Developers in Carroll County were thrown into an uproar over a proposed amendment they thought could dictate details such as what color to paint homes. The county now calls it a misunderstanding. The amendment would apply only to commercial projects, simplifying the approval process while creating a better-looking streetscape, officials said.
Instead of dictating building colors, the amendment is meant to ensure consistent lighting and signage among adjacent projects, said Steve Horn, the county?s planning director.
But builders fear the amendment is written too vaguely and could hurt profits by forcing them to continually pay architects to change designs that fail to comply with planning board members? tastes.
“When dealing with architectural drawings, change equals cost 100 percent of the time,” said Larry Helminiak, a local businessman and former vice president of the Maryland Homeowners Association.
“It doesn?t codify fact; it codifies opinion,” he said. “The guy might be sitting there in bib overalls and saying, ?This isn?t pretty enough.? ”
The proposal requires developers to submit architectural details with building plans and gives the county planning commission the authority to “approve, reject or modify any architectural element to promote an attractive and pleasing appearance.” Horn said it applies to commercial buildings and apartment complexes, not individual homes.
The planning commission already can deny projects based on architecture, but this amendment would put that into law and simplify the process so builders know what the commission expects with one visit, Horn said.
Stanley Dill, a local real estate broker and representative of the Carroll County Association of Realtors, said members of the planning commission should be barred from doing business in the county if the bill passes with such “vague, subjective and arbitrary” language. Then, he said, they can?t be accused of acting unethically, allowing their own projects to pass based on personal taste.
“It really goes against the purpose the county set out with to simplify the process,” Dill said.
