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Board of Appeals grants Marrero a variance for small deck intrusion into Calvert County critical-area buffer
Summary
The Calvert County Board of Appeals on Oct. 3 unanimously granted a variance allowing Emilio Marrero to build a 32-by-15-foot deck that intrudes 1–2 feet into a steep-slope critical-area buffer; the approval requires 3:1 mitigation (55 sq ft disturbance) and a planting plan meeting COMAR standards before permit issuance.
The Calvert County Board of Appeals unanimously granted a variance Oct. 3 to allow a 32-by-15-foot deck to be attached to the rear of Emilio Marrero’s home at 8533 Pine Boulevard, a project the board said will disturb about 55 square feet of steep slope within the county critical-area buffer.
Marrero told the board the rear yard drops off steeply and that only the outer 1–2 feet of the proposed deck would intrude onto ground exceeding a 15% grade. "Our proposal is to build a deck on the back of the home... the impact area is only 55 square feet because we're only talking about between 1 and 2 feet of the deck at the very edge," Marrero said during his sworn testimony. He said the deck would be railed and that no trees would be removed.
Board member Bob Carpenter moved a set of findings that the lot’s steep topography creates practical and unusual difficulties and that, with mitigation, the project would not injure the public interest. Carpenter argued the mitigation requirement would improve the environment, saying the board would require planting at a 3-to-1 ratio to offset the 55-square-foot disturbance. "The mitigation... improve[s] the environment and should be considered in the public interest," Carpenter said as he presented the motion.
The board attached three conditions to the approval: submission of any updated documents as a resubmittal for the permit, mitigation at a 3:1 ratio for the 55 square feet of disturbance, and a planting plan that meets COMAR standards to be approved prior to permit issuance. The motion was seconded and passed on a unanimous 3–0 voice vote.
The board clerk had earlier confirmed that public notice letters were mailed on Sept. 12 and legal notices were posted on the county website and published in the Voice of Southern Maryland. No members of the public spoke in opposition at the hearing.
