Suit against 23-story tower dismissed

The Baltimore Sun

Opponents of the 23-story tower planned for Columbia's Lakefront lost another round in their struggle this week when a county Circuit Court judge dismissed their lawsuit.

Judge Diane O. Leasure upheld earlier rulings that the residents trying to stop the 275-foot Plaza Residences at Columbia Town Center don't have legal standing. She dismissed their action Monday - a decision hailed as important by the project's developer, despite likely further appeals.

"Now that the appeal has been dismissed, hopefully the community can move into the future with this issue behind us," said William Rowe, mid-Atlantic vice president of WCI Communities' tower division. The firm has building permits for the project.

The tower would feature shops and offices at street level, topped by 22 stories of condominiums in a spot where Columbia's first movie theater once sat. If built, it would be at least nine stories higher than any other building in the town - something critics say would damage aesthetics and make Columbia too urban and congested.

The county planning board also recently rejected zoning amendments to limit building heights in central Columbia.

Joel Broida, one of four parties in the case, said he was "disappointed," but vowed to continue it.

"We still haven't gotten to the merits of the case," he said.

Rowe said he feels confident.

"My hope is that now we have a hearing examiner ruling, a board of appeals ruling, a Circuit Court ruling complemented by a unanimous [planning board] vote against the proposed zoning amendments. All of them put together complement each other and should be enough to convince everybody that the project was approved appropriately," Rowe said.

larry.carson@baltsun.com

In an article published in Friday's Howard Sun about a judicial decision that aids a developer's plan to build a 23-story tower in downtown Columbia, the technical description of the judge's ruling was incorrect.Howard County Circuit Court Judge Diane O. Leasure's ruling July 16 was to grant a motion for summary judgment by attorneys for an entity created by WCI Communities Inc., the tower developer, while denying two motions, by four Columbia residents opposing the tower, to dismiss the motion. The effect of the ruling - that a 2-2 vote by the county Board of Appeals means the residents do not have legal standing and their case was dismissed - was correctly described in the article.The Sun regrets the error.
Copyright © 2021, The Baltimore Sun, a Baltimore Sun Media Group publication | Place an Ad
72°