Queen Anne’s County Zoning Board of Appeals Denies Routine Violator’s Conditional Use Request For Mining Project

In a unanimous (3-0) decision this Wednesday, the Queen Anne’s County Zoning Board of Appeals denied a request by Merrick Farm LLC for conditional use approval to continue operating a major sand and gravel mine on its property in Ingleside, MD, which was shut down in September of this year for extensive County violations.  We represented several neighboring landowners and Queen Anne’s Conservation Association, a Maryland organization whose mission is to monitor impacts upon and to promote and protect the natural resources, rural character and small towns of Queen Anne’s County, Maryland.  The Board ruled that, in light of the company’s repeated violations and misstatements to County and State agencies and officials concerning its prior mining operations, its application failed to meet two of the three general use standards imposed by Queen Anne’s County Code § 18:1-94, and thus must be denied.