and loading of materials.
Surveyor and site‑design expert Randy Beal described the site as topographically constrained and noted that the applicant consolidated adjacent parcels to provide flatter storage and accommodate stormwater facilities. Beal and counsel argued the parcel is "unique and unusual" for purposes of the variance standard and that practical difficulty exists because no alternate on‑site location meets code setbacks without undue burden.
Board members cited the tidy operation and public‑safety value of the business (state highway contracts and emergency response capability) and agreed granting variances to permit a roughly 6.8‑acre contractor yard (expanded from the previously approved 4 acres) would support continued operation while complying with stormwater rules. Several surrounding property owners controlled by the Lippy family submitted letters of support, and the site sits along the Carroll–Baltimore county line where adjacent uses include commercially permitted properties on the Baltimore side.
The board moved, seconded and voted to grant the conditional use and the requested area and distance variances; the oral decision will be memorialized in writing within 30 days. The applicant must complete final site‑plan approval and comply with county development‑review requirements before changes to the yard are implemented.
