Klein v. Colonial Pipeline Co.

We must decide whether, under the applicable statutes, a decision of the Hearing Examiner for the Harford County Zoning Board of Appeals (Board of Appeals) is directly appealable to the circuit court.

I

Colonial Pipeline Company (Colonial), the appellee, transports refined petroleum products through a pipeline system extending from Texas to New Jersey. The system requires tank farms as temporary reservoirs to facilitate delivery to its customers through branch or spur lines to terminals along the route.

Before this case the Board of Appeals granted Colonial a conditional use permit for a tank…