Loading...
DRRC 05-24-18 Meeting AgendaCOUNTY of FREDERICK Department of Planning and Development 540/ 665-5651 Fax: 540/ 665-6395 MEMORANDUM To: Development Review and Regulations Committee From: M. Tyler Klein, AICP, Planner Subject: May 24, 2018 Meeting and Agenda Date: May 17, 2018 The Frederick County Development Review and Regulations Committee (DRRC) will be meeting on Thursday May 24, 2018 at 7:00 p.m. in the first-floor conference room (purple room) of the County Administration Building, 107 North Kent Street, Winchester, Virginia. The DRR C will discuss the following agenda items: AGENDA 1) Updates from previous DRRC discussions. 2) Self-Storage Facilities in the RA District. Discussion of a proposed text amendment to allow mini self-storage facilities in the RA (Rural Areas) Zoning District as a conditional use. 3) Shipping Containers as Accessory Storage. Discussion of the proposed text amendment to restrict the use of shipping containers as accessory storage. 4) Other. Please contact this office if you will not be able to attend the meeting. Thank you. Access to this building is limited during the evening hours. Therefore, it will be necessary to enter the building through the rear door of the four-story wing. I would encourage committee members and interested citizens to park in the County parking lot located behind the new addition or in the joint Judicial Center parking lot and follow the sidewalk to the back door of the four-story wing. MTK/pd Attachments Item #2: Self-Storage Facilities in the RA District This is a proposed text amendment to Chapter 165 – Zoning Ordinance to allow self-storage facilities as a conditional use in the RA (Rural Areas) Zoning District. This text amendment was previously discussed by the DRRC and sent forward to the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors for additional discussion in 2015. The text amendment was ultimately denied by the Board of Supervisors in late 2015. At the April 4, 2018 Planning Commission meeting, the Commission directed Staff to take this item back to the Committee for additional discussion and revisions. Staff is seeking additional revisions on this request for a text amendment to the Zoning Ordinance. Depending on the outcome of this discussion, Staff may forward this item to the Planning Commission for further discussion. Attachment: Proposed Changes – Self-Storage Facilities (2015) ARTICLE IV AGRICULTURAL AND RESIDENTIAL DISTRICTS Part 401 – RA Rural Areas District § 165-401.03 Conditional uses. The following uses of structures and land shall be allowed only if a conditional use permit has been granted for the use: UU. Self-Service Storage Facilities Article II SUPPLEMENTARY USE REGULATIONS, PARKING, BUFFERS, AND REGULATIONS FOR SPECIFIC USES Part 204 – Additional Regulations for Specific Uses § 165-204.18 Storage facilities, self-service. Where allowed, self-service storage facilities shall meet the following requirements: A. Self-service storage facility operations shall be permitted as a primary or accessory use in all zoning districts in which they are permitted. B. All parking areas, travel aisles and maneuvering areas associated with the self-service storage facility operations shall be paved with asphalt, concrete or similar material to provide a durable hard surface. C. Buildings are permitted that provide interior and exterior accessible units. Individual units within the self-service storage building shall not exceed 1,000 square feet in area. D. Minimum building spacing shall be 30 feet apart. Loading areas shall be delineated to ensure that adequate travel aisles are maintained between buildings. E. Recreational vehicles and boats shall be permitted to be stored within completely enclosed areas of the self-service storage facility, provided that the storage area is separate from the parking areas and travel aisles and is depicted on the approved site development plan. Areas utilized for this purpose shall be exempt from the surface requirements specified under § 165-204.18B. F. Self-service storage facilities shall meet the following landscaping or screening requirements: (1) Facilities located in the B-2 Business General District shall be completely screened around the perimeter of the property by a double row of evergreen trees that are staggered and planted a maximum of eight feet off center and are a minimum of six feet in height when planted. (2) Facilities located in the B-3 Industrial Transition District or the M-1 Light Industrial District shall be required to landscape the yard area within the front yard setback to provide for a double row of evergreen trees that are staggered and planted a maximum of eight feet off center. The side and rear yards shall be planted with a single row of evergreen or deciduous trees that are planted a maximum of 40 feet off center. All trees shall be a minimum of six feet in height at the time of planting. (3) Facilities located on parcels that are within a master planned industrial park or office park shall be required to landscape the perimeter of the facility with a single row of evergreen or deciduous trees that are planted a maximum of 40 feet off center. All trees shall be a minimum of six feet in height at the time of planting. (4) The required planting of all trees described under this Subsection F shall occur in an area that is between the adjoining property boundary line and the placement of security fencing. The installation of an opaque wall or fence that is a minimum of six feet in height may substitute for required landscaped areas in all zoning districts. G. Self-service storage facility operations shall be designed to accommodate the storage of residential, commercial and industrial items, excluding hazardous, toxic and explosive materials. No use, sale, repair or activity other than storage shall be permitted to occur in self-service storage facility operations. A copy of the lease agreement which describes the requirements of this subsection shall be approved in conjunction with the site development plan for the self-service storage facility operation. H. In addition to the above, self-service storage facilities in the RA (Rural Areas) District shall adhere to the following requirements: (1) Properties must be located within a designated and defined Rural Community Center as identified in the Comprehensive Plan. (2) All development shall conform to all B2 (General Business) District standards. (3) All developments shall have direct access onto a paved state road. Item #3: Shipping Containers as Accessory Storage This is a proposed text amendment to Chapter 165 – Zoning Ordinance to restrict the use of commercial shipping containers as accessory use/structure in certain districts. This zoning concern was brought to the attention of the DRRC at their February 22, 2018 meeting. The original proposal prohibited shipping containers as accessory storage only on residential lots in the RP, R4, R5, and RA Zoning Districts. The Committee discussed this amendment and recommended changes to the original draft proposal, including additional restrictions for shipping containers as storage in business and industrial districts. This item, as amended by the DRRC, was then forwarded to the Planning Commission for discussion on April 4, 2018; this item was subsequently presented to the Board of Supervisors for discussion on May 9, 2018. The Board of Supervisors directed Staff to take the item back to the Committee for additional consideration by the DRRC based on the Board’s discussion with the following comments: • Shipping containers as accessory storage should be allowed in all business and industrial districts. Shipping containers are integral to business and industrial uses for transportation services, warehousing, and distribution. Existing regulations for outdoor storage and tractor trailer parking may already regulate this use and additional restrictions may not be necessary. Shipping containers are designed to be stacked. • Shipping containers as accessory storage may conflict with residential uses and it may be appropriate for Frederick County to prohibit their use on residential lots of all sizes, including rural residential subdivisions. The Board of Supervisors did not all agree this was an issue that needed to be regulated. • Prohibiting storage containers as storage in the RA (Rural Areas) Zoning District by lot size (i.e. 6-acres or more, or 6-acres or less) may be arbitrary, for example some farms could be as small as 1-acre. Staff is seeking additional revisions on this request for a text amendment to the Zoning Ordinance. Depending on the outcome of this discussion, Staff may forward this item to the Planning Commission for further discussion. Attachment: Proposed Changes – Shipping Containers as Accessory Storage (2018) ARTICLE I GENERAL PROVISIONS, AMENDMENTS, AND CONDITIONAL USE PERMITS Part 101 – General Provisions §165-101.02 Definitions and word usage Shipping containers – pre-fabricated, durable, steel shipping containers, also known as intermodal containers, cargo containers, freight containers, or ISO containers. ARTICLE II SUPPLEMENTARY USE REGULATIONS; PARKING; BUFFERS; AND REGULATIONS FOR SPECIFIC USES Part 201 – Supplementary Use Regulations §165-201.05. Secondary or accessory uses. When permitted secondary or accessory uses that are normally or typically found in association with the allowed primary use shall be allowed on the same parcel or lot as the primary use, secondary uses shall meet the requirements of this section as well as any particular standard imposed on such use. G. Shipping containers (i.e. pre-fabricated, durable, steel shipping containers, also known as intermodal containers, cargo containers, freight containers, or ISO containers): 1. Are prohibited as permanent storage or as an accessory use in the RA Rural Areas District on properties of less than six (6) acres, in the RP Residential Performance, R4 Residential Planned Community or R5 Residential Recreational Community Districts. 2. May be allowed only as permanent storage in the RA Rural Areas District only on properties of six (6) acres or more and shall meet the minimum setback for accessory uses and structures and may not be stacked. 3. May be allowed only as permanent storage in all Business and Industrial Zoning Districts only where contained entirely within a screened outdoor storage yard as set forth in §165-201.10 and may not be stacked.