Board backs variance to let Taylors Island church build planted berm to reduce tidal flooding

The Dorchester County planning board recommended approval of a critical‑area variance for Newerbach United Methodist Church (case no. 2829) to permit construction of a planted flood‑mitigation berm within the 100‑foot tidal buffer at 4350 Smithville Road in Taylors Island.

Staff presented the application, noting the 1.03‑acre parcel is in the county critical area and floodplain and that the church and associated structures predate the county critical‑area regulations. Staff recommended a favorable recommendation to the Board of Appeals conditioned on (1) final engineering demonstrating the berm will not materially increase flooding on neighboring properties, (2) measures to minimize disturbance to the buffer and non‑tidal wetlands, (3) a critical‑area buffer management plan and mitigation plantings, and (4) receipt of any required state or federal permits and Maryland Department of the Environment approvals.

Applicant representative Frank Chet described the site as ‘‘an original church that’s over a 100 years old’’ and said the congregation ‘‘has tried for a decade to get some flood mitigation’’; he called the proposed planted berm a ‘‘green solution’’ intended to protect the building without creating new flood hazards. Chet said the design stays under a 5,000‑square‑foot disturbance threshold, includes added downspouts and planted native species, and would be about 2 feet high to avoid blocking flows.

County counsel Lance Young advised the board to apply the variance standards in deliberation — including unwarranted hardship, whether the proposal is the minimum necessary, and environmental impacts — and noted the applicant submitted written responses to criteria for the board to review. After questions about alternatives (raising the building) and environmental effects, a motion to approve the variance as a hardship with the six staff conditions passed on a voice vote; the board asked the applicant to provide the final engineering documentation required by staff and to supply the board of appeals decision within 10 days.

The approval is a recommendation to the Dorchester County Board of Appeals and remains subject to the board’s final decision and any state or federal permit approvals.