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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPC_11-03-93_Meeting_MinutesMEETING MINUTES OF THE FREDERICK COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION Held in the Board Room of the Old Frederick County Court House in Winchester, Virginia on November 3. 1993. PRESENT: Planning Commissioners present were: James W. Golladay, Jr., Chairman; John R. Marker, Vice Chairman /Back Creek District; Roger L. Thomas, Opequon District; Manuel C. DeHaven, Stonewall District; Robert Morris, Shawnee District; Marjorie H. Copenhaver, Back Creek District; Todd D. Shenk, Gainesboro District; Ronald W. Carper, Gainesboro District; John H. Light, Stonewall District; Beverly Sherwood, Board Liaison; and James Barnett, Winchester City Liaison. ABSENT: George L. Romine, Citizen at Large; S. Blaine Wilson, Shawnee District Planning Staff present were: Robert W. Watkins, Director /Secretary; W. Wayne Miller, Zoning Administrator; Kris C. Tierney, Deputy Planning Director CALL TO ORDER Chairman Golladay called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. BIMONTHLY REPORT Chairman Golladay accepted the Bimonthly Report for the Commission's information. COMMITTEE REPORTS Comprehensive Plans & Programs Subcommittee (CP &PS) Mrs. Copenhaver said that the CP &PS has submitted the revised Comprehensive Plan, which will be presented to the Commission later in the meeting. 3728 Pa Development Review & Regulations Subcommittee (DR&RS) - 11/23/93 Mr. Shenk said that the DR &RS did not have a quorum at their last meeting so they conducted some informal discussions Historic Resources Advisory Board (HRAB) - 11/16/93 Mr. Shenk said that the plaque design has been finalized and orders for approximately 50 plaques have been placed. SUBDIVISIONS Subdivision Application #010 -93 of L. H. Lipscomb to subdivide two lots for commercial use in the Stonewall Industrial Park. This property is identified as PIN #43 -19 -5 and is located at the south side of Lenoir Drive in the Gainesboro District. Action - Approved Commissioner DeHaven said that he would abstain from this discussion and vote due to a possible conflict of interest. Mr. Miller, Zoning Administrator, read the background information and staff report. He said that there is an approved MDP for this industrial park and this proposed subdivision conforms to the master plan. Mr. Miller said that L & L Builders' business is located on Lot 5A and a site plan has been submitted for the construction of lease buildings on Lot 5. Mr. H. Bruce Edens of Greenway Engineering & Surveying Company, the project engineer, was present to represent Mr. L. H. Lipscomb. There were no citizen comments. Since there did not appear to be any problems associated with this application, Mr. Carper moved for approval. This motion was seconded by Mr. Light and unanimously approved. BE IT RESOLVED, That the Frederick County Planning Commission does hereby unanimously approve Subdivision Application #010 -93 of L. H. Lipscomb for two commercial lots in the 3729 K Stonewall Industrial Park. (Manuel DeHaven abstained) PUBLIC HEARINGS Conditional Use Permit #010 -93 of Stacy and Debbie Conard for a Cottage Occupation to operate a cabinet and woodworking shop. This property is located off of Fairfax Pike (Rt. 277) in the Opequon District. Action - Approval Mr. Miller said that the applicant proposes to do cabinet and woodworking projects in a detached garage and is therefore required to have a CUP for a Cottage Occupation. He said that the location is within a single - family home neighborhood on lots averaging 12,000 square feet. Mr. Miller said that the staff feels that the only potential problem with the use of this site may be the noise generated by running equipment. Mr. Stacy Conard, the owner and applicant, said that he has been doing cabinet work in his garage since he built the garage three years ago. He was requesting the CUP at this time for tax purposes. The Commissioners were concerned about the intensity of the operation and their questions centered on what Mr. Conard would be building, what tools he would be using, and the storage of raw materials. Mr. Conard explained that he will be building shelves, furniture, kitchen cabinets, and picture frames and he will be using ordinary shop tools such as a table saw, joiner, band saw, shaper, and planer. He said that he would not have a dust collection system and that everything would be totally enclosed inside his garage. He said that there will be very little storage of raw materials and no customers would be coming to his home. Mr. DeHaven suggested that Mr. Conard check to see whether or not his subdivision had any deed restrictions concerning this type of operation. Mr. Miller said that he received one phone call from a neighbor concerning the intensity of the use, but the caller did not object to the operation. The Commissioners were satisfied that Mr. Conard's operation would not be problematic for the neighborhood and upon motion made by Mr. Thomas and seconded by Mr. Shenk, BE IT RESOLVED, That the Frederick County Planning Commission does hereby unanimously 3730 4 approve Conditional Use Permit #010 -93 of Stacy and Debbie Conard for a Cottage Occupation to operate a cabinet and woodworking shop in the Opequon District with the following conditions: 1. All work shall be done in the enclosed building with the doors closed to limit any potential noise pollution. 2. Hours of operation shall be limited to between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. 3. The applicant shall adhere to the State Fire Prevention Code pertaining to woodworking shops and obtain a change of use permit for the building in which the occupation will occur. Rezoning Application #002 -93 of the UNIMIN Corporation to rezone 186.358 acres from RA (Rural Areas) to EM (Extractive Manufacturing) for the operation of silica sand mining. This property is identified with P.I.N. #38 -A -14 and is located east of Back Creek Road (Route 704) in the Back Creek District. Action - Approved Mr. Tierney, Deputy Planning Director, said that subsequent to the Commission's tabling of this rezoning at their meeting of September 1, 1993, representatives of the Gore Community as well as a planning staff representative, Mrs. Copenhaver, and David Cress of the Division of Mines, Minerals, & Energy met at the UNIMIN office on October 4 to discuss citizen concerns. Mr. Tierney said that an open meeting for the public was also held that evening in Gore and a meeting and tour for the Commission members and staff was held on October 14. Mr. Tierney said that UNIMIN has taken a number of steps to address Commission and citizen concerns, including blocking of a jeep trail which was used as a gathering place, cleaning up debris, establishing an ongoing dialog with community representatives, and creating a periodic newsletter to be sent to area residents informing them of relevant activities. He said that UNIMIN representatives are also looking into the possibility of dredging out some of the siltation that has settled in behind the dam in Back Creek, as requested by area citizens. Mr. Tierney added that a request to modify the rezoning application has been submitted to reduce the area to be rezoned from 211 acres to 186 acres. He said that this is a result of excluding the land to the west of Back Creek from the application. He added that a revised proffer had also been submitted. Item number three has been added which states that siltation and sedimentation controls will be implemented as required by County, State, and Federal regulations. 3731 5 Mr. Douglas Swift, legal counsel for UNIMIN, came forward to introduce Andrew Bradley from UNIMIN Corporation. Mr. Andrew Bradley, Assistant General Counsel with UNIMIN, said that UNIMIN feels that they have addressed or have laid the groundwork for addressing most, if not all, of the concerns that were voiced at the last hearing and he felt they had developed a good line of communication with the residents in the area. Commissioners asked Mr. Bradley to explain the statement that UNIMIN was looking into the possibility of dredging out some of the siltation behind the dam in Back Creek. Mr. Bradley explained that the dam in Back Creek is maintained by UNIMIN and some of the neighbors felt that the siltation behind the dam had gotten deeper over the years. Mr. Bradley said that it hasn't proven to be an operational concern for them and they felt it acted as a natural siltation barrier for downstream; however, since the residents asked that they investigate it, they were going to see what was possible in terms of dredging it out. He said that there are technical issues involved, such as the affect of putting a larger volume of water against the dam and whether or not dredging equipment would sink if placed in there. Mr. Bradley said that it was a fairly complex issue and will take a while to determine what they can do and whether or not it will be beneficial. forward: Chairman Golladay called for citizen comments and the following people came Mr. William C. Jeunette, resident of Gore, stated that UNIMIN has addressed the concerns of the residents of the community, however, Mr. Jeunette was concerned about whether the promises made by UNIMIN would be carried out long term. He said that the reclamation is scheduled for spring and their stormwater management plan is still pending approval with the DMME. Mr. David Kohler, area resident, said that he has been involved with UNIMIN over the last 14 years because they have used his company as a service supplier for industrial maintenance. He said that over the years, he has observed that the UNIMIN Corporation and management have continued to improve situations at the mine rather than make them worse. Mr. Kohler said that his company works in a number of different mining and quarry operations throughout the states of Virginia, Maryland, and West Virginia and he can not make that statement about a lot of different mining corporations. Mr. Kohler said that speaking as an individual citizen and as someone who has worked at the mine site and who has been involved in making things better there, he felt that the environment at the mine site had improved over the years. Mr. Andrew Bradley said that David Cress of the DMME made it clear at the community meeting that if there are any problems down the road, community residents could call Mr. Cress. 3732 The Commission agreed that the UNIMIN Corporation had made a good faith effort in that they had taken a number of steps to improve community relations and to correct deficiencies at the site. They felt that the community's concerns had been addressed and the long term commitments, such as reclamation and stormwater management, would be guaranteed through monitoring by the DMME and the DEQ. A motion was made by Mr. Marker and seconded by Mr. Light to approve the rezoning with the proffers submitted. BE IT RESOLVED, That the Frederick County Planning Commission does hereby unanimously recommend approval of Rezoning Application #002 -93 of UNIMIN Corporation to rezone 186.358 acres from RA (Rural Areas) to EM (Extractive Manufacturing) for a silica sand surface mine including all support and adjunctive activities related to such as described by the application and plat submitted, subject to the following conditions voluntarily proffered in writing by the applicant and property owner: 1) No active quarrying or direct placement of overburden materials shall occur within 500 feet of either the present location of Route 704 or any currently existing dwelling. 2) No active quarrying or direct placement of overburden materials shall occur within 100 feet of the present location of Back Creek. 3) Siltation /sedimentation control will be implemented as required pursuant to applicable County, State, and Federal laws and regulations, following receipt of all necessary approvals, as mining advances along Cove Ridge. Rezoning Application #004 -93 of Hunts Cycle Shack to rezone 1.05 acres from RA (Rural Areas) to B2 (Business General) for the sales and service of motor cycles and the sales of used motor vehicles. This property is identified by PIN #28 -A -133 and is located eight miles west of Winchester on Northwestern Pike (Rt. 50 W) in the Back Creek District. Action - Tabled for 30 Days Mr. Tierney said that this business is currently operating under a CUP for motorcycle sales and service. The applicant wishes to expand the use to include the sale of used automobiles. He said that the original CUP was granted under the provision for reestablishing a nonconforming use and the ordinance stipulates that the use shall be "...of equal or lesser nonconformity than the original use in relation to intensity, type of use, dimensional requirements or other requirements. " He added that the CUP limits the activities on the parcel to interior sales and service. The staff's position was that the expansion of the use to include exterior auto sales would increase the intensity of the use over that of the original nonconforming use, therefore, the applicant would require a rezoning to B2 in order to accommodate the desired use. Mr. Tierney added that the applicant has proffered that no more than 12 vehicles 3733 would be kept for sale on the premises. He said that the staff felt the proffer was lacking in that it did not address visual impacts and did not clearly indicate the intended use of the property. The staff felt that the maior issues appeared to be the visual impact from Route 50 of a used car lot in an otherwise rural area and precedent setting for other rezonings along this corridor. The staff recomended denial of the application. Mr. Gary Ray Hunt, the property owner and applicant, said that he had improved this property over the years by upgrading the building and removing the trash. He said that he intended to keep his business here for the next 20 years. Mr. Hunt said that he proffered a maximum of 12 vehicles because as he gets older, he may not be able to do all the mechanical work and may have to lean more towards sales than service. He submitted a letter with signatures of business owners along the Route 50 corridor recommending that the property be rezoned. Chairman Golladay called for public comment and the following persons came forward: Mr. Lawrence Self said that he was in favor of rezoning the property. Mr. David Kollar, a Gainesboro and Back Creek property owner, attested that Mr. Hunt had improved the appearance of the property over the years. Mr. Kollar felt that this particular piece of property couldn't be used for many other uses than what its currently being used for. The Commissioners were concerned about setting a precedent for future rezonings in this area, however, they noted that this parcel has been the site of various commercial uses for many years. They felt that the use of this parcel was limited because of its location and size and they also recognized the fact that Mr. Hunt had greatly improved the appearance of the property. They were concerned, however, that if the property was rezoned and sold, any business use permitted under B2 zoning could be conducted here and those other uses would not be compatible with the existing neighborhood. The Commissioners felt that the proffers were not specific enough to preclude precedent setting in the area or other B2 uses, if the property was resold. They felt that the proffers needed to specifically state Mr. Hunt's intended use for the property, which was to continue the use of motor cycle sales and service with the addition of automobile sales. Mr. Hunt told the Commission that he would reword the proffer statement and the Commission decided to table the rezoning to allow Mr. Hunt some time to accomplish that. Upon motion made by Mr. Marker and seconded by Mr. Carper, BE IT RESOLVED, That the Frederick County Planning Commission does hereby unanimously table Rezoning Application #004 -93 of Hunts Cycle Shack to rezone 1.05 acres from RA (Rural Areas) to B2 (Business General) for 30 days. 3734 M DRAFT UPDATE OF THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN Mr. Tierney presented a draft update of Frederick County's Comprehensive Plan. Mr. Tierney said that minor editorial changes have been made and the population, housing, and employment figures have been updated to reflect the county's most recent data. He said that no major policy changes were proposed. Upon motion made by Mr. Thomas and seconded by Mr. Light, BE IT RESOLVED, That the Frederick County Planning Commission does hereby unanimously agree to advertise the Comprehensive Plan for public hearing for their regular meeting of December 1, 1993. CANCELLATION OF THE NOVEMBER 17 1993 MEETING Upon motion made by Mr. Marker and seconded by Mr. Light, the Commission unanimously voted to cancel their meeting of November 17, 1993. Vlm �IIL��lu1R►M11 No further business remained to be discussed and the meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Robert W. Watkins, Secretary z Ja es W. Golladay, Jr., Ch r an 3735