Loading...
PC_12-17-03_Meeting_MinutesMEETING MINUTES • OF THE FREDERICK COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION Held in the Board Room of the Frederick County Administration Building at 107 North Kent Street in Winchester, Virginia on December 17, 2003. PRESENT: Charles S. DeHaven, Jr., Chairman/Stonewall District; Pat Gochenour, Red Bud District; Marie F. Straub, Red Bud District; Robert A. Moms, Shawnee District; George J. Kriz, Gainesboro District; John H. Light, Stonewall District; Charles E. Triplett, Gainesboro District; William C. Rosenberry, Shawnee District; Cordell Watt, Back Creek District; Vincent DiBenedetto, Winchester City Liaison; and Jay Cook, Legal Counsel. ABSENT:Roger L. Thomas, Vice Chairman/Opequon District; Richard C. Ours, Opequon District; Gene E. Fisher, Citizen at Large; and Greg L. Unger, Back Creek District. STAFF PRESENT: Eric R. Lawrence, Planning Director; Christopher M. Mohn, Deputy Planning Director; Abbe S. Kennedy, Senior Planner; and, Renee' S. Arlotta, Clerk. • CALL TO ORDER Chairman DeHaven called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. COMMITTEE REPORTS Comprehensive Plans & Programs Subcommittee (CPPS) - 12/08/03 Mtg. Study. Commissioner Light reported that the CPPS continued their discussions on the Rural Areas Historic Resources Advisory Board (HRAB) Commissioner Gochenour reported that the regularly scheduled meeting was canceled. However, Commissioner Gochenour mentioned the $8,000.00 grant received by the HRAB which will be used • Frederick County Planning Commission Minutes of December 17, 2003 Page 1218 -2- • for educating HRAB members in their review of rezoning applications proposed for the historically- sensitive areas of the county. She said the HRAB is in the process of hiring a consultant and the desire is to create a booklet which will contain helpful guidelines. Winchester City Planning Commission City of Winchester's Liaison to the Planning Commission, Mr. Vincent DiBenedetto, announced that due to term limits, he will no longer be serving on the Winchester City Planning Commission and this was the final Frederick County Planning Commission meeting he would be attending as liaison. Mr. DiBenedetto stated that he has served as the liaison to the Frederick County Planning Commission for ten years and has enjoyed doing so. He commented how much he has admired the way the Frederick County Planning Commission operates under Chairman DeHaven and he has tried to emulate how Chairman DeHaven has conducted Commission meetings. Mr. DiBenedetto said that he used the Planning Commission's bylaws as a template to create bylaws for the City Planning Commission. Mr. DiBenedetto admired how diligent each of the Commissioners are, the way in which research is done, how opinions are expressed, and the amount of time the Commission takes to listen and respectfully respond to the citizenry. In conclusion, he said that he has admired the manner in which the Commission works with the planning staff. He considered the County Planning Staff to be very professional. CITIZEN COMMENTS Mr. Bob Stiff, a resident at 104 Stirrup Cup Circle in Saratoga Meadows, came forward to discuss a reoccurring issue regarding the pending development of an adjoining property with a car wash. Mr. Stiff believed the development of the property was misrepresented at the time of its rezoning; he explained that the information provided indicated a low profile, neighborhood- friendly building with tinted windows, low lighting, etc. He said that the intention now is to establish one of the new no -brush car washes, which are extremely noisy. He pointed out that similar car washes are located along highways, however, this particular one is adjoined on three sides by residences. Mr. Stiff said that he has a swimming pool and the quality of life for his family will be impacted by the car wash. In addition, he believed it would impact the value of his property. Mr. Stiff commented that there are 41 homes in Saratoga Meadows and everyone is concerned about this situation, which they consider to be spot zoning. Mr. Stiff said that the residents of Saratoga Meadows are concerned about the impacts of traffic congestion, the limited turning radius available on the site, the low water pressure on Senseny Road, and the possible impacts to fire and rescue services. Chairman DeHaven thanked Mr. Stiff for his comments and noted that the Commission shares the concerns raised. (At the end of the meeting, Director Lawrence pointed out that an option available within the zoning ordinance provides for a site plan to be reviewed and commented on by the Planning Commission, if potential impacts of the development could possibly affect the surrounding properties, areas, or traffic. The Commission believed it would be beneficial for them to review this site plan and asked the staff to bring the plan in for their review.) • Frederick County Planning Commission Minutes of December 17, 2003 Page 1219 3- • DISCUSSION 2004 -2005 CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS PLAN FOR FREDERICK COUNTY Planner Abbe S. Kennedy reported that the Comprehensive Plans & Programs Subcommittee (CPPS) and Frederick County Department representatives have been actively engaged in the development of the Draft 2004 -2005 Capital Improvements Plan (CIP) for Frederick County. Planner Kennedy said that earlier this year, the Board of Supervisors directed the Planning Staff to pursue a process revision concerning the methods used in forming the County's CIP. She explained that it was agreed that neither the Planning Department nor the CPPS would engage in the prioritization or evaluation of the various departmental requests, but the role of the CPPS would be to ensure that the departmental project requests were properly supported by the Comprehensive Policy Plan. In addition, she emphasized that the costs associated with the project requests are not considered by the CPPS, but instead, are considered by the CPPS in relation to policy and in the context of the cross functional alignment of departmental needs. Planner Kennedy continued, stating that the Draft 2004 -2005 CIP consists of 34 capital projects, which is an increase over the 30 projects included in last year's CIP. She said that all of the projects in the previous CIP have been carried over, with the exception of the James Wood Middle School renovations, which will be completed in May of 2004, and the airport's Route 645 relocation project, which is fully funded and is expected to be completed in 2004. Planner Kennedy reported that the proposed CIP contains six new capital projects, which include: an updated master development plan for the north side development at the airport, two new land acquisition projects along Bufflick Road to facilitate the regional airport's noise attenuation program, a renovations project request from Frederick County Public Schools for Robert E. Aylor Middle School, and two new projects submitted by the CFFW Regional Jail. Planner Kennedy acknowledged the presence of various representatives from many of the requesting departments and she also acknowledged the exceptional cooperation from the department directors in working with the Planning Department on revising the CIP process. Commissioner Morris commented that the State Code stipulates that before proffers can be accepted, projects must be identified in the CIP. Commissioner Morris asked if staff could review how the County accounts for and tracks proffer monies relating to items on the CIP and, in addition, if monies are typically proffered for a specific project or if the funds are placed in a general fund to be spread across the entire CIP program. Commissioner Morris also inquired how proffered money is accounted for if a proposed project does not become a reality. Planning Director Eric R. Lawrence explained that the County uses the dollar values from the adopted CIP and incorporates them into its impact modeling exercise so that at the time of a rezoning, the capital facility impacts can be identified. Director Lawrence stated that rather than focusing on a particular facility, the County incorporates all of the Park's projects together or all of the school projects together, and the monies are placed into a capital facilities account for that specific department. Director Lawrence explained that the money will remain in the account until there is a capital project request and then the Finance Department disburses the funds. U Frederick County Planning Commission Minutes of December 17, 2003 Page 1220 -4- is Commissioner Rosenberry inquired why projected expenditures are not a legitimate item to evaluate, if the State Code requires expenditures to be included in the CIP. Chairman DeHaven explained that finance performance and impacts are to be evaluated by another committee, but not the Planning Commission. Director Lawrence added that the Planning Commission reviews the project list in terms of Comprehensive Planning aspects and then works with the Finance Department or another County entity to evaluate the dollar values. Director Lawrence said that the Board of Supervisors is ultimately the adoption body and would evaluate all aspects of the CIP. Commissioner Straub inquired if a site had been chosen for the new elementary school. Mr. Al Omdorff, Administrative Assistant to the Superintendent of Frederick County Public Schools, replied that the 25 -acre site chosen for the I I' elementary school is adjacent to the new middle school property. Referring to items 3A and 313, the transportation facility and the administration building renovations, Commissioner Straub inquired if those two projects went together for some reason. Mr. Omdorff replied that in order to accommodate changes from last year's CIP, in particular, moving the I I' elementary school ahead of the administration building, and due to economies of scale, these two similar projects were grouped together. Commissioner Light asked Mr. Omdorff if he knew the final cost of renovating James Wood School. Mr. Omdorff was confident that the $11.75 million budgeted for the James Wood School renovations would be sufficient for the project, which was scheduled to be completed in May. Referring to the justification section, Commissioner Morris suggested that Department Directors make better use of benchmarks of evaluation as a measurement technique to clarify or quantify project requests. In doing so, he believed it would be easier to determine how a specific county agency compared against a particular set of established standards. For example, how many books per capita in a county of our size is the standard for a library and is the County's library meeting that standard. Commissioner Light expressed a desire for the Planning Department, the Board of Supervisors, and the Department Directors to meet once a year for discussion of potential co- location of multi - purpose facilities as an avenue for cost - saving. He also was in favor of establishing a development tracking system that could detail the impacts of particular areas on infrastructure; he believed the system would aid the Commission in their considerations during a rezoning process. In addition, Commissioner Light raised the issue of schools being located outside of the Urban Development Area (UDA), when the preference was to have them inside the UDA. He realized that price, location, and transportation affect school location, however, he believed that the planning of school locations could be improved to make this a better working situation. Commissioners agreed that the new uniform content of the CIP was a considerable improvement for reviewing the CIP and they thanked the department directors for their willingness to provide this standardization. The Commission supported the Draft 2004 -2005 Capital Improvements Plan for Frederick County as presented. • Frederick County Planning Commission Minutes of December 17, 2003 Page 1221 -5- 11 ADJOURNMENT By a unanimous vote, the meeting of the Frederick County Planning Commission adjourned at 7 :35 p.m. Resp tfully submitted, Q / 1.wlALA �, l.x✓` � -tom_ Charles . DeHaven, Jr., Chairman Eric . L e , Secretary • • Frederick County Planning Commission Minutes of December 17, 2003 Page 1222