Board of Appeals unanimously allows driveway and sidewalk inside 100-foot critical-area buffer at Piney Point property

LEONARDTOWN, Md. — The Saint Mary's County Board of Appeals voted unanimously April 24 to grant a variance allowing disturbance of the 100-foot critical-area buffer at 16584 Piney Point Road to install an asphalt driveway and a concrete sidewalk.

Applicant Jacob Waite sought the variance, docketed as VAAP25-0376, after he said the house at the address lacked direct access from Piney Point Road and the existing yard becomes impassable when tides recede. The board approved the request after staff described site conditions, required mitigation and a buffer-management plan.

The variance request covers an existing 4,834-square-foot parcel owned by Myrtle Cottage Oasis, LLC. The property is zoned Rural Preservation with a Critical Area overlay classified as Limited Development Area and is developed with a house built in 1930, staff said. The proposal calls for an asphalt driveway and a concrete sidewalk; staff stated the applicant plans 2,589 square feet of mitigation and that a buffer-management plan must be approved by Land Use & Growth Management staff before a building permit is issued.

"We will do whatever we need to do," applicant Jacob Waite said during his presentation, describing frequent flooding and muddy conditions that limit on-site parking. Waite told the board he plans a short driveway of roughly 12 feet at the roadway that would extend about 40 feet back from Piney Point Road and a hard surface walkway between two entrances to reduce trips in mud.

Planner Amanda Yoel (Land Use & Growth Management) told the panel that required public notice and neighbor notifications had been completed and that the Critical Area Commission did not oppose the request. Chairman George Allen Hayden Sr., of the Saint Mary's County Board of Appeals, asked members for comment; member Guy Bradley said, "I think that it's an improvement to the property and it's needed." Hayden added, "I don't have any concerns with this request at all."

The board made a motion to approve VAAP25-0376, citing that the standards for granting a variance and the objectives of section 24.4 of the Saint Mary's County Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance had been met. After a second the board voted in favor; the chairman announced the motion passed unanimously. Staff said an order reflecting the board's decision will be prepared within 60 days and that a 30-day appeal period to circuit court follows the date the order is signed.

Votes at a glance

- VAAP25-0376 (Waite property): Approved. Motion by Guy Bradley; second by Payne. Vote: 4 yes, 0 no, 0 abstain. Outcome: approved. Notes: Board directed staff to prepare the order within 60 days; 30-day appeal period follows signing.

- Motion to sign previously prepared order (administrative step to finalize an earlier board action on a separate subdivision order): Approved. Motion by Guy Bradley; second not specified on the record. Vote: unanimous on the floor that night.

The meeting also included a brief administrative item: the board signed an order (staff presented that the order had been approved previously by a 4–1 vote to allow an additional lot in a subdivision) and then formally moved to sign the order so the chairman could execute it. The board noted that the next Board of Appeals meeting is scheduled for May 8 and will include four cases, including critical-area and wetland variance requests and a private road standard variance. Member Guy Bradley attended his final meeting; Bradley told the board it had been "an absolute pleasure to serve the people of Saint Mary's County."