Prince Frederick, MD – Developers requesting two variances for a project on Solomons Island will have to wait at least another month for a decision to be rendered by the Calvert County Board of Appeals. At the board’s July meeting the request from Schriver Brothers Properties LLC for the building height and setback variances for The Shoppes and Residences at Bowen’s Inn was deferred pending the board’s request for an interpretation from county zoning officials and a drafting of an opinion by the board’s attorney.
During the July 6 session, Dan Kelsh of Collinson, Oliff and Associates (COA) explained that the parcel in question is between Solomons Harbor and South Solomons Road. It had been the site of Bowen’s Inn, a landmark that was destroyed by a wind-driven fire March 15, 2006. The blaze also obliterated The Lighthouse Restaurant, which has since been rebuilt. While there had been previous plans to rebuild Bowen’s Inn, Kelsh indicated they were shelved when the economy began to decline. He added that federal flood insurance standards changed as did the topography of the Bowen’s Inn property during demolition of the damaged structure. Obtaining the building height variance would allow the developers to build a structure that is 47 feet tall, 11 inches higher that what is permitted in the Solomons Town Center Zoning Ordinance. The developer is seeking to construct a smaller building for a commercial enterprise have that building’s setback on South Solomons Island Road reduced from the minimum required 20 feet to nine feet.
The taller structure would enable the developers to comply with the federal floodplain regulations, build three levels for apartments and include an elevator within the structure to make the residential building handicap-accessible. A parking lot would be located between the residential building and the commercial building which would be located on South Solomons Road.
One of the objectives listed in the Solomons Town Center Master Plan is “encourage attractive and economically viable mix of commercial and residential uses along Solomons Island Road.”
“We feel like we are using the plan properly,” said Kelsh.
However, the zoning ordinance indicates that while mixed uses are encouraged it would also seem to indicate the applicant must have those uses within one structure, rather than two separate buildings on one parcel.
The ambiguous language of the ordinance struck a nerve with one of the investors in the project—Geoff Wanamaker of Bayside Auto Group. “We’re two years into this,” said Wanamaker, who told the board he has spent “a humongous amount of money” trying to redevelop the property. He stated the investors were “taking an eyesore and deciding how best to develop it.”
“We don’t interpret the law, we go by the law,” said Board of Appeals Chairman D.O. Baker.
“What you’re saying is it’s not possible to build anything else on this property,” Board Member John Ward added.
An obviously frustrated Wanamaker responded, “there’s no more common sense. At some point you actually have to be business friendly. There’s nothing business friendly in Calvert County.”
Contact Marty Madden at marty.madden@thebaynet.com