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Dorchester County BZA allows second dwelling on 0.9-acre Churches Road parcel for family care
Summary
The Board of Zoning Appeals granted a variance (V25-10) permitting a second dwelling on a 0.9-acre lot at 4782 Churches Road to enable an aging family member’s relocation to a manufactured home; staff had recommended denial under the county’s current density rule.
The Dorchester County Board of Zoning Appeals on July 23 approved variance V25-10 to allow a second dwelling on a 0.9-acre parcel at 4782 Churches Road, after an applicant described family and historical reasons for keeping an existing century-old house on the property.
Applicant Sonia Register told the board she seeks permission to place a manufactured home on the parcel so her elderly father can move into the trailer while the existing house—a family home more than 100 years old—remains on the site. Register said her father will move into the trailer and will not continue to occupy the older house.
County staff presented the application and said the parcel previously contained a second dwelling and that an additional septic system remains on the property. Staff explained that under earlier zoning rules a smaller per-dwelling acreage applied, but a 2019 amendment to the county zoning code now limits AR residential parcels to one dwelling per acre. Based on the county’s variance standards, staff recommended denial.
Register told the board the family is considering combining an adjacent parcel that is under the same ownership, which would create roughly 1.37 acres together, and that they planned to obtain a survey. A board member cited the presence of existing infrastructure and the parcel’s prior use when moving to approve the variance, saying an extraordinary condition exists and that infrastructure would otherwise go unused.
The motion to approve was seconded and carried on a voice vote; the transcript records “Aye. Motion carries. Your variance is granted.” The record does not include a roll-call vote or individual vote tallies.
The board did not record additional conditions or follow-up tasks for implementation in the July 23 transcript. No members of the public spoke in opposition during the public comment period as recorded.
