Schroeder Holding Co. v. Mayor of Baltimore

Sloan, J., delivered the opinion of the Court. ¹⁸⁸ Jerome Friedlander applied to the Buildings Engineer of Baltimore for a permit to install three “* * * additional gasoline tanks and pumps” at the premises designated as Numbers 14 to 24 North Schroeder Street. There is a gas station, with three pumps, on the lot at the northwest corner of Schroeder Street and Fairmount Avenue, operated by Jacob Friedlander, father of the applicant, leased by the Schroeder Holding Company, Inc., to the Sinclair Oil Company, and by it sub-let to Jacob Friedlander. This lot fronts fifty feet on Schroeder Street and seventy-three feet on Fairmount Avenue. The lot for which the application was made abuts on the north of the Jacob Friedlander lot, fronts thirty feet on Schroeder Street and seventy-three feet on a ten-foot alley.

It was leased by Eva Winer to Jacob Friedlander, who, in turn, sub-let it to his son Jerome Friedlander. Adjoining the two lots on the west, leased by Jacob Fried-lander from Eva Winer, is a lot two hundred and thirteen feet on Fairmount Avenue by eighty feet, improved by a garage operated by Jacob Friedlander. Before any action can be taken by the Board of Zoning Appeals on an application to establish a gasoline station, under the Zoning Ordinance No. 1247, approved March 30th, 1931, as amended by Ordinance No. 318, approved January 16th, 1937, the board must post the premises and give notice to the'public by advertisement, and must submit drawings, plans, specifications and other data to the Board of Fire Commissioners, Commissioner of Health, Police Commissioner, Chief Engineer of the City, and the Buildings Engineer, for investigation and reports. Jones v. Zoning Appeals Board, 173 Md. 669 , 197 A. 319 .

These department heads all approved the application, the Fire Commissioners, particularly noted for a reason hereinafter mentioned, reporting that the installation would not create an additional fire hazard. . At the hearing it developed that the application was not for a permit to extend the already existing station of Jacob Friedlander, but for a new station for his son, Jerome Friedlander, whereupon Jerome asked permis ¹⁸⁹ sion to amend his application, so as to provide for the installation of a gasoline station. A hearing was had, the permit for a station described in the amended petition granted, an appeal taken by the Schroeder Holding Company, Inc., and an order passed by the Baltimore City Court affirming the decision of the Board of Zoning Appeals, from which this appeal is taken. At the hearing in the City Court the appellant submitted two questions: (1) “Does the Zoning Board have the right to permit the amendment of an application such as here involved?” which was abandoned on this appeal, and (2) “Did the Board of Zoning Appeals err in not re-submitting the amended application to the various city officers referred to in Ordinance No. 318, and in failing to report the premises so as to render its resolution of October 26th illegal and void?”, which was the only question argued in