A Catonsville restaurant's desire to add a porch has been a hot topic in the community during the county's rezoning process.
The Baltimore County Council is scheduled to decide next week whether to approve the rezoning at Matthew's 1600 Restaurant & Bar that would allow the porch's construction.
The request is one of nearly six dozen being considered in the Catonsville and Arbutus areas as part of the county's Comprehensive Zoning Map Process for 2016. The process occurs every four years and allows any citizen to request a zoning change in the county.
The change at the Frederick Road property, submitted by Matthew's 1600 owner Lori Parsons, would shift 1.63 acres from a single family residence classification to mostly business.
The county's planning board recommends to keep most of the 1.63 acres residential, with the exception of a 0.21-acre portion being changed to business, which would allow the expansion. The planning board recommendation comes with a covenant to restrict the land use to that for 15 years.
The Matthew's 1600 application has received the most feedback at first district Councilman Tom Quirk's office this cycle, according to senior council assistant Cathy Engers, with support and opposition equally split.
Parsons is optimistic the council will approve the rezoning.
"I feel like everybody can be happy," she said.
The building was built around 1862 as the Terminal Hotel, a waiting station at the end of the Frederick Road horse-car line. according to the restaurant's website.
Over time the building has changed hands and has been an inn and a disco. The building was renovated between 2003 and 2004 and Matthew's 1600 opened under the operation of the Parsons family on July 6, 2004.
The 350-seat restaurant, serving American fare, offers lunch and dinner seven days a week, and a Sunday brunch.
The building is grandfathered into its use as a restaurant because its use as a business predates zoning regulations.
Parsons said there has been customer demand for outdoor dining. The porch, which would be about 800 square feet and hold about 40 people, would be a way to keep customers interested in returning to the restaurant, she said.
During a public hearing in front of the county council in June, residents voiced support and concerns for the rezoning.
Opponents say the rezoning would change the character of the residential neighborhood for the worse.
Catonsville resident John Troll, who lives near the property, said the zoning change for the isolated, nonconforming property would be inappropriate, particularly because it's near a school.
"This is a neighborhood. This isn't a commercial district," he said. "I want them to succeed, but other options exist that would protect our neighborhood while allowing Matthew's to thrive, as well."
Catonsville resident Grace Dellinger, a mother of two, said those with concerns are speaking out of self-interest and are fearful of hypothetical situations. The proposed addition of "a small, attractive deck" would add to the Matthew's charm and increase property values, she said.
In the 1990s, the spot was The Warfside Inn.
The Parsons family, which has owned the property since 1983, and previously operated Russell's Ltd. in the 1980s, did not run The Warfside Inn.
"Al and Lori Parsons, they revitalized a very sorry, terrible building and provided ... a lovely neighborhood spot. Something of which we can be proud," she said. "This addition adds to that appeal."
The issue is one of 59 changes requested throughout the first councilmanic district in Baltimore County, which covers the southwest portion of the county.
Requests range from a proposed rezoning of 14.75 acres on West Kenwood Avenue that could pave the way for the Promenade, a proposed mixed-use development in Catonsville more than a decade in the works, to a proposed rezoning of 0.07 acres along Baltimore National Pike from residential to business to align the zoning lines with property lines.
Reporter Rachael Pacella contributed to this story.