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Board approves Burks’ variance to relocate pool within expanded critical-area buffer in Lexington Park
Summary
The St. Mary’s County Board of Appeals approved a variance allowing Michael and Sara Burks to remove an old pool and install a new pool and patio farther from the shoreline, authorizing 1,872 sq. ft. of permanent disturbance in the county’s expanded critical-area buffer along River Hill Court in Lexington Park.
The St. Mary’s County Board of Appeals voted unanimously Aug. 28 to grant a variance permitting Michael and Sara Burks to remove an aging pool and install a new pool and patio that will result in 1,872 square feet of permanent disturbance in the county’s expanded critical-area buffer at 23460 River Hill Court in Lexington Park.
County staff told the board the project is a request under the St. Mary’s County Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance for VAAP25‑1134, seeking relief from CZO section 71.8.0.3 to allow disturbance of the expanded buffer for a new pool and associated pavers. Joelle, a staff member with the Department of Land Use and Growth Management, said the property is 2.5 acres, zoned residential neighborhood conservation with a limited development critical-area overlay expanded to 300 feet because of hydric and highly erodible soils, and that the project is exempt from county soil conservation and stormwater requirements because the proposed disturbance is under 5,000 square feet.
The Burkses told the board the existing pool has been in place since before the county’s critical-area program and that the concrete decking is sinking along a steep slope adjacent to the water. “Rather than continuing to fight that and repair that, we want to move it back further away from the water,” Sara Burks said, adding the owners will use pavers and a planting plan to stabilize the slope. Michael Burks told the board moving the pool creates an opportunity to stabilize the steep slope through the buffer replantings staff requires.
Staff said a 3:1 replanting ratio is required for the 1,872 square feet of disturbance; the project will require 4,416 square feet of plantings and a buffer management plan and planting agreement to be approved before a permit is issued. The applicants may receive credit for up to 1,200 square feet of lot coverage removed if the area is stabilized. The Bridal Area Commission’s letter and health department signoff were included in the record, staff said, and certified mail notices to nearby property owners were received and added to the record.
After limited board questioning about the pool size, materials (the applicants said the new pool will be a bit larger and use pavers rather than poured concrete), slope stabilization and that no written public comments were received, a board member moved to approve the variance finding the standards in section 24.4 of the CZO had been met. The motion passed unanimously; the board directed staff to prepare an order reflecting the decision to be signed within 60 days. Staff told the applicants a 30‑day appeal period to circuit court follows the signing of the order.
The decision allows the Burkses to proceed with the new pool and patio subject to the buffer planting and permitting requirements described by staff. The board record notes the order and permit conditions will specify the planting agreement and stabilization work required before a building permit is issued.
