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Board grants variance to allow detached garage at 1215 Brown Fox Drive
Summary
The Board of Appeals approved a variance Sept. 4 to reduce a side setback from 30 to 5 feet so Huffner Construction can build a 24×25 detached garage for property owner Carl Murphy at 1215 Brown Fox Drive, citing septic‑recovery constraints and no neighbor protests.
The Calvert County Board of Appeals granted a variance Sept. 4 allowing Huffner Construction to build a 24×25 detached garage at 1215 Brown Fox Drive, reducing the side setback to 5 feet.
Builder Forrest Huffner told the board the lot’s shape and a septic‑recovery area (SRA) drawn across the rear of the property forced the proposed garage placement forward, closer to the lot line. He said the design was reduced from a planned 25×25 to 24×25 to minimize encroachment. “To avoid the septic recovery area, we had to move the garage forward, and then that requires… the lot is pie shaped,” Huffner said.
Board members reviewed structural and utility questions — concrete footings and washout, transformer and meter locations, drainage management, and whether the garage would match the house siding — and asked about neighbor notice; Huffner said neighbors had no objections. The board recorded findings of peculiar or unusual practical difficulties (the SRA and well locations), concluded the variance was the minimum adjustment necessary, and moved to grant the request. The board also directed standard construction‑phase controls (silt fence, washout area) and coordination with utilities as needed.
The board closed the record and issued a favorable decision; any required building permits, utility clearances and E&S controls remain conditions of construction.
