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BMZA approves conditional use for café at former library on South Ann Street amid neighborhood notice dispute
Summary
The BMZA voted to adopt Planning Department findings and tentatively approved a conditional use to operate a café in the former library at 606 South Ann Street (Fells Point CHAP district); nearby property owners raised objections about notice, an RFP sale process and unauthorized fencing, which the applicant said should be raised with DHCD or permitting offices.
On June 16 the Board of Municipal and Zoning Appeals voted to adopt Planning Department findings and tentatively approve a conditional use allowing the first floor of the former library at 606 South Ann Street to operate as a neighborhood commercial restaurant/café.
Planning staff told the board the building has a documented history of nonresidential use and clarified an earlier staff‑report error: the site is within the Fells Point CHAP district but no exterior changes are proposed that would require CHAP action at this time. Planning recommended approval of a neighborhood commercial establishment intended for walkable, community‑serving uses.
Applicant Nate Pretal, speaking for Library 19 LLC, said the property was awarded through a public RFP process and that the proposed café would function as a daytime, neighborhood‑serving café and collaborative workspace with hours roughly 6 a.m.–5 p.m.; he said the operator would be an existing local small business and that the proposal aligns with Transform Baltimore’s neighborhood commercial provisions.
Several neighbors who signed in to oppose the application said they were not properly notified of the sale or the hearing date, alleged the new owner erected fences and performed grading without permits, said the rear of the property had been blocked to adjacent owners, and expressed concerns about parking congestion near a senior center. One witness said he believed he and others had a right of first refusal; another described long personal efforts to acquire or be notified about the parcel. The board chair closed public opposition after multiple speakers and invited the applicant to respond.
Pretal replied that the posted sign for the zoning hearing was displayed continuously for 21 days and that the RFP process included a public presentation; he suggested complaints about transfer or purchase irregularities should be taken up with the Department of Housing & Community Development or code enforcement and emphasized that any future exterior work would require CHAP and additional approvals.
Board members noted neighborhood concern about notice and parking but emphasized that the application on the table was for an interior, neighborhood‑serving café and that the applicant had planning’s support. The board indicated unanimous approval at the hearing. The chair and staff reiterated that property‑transfer disputes and possible permit enforcement fall outside the zoning board’s land‑use review and should be pursued with the appropriate city agencies.
The board will issue a written resolution with findings and send it to the applicant and those who signed in.
