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Board recommends special exception to allow 1,440 sq ft hunting accessory structure before a primary dwelling
Summary
The Dorchester County Board of Appeals recommended approval of a special exception allowing construction of a 1,440-square-foot accessory structure for hunting use before a primary dwelling is built, subject to applicable health- and environment-related approvals.
The board considered Field Case 4802 (Warner), an application for a special exception to allow construction of an accessory structure before a primary dwelling on a property classified as “agriculture conservation.”
Planning staff said the accessory structure would measure about 1,440 square feet and would be used for hunting-related storage and shelter. The applicant’s agent said the parcel previously had a dwelling that was dilapidated and that the applicant purchased the property for hunting; the applicant lives elsewhere in the county and seeks a place to store a four-wheeler and hunting gear and to get out of the weather during hunting trips. The site plan includes wetlands delineation verified by state review, planning staff said.
The applicant’s representative explained that the proposed building is a pre-fabricated steel-tube structure that cannot be converted easily into a full-time dwelling that would meet building- and energy-code requirements. The agent also said the applicant intends to set the building floor at the flood-protection elevation so the structure could accommodate a toilet and sink only if the county health department approves a sewage reserve area and any required septic permits. Planning staff and the board noted that the property does not meet acreage thresholds for certain agricultural-building exemptions and that prior informal administrative interpretations in other cases were not codified.
Board members asked about neighboring uses and visibility from the road; the applicant’s agent suggested adding windows on the road-facing side to reduce an appearance of a storage building if that was a concern. The board discussed whether time limits for constructing a primary dwelling should be imposed; staff said there is no county code requirement that a primary structure be built within a set time after construction of an accessory structure.
A board member moved for a favorable recommendation to grant the special exception. The board approved the recommendation by voice vote with an affirmative “Aye.” The transcript does not record individual roll-call votes. The recommendation is advisory; any sanitary-system approvals, floodplain and wetland conditions, and building-code compliance remain subject to state and county review.
The applicant and staff were advised to coordinate with the Dorchester County Health Department and Maryland environmental authorities as part of the permitting process.
