Opinion ID: 2292925
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Construction of the Zoning Ordinance

Text: Appellants alleged, inter alia, as one of the Board's errors in their petition of appeal that the use granted by the exception does not meet the lot area requirements of the zoning ordinance. Judge Shook disagreed with the contentions of the appellants on this point and upheld the conclusions of the Board. In essence, the appellants' argument was and is that the general area requirements of an R-10 zone  the classification of the property involved prior to the granting of the exception  are applicable to an apartment hotel special exception because the language and structure of the ordinance cannot be construed as removing these requirements in the case of an exception for an apartment hotel. The appellees contend that the construction of the ordinance given by the Board and the court below is in accordance with the law's meaning and intent. A detailed examination of the zoning ordinance is necessary to the resolution of this issue. The zoning ordinance [3] defines a zone as follows: Zone: An area within which certain uses of land and buildings are permitted and certain others are prohibited; yards and other open spaces are required; lot areas, building height limits, and other requirements are established; all of the foregoing being identical for the zone in which they apply. Section 104-2. Section 104-4 contains General Regulations. It states: Except as hereinafter provided, the following general regulations shall apply: Section 104-4 c. (1)(a) reads: c. Area. (1) Yards and open spaces. (a) No building shall be erected, nor shall any existing building be altered, enlarged, moved or rebuilt, nor shall any open space surrounding any building be encroached upon or reduced in any manner not in conformity with the yard, lot, area, and building location regulations hereinafter designated for the zone in which such building or open space is located, except as otherwise specifically provided. The property involved is located in a R-10 zone. Section 104-13, entitled R-10 Zone. Multiple-Family, High-Density Residential, sets forth specific requirements as to net lot area per dwelling unit and as to building coverage. By cross reference to Section 104-11 (R-30 Zone. Multiple-Family, Low-Density Residential), Section 104-13 states the uses permitted in the R-10 zone. One of these permitted uses is multiple-family and multiple-group dwellings, which are defined in Section 104-2 as apartment houses. In Section 104-13 b. it is provided that certain uses may be permitted as special exceptions in an R-10 zone in accordance with the provisions of Section 104-22 through 104-29. [4] An apartment hotel is one of the special exceptions. An apartment hotel is defined in Section 104-2 as: Any building or portion thereof designed for or containing both individual guest rooms or suites of rooms and dwelling units provided, however, that the guest rooms shall number not less than ten percent (10%) of the total number of suites or dwelling units contained therein. Section 104-13. c., which follows the provisions as to special exceptions, states that: c. Area requirements (1) Net lot area. There shall be at least 1,000 square feet of net lot area per dwelling unit, but no dwelling shall be located on a lot containing less than 20,000 square feet. (2) Building coverage. Not more than 12 percent of the net lot area shall be occupied by multiple-family dwellings. (3) Green area. Not less than 50 percent of the net lot area shall be devoted to green area as defined in Section 104-2. Section 104-28. b. states that special exceptions shall be subject to the height limitations laid down in the zone in which the property is located, with the right in the Board to increase the height limits if it finds the adjacent residential development will not be adversely affected. The most important provisions on the issues involved are contained in Section 104-28. e. and 104-29. The first of these sections provides that: Wherever in Section 104-29 no specific area, frontage or setback requirements are specified, then the area, frontage and setback requirements in the applicable zone will apply    There follows a provision authorizing the Board to waive the minimum frontage requirements, if it finds the facilities for vehicular ingress and egress adequate, in certain specified special exception cases, among which apartment hotels are not included. Section 104-29 is entitled Uses for which special exceptions may be granted and specific standards relative thereto. Specific standards as to area, frontage and setbacks are provided as to airports, airparks and airfields, animal hospitals and child care homes, among other special exceptions. No specific standards of any kind are set forth as to apartment hotels, which are dealt with in 104-29. d-1. It is therein provided that a special exception may be granted as to an apartment hotel in certain zones, including R-10. There is the condition, in addition to those set forth in 104-27, [5] that the Board must find such a use will not constitute a nuisance because of traffic, number of guests, noise or other factors. Certain commercial uses are also permitted which are not available to apartment houses in a R-10 zone unless they are located on a site of not less than 20 acres. Unlike the provisions in respect of other enumerated special exceptions, there are no provisions in respect of apartment hotels as to yard, lot, area and building locations. Under the provisions of 104-28. e., absent such specific provisions, the regulations provided as to the zone in which the property for which the requested special exception is located apply, even if the application for the exception is granted. It is undisputed that the special exception granted in this case is contrary to the terms of the regulations pertaining to buildings in a R-10 zone. These regulations provide that the maximum permissible density is 43.5 dwelling units per acre; there must be at least 1000 square feet of net lot area per dwelling unit. Section 104-13. c. (1). The lot in question consists of 79,112 square feet, which, under the section, would permit a maximum of 79 dwelling units. The apartment hotel for which the special exception was granted is to have a total of 169 units, suites and rooms. Assuming, arguendo, that the 54 hotel rooms and suites are not dwelling units, the remaining 115 apartments exceed the maximum permitted by nearly 50%. Under 104-13. c. (2)., not more than 12% of the net lot area shall be occupied by multiple-family dwellings; the proposed apartment hotel would have a building coverage of 15,000 square feet, or 18% of the lot. In our opinion, not only the express wording of the ordinance but also the obvious intent of the legislative body evidenced in the structure of the act make it clear that the Board's action in granting the special exception exceeded its powers. The various sections of the ordinance which we have quoted show, we believe, beyond question, that the express terms of the ordinance were violated. The structure of the ordinance evidences to us that the legislative body did not intend to give the Board the right to vary the express provisions as to density and lot area applicable in a R-10 zone. Where there was intent to alter such provisions, as in the case of child care homes, animal hospitals and other special exceptions, the ordinance carefully so provides. There is no similar provision as to apartment hotels. The only authorization to the Board to vary the applicable restrictions is as to the limitation of height. The careful enunciation of that single exception emphasizes the applicability of the zone restrictions where, as in the case of apartment hotels, the ordinance does not provide otherwise. The appellees contend that if the express provision of Section 104-28. e. were followed literally, there would be no reason to seek a special exception for an apartment hotel, because the restrictions on the use of the land for an apartment hotel would be the same as those applicable to an apartment house, which is a permitted use in an R-10 zone. There are two answers to this argument. If the statutory language is plain and free of ambiguity and has a definite and sensible meaning, it is conclusively presumed to be the meaning of the legislative body in enacting the statute; courts should not attempt, under the guise of construction, to supply possible omissions or to remedy possible defects. Secretary of State v. Bryson, 244 Md. 418, 224 A.2d 277 (1966), and cases therein cited. We find the language of the zoning ordinance comes within this rule. Compare Gatewood v. State, 244 Md. 609, 224 A.2d 677 (1966). Moreover, the contention that, under the zoning ordinance as we construe it, the provision as to a special exception would be meaningless, in our opinion, is fallacious. An apartment hotel, unlike an apartment house, contains rooms for transients, which, for all that appears to the contrary, may be a more profitable use of the space than would be apartments which are leased for fixed, substantial terms. Moreover, part of the apartment hotel can be leased for certain commercial purposes, although no such uses are permitted for an apartment house unless the lot contains at least 20 acres. The lot here involved contains only 1.8 acres. The Board, in its majority opinion, stated that since an apartment house is not a zone in itself, the limitations of density, green area and building coverage do not apply. This is a non sequitur. Apartment hotels are authorized, under certain conditions, as an exception to the uses permitted in an R-10 zone, and the limitations of that zone as to density and building coverage apply to the exception, by the terms of the ordinance, because no other requirements are specified in Section 104-29. Mrs. Lady, in her dissenting opinion, succinctly pointed out the error in the majority's reasoning as follows: Apartment Hotels are allowed as a Special Exception in the R-10 Zone. The `Area Requirements' (104-13c) of the R-10 Zone is not a sub-section under `Permitted Uses' (104-13a), nor is it a sub-section under `Special Exceptions' (104-13b). On the contrary `Area Requirements' is a section within itself and of the same titular importance as `Permitted Uses' and `Special Exceptions.' It applies to both a and b sections with equal authority. The majority opinion of the Board refers to Ordinance No. 5-109 (1965) which modifies the definition of a guest room in the zoning ordinance. The definition, as modified, allows the installation of kitchenettes in apartment hotels. The 1965 ordinance has no relevance to the issue. The Board's opinion states that an apartment hotel is not the same use as a multi-family apartment house, but that statement only evidences why an apartment hotel is treated as a special exception. Judge Shook, in her opinion, finds that the minimum lot area provision of the R-10 zone applies but that the density and height provisions do not, because otherwise, she believes, the zoning ordinance would not make the granting of a special exception for an apartment hotel conditional upon the finding that such a use will not constitute a nuisance because of traffic, number of guests, etc. She finds significance in the reference to the number of guests and the subsequent statement, in reference to permitted commercial uses, as to the character of the apartment hotel. With respect, we do not follow this reasoning. The minimum lot provision, which the court states does apply, is in the same sentence of subsection 104-13. c.(1) which fixes the density provision which she finds not applicable. The conditions which an applicant for the special exception must meet go to policy considerations to be determined by the Board in deciding whether the exceptions should be granted, and have nothing to do with the specific requirements of the R-10 zone sections as to density and lot coverage, which under the clear language of the zoning ordinance, apply if the exception is allowed. Here, the Board has no discretion. Judgment reversed, and case remanded for further proceedings in accordance with the above opinion; costs to be paid by appellees.