It may not be a grand slam for the Perry Hall Denny’s, but the restaurant chain can take the win.

The Baltimore County Council rejected a bill that would have limited the hours of restaurants in the Honeygo area, a bill many believed targeted a 24-hour Denny’s planned for a development near the intersection of Belair Road and Honeygo Boulevard at The Shops at Perry Hall.

The shopping center, which already includes a 24-hour Wawa, an oil change place and a car wash, abuts to two residential areas: Gatherings at Perry Hall Place, an age-restricted townhouse community, and The Forge Reserve, which includes about 30 homes.

Neighbors asked Councilman David Marks, a Republican who has represented the area for nearly two decades, to introduce legislation that would curtail the restaurant’s operating hours, as they worried the lighting, noise and traffic from an all-night diner would harm their quality of life. But representatives for the developer as well as the county cautioned about changing the rules midstream, arguing that the developer spent thousands of dollars planning for an all-night restaurant.

Developer Ron Schaftel, who co-owns The Southern Land Co., said residents bought into the 55+ community knowing it backed up to a developing commercial project.

Schaftel and his business partner David Altfeld said Southern Land already invested millions in The Shops at Perry Hall, based on a county-approved development plan. The team completed construction of water and sewer lines, a stormwater management system and storm drains.

“Councilman Marks is asking everyone to imagine they purchased a home, only to later find out that there would be a restaurant 200 feet away. But here, that is clearly not the case,” Schaftel said at a work session last week. “There were no surprises.”

The original bill would have prevented restaurants from operating between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. if they are in Honeygo and within 250 feet of a residence. Amendments changed that to 11 p.m. and 300 feet. Still, after close to an hour of discussion, followed by several public comments, and preceded by hours more of discussion at previous work sessions, the bill failed along party lines.

Democratic council members Izzy Patoka, Mike Ertel, Pat Young and Julian Jones voted against it.

“I’m trying to figure out what’s happening inside the restaurant that will bother the citizens more than a drive-through or a Wawa,” said Jones, of Woodstock.

“The concern is having people in the restaurant themselves, not traffic in and out,” Marks responded. “It’s the congregating after hours.”

Ertel and Patoka suggested the county work with Marks and the residents to come up with legislation, possibly countywide, that would mandate buffers between commercial and residential areas.

Last week, Brad Kroner, the county’s deputy director of government affairs, warned that the county could face lawsuits if the bill is seen as unfairly targeting a specific business.

“I will note that this bill will likely be challenged as special legislation, which is, as you know, illegal under the Maryland Constitution,” Kroner said.

Marks disagreed, but Jones was among the council members who expressed the importance of a level playing field as well as certainty for incoming developers, who make business decisions based on what the rules are now.

Marks countered that it’s the council’s job to listen to constituents and amend plans as information comes to them.

Honeygo area residents thanked Marks for trying, and warned the rest of the council they were not giving up.

“I know I am not the only one from the community that is expressing our unanimous, unanimous preference that this not be a 24/7 establishment,” said Dan Williams, a resident who represents about 30 townhouse owners in the area. “We appreciate the suggestions for trees and buffers, certainly those will make the area beautiful, but they will not do anything to address the nature of noise at 1 a.m., 2 a.m., 3 a.m. and 4 a.m., and that is our biggest concern.”