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BZA 01-15-02 Meeting MinutesMEETING MINUTES OF THE FREDERICK COUNTY BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS Held in the Board Room of the Frederick County Administration Building, 107 N. Kent Street, Winchester, Virginia, on January 15, 2001 PRESENT James Larrick, Jr., Chairman, Gainesboro District; Dudley Rinker, Back Creek District; Thomas Malcolm, Red Bud District (also representing Shawnee District); Robert Perry, Stonewall District; and Theresa Catlett, Opequon District STAFF PRESENT Evan A. Wyatt, Planning Director; Patrick T. Davenport, Zoning Administrator; Rebecca A. Ragsdale, Planner I; Carol Huff, BZA Secretary CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Chairman Larrick at 3:25 p.m. NOVEMBER 20, 2001 AND DECEMBER 18, 2001 MINUTES The minutes for the November 20, 2001 and December 18, 2001 meetings were approved by unanimous vote upon a vote by Mr. Rinker and seconded by Mr. Perry. ELECTION OF OFFICERS FOR 2002 Mr. Rinker made a motion to re -elect the same roster as was in place in 2001, as follows: Chairman: James Larrick, Jr.; Vice Chairman: Teresa Catlett; Secretary: Carol Huff. Mr. Perry seconded the motion which passed by unanimous vote. BE IT RESOLVED, that the following persons are hereby re- elected to serve in their present capacity in the year 2002 on the Frederick County Board of Zoning Appeals: Chairman: James Larrick, Jr.; Vice Chairman: Teresa Catlett; Secretary: Carol Huff. PUBLIC HEARING Variance #21 -01, Fairfield Inn & Suites, submitted for a 40' distance buffer variance to the Category A buffer requirements. This property is located on the north side of the intersection Frederick Co. Board of Zoning Appeals Minutes of January 15, 2002 Minutes Book Page 1133 of Front Royal Pike (Route 522) and Costello Drive (Route 1367), and is identified with Property Identification Numbers 6411-14 and 6411-1 -5 in the Shawnee Magisterial District. ACTION - APPROVED Mr. Perry stated for the record that he would abstain from participation in the discussion and voting on this particular item. This application had been tabled at the December 18, 2001 meeting at the applicant's request. Mr. Davenport, Zoning Administrator, gave the background information. Mr. Mark Smith, of Greenway Engineering, represented the applicant. Mr. Smith stated that the variance is for the site plan for the hotel use. The shape of the lot is the main reason for the variance, and the change in the ordinance when the County instituted the buffering for B3 properties. Mr. Smith stated that they intended to put in a 10 -foot buffer, at grade, when they build the site. Mr. Steve Parrish, representative for the company that is actually building Fairfield Inn Suites, told the Board that their company uses a footprint, or `cookie cutter' design, that is the same each time they build one and it wouldn't be practical to attempt a revision of this footprint. Dr. Jerry Grimes spoke on behalf ofthe three remaining residents (himself, Mr. Garber, and Mr. Awl) in the area of the proposed construction, and asked if a 20 -foot buffer could be constructed instead of the 10 -foot being proposed. He stated that they were asking for this extra buffering as a "good neighbor policy." Further concerns were about the impact on downstream, and the sewer /drainage easement that goes through his yard. Chairman Larrick stated for Dr. Grimes' benefit, and for the record, that he had placed in the file a copy of his position pertaining to the issue of a possible conflict of interest that Dr. Grimes had raised at the December meeting. Board members asked about when the area in question had changed from residential to mainly business and industrial, and additional questions about the easement issue. Dr. Grimes continued to express his concern about water run -off from the other businesses out there. Chairman Larrick asked Mark Smith if they would be willing to work on the problem. Mr. Smith stated that they would be willing to put in a 10 -foot buffer along the entire length of the back property line. There was no one else present to speak for or against the application; therefore, the public hearing portion of the meeting was closed. There was little discussion on the matter other than Mr. Malcolm's question on why couldn't the buffer be 20 feet instead of 10 feet. Mr. Smith came back to the podium and said there were two reasons for that: 1) sewer line that runs up through there; and 2) they need access to the manholes. Frederick Co. Board of Zoning Appeals Minutes of January 15, 2002 Minutes Book Page 1134 2 Mr. Rinker moved to grant the variance request with the understanding that the applicant would run the landscaping buffer the entire length of the back property line, as previously stated. Teresa Catlett seconded the motion which passed by majority vote, with Mr. Perry abstaining. BE IT RESOLVED, that Variance #21 -01, Fairfield Inn & Suites, submitted for a 40' distance buffer variance to the Category A buffer requirements, was approved with the landscaping buffer to be installed at a 10 -foot width the entire length of the back property line. Variance #01 -02, Lake Holiday Utility Company, submitted by Bushman Engineering, PC requesting variances of the 600' buffer requirement as follows: 593' from the northeast property line; 530' from the west property line; 550' from the south property line; 590' from the east property line; and 560' from the northern property line. The .96 -acre site is located in the Summit at Lake Holiday" near Cross Junction on the south end of Lakeview Drive, 0.1 miles southeast of the intersections of Holiday Road and Lakeview Drive; and is identified with Property Identification Number 18 -A -28E in the Gainesboro Magisterial District. ACTION - APPROVED Chairman Larrick stated for the record that he has filed a disclosure which states that he owns property at the Summit; however, his property does not border the property which is the subject of the variance request. Rebecca Ragsdale, Planner I, presented the background information. She stated that the variance is being requested due to the size and shape of the lot, and because of the court order which the Summit is under to expand the sewage treatment facility. There is currently a building moratorium in effect which cannot be lifted until the expansion has been completed. Chairman Larrick asked if there were not a court order for the Summit to expand their wastewater treatment facility, would the staffs position still be one of recommendation to approve the request. Mr. Davenport replied yes, that due to the irregular shape of the lot, the variance would still be justified. Mr. Frank Heisey, President of the Lake Holiday Country Club Board of Directors, passed out a package to the Board which gave a history of the Summit and explained how they came to this point today. Mr. David Bushman, President and CEO ofBushman Engineering which is overseeing the expansion project, came to the podium and explained their phasing plan for the expansion. He also gave additional technical information. Questions from the Board included whether any odor problems existed, were the wastewater tanks currently open or closed, who was managing the plant, and what the time frame was for completing the expansion. The applicants stated that they have already placed information in their Frederick Co. Board of Zoning Appeals Minutes of January 15, 2002 Minutes Book Page 1135 newsletter for the people whose lots were currently under the moratorium to submit their building plans. Approval would be on a first -come, first -serve basis. Future needs would probably include the construction of another plant. Mr. Dan Hetland, property owner of an adjoining farm, was present to tell the Board that there is a sewer, odor and water problem at the Summit, and that he was opposed to any further expansion or new home construction. No one else came forward; therefore, the public hearing was closed. Mr. Malcolm moved for approval of the variance as requested and Mr. Rinker gave the second. The motion passed unanimously with all ayes from the Board. BE IT RESOLVED, THEREFORE, That Variance #01 -02, Lake Holiday Utility Company, submitted by Bushman Engineering, PC, is approved for variances of the 600' buffer requirement as follows: 593' from the northeast property line; 530' from the west property line; 550' from the south property line; 590' from the east property line; and 560' from the northern property line for the purpose of expanding the wastewater treatment plant. Variance #02 -02, Dove Family Co., LLC, submitted by Dove & Associates for a variance to the Frederick County Zoning Ordinance, Sec. 165- 27E(1), Surface Material Requirements, and (3), Curb and Gutter Requirements. This property is located at 780 Airport Road and is identified with Property Identification Number 64 -5 -3 in the Shawnee Magisterial District. ACTION - TABLED UNTIL MARCH 19, 2002 Mr. Davenport gave the background information on Mr. Dove's request. The property which is the subject of the request is located within the Sewer and Water Service Area (SWSA) resulting in specific requirements of the Frederick County Zoning Ordinance needing to be met before the site plan can be approved. There were questions from the Board on the significance of being `in' or 'out' of the SWSA and why the road realignment issue was not addressed in the staff report. Mr. Edward W. Dove, Managing Member of Dove Family Co., LLC, spoke on behalf of the application. He stated that when they contracted to purchase the property two years ago, the current zoning requirements were not in effect. He said that he was not aware of the code changes and that they were approved the same night his rezoning application was approved. He further stated that they were opposed to spending the amount of money it would take to comply with the new requirements because there is a possibility that realignment plans for Airport Road would `wipe out' whatever they do. In addition, he requested that they be allowed to construct the offices under the same conditions that AMK Products, Inc. (on the east side of the property) operates. Mr. Dove stated that they would be willing to bring the property up to current code requirements after they see which way Airport Road is going to go. Frederick Co. Board of Zoning Appeals Minutes of January 15, 2002 Minutes Book Page 1136 Further discussion ensued regarding the funding and timetable for the realignment project and the negotiations involved., and whether the BZA had the power to put a condition on a variance for something that they did not know whether it would happen or not. Mr. Evan A. Wyatt, Planning Director, spoke against the application. He spoke first about the realignment of Airport Road and confirmed that the project is now in the second phase; however, due to the current state budget constraints, he could not hazard a guess as to when the actual project might take place. Second, he addressed the issue of the ordinance and the intent of the Comprehensive Plan. He stated that the change in the ordinance that Mr. Dove was referring to was a result of a `loophole'in the ordinance which a developer was successful in holding the county to when AMK Products, Inc. was constructed. Additionally, Mr. Wyatt pointed out that double prime and seal and concrete wheelstops requirement in the ordinance was only if the property is located in RA (Rural Areas), not in Ml (Light Industrial), and if a waiver of the master development plan requirement had been granted. Mr. Wyatt agreed with Chairman Larrick's assessment that the BZA was not in a position to grant a temporary variance. The final item Mr. Wyatt addressed was Mr. Dove's contention that he was unaware of the pending changes in the zoning ordinance. Mr. Wyatt explained the process involved with the Development Review & Regulations Subcommittee (DRRS) and the public hearings that followed, and stated that at no time was there ever a negative comment received. He stated that many issues could be dealt with at the site plan review level, and that staff would be happy to work with Mr. Dove to resolve them. Mr. Dove requested that the application be tabled until the March 19, 2002 meeting to give him time to meet with staff and, possibly, work out an alternate solution. The Board agreed by unanimous consent to table Variance #02 -02 until March 19, 2002. There being no further business at hand, the meeting adjourned at 5:20 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Frederick Co. Board of Zoning Appeals Minutes of January 15, 2002 Minutes Book Page 1137 5 James L'arrick, Jr., Chairman