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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPC_10-05-94_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 October 5, 1994. PRESENT: Planning Commissioners present were: James W. Golladay, Jr., Chairman; John R. Marker, Vice Chairman /Back Creek District; S. Blaine Wilson, Shawnee District; Marjorie H. Copenhaver, Back Creek District; Terry Stone, Gainesboro District; John H. Light, Stonewall District; Charles S. DeHaven, Jr., Stonewall District; Robert A. Morris, Shawnee District; Richard C. Shickle, Gainesboro District; Roger L. Thomas, Opequon District; Robert M. Sager, Board Liaison; and Vincent DiBenedetto, Winchester City Liaison. Planning Staff present: Robert W. Watkins, Director and Secretary; W. Wayne Miller, Zoning Administrator; and Kris C. Tierney, Deputy Planning Director. 1. ABSENT: George L. Romine, Citizen at Large CALL TO ORDER Chairman Golladay called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. MINUTES - AUGUST 17 AND SEPTEMBER 7 The first order of business was the consideration of minutes. Upon motion made by Mr. Thomas and seconded by Mr. DeHaven, the minutes of August 17, 1994 were unanimously approved as presented. Upon motion made by Mr. Thomas and seconded by Mr. DeHaven, the minutes of September 7, 1994 were unanimously approved as presented. BIMONTHLY REPORT Chairman Golladay accepted the Bimonthly Report for the Commission's information. 3871 2 COMMITTEE REPORTS Battlefield Task Force Mr. Watkins reported that the Battlefield Task Force is preparing for the public forums to be held in October and November. CONDITIONAL USE PERMITS: Conditional Use Permit #006 -94 of C. J. Funk for a Cottage Occupation for a fabrication shop to be located on Green Spring Road (Rt. 671) and is identified with PIN 22 -A -5013 in the Gainesboro District. ACTION - RECOMMENDED APPROVAL Mr. Miller gave the background information and review agency comments. He stated that Mr. Funk fabricates counter tops at this location and then transports them to the location where they are installed. He said that the application gives no indication that there will be employees located or working at this location, however, should the applicant desire to have employees, he will need to provide bathroom facilities for those employees. Mr. Cecil James Funk, the applicant and owner of the property, came forward to answer questions from the Commission. There were no citizen comments. The Commission felt there would not be any significant negative impact on the neighborhood with this use. Upon motion made by Mr. Light and seconded by Mr. Thomas, BE IT RESOLVED, That the Frederick County Planning Commission does hereby recommend approval of Conditional Use Permit #006 -94 of C. J. Funk for a Cottage Occupation for a fabrication shop with the following conditions: All the fabrication work shall take place entirely within the enclosed building. 2. There shall be no outside storage of materials or fabricated products. 3. All review agency comments shall be complied with at all times. 3872 3 4. If employees are to be working on site, approved bathroom facilities shall be provided for their use. (Mr. Shickle abstained from voting on this conditional use permit.) Conditional Use Permit #007 -94 of Anita P. Farmer for a commercial outdoor recreational use for a golf course. This property is located on Parkins Mill Road (Route 644) and is identified as PIN 1f76 -A -138 in the Shawnee District. ACTION - RECOMMENDED APPROVAL Mr. Miller said that VDOT's comments stated that the applicant should be aware that this property could be affected by the proposed Route 37 East Corridor. He said that "Option C" as envisioned to this point, would put the proposed road slightly to the northwest of the proposed golf course. Mr. Miller said that the Health Department has stated in their comments that the site had not been evaluated, but the soils in this area are generally severe and the possibility of a perk site is very remote. Mr. Miller said the Health Department suggested public sewer and water to serve the proposed facility. He said that this property is outside of the Comprehensive Plan's sewer and water service area, so it cannot be serviced by public sewer and water at this time. He said that the applicant is in the process of acquiring a permit for an aerobic system to serve the facility. Mr. Miller presented a letter of support that he received from Mr. Edwin E. White, adjoining property owner, addressed to the Planning Commission. Mr. Miller read the letter to the Commission. Upon motion made by Mr. Thomas and seconded by Mr. Marker, the letter was made a part of the official record by unanimous vote. (Letter appears at end of minutes.) Mr. Charles W. Maddox, Jr., with G. W. Clifford & Associates, the design engineers, said that the proposal is for a 150 -acre golf course, located off of North Parkins Mill Road, Route 644. Mr. Maddox said that the area is not conducive to perking and they are proposing an aerobic wastewater treatment facility. He said that Parkins Mill Road has been shown in the Comprehensive Transportation Plan as a link between the Route 50 and Route 522 corridors and will receive increasing amounts of improvement. He added that the area consists of shale and is well- drained. There were no other public comments. Both the Commission and the staff agreed that an approved system, capable of 3873 4 handling this facility, would be needed before site plan approval. Otherwise, the Commission felt this was an excellent use for this property. Mr. Wilson said that he would abstain from voting on this conditional use permit due to a possible conflict of interest. Upon motion by Mr. Morris and seconded by Mr. Thomas, BE IT RESOLVED, That the Frederick County Planning Commission does hereby approve Conditional Use Permit 11007 -94 of Anita P. Farmer for a commercial outdoor recreational use for a golf course with the following conditions: This conditional use shall conform with all applicable regulations of the Rural Area (RA) Zoning District where it is located. 2. All review agency requirements and comments must be addressed and completed prior to any public use of the facility. 3. A detailed site plan that meets all of the requirements of the Zoning Ordinance must be submitted and approved. 4. The site plan must adequately address stormwater management for the entire site. (Mr_ Wilson abstained from voting.) Conditional Use Permit 11008 -94 of Donald E. Cook for a garage for automobile repair without body repair_ This property is located at 2712 Martinsburg Pike and is identified as PIN 44 -A -62 in the Stonewall District. ACTION - RECOMMEND APPROVAL Mr. Miller stated that the applicant's proposed use is to be conducted in an existing three -bay garage behind the applicant's home. Mr. Miller said that there are other homes on either side of this property so the applicant must be sensitive to the residential character of the neighborhood. Mr. Donald E. Cook, the owner and applicant, was present to answer questions from the Commission. Chairman Golladay called for public comment and the following person came forward to speak in favor of the request: 3874 5 Mr. Clinton Ritter spoke positively about Mr. Cook's reputation and ability as a tine mechanic. Mr. Ritter felt that many people in the eastern part of the county used him for their automobile service. He added that Mr. Cook's garage is well -kept and neat in appearance. Because of the high visibility of this parcel from the church, adjoining residences, and the road, Commissioners felt it would be in the best interest of everyone to limit the number of vehicles waiting to be worked on. Mr. Cook said this would not present a problem to him. Upon motion made by Mr. Light and seconded by Mr. Thomas, BE IT RESOLVED, That the Frederick County Planning Commission does hereby unanimously recommend approval of Conditional Use Permit #008 -94 of Donald E. Cook for a garage for automobile repair without body repair with the following conditions: 1. All work will take place inside the garage intended for this use. 2. No outside storage of parts or supplies shall be allowed. 3. No inoperative vehicles shall be openly displayed on the property at any time. 4. Hours of operation shall be limited to 7:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday. 5. All review agency comments must be complied with at all times. 6. No more than six vehicles awaiting repair shall be allowed on the property at any time. Site Plan #016 -94 of Taco Bell Restaurant for a proposed restaurant to be located at the corner of Welltown Road (Route 661) and Martinsburg Pike (US Rt. 11). This property is identified as PIN 43 -2 -A in the Gainesboro District. ACTION - APPROVED WITH CONTINGENCY Mr. Miller said that this area experiences a high average daily traffic count due to existing land uses and the proximity to industrial parks. He said that the adjoining property owner is in the process of developing plans for a restaurant, service station, and car wash, and the staff believes it is important to provide a connection between these properties. He said that the connection will provide vehicle access without utilizing the overloaded intersection area. Mr. Miller continued, stating that VDOT has suggested that an access road be developed in front of the Taco Bell and adjoining property. He said that VDOT will allow this access road to be developed on their right -of -way because they believe that it will function more 3875 M efficiently at this location. Mr. Miller said that the applicant, however, is proposing an intra- parcel connector in the rear of the site. He said that this is located in the area that is proposed for patron parking and calls for the installation of a speed bump. Mr. Guy C. Tudor, engineer with Ingram -Tudor & Company, was present to represent the owner, Burger Busters. Mr. Tudor said that they did not prefer to use the connection suggested by VDOT, but they were not opposed to the adjoining property owner constructing it. He felt they were severely limited in size to get the required parking and landscaping, as well as the drive- through and vehicular traffic flow. Mr. Tudor said that they have approached the owners of the adjoining bank site and the people they purchased this property from in an attempt to procure additional land, but they were not successful. Commissioners were very much concerned about locating the intra -parcel connector at the rear of the site where there were designated parking spaces and where it might interfere with the drive- through area. There was also concern about the applicant's proposal to place the loading area in the designated handicapped parking spaces area. The Commission understood that this was an extremely limited site, however, they felt they needed to consider the overall impact of this site and the adjacent sites as they relate to the Route 11 /Route 661 intersection area. They felt they could not support the site plan as presented and felt that the applicants of both this site and the Holtzman Oil Company site needed to coordinate their design efforts. Mr. Charles W. Maddox, Jr., with G. W. Clifford & Associates, Inc., was representing Holtzman Oil Company, the purchaser of the adjacent site which includes a convenience center, gas station, Burger King restaurant, and a telecommunications office building. Mr. Maddox presented a draft site plan for the Holtzman project and described two options that he felt might be a way that the two sites could function well together for traffic purposes. One of the options provided a free - flowing roadway adjacent to the existing VDOT right -of -way. The Planning Commission realized that the applicant was under time constraints and they were willing to allow the staff to administratively approve the site plan instead of bringing the plan back to the Commission, however, they felt that work needed to be done so there was coordination of traffic flow between the various sites. Upon motion made by Mr. Light and seconded by Mr. Thomas, BE IT RESOLVED, That the Frederick County Planning Commission does hereby authorize the Planning Staff to administratively approve the site plan for Taco Bell restaurant as long as it has front and rear traffic flow in accordance with VDOT's recommendations. The vote on this site plan was: 3876 7 YES (TO APPROVE). DeHaven, Thomas, Morris, Wilson, Golladay, Marker, Copenhaver, Light, Stone NO: Shickle Master Development Plan #006 -94 of Silver Development Companies for proposed townhouses and garden apartments. This property is located off of Airport Road (Route 645) on the north side, just east of Front Royal Pike (Route 522), in the Shawnee District. ACTION - RECOMMEND APPROVAL Mr. Tierney said that the applicant currently has an approved MDP that permits the construction of 117 townhouse units on 22 acres resulting in an overall gross density of 5.3 units per acre. He said that the proposed revision to this MDP calls for the construction of townhouse and garden apartment units for a total of 156 dwelling units, creating an overall gross density of 7.09 dwelling units per acre. Mr. Tierney said that the allowable gross density for residential developments which contain more than 10 acres and less than 100 acres is 5.5 dwelling units per acre. Mr. Tierney said that the applicants were unaware of the density amendment to the RP District that took place in May of 1994 and proceeded with their application and plans preparation under the assumption that the old density requirements were still in effect. He said that the applicant requested that their application be considered to be vested, and as a result, the staff sought an opinion from the Commonwealth Attorney. Mr. Tierney said that the Commonwealth Attorney's opinion stated that the increased density was not a vested right under the previous zoning ordinance and was clearly not permitted under the recent amendment. Upon motion made by Mr. DeHaven and seconded by Mr. Thomas, the Commission unanimously agreed to make Mr. Lawrence R. Ambrogi's letter a part of the official record. (letter follows at end of minutes). The parties involved with the application, Mr. Fred Price of PHR &A, the design company; Mr. Richard Trembly of Silver Development Co., the owners; and Mr. Frank McDermott of Hunton & Williams, attorneys, gave a chronology of events that they felt showed they were acting in good faith. They pointed out some of the economic decisions that were made, such as a sales contract for the 72 apartment units, the investment made on infrastructure, and the applications made for Federal tax credits, that were based on the ordinance before it was revised. They requested that the Commission recommend approval of the MDP based on the equity, fairness, and consideration of all of the circumstances surrounding the application. 3877 D The Planning Commission noted that the density was changed because of problems with transportation, infrastructure, and gross density of developments and the amendment was developed after a very well thought out, long -term process. It was also noted that area builders, engineering firms, and the Top of Virginia builders organization participated and the amendment was advertised and well publicized by the local news media. The Planning Commission felt it would be a setback to compromise on this issue. There were no citizen comments. The applicants felt that given a choice on a recommendation by the Planning Commission, they would first prefer that it be approved. If not approved, their second choice would be that it be approved under current density requirements, and their third choice would be that it be denied. The applicants preferred that it not be tabled due to time constraints on contract purchasing of housing units and housing grants applied for. Upon motion by Mr. Marker and second by Mr. Stone, BE IT RESOLVED, That the Frederick County Planning Commission does hereby unanimously recommended approval of the revised master development plan provided that the overall gross density is reduced to within current limits of the ordinance in addition to addressing all review agency comments and all comments and concerns of the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors. (Mr. Wilson was absent for this vote.) SECONDARY ROAD IMPROVEMENT PLAN Mr. Tierney said that the Frederick County Transportation Committee held a public hearing on September 6, 1994 to consider the Secondary Road Improvement Plan. He said that two petitions were filed by citizens from Back Creek Road (Rt. 704) and Ridings Mill Road (Rt. 709), the Town of Stephens City requested that the improvement within the town be moved up in priority, and two citizens were present with various requests on Klines Mill Lane (Rt. 633) and Adams Road (Rt. 689). Mr. Tierney said that this is the same plan as last year with completed projects deleted and 14 projects being added to the bottom of the list. He said that ten of the projects added were incidental construction items. Mr. Tierney said that the Transportation Committee recommended approval of the plan. There were no public comments. Upon motion made by Mr. Light and seconded by Mr. Thomas, 3878 BE IT RESOLVED, That the Frederick County Planning Commission does hereby unanimously recommend approval of the 1995 -1996 Secondary Road Improvement Plan for Frederick County INFORMAL DISCUSSION CONCERNING THE POSSIBILITY OF REZONING A PARCEL OF LAND ALONG BLOOMERY PIKE (RT. 127) TO PERMIT USED CAR SALES (RAYMOND DUNLAP) Mr. Miller said that Mr. Clinton R. Ritter has requested an informal discussion with the Planning Commission regarding the possibility of rezoning a parcel of land along Bloomery Pike (Rt. 127) to permit used car sales. Mr. Clinton R. Ritter said that he represents Mr. Raymond Dunlap, the owner of a parcel of land northwest of Route 127. He said that Mr. Dunlap has owned this property for a number of years and the property has been improved by a residence and an old store, which is no longer operated as a country store. He said that Mr. Dunlap desires to re -open the store as a used car lot. Mr. Ritter said that the property is currently zoned RA and Mr. Dunlap would like to rezone the property to B2. The Commissioners were not in favor of rezoning this property because of the precedent setting situation it would create by rezoning RA land in the county to B2. The Commissioners also noted that the Comprehensive Plan has designated this area as rural. They felt it would be very difficult to deny the next request, if this one was approved. INFORMAL DISCUSSION TO DIVIDE A 5.89 ACRE TRACT (_ROBERT SHADLEY) Mr. Miller said that Mr. Clinton R. Ritter has requested an informal discussion with the Planning Commission to discuss the feasibility of allowing Mr. Robert Shadley to further divide a 5.89 acre tract of land that already has a residence located on the property. He said that Mr. Shadley is proposing to divide a .89 acre tract off the 5.89 acres to accommodate the trailer that is located there. Mr. Miller said that this would violate the ordinance since the minimum lot size allowable in RA Zoning is two acres. Mr. Miller added that the lot does not qualify for a two -acre family division because there must be a five -acre residual parcel remaining after the division. Mr. Clinton R. Ritter said that Mr. Shadley is requesting that he be permitted to subdivide the property in order to build a retirement home for his wife who is extremely ill. He said that this will enable Mrs. Shadley to spend her final days in the care of her family as opposed to being placed in a nursing home or some other facility. Mr. Shadley's daughter is currently living in the mobile home that is located on the parcel and is taking care of her mother. 3879 10 In light of the circumstances involved, the Commission agreed to allow the mobile home to remain on the property for a designated time period so that Mrs. Shadley could recieve family care. They were not willing to allow the subdivision because of the precedent it would set. INFORMAL DISCUSSION REGARDING THE REZONING OF A .92 ACRES TRACT OF RA ZONED LAND TO B2 TO PERMIT OTHER USES (MR_ JAMES LAMP) Mr. Miller said that Mr. Clinton R. Ritter has requested time on the Commission's agenda to discuss the feasibility of rezoning a .92 acre tract of RA zoned land owned by Mr. James H. Lamp. He said that this is the current location of the "House of Gifts" and the use is a store and gift shop, which is assumed to be a legal nonconforming use. Mr. Clinton R. Ritter said that Mr. Lamp would like to rezone the property from RA to B2 to allow the addition of gas pumps and An addition to the building. The Commissioners were concerned that if this rezoning was approved, it would set a precedent for other rezonings in an area that was not designated for business in the Comprehensive Plan. ADJOURNMENT No other business remained to be discussed and the meeting adiourned at 10:10 p. M. Respectfully submitted, Rober Watkins, Secretary Jll Jam W. Golladay, Jr., ha n 3880 CuN A October 4, 1994 Planning Commission County of Frederick Winchester, Virginia 22601 Ladies and Gentlemen: I would like to express my support for the purposed golf course adjoining Parkins Mill Road, Frederick County, Virginia. I own 74 acres a few hundred yards west of the site. As you may recall, I requested permission I, to run a small diameter, high pressure line along the Opequon from my property to the Parkins Mill Treatment Plant. This was denied. Subsequent to this, I have subdivided a parcel for a large home and have Health Departments approval for a sand filtration system. I relate this only as back ground information so as to indicate my interest in keeping this area a low density, environment friendly community of large homes on 5 acre or larger lots. The golf course proposal that you have for consideration will only enhance this concept; low density, environment friendly development. Additionally, this proposal will add to the tax base for the county since nearly all of this property is presently in land use. Traffic should be of little concern since it will stagger throughout the day as tee time and finishing times sequence. Thank you for your consideration of my input to this fine development plan. Very truly you Edwin E. White EEW:lf 3881 vao u irvaltlg E ar ' u, r COUNTY OF FRED ���� LAWRENCE R. AMBROGI Commonwealth Attorney `� H CHARLES W. STANSFIELD Administrative Assistant u OFFICE OF THE COMMONWEALTH'S ATTORNEY FREDERICK - WINCHESTER JUDICIAL CENTER 5 NORTH KENT STREET WINCHESTER, VIRGINIA 22601 (703) 665 -6383 FAX (703) 667 -3454 October 5, 1994 Mr. Kris C. Tierney, Deputy Director Frederick County Planning Department.♦ 9 North Loudoun Street Winchester, VA 22601 Re: Preston Place, Parcel 64 -A -45C Dear Kris: JAY D. COOK, III Assistant Commonwealth Attorney GLENN R. WILLIAMSON Assistant Commonwealth Attorney Having received the information you provided to my office, I am of the opinion that the increased density requested in the most recent Master Development Plan submitted for the above - captioned parcel would not be a vested right under the previous Frederick County Zoning Ordinance and is clearly not permitted under the recent amendment to that Ordinance. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. Sincere y, Z' Lawrence R. mbrogi Attorney for Frederick County, Virginia 3882