The Baltimore County Council convened on December 4, 2025, for a final landmarks hearing on the Moroni House at 7076 Larendale Club Road in Scenic Ruxton, followed by a regular legislative session that included bill introductions, votes on several items, and public comments on issues ranging from ICE cooperation to school overcrowding.
First, and we're here for we're here to be transcribed and summarized. So we're here for a uh final landmarks hearing on the Moroni House at um 7076 24 Larendale Club Road in Scenic Ruxton, Maryland. And um I think we have testimony from our Caitlin Merritt from planning who will present be presenting. Wanna come up and present and we'll uh we I know we have uh Councilman Young is in traffic, he's online, and I know Councilman Patoca, whose district this is will be joining us shortly. He had to take his wife to the airport, so I think he's scrambling to get back and be online. All right, um good afternoon. Floor is yours, thank you. Thank you for allowing me to share a brief uh summary about the Moroni House. Um, like you mentioned, um, it's uh stands tall at the corner of Ruxton and Learendale Club Roads in District 4. Um so on September 11th, 2025, the landmarks preservation commission unanimously voted to add the Moroni House and its setting to the Baltimore County uh preliminary landmarks list. Um so after careful review, the commission found the property to meet two of the five designation criteria listed in our code. Uh the first being its association with an important person locally, and the second, the house being a distinctive example of a particular architectural style. Constructed around 1889, the two and one-half story frame structure is a fine example of the Queen Anne style of architecture, which was popular during the latter half of the 19th century. The house was constructed for Dennis Moroni, who was the general superintendent of transportation for the BO Railroad at the time. The Meroni House was a family home to many over its 130 plus years, uh, including a concert violinist, a doctor, an artist, and in addition, a successful spice company was founded within its walls. The most notable owners appear to have been Dr. Frank D. Sanger and his wife Grace Cochrane Sanger, and the Sangers occupied the house from 1906 to 1919. Dr. Sanger was a pro professor emeritus uh rhinoology and laryngology at the University of Maryland Medical School. Additionally, at the time, he was a consulting laryngologist for eight Baltimore hospitals, and his obituary notes that he studied nose and throat conditions in Berlin and Vienna and is said to have been the first physician to institute modern methods of tuberculosis treatment in a Baltimore hospital. Uh Grace Cochrane Sanger was recognized in her time as a skilled portrait painter. Um in addition to painting, she also worked as a book and magazine illustrator. Grace Sanger received her training under William Merritt Chase, Hugh Breckenridge, and Howard Pyle. And she painted many prominent members of Baltimore Society and exhibited her work locally. Exhibited in its original wood German siding, original wood windows, the slate roofing, and porch elements. The house's overall design and its original foot footprint has remained relatively unchanged except for a small one-story edition on the side, which was constructed in the 1970s or 80s. And the side edition is sensitive to the main block of the house. The current visual appearance of the house is most likely very similar to what it would have been looked like at the time of its construction. Due to the retention of design, materials, and workmanship, the house has retained integrity of feeling and association. The lack of modern materials and alterations has allowed the structure to be viewed as a product of its time and its style of architecture. Thus, the property meets our criterion too as a significant example of the Queen Anne's style of architecture. Again, it is for those reasons that the landmarks preservation commission voted to add the property to the preliminary landmarks list, and thus recommending it to council to be designated as a final landmark. Thank you, and I'm here to answer any questions. Okay, thank you, Ms. Merritt. Uh any questions for Miss Merritt on the property. I know we have several speakers, so we'll um we'll get to the speakers. Maybe we may have questions for you once we get through the speakers. So Miss Bel Castro, do you want to call the speaker? Mr. Chairman, um I ask I'm sorry, because you stepped away from the the microphone. Um who made the application? Okay. Yeah. All right, fair enough. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you, sir.