Ruling alters Charlestown expansion plan

A recent Baltimore County ruling will force a prominent retirement company to alter expansion plans at its Catonsville campus, a decision neighbors are celebrating as the savior of a historic farmhouse once in jeopardy of demolition.

The county?s Board of Appeals reversed earlier this month approvals for Erickson Retirement Communities? to razethe 1885-era Frederick House for a parking garage and expand the adjacent carriage house on its Charlestown Retirement Community campus. After months of testimony provided by residents in the nearby Kensington community, the board ruled the plans would overcrowd the campus and constituted more than the “refinement” they were approved as.