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REPORTED IN THE COURT OF SPECIAL APPEALS OF MARYLAND No. 0350 September Term, 2011

LONG GREEN VALLEY ASSOCIATION, ET AL.

v.

PRIGEL FAMILY CREAMERY, ET AL.

Eyler, Deborah S., Wright, Kehoe, JJ.

Opinion by Wright, J. Filed: June 29, 2012

This case arises from a decision of the Baltimore County Board of Appeals ("Board") upholding the Baltimore County Deputy Zoning Commissioner's grant of a petition for special exception filed by appellee, Prigel Family Creamery ("Creamery").1 The Creamery sought a permit for "a Farm Market; or alternatively for a Farmer's Roadside Stand" pursuant to the Baltimore County Zoning Regulations ("BCZR"), which appellants, Long Green Valley Association, Carol Trela, John Yoder, Susan Yoder, and Charlotte Pine, opposed. After hearing the matter on October 15, 2009, the Board issued an opinion and order on March 25, 2010, granting the Creamery's request. Thereafter, appellants and the People's Counsel for Baltimore County filed motions for reconsideration which the Board denied. On July 16, 2010, appellants filed a petition for judicial review in the Circuit Court for Baltimore County. After holding a hearing on January 14, 2011, the court issued a memorandum opinion and order on April 5, 2011, affirming the Board's decision. On April 21, 2011, appellants filed this appeal. Questions Presented We have adopted the questions presented by the Creamery:2

Although appellants captioned their appeal against "Bellevale Farms, Inc., et al.[,] Respondents," a review of the record shows that the Creamery was the sole respondent in the proceedings below and is, therefore, the sole appellee before this Court. As counsel for the Creamery explains, "Robert Prigel and his wife own the Bellevale Farm . . . and also the [Creamery], which is located on [Bellevale Farm]." The "questions presented" by appellants consisted of arguments and conclusory statements, and not issues or questions to be addressed by this Court.
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1.

Was the Board of Appeals legally correct in finding that the special exception requirements had been satisfied for the Farm Market? Was the Board of Appeals legally correct in finding that the B.C.Z.R. criteria had been satisfied for the Farmer's Roadside Stand?

2.

For the reasons that follow, we uphold the Board's decision and affirm the judgment of the circuit court. Facts The Creamery is located on Bellevale Farm in the Long Green Valley of northeastern Baltimore County. The farm, which is zoned R.C.2 for Agricultural Preservation,3 consists of approximately 200 acres, 180 of which have been placed in an agricultural easement with the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation ("MALPF").4 Both the Creamery and the farm are owned by the Prigel family. The Prigels have operated a dairy on their farm for several generations. According to the operator of the dairy, Robert Prigel, Bellevale Farm is "quite different than the average commercial dairy farm in the United States." He explained: It's patterned more after a New Zealand style dairy. Everything we

"The R.C.2 zoning classification is established pursuant to the legislative findings above in order to foster conditions favorable to a continued agricultural use of the productive agricultural areas of Baltimore County by preventing incompatible forms and degrees of urban uses." BCZR

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Maryland Law