Neighbors appeal issuance of building permit for garage, hot tub and other work at McKay's Beach property; hearing continued

Robert and Nancy Kuzmic asked the St. Mary's County Board of Appeals on Oct. 11, 2007, to reverse or hold in abeyance a Planning Director decision to issue a building permit for work at 18856 McKay's Beach Road (the Rice property), arguing the property contains unpermitted, after‑the‑fact construction, exceeds impervious-surface limits for its lot size, and may present health and safety risks.

The Kuzmics filed an appeal of Permit O7‑0118, which staff described in the legal notice as an application addressing multiple chapters of the county's Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance: Chapter 23 (appeals), Chapter 32 (property development regulations), Chapter 41 (Chesapeake Bay critical area), Chapter 51 (use regulations and standards), and Chapter 52 (nonconforming uses and structures). Appellants told the board they are particularly concerned about: (1) multiple after‑the‑fact improvements that they say were built without permits; (2) a recent permit approving a garage addition and a hot tub/deck that the appellants contend the ordinance prohibits in the buffer or requires a variance for; and (3) unanswered questions about septic capacity, electrical and structural inspections, and impervious-surface calculations.

At the hearing the appellants presented a chronology of the property: a small dwelling at the time of a 1986 deed and survey; a porch and other enlargements in the 1990s;…