A Lower Broadneck developer wants to build 78 town homes, nearly a third of them in an environmentally protected Critical Area near Cape St. Claire.

Robert Wilcox, the county's administrative hearing officer, said yesterday that he will grant property owner Mark Clark a special exception to build on the 21-acre parcel, previously known as the Peregoy property.

After a 30-minute hearing in Annapolis, Wilcox said: "(Resident) opposition was tepid at best. . . . The best result for the residentswould be to allow no development, but that really isn't legal."

Wilcox said the owner had demonstrated that the town house complex would comply with zoning regulations. Adequate facilities, such as roads, appeared to be available, he said.

The project must comply with the county's Critical Area law, which protects wildlife habitat and water quality within 1,000 feet of the Chesapeake Bay tributary.

Nearly half of the proposed subdivision, Courts at Belle Point, lies within 1,000 feet of the Little Magothy River.

This is the second special exception approval for the development. The first, granted Sept. 21, 1990, expired as the developer attempted to move the project through a separate subdivision review by the county Office of Planning and Zoning.

Harry Blumenthal, a lawyer for the developer, said thesubdivision will provide the community with "affordable housing."

Asked by Wilcox about the price range, Blumenthal projected the 2 1/2-story homes would cost between $125,000 and $165,000. Anne M. Randall, the developer's traffic engineer, said the town house project will generate less traffic than the 55 to 65 single-family detached homes allowed under the zoning.