Opinion ID: 1268089
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Duke Case

Text: Duke requested a permit to build a boathouse on Little Branch, another tributary to the Western Branch of the Corrotoman River. Duke's property also is zoned A-2. On September 29, 1987, following a public hearing, the Board denied the permit. In doing so, the Board stated that (1) Duke did not need a boathouse because he did not have a boat, (2) there were no other boathouses in the area, and (3) the dwelling on the property was not Duke's primary residence. No public opposition to Duke's application was voiced at the hearing. At trial, Duke presented evidence that he owned a boat, that the dwelling was his primary residence, and that no problems existed respecting oyster bed leaseholds. Duke also presented evidence that in April 1987 the Board approved a boathouse for Curtis L. Dickinson. Dickinson's property is in the same subdivision as, and just four lots from, Duke's property. However, Dickinson's property is on a different body of water, and his boathouse is not visible from Duke's property. Finally, Duke presented evidence that, on the date the Board denied his application, it approved boathouse permits for Harmon Treakle, on Carter's Creek, in a residential (R-1) zoning district, and for Milton Conrad, in a residential (R-1) zoning district. Twenty-seven other boathouses already existed in the cove where Conrad proposed to build his boathouse. The County's expert witness on planning and zoning testified that the use Duke can make of his property under present zoning is appropriate and that the Board's action was appropriate.