Commission recommends conditional approval for Honey Lodge elevation and wraparound deck; critical-area staff sought reductions

Dorchester County planning staff and the commission discussed a variance request from Savannah Lake LLC (the Honey Lodge) to elevate an existing structure, construct porches and a wraparound deck within the 100-foot tidewater buffer, and seek a front-yard setback variance for frontage along Elliot Island Road.

Staff and Critical Area personnel told the commission the property is almost entirely wetland or inside the 100-foot tidewater buffer and that the existing structure dates to 1945. The applicant proposed elevating the building on pilings so finished floor elevation would be about 9 to 10 feet above existing ground; staff said the county's base flood elevation is 7 feet mean sea level and required flood protection elevation is 9 feet. Elevation work and the proposed wrapped deck prompted the application for variances.

The initial site plan submitted to staff showed a 242-square-foot covered porch, a 727-square-foot covered porch, and 975 square feet of open-deck area (a combined total of roughly 1,924 square feet of new or redeveloped decking and porches, according to staff comments read into the record). Critical Area staff and planning staff said the total scope was too large and not minimized to the extent possible; staff recommended the applicant shrink the deck to a narrow walkway and reduce the size of the covered porches to the minimum necessary to provide safe ingress and egress.

The applicant's representative said the owners plan to lift the structure on pilings, slide it back and then forward as part of the elevation process, and that after elevating the building they plan fences and other security measures for the site. The applicant proposed reducing the wraparound walkway to roughly 3 feet at its narrowest point and shrinking the front and rear porches; the applicant's representative said additional steps or landings above the elevated grade would be required for egress but that Critical Area staff had not opposed stairs where needed.

Planning commission members and staff repeatedly emphasized the need to minimize disturbance in the buffer and asked the applicant to submit a reduced plan before the Board of Appeals hearing. The commission made a motion for a favorable recommendation to the Board of Appeals contingent on the applicant reducing the size of the proposed improvements to the minimum necessary; the motion passed with members saying "Aye." The commission's recommendation is therefore conditional: staff and the commission will forward a favorable recommendation provided the applicant submits a revised plan reflecting the promised reductions.

The record includes several technical points read into the record by staff: the property is classified RC (resource conservation), critical area designation CA, and portions of the lot are in the floodplain; the front-yard setback as measured from the right-of-way was 16 feet on the existing building while the district front-yard requirement is 40 feet, leading to a requested 24-foot (transcript shows 28-foot wording elsewhere) front-yard setback variance depending on the measure used. The transcript shows staff and the applicant will continue to work to reduce the footprint prior to the Board of Appeals hearing.

The commission's conditional favorable recommendation does not itself approve the variances; it forwards a recommendation to the Board of Appeals, which will make the final decision. The transcript records no final Board of Appeals action during this meeting.