Hearing examiner to review Mattingly appeal over unpermitted second dwelling in St. Mary's County

Jack Upton, the hearing examiner for St. Mary’s County, opened an appeal hearing April 25 for case number 12-1017 involving property owner Zach Mattingly and land-use staff over whether two structures on Mattingly’s Leonardtown property are legally existing nonconforming structures.

The dispute centers on whether a second dwelling exists at 39986 Lady Baltimore Avenue and whether it predates the county’s first zoning ordinance, adopted in 1974 — a date that matters because structures present before that ordinance can be treated as preexisting nonconforming. “Good morning. My name is Jack Upton. I'm assigned as the hearing examiner to, hear the case that we have before us this morning,” Upton said at the start of the hearing.

Attorney Jessica Andritz, representing Mattingly, told the examiner that Mattingly bought the property in the late 1990s and has repeatedly tried to obtain permits to repair and renovate structures on the parcel. “My client purchased this property in the late '90s,” Andritz said, describing…