JEFFERSON -- Tom Patrick helps people create wildlife habitats in their backyards by phone, fax and mail from his office in a rustic barn just a few dozen steps from home.
Georgia Patrick runs a home-based business -- consulting for professional and trade associations -- from an adjacent office, which, like her husband's, affords sweeping views of the rolling hills of southwestern Frederick County.
"This is what a lot of people would like to be doing," said Mrs. Patrick. "You don't expect problems. You're not driving back and forth. You're not polluting. And you're using '90s technology."
The couple's businesses seem ideally suited for the 29-acre wildlife habitat they have created outside their home. UPS or Federal Express makes deliveries, but no clients visit the site. The couple make no products, and Mr. Patrick has just one employee.
However, these former Washington-area commuters have found that some neighbors do not agree, to the point that the Patricks face criminal charges -- with the potential of heavy fines and even jail time.
At a glance, the Patricks' dilemma seems a case of neighbor-against-neighbor, or new-fangled business vs. outdated law. But it has produced allies in other owners of home-based businesses, an increasing phenomenon in this day of high-tech communication.
One sympathizer, Rudy Lewis, president of the National Association of Home-Based Businesses in Baltimore, says that zoning laws in Maryland and other states lag behind the needs of expanding home-based occupations.
He estimates that nationally there are 12 million to 15 million home-based businesses, and he says that the Patricks' case is not unusual.
Yet the Patricks, despite the contention and expense they've faced, also seem to be requiring Frederick County to review its own zoning philosophy on the matter -- maybe even to change its rules, as have at least two neighboring counties.
The couple is charged under a 35-year-old zoning law that doesn't allow nonfarm businesses in agricultural zones and a 1977 zoning law that requires a $30 permit for most home-based businesses. Their land is zoned for agricultural use and, unaware that they needed a permit, they didn't get one.
They're also accused of using more than 30 percent of the square footage of a dwelling or accessory building for business and of having a nonresident employee. The Patricks' businesses occupy less than half of the 4,000-square-foot barn.
Short-term, the couple could be fined as much as $3,000 and face 60 days in jail for zoning violations, as indicated in charging documents filed in Frederick County District Court in March. They fear the violations -- based on three inspections dating back to last June -- could mean as much as $800,000 in fines and up to seven years in jail because each separate day of violation is subject to a $500 fine and 10 days in jail under county laws.
A court date is set for May 10, but county officials say they hope to resolve the case before then and are working out an agreement with the Patricks. The county has proposed allowing Mr. Patrick to continue to run his conservation business from the barn, but it wants Mrs. Patrick to move her company into her house.
Mr. Patrick's business is considered agricultural, but hers is not. Criminal charges would then be placed on an inactive docket.
"Very seldom do we get to trial," said Joseph E. Emerson, county deputy attorney. "All we ever try for in these cases is compliance. We're not trying to persecute anybody."
And he added: "We're not talking serious criminal charges."
The Patricks, however, view the criminal charges as "severe and unheard of" for zoning violations, which they consider a civil matter. "We take the criminal charges very seriously, and so does our attorney," Mr. Patrick said.
Filing criminal charges for zoning violations may seem extraordinary, but officials in Frederick and neighboring counties said the practice is not uncommon. More typical in other counties, however, are the issuance of warnings and civil citations.
Neighboring Howard and Montgomery counties have far more permissive zoning ordinances for home-based businesses. In most instances, residents do not even need permits as long as they follow regulations limiting space, parking and number of employees.
The Patricks, who moved to Frederick County from Harper's Ferry, W. Va., six years ago, said their troubles began after two neighbors complained to county officials about "commercial operations" and delivery traffic on a private lane they share.
It's more than traffic that bothers neighbor Margaret Bartholow, the only accuser who would talk about the case and whose home overlooks the Patricks' acreage. Her family moved into their home eight years ago, she said, expecting the six-lot development off Fry Road, south of Jefferson, to remain residential.
"He is trying to circumvent the law," she said of Mr. Patrick. "He's trying to change things because he's already put things up. The law is the law, and the law says home-based businesses are 'me, myself and I' behind a computer -- not trucks coming in and out and other employees."
After their property was inspected, the Patricks and county officials began working on resolving the problem. The Patricks say county officials even helped draft zoning amendments and allowed them to keep operating their businesses. No warnings or citations were issued.
As a result, an amendment to expand home-occupation regulations -- to allow more than 30 percent of the square footage of a structure to be used, for example -- is before the county planning commission.
"We were told that as long as we were in the process of getting a [zoning] amendment, we could continue to operate our businesses," Mr. Patrick said. "Then they go and file criminal charges against us. We were completely bamboozled."
Michael Thompson, the county zoning administrator, said criminal charges were filed against the Patricks after it appeared unlikely the planning commission would amend the zoning ordinance to accommodate their consulting business.
"We felt we had to do something," Mr. Thompson said. "We tried to work with these people as much as possible and as long as possible -- it had been eight months. They were in violation."
The county's criminal-charges tactic worked on a neighbor of the Patricks, Steve Hebert, who has since moved his woodworking and cabinetmaking business to West Virginia, although he still lives on the lane.
Mr. Hebert, who used to work out of a small dairy barn on his 39-acre tract and frequently does work for the White House, was unwilling to risk criminal charges because his wife is working toward certification as an accountant and cannot have a record.
"This whole situation literally ruined one year of my life," said Mr. Hebert, 38, who has been self-employed for a decade. "I was able to get criminal charges dropped by moving my business. I was told to get . . . out of town by sundown. We had no choice."
The Patricks' and Mr. Hebert's predicament has drawn support from the county chapter of the American Association of Home-Based Businesses, which represents about 50 of the county's registered 1,500 home-based businesses.
"We'd like to work with the county to alleviate some of the problems and to discourage future problems," said Elizabeth Deapen, a member who runs a typing service from her Frederick home. The group, she said, believes the county's zoning ordinance needs to be updated to better reflect the increasing number and variety of home businesses.
Mr. Thompson, the county zoning administrator, acknowledged the point: "This is something many jurisdictions are wrestling with," he said. "I don't think we're going to stay with the status quo."
But the national home-business group's spokesman, Mr. Lewis, also placed some of the blame on entrepreneurs who fail to research local zoning laws before starting a business.
"We try to tell people to do their research first," Mr. Lewis said. "It's too late once you have all this investment."
Although an agreement with county officials seems likely, the Patricks remain disturbed by the whole situation. Nearly a year of negotiations and more than $10,000 in attorney's fees have all but destroyed their businesses, they say.
"This last year was the worst year we've ever had," Mr. Patrick said.
"Our gross dropped by 50 percent, which for a small business is a killer. I have spent half of my time on [the zoning controversy] this last year." Mrs. Patrick said, "You just want to be left alone to do business. I sure wouldn't want this to happen to anyone else."