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Board grants Monzo family a buffer variance for a 14x28-foot pool, requires minor buffer management plan
Summary
The Board of Appeals approved a variance allowing James and Karen Monzo to build a 14-by-28-foot in-ground pool in the critical-area modified buffer, finding narrow lot configuration and utility constraints created an unwarranted hardship; the approval is conditioned on an approved minor buffer management plan before issuance of a building permit.
The Queen Anne's County Board of Appeals approved a buffer variance for James and Karen Monzo to construct a 14-by-28-foot in-ground saltwater pool in the critical-area modified buffer on their 0.31-acre lot in the Chester River Beach subdivision, subject to staff-recommended conditions and a required minor buffer management plan.
Planning staff summarized site constraints that informed their recommendation: the lot is narrow with a 100-foot critical-area buffer and mapped modified buffer area (MBA); the property contains front-yard utilities (a well and a sewer line) and overhead lines that limit placement of accessory structures; staff proposed mitigation including removal of 1,095 square feet of driveway and a 3:1 mitigation planting plan (four northern white cedars and native grasses). Staff recommended approval contingent on minor buffer management plan approval before any building permit is issued.
Applicant Jim Monzo told the board he and his wife plan to move to the property full time and that there is no practicable alternative location on the parcel for a pool because of setbacks, the well setback and the sewer line. "The hardship is really we have no other place on the property to put the pool," Monzo said, and he emphasized health and rehabilitation uses for the family.
Pool contractor Scott Gates of Patriot Pools described construction and mitigation measures to minimize disturbance: using a small rubber skid steer for excavation, raising pool equipment about 18 inches, foregoing a surrounding patio to limit impervious surface, and planting additional vegetation into the buffer if needed. Gates noted that a pool under 400 square feet is "very, very small" in his experience and explained construction minimums.
Board members reviewed the statutory and COMAR criteria for a critical-area variance, adopted the staff findings, and voted to grant the variance with the condition that the applicant receive no building permit until the county approves the minor buffer management plan (in accordance with COMAR and county code). The board also noted the case will be held the required 30 days because it is a critical-area variance; a formal written decision will be provided to the applicant.
The approval allows the Monzos to proceed with finalizing mitigation and permit paperwork; the board stressed that work cannot begin until all required approvals and permits are in place.
