Assateague Coastal Trust, Inc. v. Schwalbach

McDonald, j.

In the State’s Critical Area law, the General Assembly has established a cooperative program with local jurisdictions to ensure that land near Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic coastal bays has special protection against development that might cause environmental damage. Although that law allows a property owner to seek a variance from the law’s restrictions, the law creates a presumption that a proposed variance does not conform to the purpose and intent of the Critical Area law and places the burden of proof on the applicant to demonstrate that all of the criteria for a variance…