Board of Appeals continues Kohl’s Lexington Park buffer‑yard variance after debate over fence, safety and planning review

The St. Mary’s County Board of Appeals on April 22 continued VAP‑07‑130‑003, a variance application filed by LV Retail Land LLC for the Lexington Village shopping center (site of Kohl’s), to the board’s May 27 meeting so county staff can determine whether changes to the approved 50‑foot B buffer require Planning Commission review.

Staff, speaking through planning staff member Yvonne, told the board the application would modify the buffer‑yard requirement in section 63.4 of the county comprehensive zoning ordinance. Under schedule 50.4 the existing retail use is treated as high intensity because the store exceeds 20,000 square feet, producing a required B buffer (normally 75 feet, reducible to 50 feet when a six‑foot berm or fence is installed). The approved site plan presumed a 50‑foot buffer plus a solid visual barrier; staff recommended…