Worcester County BZA denies Dixie Drive shed, approves multiple Ocean Pines setbacks and a CrossFit special exception

The Worcester County Board of Zoning Appeals on May 8, 2025 denied a request for a front-yard setback variance to place a 24-by-14 workshop shed on Dixie Drive but approved multiple other variances and a special exception during a meeting of the board.

The denial came on case 25-32 (William Orr and Annette Clark). The board voted 5-2 to deny the front-yard variance after the applicant said environmental constraints and septic/reserve areas left no alternative location on the lot. William Orr, the property owner, told the board that the lot "has 2 front yards, a septic system and septic reserve system" and that there was no other viable placement for a workshop. Board members who voted to deny cited proximity to the road, the size of the front-yard setback (35 feet for that lot because it is treated as having two front yards), and visibility/safety concerns; the denial vote was announced on the record as 5 to 2.

The board approved several other applications: - Case 25-29 (Beth and Louis LaBrunda) — The board approved a rear-yard variance 6-1 for a proposed above-ground pool and surrounding deck in Ocean Pines. The applicant told the board the lot is much smaller than the zoning minimum (reported as about 5,000 square feet) and that high groundwater made an in-ground pool impractical and expensive; the deck would be approximately 39 inches above grade. The vote on the record was 6 in favor, 1 opposed. - Case 25-27 (Cody Gadkowitz) — The board approved a reduced rear-yard variance after staff and the applicant submitted a revised site plan. The applicant said the originally advertised request was larger than the revised filing and that the Ocean Pines Architectural Review Committee had reviewed the published agenda…