County Commissioners v. Secretary of Health & Mental Hygiene

MURPHY, Chief Judge. This appeal challenges the authority of the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (the Department) to declare a building permit null and void and to order its rescission. We are, however, unable to reach the merits of the case because the record clearly demonstrates that the appeal is moot. On December 21, 1981, the County Commissioners of Charles County, Maryland (the County) issued a building permit to the Ripley Community Church.

On January 6, 1982, the Department issued an order declaring that the permit was null and void and ordering the County to revoke it. The church immediately ceased construction. Both the County and the church unsuccessfully pursued administrative remedies within the Department. Between the summer of 1982 and the summer of 1983 the church removed all building materials and returned the site to its original condition.

Under its provisions, the building permit expired if the work was not commenced within six months, or if the work was suspended or abandoned for a period of six months after commencement. ⁵⁶⁸ The County appealed the administrative finding to the Circuit Court for Charles County (Ahalt, J.) which by order dated June 8, 1984, affirmed the Department’s order. The County appealed. Appellate courts do not sit to give opinions on ab-. stract propositions or moot questions. Nat’l Collegiate Athletic Ass’n v. Tucker, 300 Md. 156, 159 , 476 A.2d 1160 (1984); Bishop v. Governor, 281 Md. 521, 524 , 380 A.2d 220 (1977); Lucky Stores v. Bd. of Appeals, 270 Md. 513, 538 , 312 A.2d 758 (1973); State v.