Board approves lot-coverage trade, new deck and garage placement for Cusick property in Hollywood

The St. Mary's County Board of Appeals voted Dec. 11 to approve a variance allowing changes in lot coverage and construction of a deck, garage and carport at 25029 Briscoe Road in Hollywood, for property owner Joseph Cusick.

Anita Sullivan, agent for Cusick, said the proposal would renovate the existing 1959 house with a second- and third-floor addition and add a rear (water-side) deck extending 13 feet across the back of the house. Sullivan told the board the applicant would "put the garage over existing driveway, which is already impervious surface. The carport will be over existing impervious surface." She said the applicant would remove old sheds, dog pens, concrete slabs and other impervious features and convert a gravel parking area near the bulkhead to grass.

County staff described the property as a grandfathered lot with approximately 10,571 square feet of existing lot coverage (19.9 percent of the parcel), where the allowed lot coverage for the parcel size is 7,971 square feet (15 percent). Staff reported the applicant proposed to remove 1,813 square feet of existing lot coverage and add 1,942 square feet of new lot coverage, leaving a net increase of 129 square feet; staff advised that removing additional gravel adjacent to the retaining wall would bring the net back within grandfathered coverage.

Staff recommended approval with conditions including removal of the gravel along the side of the retaining wall between the retaining wall and the creek, adherence to a critical-area planting agreement and mitigation at a 3:1 ratio per square foot of variance granted. Staff also required quarter-inch spacing between the deck boards so water could pass through.

At the hearing counsel and staff confirmed the applicant had withdrawn the portion of the request to exceed overall lot-coverage limits by instead agreeing to trade existing lot coverage. The board's motion (recorded in the minutes) approved the request to "add the coverage in the critical-area buffer and to trade more than 1,000 square feet of lot coverage in the critical-area buffer," conditioned on removal of the gravel area and compliance with planting and mitigation requirements. The board noted the county requires a planting agreement and stated a 30-day appeal period follows the signing of the written order.

The board's motion was made on the record and seconded; the motion passed by voice vote with no recorded nays. The applicant will receive the signed order by mail once the county prepares it.