Board approves after‑the‑fact variances for Pier 450 restaurant at Smith Creek Marina with mitigation and bonded planting plan

The St. Mary’s County Board of Appeals on March 17 granted after‑the‑fact variances for Smith Creek Marine LLC (operating as Pier 450) that allow a ground‑level outdoor dining deck and a service area/bar within the expanded critical‑area buffer at Ridge, conditioned on an approved and bonded buffer management and mitigation plan.

Why it matters: The restaurant and related outdoor features are accessory uses to an existing marina and motel on a 2.05‑acre parcel that lies largely inside an expanded critical‑area buffer (expanded to 300 feet in places because of hydric soils). The business owner told the board the outdoor deck sits on an existing concrete pad and the outdoor bar was built on a pre‑existing block foundation that had held fueling tanks; the owner also removed the fuel tanks and submitted a buffer management plan that is approved and bonded prior to the hearing.

What the board heard: Owner Peggy Venzl…