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Applicant proposes auto-detailing shop plus house and ADU at 2224 Portland Road
Summary
Corey Sterling of BW Garage LLC told the Arundel Planning Board he intends to build a new 30-by-40 commercial detailing building at 2224 Portland Road and place a principal residence and an ADU well back on the lot; the board discussed whether the residence would be 'subordinate and accessory' to the business and flagged pending state law changes that may affect BI-district rules.
Corey Sterling, the applicant and owner through BW Garage LLC, presented a pre-application to the Arundel Planning Board on Aug. 4 to expand his auto-detailing business at 2224 Portland Road and to add a principal residence with an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) on the same parcel. Sterling described a 30-by-40 commercial building to serve detailing work and said the existing automobile-sales conditional use would remain in place. "So I would like to expand the business," Sterling told the board during his presentation.
Town planner Natasha Kippur and board members focused discussion on whether the proposed residence and ADU would meet the BI-district requirement that the residence be "subordinate and accessory" to the commercial use. Kippur noted the parcel is approximately 2.05 acres and recommended clearer, engineered site plans for future submissions. She told the board that an ADU is permitted in the BI district but that the central question for this pre-application is how the board would determine that the principal residence is subordinate to the business.
Board members raised practical questions about lot geometry, proximity to neighboring businesses and utilities. Members confirmed that there is public water down Route 1 but no sewer in that area; the applicant said he expects the business to have its own septic system while the house and ADU would likely share a second septic and require a separate well. Sterling described family reasons for the ADU and residence — including caring for an in-law with mobility challenges — and said engineers are lined up to produce formal plans if the board advises him to proceed.
The board did not take a vote on the proposal at this meeting; members gave feedback and requested a formal submission with an engineered site plan, deed or purchase-and-sale agreement and dimensions of existing structures. Natasha Kippur said staff will help the applicant prepare the next submittal and that the board will revisit the matter once required materials and formal plans are submitted.
