Mathews County panel approves variance for 20x20 garage at 21 Pine Road with mitigation conditions

The Mathews County Planning Commission on May 21 approved a special-exception variance allowing a 20-by-20 detached garage at 21 Pine Road (tax map parcel 11A2-6-70) on Winds Island, but required a mitigation plan and construction safeguards before the project may proceed.

The action concerned application 202500352, a request to reduce the Chesapeake Bay Resource Protection Area (RPA) buffer to 56 feet and to modify required setbacks (advertised reductions included a 50-foot right-of-way setback to 46 feet and a 40-foot side-yard setback to 26 feet) so the applicant could place a 20x20 garage roughly in line with the existing house. The property is zoned R-1.

Planning staff told the commission the lot is about 0.44 acres — substantially larger than most lots on Winds Island — and that a staff site visit showed nearby structures with closer setbacks than the relief being requested. "This project does not overwhelm the area and, more importantly, does not overwhelm the lot," planning staff said during the public hearing.

Commission discussion focused on water-quality protections for the RPA. Staff and commissioners debated mitigation options for about 400 square feet of new disturbance in the buffer, including planting (the county referenced the standard mitigation guidance of approximately "one tree, two shrubs, and three bushes" per 400 square feet) and small stormwater measures such as gutters, downspouts, and gravel aprons or trenches to encourage infiltration rather than direct runoff to the marsh.

The applicant indicated the garage would include gutters and downspouts and would be built to match the house roofline. "We're gonna have gutters and downspouts and we'll track and we'll get the water well off," the applicant said during the hearing.

The commission voted, by roll call, to approve the variance with several conditions: require the applicant and county staff to develop and approve a mitigation plan (which could include planting or stormwater-management options), require a silt fence during construction, require a memorandum of agreement if plantings are used, and include standard clauses that the variance does not vest until all necessary local, state and federal approvals are obtained and that the approval may be revoked for noncompliance. The motion passed on a 5-0 roll call vote (Brian Russell: Aye; [Mister] Burkhall/Burkhoff: Aye; [Mister] Gibbs: Aye; [Mister] Curtis: Aye; Sue Thomas: Aye).

Commissioners noted the mitigation plan should be developed by staff in consultation with the applicant and returned for county review prior to construction permitting. One commissioner suggested a simple, low-cost erosion-control measure (a silt fence) during construction and routine monitoring of any plantings for a multi-year period, consistent with standard county practice. Another commissioner said because the lot previously comprised two parcels and could have been developed separately, the requested relief is reasonable given the parcel's size and context.

No members of the public registered to speak in favor or opposition at the hearing. Planning staff told the commission the Virginia Department of Health had no comments on the application at the time of the report.

The commission closed the public hearing and moved on to other business. The commission also asked staff to return with a mitigation proposal that could be reviewed before the applicant begins construction.

The approval is conditioned on completion of any required local, state or federal reviews and on compliance with the mitigation and construction conditions the commission specified.