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St. Mary's County board approves variance to disturb 100-foot critical-area buffer for Leonardtown home replacement
Summary
The board unanimously approved VAAP 25-2137, allowing a replacement house at 39200 Montpelier Lane in Leonardtown to disturb the 100-foot critical area buffer with required mitigation; staff will prepare the order and a 30-day appeal period follows signing.
St. Mary's County board voted unanimously to approve a variance (VAAP 25-2137) allowing work within the 100-foot critical area buffer for a replacement house at 39200 Montpelier Lane in Leonardtown.
Stacy Clements, a county land-use staff member, told the board that the property is owned by Brian and Rachel Farr, measures 1.62 acres and currently has a house and pool. The parcel is zoned Rural Preservation and sits in a Resource Conservation critical area overlay.
Steve Vaughn, the presenter for the applicants, described the proposal as removing the existing house, deck, swimming pool and portions of the driveway and carport and replacing the house largely within the existing footprint. "We are reducing the amount of lot coverage in the buffer by 2,177 square feet," Vaughn said, adding that the project would reduce total lot coverage on the lot by 3,062 square feet.
Vaughn said the plan proposes 466 square feet of new impervious surface inside the buffer, which must be mitigated at a 3-to-1 ratio, and that any lot coverage removed and stabilized with native vegetation may be credited toward mitigation. He also described stormwater measures including dry wells and non-rooftop disconnects to treat driveway runoff. "There will be a small amount left, I believe, just under 300 square feet of existing driveway" in the buffer, Vaughn said.
Board members questioned site access and context; Vaughn said Montpelier Lane is a long gravel driveway off Bayside Road that primarily serves the family farm. After reviewing the maps and numbers, one board member said, "It is 3,062," confirming the total removal calculation in the record.
A board member moved to approve the variance, reading the motion into the record: "In the matter of VAAP 25-2137, the Farr property having made a finding that the standards for granting a variance and the objectives of section 24.4 of the Saint Mary's County comprehensive zoning ordinance have been met. A move to approve the variance request from section 71.8 0.3 to disturb the 100 foot critical area buffer for a replacement house." The motion was seconded and the board voted unanimously to approve.
An order reflecting the board's decision will be prepared by staff and signed by the board within 60 days. A 30-day period follows the date the order is signed in which any aggrieved party may appeal the board's decision to the circuit court, the chair said. The county will email the applicants a copy of the order once it is signed.
The board also noted the site plan has received approvals from Land Use and Growth Management, zoning, floodplain and stormwater management, while health department and soil conservation district reviews remained pending.
The decision permits the applicants to proceed with the replacement house subject to required mitigation, buffer-planting agreements and final approval of buffer management plans and permit issuance by staff.
