Board approves Hodgkins’ deck and garage addition with mitigation and relocated steps

The St. Mary’s County Board of Appeals on April 8 approved variances that let homeowner Cindy Hodgkins add a 15 by 24‑foot deck to the rear of her house and construct a 730‑square‑foot second floor above an existing detached garage at 45311 Clarks Landing Road in Hollywood. The board approved relocation of existing steps and a gravel access path to the pier as part of the variance package.

The decision matters because the deck represents permanent disturbance within the 100‑foot critical‑area buffer; staff calculated 360 square feet of permanent disturbance and required 3:1 mitigation (1,080 square feet) to be approved before a building permit is issued. The garage addition exceeds the director’s administrative expansion…