Prince Frederick, MD – The discovery during the permitting process that plans for a parking lot at a county park were not compliant with the local outdoor lighting ordinance prompted Calvert County Government officials to seek a variance from the Board of Appeals. The variance request was considered by the panel during its June 1 meeting. According to memo from Calvert County Capital Projects Supervisor Stephen Jones, the project contractor—Musco Sports Lighting LLC—was issued a purchase order last September “to design/build new park lot and street lighting at Hallowing Point Park.” The point of the project was to replace two existing 40-foot parking lot lights that provided inadequate coverage. The replacement lights were energy-efficient light emitting diode (LED). The contractor’s plan was to replace two existing 40-foot parking lot lights with four 60-foot LED lights and install 12 new LED entranceway street lights.

The county’s local outdoor lighting ordinance requires that lights be mounted on structures not more than 30-1/2 feet above the finish grade.

“The location of the parking lot is bordered on three sides by ball fields, each of which has lights for field illumination in excess of 60 feet, which are exempt from the ordinance,” Jones stated in the memo, which was originally sent to the Calvert County Commissioners. “Lowering the parking lot pole heights to 30 feet will require three times more poles to provide the same coverage over the lighting engineer’s design.”

Jones also told the appeals board that mounting the lights at 30-1/2 feet could interfere with action on an adjacent baseball field. By having the light at that level could make it difficult for a fielder to follow the flight of a batted ball.

The fact that the parking lot to be lighted is in a park, well buffered from residences, gained support from the board in considering the request. Board Chairman D.O. Baker indicated that he saw a big difference between a parking lot at a county-owned recreational facility and a shopping center on a well-traveled road.

Calvert Department of General Services Director Wilson Freeland told the panel the area between the parking lot and the nearest residence is “fully forested. We’ve had the same neighbor since the 1970s.”

“This is a different duck,” said Board member John Ward, who made the motion to approve the variance, which was approved by the other two members.

In other actions June 1, the Calvert County Board of Appeals approved a request from Thomas and Jeannette Reinecker of Dunkirk for a special exception, permitting them to conduct a Class II home occupation at their residence. The board denied a special exception request from D’Andre Gross of Owings to keep a maximum of 30 poultry on property less than three acres on Clyde Jones Road.

Contact Marty Madden at marty.madden@thebaynet.com