The Carroll County Board of Zoning Appeals has given a green light to a Howard County developer who plans to build a 75-unit retirement home apartment complex in Eldersburg.

The board last week granted azoning exception, or conditional use approval, to Richard C. Colandrea of Columbia to build the complex on a 6.8-acre tract off Liberty Road in South Carroll, zoned for half-acre residential lots.

"The retirement home apartment complex is an appropriate use of the property that will not adversely affect the adjoining properties,"the decision says.

Colandrea must obtain county approval before building the apartments.

The proposed apartments, between Route 32 and Bonnie Brae Road, would be one of the county's largest retirementapartment complexes.

SUBSTANCE ABUSE HELP

United Way of Central Maryland provided region-wide substance abuse prevention and treatmentservices to 38,271 people in 1990, a 19.5 percent increase over the previous year.

United Way's substance abuse prevention and treatment services in Howard County were provided by Grassroots of Columbia.

The agency provided services toward substance abuse-related suicide prevention, crisis intervention and family life counseling to morethan 17,000 youth and families, a 31 percent increase over last year.