Board approves variances to allow detached garage and limited buffer disturbance at Miller Court property

The St. Mary's County Board of Appeals on Dec. 13, 2007, voted unanimously to approve two variances that let property owners Peter and Amy Ulrich add limited impervious surface in an expanded critical-area buffer and reduce the required front-yard setback for a detached garage at 2150 Miller Court in Leonardtown.

The Ulrichs sought relief from Section 71.8 0.3 of the county comprehensive zoning ordinance to allow work within the expanded critical-area buffer and from Schedule 32.1 to reduce the 25-foot front-yard setback for a detached garage. Michelle A., a Department of Land Use and Growth Management planner, presented staff findings and told the board staff supported both variance requests, subject to a critical-area planting agreement and other standard conditions.

The Ulrichs told the board their 0.88-acre lot (38,486 square feet) contains an existing dwelling and a failing septic system and that topography and an on-site stream leave only a limited location for a new drain field and the proposed work. Peter Ulrich said the family intends modest additions to the house and a detached garage placed at the front boundary to minimize driveway length and impervious-surface area. He told the board, “We’re aware of the potential environmental impact…so we did give a great deal of thought to minimizing the surface area coverage.”

Planning staff reported the lot is zoned Rural Preservation District with a Limited Development Area overlay and that, with the proposed work, the parcel would remain under the county’s 15 percent impervious-surface limit (staff calculated the property would be at approximately 12 percent). Staff noted the applicants are proposing to clear about 18 percent of existing vegetation and would be required to mitigate at a 3:1 planting ratio for any variance-granted disturbance in the buffer. The Department of Public Works and Transportation provided written confirmation that it has no present intent to extend Miller Court across the recorded right-of-way bordering the site; staff cited that email in recommending the setback relief.

The Critical Area Commission had signaled opposition in its review of the variance; staff told the board that the commission’s position represented a change from recent practice on some grandfathered properties but that staff still found the variance criteria for ‘‘unwarranted hardship’’ met because the lot’s topography and the position of existing structures constrain reasonable alternatives. The board moved to approve both variances, with the decision to be memorialized in an order prepared by staff, signed within 60 days, and mailed to the applicants. The board’s order will include the usual appeal timeline and the condition that the Ulrichs comply with the county’s critical-area planting agreement.

The board’s action authorizes the Ulrichs to place the garage where shown on their approved plan and to perform the limited buffer disturbance allowed under the conditions attached to the approval. Staff will prepare the signed order and mail it to the Ulrichs; any party wishing to appeal will have the statutory period following the order’s signing to do so.