Over the objections of a large number of Gwynn’s Island residents who packed the historic courthouse on Jan. 8 for a public hearing, the Mathews County Board of Zoning Appeals approved a request for a variance for a business on Cricket Hill Road. The vote was 3-0, with Roger Gamble abstaining and Michael Rowe absent.

The variance grants Gary Goerss of Powhatan permission to increase the encroachment of a building at 1970 Cricket Hill Road within the 50-foot seaward part of the 100-foot RPA area by 31 square feet. The parcel is in the B-1 zoning district.

Goerss intends to use the property, which consists of two separate parcels, to offer week-long kayak construction classes on the first floor of the two buildings at the site. The existing buildings will be demolished, and their replacements will be connected at the second- and third-floor levels by open walkways, with workshop participants housed on the second floor and Goerss’s living quarters on th...