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Record of Proceedings

Calvert County Board of Appeals Meeting – July 3, 2025

County Commissioners & Boards — Thursday, July 3, 2025
BodyCalvert County, Maryland
SessionCounty Commissioners & Boards
DateThursday, July 3, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:24:41

Original source
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0:04

We'll begin the hearing by taking roll call.

0:07

Mr.

0:07

Clark.

0:08

Here.

0:09

Mr.

0:09

Ireland.

0:10

Ms.

0:10

President.

0:11

Mr.

0:11

McKinney.

0:12

Mr.

0:13

Briscoe.

0:14

Here.

0:14

And I am here.

0:17

Before we we have established a quorum, our counsel this morning is Ms.

0:21

Lisa Smith Sanders.

0:23

The board administrator is Tamara Blake Wallace.

0:27

And the board's coordinator and clerk is Maureen Dole.

0:32

We are operating in a hybrid format this morning with both in-person and virtual attendees via Zoom.

0:39

At this time, the coordinator will go over Zoom etiquette for the hearing and identified unnamed attendees for this session.

0:47

Welcome to today's Board of Appeals public hearing.

0:50

I will be your Zoom host.

0:51

This meeting is being recorded on video and audio for record keeping purposes.

0:56

Those who testify in today's hearing or previously submitted written correspondence shall be considered a party of interest.

1:02

Please keep yourself muted until you are called on to speak.

1:06

Use the raise hand function, and I will call on you in turn.

1:09

Say your name each time you speak for the benefit of those who cannot see you.

1:13

Only use the chat feature for technical issues and not to comment about cases.

1:18

Comments and chat cannot be included as part of the official record.

1:21

I will now identify any unnamed attendees.

1:25

We do have a caller ending in 292.

1:29

Would you please unmute yourself and state your name for the record, please?

1:41

Caller ending in 292.

1:54

They are possibly just observing, so we can move forward.

1:58

Thank you.

2:09

He had been an alternate.

2:10

I didn't realize his appointment makes him permanent.

2:13

So welcome, Mr.

2:14

Briscoe.

2:15

Thank you.

2:16

Today's hearing will be conducted in the following manner.

2:19

I'll call the case to be heard.

2:21

I will then call on the applicants to identify themselves by stating their name and address.

2:26

If a speaker is acting as a representative, I will ask them to identify the applicant they represent.

2:32

The coordinator will address the public notice requirement and mark the exhibits, then swear in the applicants and interested parties wishing to give testimony.

2:42

Next, the applicant will present their case.

2:44

We ask that the applicant or representative please take the time to clearly address the approve approval criteria.

2:52

The board must use this to render their decision for each case.

2:56

We realize that some of the criteria seems redundant, so if the your comments to the first time apply to the second, you can just let us know that by reference.

3:10

Persons wishing to cross-examine witnesses will be provided the opportunity to do so.

3:15

This will be for questions only, not testimony.

3:19

Any person wishing to testify on a case will be given an opportunity to speak.

3:24

Persons testifying will need to identify themselves by name, address, and occupation, whether participating in a group or virtually, or excuse me, participating in person or virtually.

3:36

Individuals may be limited to two minutes, and a group spokesman may have up to five minutes to speak.

3:43

Time limits are at the discretion of the board chair.

3:46

All testimony must be sworn.

3:49

The applicant will have the final opportunity to respond to any public testimony and present closing statements.

3:56

The board will make findings of fact based on exhibits submitted and accepted prior to or during the hearing and testimony heard today.

4:04

The board will render a decision within 45 days after the case is closed, and an order will be issued no later than 45 days after the decision is rendered.

4:14

The rules of procedure, agenda, and scrap transcripts are available through the board's staff.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Zoning And Land Use█████████████████████████████████████████████79%
Procedural███████13%
Environmental Protection███6%
Animal Welfare█1%
Legal Affairs█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Calvert County Board of Appeals Meeting – July 3, 2025

The Calvert County Board of Appeals held a public hearing on Thursday, July 3, 2025, at 9:00 a.m. in a hybrid format. The board considered three cases: an after-the-fact special exception for keeping chickens, a forest conservation variance for tree removal to facilitate a subdivision, and a critical area variance for construction on steep slopes. Decisions included granting the first two applications and continuing the third to allow for further mitigation discussions.

Case 25-4223: Special Exception for 18 Chickens (Heather & Matthew Noriega)

  • The applicants applied for an after-the-fact special exception to keep 18 chickens and a coop on a 0.5-acre lot zoned Waterfront Community District (WCD) at 1000 Laurel Court, St. Leonard.
  • Public notice was met; exhibits included letters of support and one letter of opposition from Stephanie Clark expressing concerns about noise, predators, and fairness.
  • Heather Noriega testified that the chickens are pets, they produce no excessive noise (no roosters), waste is managed, and the coop will be relocated per health department guidance.
  • The board closed the record and unanimously granted the special exception with conditions: limited to current owner and property, 18 chickens maximum, no roosters, no commercial sales, and compliance with health department requirements.

Case 25-4224: Forest Conservation Variance (Jeff Martus for LPL Homes, LLC)

  • The applicant requested a variance to remove three specimen trees to subdivide a 3.02-acre parcel at 4260 Hunting Creek Road, Huntingtown (zoned Town Center District) into two residential lots with a shared driveway.
  • The staff report noted that the property is no longer in a historic district.
  • Jeff Martus testified that the irregular shape, topography, and limited frontage necessitate the removal; four of seven specimen trees will be retained, and 0.91 acres of forest retention area will be created.
  • The board found that the variance met all criteria and granted it unanimously without additional conditions.

Case 25-4225: Critical Area and Setback Variance (Jeff Tewell for Roger & Kristie Reed)

  • The applicant sought a critical area variance to disturb steep slopes (>15% and >25%) and a general variance to reduce the 10-foot setback off steep slopes to 0 feet to construct a Cape Cod house with basement, deck, and stoop on a 12,000 sq ft lot at 1116 El Paso Circle, Lusby (zoned Residential District and Critical Area Limited Development Area).
  • Four emails of opposition were received, including from DAP Homes LLC (Pawan Gupta), who owns the downhill property (lot 186) and reported significant stormwater runoff damage.
  • Jeff Tewell explained that the house is the smallest in the neighborhood (26’x36’), positioned as far forward and south as possible to minimize impacts, and that stormwater management meets ESD volume requirements.
  • Board member McKinney expressed concern about exacerbating runoff to lot 186. The board discussed liability and determined that continuing the case would allow the applicant to work with the downhill property owner to address drainage issues.
  • The board voted unanimously to continue the case for up to six months, allowing the applicant to meet with DAP Homes LLC and potentially the Chesapeake Ranch Estates to find a solution.

Public Comment

  • No members of the public were present to comment.

Key Outcomes

  • Decision on Case 25-4223: Granted special exception with conditions (vote 5-0).
  • Decision on Case 25-4224: Granted forest conservation variance (vote 5-0).
  • Decision on Case 25-4225: Continued for up to six months (vote 5-0) to allow applicant to mitigate runoff concerns with downhill neighbor.
  • Administrative Session: None.
  • Adjournment: The meeting adjourned after public comment.

Meeting Transcript

We'll begin the hearing by taking roll call. Mr. Clark. Here. Mr. Ireland. Ms. President. Mr. McKinney. Mr. Briscoe. Here. And I am here. Before we we have established a quorum, our counsel this morning is Ms. Lisa Smith Sanders. The board administrator is Tamara Blake Wallace. And the board's coordinator and clerk is Maureen Dole. We are operating in a hybrid format this morning with both in-person and virtual attendees via Zoom. At this time, the coordinator will go over Zoom etiquette for the hearing and identified unnamed attendees for this session. Welcome to today's Board of Appeals public hearing. I will be your Zoom host. This meeting is being recorded on video and audio for record keeping purposes. Those who testify in today's hearing or previously submitted written correspondence shall be considered a party of interest. Please keep yourself muted until you are called on to speak. Use the raise hand function, and I will call on you in turn. Say your name each time you speak for the benefit of those who cannot see you. Only use the chat feature for technical issues and not to comment about cases. Comments and chat cannot be included as part of the official record. I will now identify any unnamed attendees. We do have a caller ending in 292. Would you please unmute yourself and state your name for the record, please? Caller ending in 292. They are possibly just observing, so we can move forward. Thank you. He had been an alternate. I didn't realize his appointment makes him permanent. So welcome, Mr. Briscoe. Thank you. Today's hearing will be conducted in the following manner. I'll call the case to be heard. I will then call on the applicants to identify themselves by stating their name and address. If a speaker is acting as a representative, I will ask them to identify the applicant they represent. The coordinator will address the public notice requirement and mark the exhibits, then swear in the applicants and interested parties wishing to give testimony. Next, the applicant will present their case. We ask that the applicant or representative please take the time to clearly address the approve approval criteria. The board must use this to render their decision for each case. We realize that some of the criteria seems redundant, so if the your comments to the first time apply to the second, you can just let us know that by reference. Persons wishing to cross-examine witnesses will be provided the opportunity to do so.

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