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Board permits removal of two trees for Solomons mixed‑use project with 3:1 mitigation
Summary
COA Barrett LLC received a critical‑area variance allowing removal of two large trees near Back Creek to enable a mixed‑use redevelopment in Solomons Town Center; the board required mitigation and noted stormwater and landscaping improvements.
The Calvert County Board of Appeals granted a critical‑area variance on Feb. 6, 2025, allowing COA Barrett LLC to remove two trees on property being redeveloped as mixed‑use in the Solomons Town Center, finding the removal would not injure the public interest if mitigated.
Anthony Olexon, principal engineer for COA Barrett, told the board the trees’ critical root zones and the parcel’s narrow, double‑fronted configuration would preclude building the project as designed without removing the trees. "If we're not able to remove those trees, we are unable to build basically half of the project," Olexon said, describing how critical root zones for a 36‑inch and a 24‑inch tree would eliminate substantial buildable area.
County and state reviewers had raised concerns about tree removal within the critical area buffer. Olexon said the project will add stormwater treatment systems and a landscaping plan that meets or exceeds the three‑to‑one canopy mitigation expected in the county’s mitigation approach. Board members questioned distances of trunks to the 30‑foot critical‑area line, potential disease noted by a tree service, and the timing of state comments; a county reviewer on the record said the state retained review authority for certain critical‑area items and issued a late comment.
After deliberation the board found the request met the critical‑area variance criteria, including that denial would create an unwarranted hardship and that the mitigation and planned stormwater improvements would offset impacts to water quality and habitat. The board closed the record and granted the variances unanimously.
