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Board approves Quaid variance to replace manufactured home within critical-area buffer at Colton's Point
Summary
The Board granted VAAP24-1125 on Jan. 23, 2025, allowing the Quaid family to replace an existing manufactured home at 20386 Bulls Road. The board required a buffer-management plan, planting agreement and 7,667 sq. ft. of mitigation to be approved prior to permits.
The St. Mary's County Board of Appeals on Jan. 23, 2025 approved a variance (VAAP24-1125) that allows the Quaid family to replace an existing manufactured home at 20386 Bulls Road in Colton's Point with a new house, porches and a driveway that will intrude into the critical-area buffer. County staff said the parcel is about 29,620 square feet and lies in the limited-development overlay.
Land use staff reported that the Department of Land Use & Growth Management has approved the site plan for zoning and floodplain considerations and the health department has approved the septic plan. Staff also recorded that Soil Conservation and Stormwater reviews were not required because proposed disturbance is under the 5,000-square-foot threshold that triggers those reviews. The Critical Area Commission noted the proposal provides an opportunity to reduce buffer impacts but emphasized that the applicant bears the burden of proving the critical-area variance standards, including unwarranted hardship.
Applicant Stephanie Quaid described the project at the hearing: “we are trying to replace a trailer with a home,” and she and family members said most adjacent properties are already within the 100-foot buffer. The Quaids told the board the lot is narrow and that the septic mound, existing tanks and buried utilities limit where a house can be built. Their submitted plan included 7,667 square feet of buffer mitigation plantings and a living shoreline component; staff said a buffer-management plan and a critical-area planting agreement must be approved by Land Use & Growth Management before a building permit is issued.
Board members asked for clarification on the proposed driveway and on how much of the disturbance the living-shoreline work would offset; staff and the applicants said the living-shoreline planting and the mitigation plantings are included in the total mitigation square footage. The applicants said the proposed house footprint is sited to avoid the septic mound and existing tanks and to place the structure as far from the water as practical given the parcel constraints.
After hearing staff presentation and public testimony (none opposed spoke at the hearing), the board voted to grant the variance. Staff will prepare the formal order; once signed it will be subject to the usual 30-day appeal period to circuit court.
Votes at a glance: VAAP24-1125 — Approved (unanimous).
