Approval of Security Development's plans to build a 254-unit apartment complex on the site off Liberty Road and backing to Kali Drive could find the Carroll County Planning Commission in contempt of court for going against a 1999 court order to develop the property.

On Friday, Senior Assistant County Attorney Terri Jones argued that the Planning Commission should not be found at fault because the final decision lies with the Carroll County Board of Zoning Appeals who rejected the plan in August.

"The BZA [Board of Zoning Appeals] had the ability to approve the plan but once they rejected it, the Planning Commission can't do anything," Jones said. "The Planning Commission is between a rock and a hard place but still being held accountable."

Security Development's attorney Benjamin Rosenberg said the Planning Commission's rejection of the plan holds them in contempt for violating retired Judge Lucas Burns' 1999 order.

"The Planning Commission said in essence, 'we don't like Judge Burns' order, Judge Burns had no right to tell us what to do or how to go about our jobs,'" Rosenberg said.

"What we have today isn't an administrative review, we are here because the Planning Commission chose quite knowingly to ignore Judge Burns' orders."

Galloway said that he wanted to pull the file on a concurrent judicial proceeding that deals with the same issue after it was suggested that the judicial review be completed first.

"I'm not sure why judicial review was set before Judge [J. Barry] Hughes and not me since I'm hearing this," Galloway said adding that he wanted to take a look at the file. "I am not going to rule today on whether to dismiss or stay."

Galloway said that he would rule on the motion to dismiss or provide an alternate decision promptly.

Jones said that Galloway may try to place himself on the judicial review. The developer's original site plan, drafted in 1995, does not address significant infrastructure changes in the area. According to county officials, over the past 10 years, more people have moved to the area creating more traffic, water shortages and strains on police and emergency personnel.

In 1999, now retired Judge Luke Burns ordered that the site be developed as planned. However, the developer did not act immediately on the order.

An August 2004 hearing by the Carroll County Board of Zoning Appeals supported the Planning Commission's 2004 decision to reject the plan due to infrastructure inadequacies that do not promote residential development of that magnitude.

The developer responded with a suit to find Carroll County Commissioners and the Planning Commission in contempt of court for violating the 1999 court order by Burns. Galloway's decision is expected to come in writing soon.