Board approves variance to record 1988 deeded lot in rural preservation district

The St. Mary's County Board of Appeals on April 9 approved a variance allowing the recording of a subdivision around existing conditions for a parcel created by deed in 1988 in the Rural Preservation District.

The applicants, Elizabeth Mary Waskovich and Joseph Stanley Waskovich, sought relief from Section 32.1 of the St. Mary's County Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance to increase density in the Rural Preservation District so that an existing deeded parcel of about 1.2 acres could be legally recorded and sold. Staff said the parcel was created by deed in 1988 without the subdivision plat recording required under county subdivision regulations adopted in 1978.

An attorney for the applicants described the matter as a “parcel of record” issue arising countywide when older deeds were recorded without a corresponding plat. The staff report said subdivision regulations at the time required plats; because the deed was recorded without a plat, the parcel is not technically a parcel of record under current land‑recording practice. The property totals 2.7 acres and currently contains two houses; subdividing the property around those existing conditions would create two lots smaller than the current 5‑acre density requirement in the Rural Preservation District.

Staff recommended approval, finding practical difficulty because the conditions (existing deeds and built conditions) predate current subdivision and zoning standards and were not the fault of the current applicants. The board accepted the staff report as findings of fact and approved the variance to allow subdivision around existing conditions so that the recorded plat will reflect the deeds recorded in county land records. Board members authorized staff to have the chair sign the final order outside of a hearing so the subdivision could be recorded sooner; staff will schedule an open public meeting if signatures require a quorum outside a regular hearing schedule.

The board noted the applicants had obtained individual county agency approvals through the Technical Evaluation Committee and said the county will mail the signed order to the applicants; any appeal must be filed within 30 days of the order’s signature.