Portsmouth planning commission approves Chesapeake Bay exception for Eagle Point property

On March 4, 2025, the Portsmouth Planning Commission voted 7-0 to approve CBE-25-01, a Chesapeake Bay exception request that authorizes a two-story rear addition, a wooden deck and a 14-by-28-foot in-ground swimming pool within the 100-foot resource protection area (RPA) at 5998 Eagle Point in the Hidden Cove neighborhood.

Staff recommended approval only for the addition and said it could not support locating the deck and pool inside the RPA. Valerie Malzone, senior planner for the city, told commissioners the proposed accessory structures "are not in harmony with the purpose and intent of the ordinance, and are not the minimum necessary to afford relief." Malzone said the proposal would add 1,298 square feet of new impervious surface within the RPA and would result in 1,895 square feet of land disturbance; the applicant proposed to mitigate disturbance by installing five planting units on the property.

Applicant Mark Gordon told the commission he and his family purchased the house in 2006 and described the project as intended to add living space and to accommodate future…