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Board approves variance for covered porch at Half Pine Point Road despite Critical Area concern
Summary
The Board of Appeals voted unanimously to allow John Neville and Diane Byers to extend a covered porch past an existing patio at 24548 Half Pine Point Road, accepting mitigation plantings and removal of a small shed as offsets after the Critical Area Commission recommended redesign.
The St. Mary's County Board of Appeals unanimously approved a variance Thursday that will allow homeowners John Neville and Diane Byers to construct a covered porch that extends beyond an existing patio at 24548 Half Pine Point Road in Hollywood.
Planner Amanda Yoel summarized the request: the applicants seek relief from the county lot-coverage limit (CZO §41.5.0.3.i.1) to build a covered porch that projects approximately 5 feet by roughly 28–30 feet past the existing patio area. The parcel is about 1.02 acres with an existing house built in 1982; the site is in the rural preservation land-use category and the limited development area of the county’s critical-area overlay. Yoel said the applicant proposed 400 square feet of buffer mitigation and noted that the critical area commission had responded in opposition and emphasized the applicant’s burden to satisfy variance standards.
John Neville told the board the covered portion is intended to provide shelter and accessibility for an elderly family member who uses a wheelchair; he said the bump-out is primarily a design decision to provide sheltered outdoor living space contiguous with interior circulation. Neville said the applicants are prepared to exceed the county’s mitigation requirement and remove a small 5-by-10-foot shed that lies in the 100-foot buffer area to offset the lot-coverage increase.
Board members pressed the applicant on alternatives and redesign options raised by the Critical Area Commission. Neville said redesigning the rear of the house to avoid the variance would impose substantial cost and degrade interior connections the family is creating for accessibility. He also said the proposed mitigation plan exceeds the 400-square-foot requirement and that he had coordinated with county staff to remediate shoreline riprap and invasive plantings.
After discussion the board voted 5–0 to approve the variance. Staff will prepare a written order reflecting the decision to be signed by the board within 60 days; a 30-day appeal period begins when the order is signed.
