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Home My WebLink About09-20 BZA Staff ReportAPPEAL APPLICATION #09-20 WINCHESTER MEDICAL CENTER, INC. Staff Report for the Board of Zoning Appeals Prepared: October 7, 2020 Staff Contact: Mark R. Cheran, Zoning Administrator This report is prepared by the Frederick County Planning Staff to provide information to the Board of Zoning Appeals to assist them in making a decision on this appeal. It may also be useful to others interested in this zoning matter. BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS HEARING DATE: October 20, 2020 Public Hearing Action Pending LOCATION: The subject property is located at 1998 Northwestern Pike, Winchester, Virginia. MAGISTERIAL DISTRICT: Gainesboro PROPERTY ID NUMBER: 53-A-68 PROPERTY ZONING: B2 (Busines General) & MS (Medical Support) District Rezoning # 02-03 – Winchester Medical Center – West Campus LAND USE: Vacant ADJOINING PROPERTY ZONING & USE: North: RA (Rural Areas) Use: Orchard East: Route 37 Use: State Highway South: B2 (General Business) Use: Medical Office/Motel West: RA (Rural Areas) Use: Orchard APPEAL: The Owner is appealing the determinations of the Zoning Administrator, dated July 8, 2020. The Applicant is first appealing the determination relative to the building setbacks applicable to the proposed MS (Medical Support) Zoning District uses (specifically, educational, research, professional, commercial, and other related support services) on the Property. Second, the Owner is appealing the determination that the proposed use is not consistent with the approved Master Development Plan, #06-04, for the Property. ZONING ADMINISTRATOR DETERMINATION: 1) That the applicable setbacks for the proposed uses are determined by the classification of streets referenced in Part 504 of the Zoning Ordinance, and 2) That the placement of an 88,727 square foot office and warehouse building within a land bay designated for “office and administration” uses, is inconsistent with the proffered Generalized Development Plan (GDP) and Master Development Plan (see attached Proffers and GDP -Enclosure 1 and MDP-Enclosure 2). 7 Appeal #09-20 Winchester Medical Center, Inc. October 7, 2020 STAFF COMMENTS: The Property is subject to Rezoning #02-03 for Winchester Medical Center-West Campus, approved by the Board of Supervisors on April 9, 2003. This application rezoned 50+/- acres from B2 (General Business) District to the B2 (General Business) District with proffers and 51+/- acres from RA (Rural Areas) District, to the MS (Medical Support) District, with proffers. The Proffers for Rezoning #02-03 included a General Development Plan (GDP) that identified the types of uses allowed within each land bay on the property. Following the rezoning approval, the owner submitted a Master Development Plan (MDP) for the property which was approved on June 30, 2004. This MDP was based on the proffered GDP. The Owner, on February 13, 2020, submitted Site Plan #07-20, for the Property. The Owner, on June 10, 2020, requested a zoning determination, with respect to the applicable setbacks, noting the submission of the proposed Site Plan for an office and warehouse building at a particular location on the Property. The Zoning Administrator, on July 8, 2020, issued his determination, that (i) the applicable setbacks for the proposed uses are as set forth for the different classifications of streets referenced in Part 504 of the Zoning Ordinance, and (ii) that the placement of an 88,727 square foot office & warehouse building at the indicated location is inconsistent with the MDP and the GDP, as this land bay is designated for “office and administration” uses. Applicable Setbacks Section 165-504.05(A) of the Zoning Ordinance establishes the structure and parking lot setbacks for the MS District. As to structures used for educational, research, professional, commercial, and other related support services, Section 165-504.05(A) provides: All permitted educational, research, professional, commercial, and other related support services shall have a minimum front yard setback of 50 feet from any urban collector street and a minimum front yard setback of 35 feet from any urban local street. The GDP provides for access, from what is now Botanical Boulevard, to the land bays contained within the Property, to be by means of a private street (GDP Sheet 5). The MDP in turn identifies this as a “Private Urban Collector Road”, designated as Perennial Drive, extending throughout the limits of the Property (MDP, Sheets 2 and 3). The Zoning Ordinance contains the following definitions for an “Urban Collector Street” and an “Urban Local Street”: STREET, URBAN COLLECTOR – A public or private street that is constructed to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) geometric design standards for urban collector street systems. STREET, URBAN LOCAL – A public or private street that is constructed to the American 8 Appeal #09-20 Winchester Medical Center, Inc. October 7, 2020 Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) geometric design standards for urban local street systems. Therefore, the front setback for any structure is 50 feet from the street/road designated as Perennial Drive and 35 feet from any other road within the Property. Furthermore, as this private street/road serves other land bays within the Property, as both the GDP and the MDP designate, and which land bays are in either of two different zoning districts, the Owner may not utilize a private driveway, along the lines of the Owner’s inquiry in its request for a zoning determination. The Zoning Ordinance defines a “Driveway” as: A private travelway for vehicles which provides access to a public street or road from a parking space, garage, dwelling, structure or use. Because, per the definition, a “driveway” is to provide access for a single use (and its associated dwelling, structure, garage, and parking), the Owner cannot rely upon that definition for a property with multiple land bays, each designated for a different use. The applicable setbacks, then, are those that apply to the different classifications of streets referenced in Section 504.05(A) of the Zoning Ordinance. Location of Proposed Use The GDP and the MDP identify the types of uses allowed within the land bays on the Property. The Owner submitted the proposed Site Plan for the Property, but the proposed Site Plan was not approvable, as the use identified on the proposed Site Plan did not conform with the designations on the GDP and on the MDP. Specifically, the use identified on the proposed Site Plan, an 88,727 square foot office & warehouse building, is clearly located within a land bay identified on the GDP and on the MDP as being for “office & administration”. The GDP and the MDP both otherwise allow warehouse uses, but only within the land bay immediately to the south of the location for the proposed structure shown on the submitted Site Plan. Warehouse buildings are permitted within the land bay area identified for “shared services distribution center”. Furthermore, the MDP depicts a “private urban collector road” and bridge crossing Route 37, which is apparently no longer part of the overall site, but which the Owner should otherwise show on the site plan. The rezoning also proffered to construct a landscaped, open, green visual focal link and park located at a roundabout, the Owner did not construct this feature (focal point at overpass roundabout). STAFF CONCLUSIONS FOR THE OCTOBER 20, 2020 MEETING: Staff is requesting that the Board of Zoning Appeals affirm the decision of the Zoning Administrator in the administration 9 Appeal #09-20 Winchester Medical Center, Inc. October 7, 2020 of the Frederick County Zoning Ordinance, Section 165-502.04A, and the proffers assigned to Rezoning #02-03 for Winchester Medical Center-West Campus. 10