Neighbors and administrators of the Towson-area Baltimore Lutheran School will attempt to work out their differences over a giant tent on school property one final time before asking county officials to revoke a permit for the structure.
The feuding groups met before Baltimore County?s deputy zoning commissioner Wednesday to debate the five-story canopy they consider an eyesore and nuisance.
They ended the standing-room-only hearing with an agreement to head back to the bargaining table one last time, albeit hesitantly.
“Those of us who oppose the unneighborly actions of Baltimore Lutheran are skeptical, but we?ll see what happens,” said Anne Ward, a resident in the adjacent Chatterleigh community. “Obviously, we hope for the best, but we?ve been down this road before and it dead-ends every time.”
School officials said progress has been made on some contentious issues, including landscaping.
“We?re going to go into this like we have all the other mediations, in good faith and with tangible steps that would alleviate some of the concerns the neighbors have,” school spokeswoman Leslie Huebeck said.
The community says the debate points to broader problems with the county?s permit approval process.
The county approved the canopy, which the school purchased from a now-defunct nightclub, as a “minor commercial structure” in 2004, which allowed the school to bypass several community input stages.
The school uses the white tent to house athletic fields, which are frequently rented to outside organizations.
The practice clogs streets with illegally parked cars and people, according to residents along Concordia Drive.
Arnold Jablon, an attorney representing the school, argued Wednesday that the county?s zoning commissioner does not supersede the county?s development management director on the issuance of building permits.
He asked deputy zoning commissioner John Murphy to dismiss the case on the grounds it belongs in circuit court.
Murphy said he has not yet ruled on the motion. Attorneys scheduled two new zoning hearing dates ? May 11 and June 6 ? in the event mediation is unsuccessful.
