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Board grants density variance allowing second manufactured home on 1.6‑acre Coburn Town Road lot
Summary
The board approved a variance to allow a second manufactured home on a 1.6‑acre lot on Coburn Town Road, finding the lot had previously held a second dwelling and an inspected septic remains on site.
Dorchester County’s Board of Zoning Appeals approved a variance on Feb. 26 allowing the placement of a second manufactured home on a 1.6‑acre lot at 308 Coburn Town Road.
Planning staff told the board the lot is zoned Agricultural Residential (AR), which generally allows one dwelling unit per acre, but that the parcel previously had a second dwelling and an existing septic system remains in place. The staff report notes the AR district’s minimum‑lot‑area requirement changed by ordinance amendments in 1984, 1998 and 2019; the 2019 change established the current one‑acre‑per‑dwelling standard. The report concluded that reestablishment of the second dwelling would be consistent with historic use and that the density in the surrounding neighborhood is similar to what the applicant proposes, and recommended approval.
Applicant Patrice Felder said her aunt — the lot owner — plans to move a three‑bedroom manufactured home onto the site and that the existing septic system was inspected and approved. The applicant told the board a dirt pad is ready for placement of the home.
A board member moved to approve the variance, citing staff’s findings; the board voted to grant the variance.
The approval applies specifically to reestablishing a second dwelling on the existing lot and does not change the county’s AR density standard for other parcels. Staff included a septic inspection and site plan in the record; the transcript indicates the septic was inspected and approved prior to the hearing.
