A 6,000-square-foot house on Little Dobbins Island in Anne Arundel. A 200-foot pier off open space in the Belvoir Farms subdivision in Crownsville. A resort community of 600 houses and two golf courses in Wicomico on what activists say is environmentally sensitive land.
These are a few examples of developments built in violation of the state?s Critical Area Act, which restricts building along the Chesapeake Bay coastline, according to an Environment Maryland report released Wednesday.
“It?s easier to ask for forgiveness later than it is to ask for permission to build,” said Jessi Bedell,a field organizer for Environment Maryland Research & Policy Center.
The report, which examined seven examples of violations of the law, aims to highlight problems with the statute and show where it needs to be strengthened, Bedell said.
The state law, enacted in 1984 to protect the Bay, limits development within 1,000 feet of the Bay and bars development within 100 feet.
But loopholes exist, according to the report.
For example, variances are granted after the construction is completed, or developers claim unwarranted hardship brought on by the limits.
“Sometimes even intentional violators have been allowed to keep their structures without penalty, further encouraging blatant disregard of Critical Area protection,” the report states.
