St. Mary's County Board of Appeals unanimously approves variance for Richard property addition and deck

The St. Mary's County Board of Appeals on Sept. 11 unanimously approved a variance (VAAP-250728) allowing an addition and deck on the Richard property at 40383 Old Breton Beach Road to be closer to the water than the principal structure on an adjacent parcel.

The variance, requested by the Richard Living Trust and presented by applicant representative Sean Sullivan and owner Joseph Richard, was granted to allow a bedroom/bathroom addition and an attached deck on a property the applicant said is composed of three lots (45, 46 and 47) and totals about 22,200 square feet. Sullivan said the project is intended to improve accessibility for the owners: "the Richards just wanna have a larger, you know, just a little bit larger, space," and that the addition was designed to avoid a septic field.

Board staff, represented in the hearing by Stacy Clements of the county Land Use and Growth Management (LUGM) office, said the project is in the Critical Area limited development overlay, is exempt from stormwater and soil conservation review because it proposes less than 5,000 square feet of soil disturbance, and that health department approval is still pending.…