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PC_02-19-97_Meeting_Minutes• MEETING MINUTES OF THE FREDERICK COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION Held in the Board Room of the the Frederick County Administration Building at 107 North Kent Street in Winchester, Virginia on February 19, 1997. PRESENT: Charles S. DeHaven, Jr., Chairman/Stonewall District; John R. Marker, Vice- Chairman/Back Creek District; Marjorie H. Copenhaver, Back Creek District; Roger L. Thomas, Opequon District; Robert A. Moms, Shawnee District; S. Blaine Wilson, Shawnee District; Richard C. Ours, Opcquon District; George L. Romine, Citizen at Large; Robert M. Sager, Board Liaison; Vincent DiBenedetto, Winchester City Liaison. and Jay Cook, Legal Counsel. ABSENT: John H. Light, Stonewall District; and Terry Stone, Gainesboro District. STAFF PRESENT: Kris C. Tierney, Planning Director, Evan A. Wyatt, Deputy Director; W. Wayne Miller, Zoning Administrator; Andrew Evans, Zoning Administrator; and Renee' S. Arlotta, Minutes Recorder. E CALL TO ORDER Chairman DeHaven called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. MINUTES OF JANUARY 15,1997 Upon motion made by Mrs. Copenhaver and seconded by Mr. Light, the minutes of January 15, 1997 were unanimously approved as presented. BIMONTHLY REPORT Chairman DeHaven accepted the Bimonthly Report for the Commission's information. • Frederick County Planning Commission Minutes of February 19, 1997 Page 17 -2- ® COMMITTEE REPORTS Economic Development Commission (EDC) Mr. Romine said that it was reported at the January meeting that our area received 19 location inquiries. He said that a project has begun to establish a technical zone and a foreign trade zone somewhere in the vicinity of the airport. Sanitation Authority (SA) Mrs. Copenhaver reported that the repairs in Fredericktowne are about 1/4 -1/3 finished. She said this work includes repairs to laterals and manholes; and, in addition, they are finding that sump pumps are being emptied into the sanitary sewer - -for which there is a fine. Mrs. Copenhaver reported that the Parkins Plant will be adequate for the next five years; the Opequon Plant, if the addition is completed, will be adequate for the next five years; and the Diehl Water Treatment Plant will be adequate for the next 5 -10 years. She said that the SA anticipates water customers to increase at the rate of 400 per year. She said that the SA now has 7,000 water customers and by the year 2002, they expect 9,400. She said that sewer will be growing at almost the same rate. • Mrs. Copenhaver said that Ned Cleland once again reviewed the agreement between the City and the County on the addition to the Opequon plant. She added that the agreement includes formulas for the payment of additional needed capacities. Winchester City Plannin¢ Commission - 02/18/97 Mtg. Mr. Ours reported that the Winchester City Planning Commission held a public hearing for the new HRl Zoning Plan and the new zoning was adopted unanimously. Mr. Ours said that basically, this is a plan to rezone land from high-density (HR, MR, B 1) zones to the new HRI with the intent being to preserve the single family character of many of the older high- density areas of the City. He said that the zoning covered six areas of the City, included about 1,082 parcels and about 1,226 dwelling units. PUBLIC MEETING Subdivision Application #001 -97 of the Summit, Section 1 -B, by Donald L. Bayliss, to subdivide a 2.9 -acre tract into four lots. This property is located at the corner of Lakeview Drive and South Lakeview Drive and is identified with P.I.N. 18 -A -28F in the Gainesboro Magisterial District. C � J Frederick County Planning Commission Minutes of February 19, 1997 Page 18 -3- Action - Recommended Approval Mr. Miller said that Section 1B of the Lake Holiday Estates subdivision was approved in April of 1994 by the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors. He said that this request is for an addition of four lots that adjoins and is to become a part of Section 113. He explained that there are no new streets required and water and sewer are available to the lots. He said that the president of the Lake Holiday Utility Company and the State DEQ have certified that sewer and water capacity exist to accommodate these additional lots. Mr. Miller added that none of the reviewing agencies had a problem with the subdivision, however, the Director of Public Works is requiring detailed site plans for Lots 29 and 32. Mr. Moms brought up the subject of the lack of an overall master plan for Lake Holiday which defines open space and recreational areas. Mr. Miller said that the staff pursued the issue of the submittal of a master plan, but without success; and Section 1B was approved without a master plan. Mr. Miller said that there were issues and there will be issues in the future, particularly if there are any larger tracts that would be attempted to be divided into lots. Mr. Thomas asked if the applicant was aware of the Public Works Director's requirement for site plans and Mr. Miller replied that he was aware and would be required to comply under the provisions of the State -wide Building Code. Mr. Thomas was concerned that the lots might be sold before the required site plans were approved. A representative was not present for this subdivision application. There were no citizen comments. • Upon motion made by Mr. Romine and seconded by Mr. Wilson, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Frederick County Planning Commission does hereby unanimously approve Subdivision Application #001 -97 for Section 1 -B of the Summit by Mr. Donald L. Bayliss with the stipulation that site plans are submitted for Lots 29 and 32 and that all review agency comments are complied with. Discussion Regarding Draft Zoning Ordinance Amendments for Commercial Telecommunication Facilities No Action Required Mr. Wyatt said that the Planning Commission discussed the issue of commercial telecommunications facilities at their meeting of February 5, 1997. Mr. Wyatt stated that the intent of that meeting was to reach a consensus on the approach that should be taken to draft requirements for these facilities. He said that the direction pursued was to create a system that would require a conditional use permit before towers could be constructed and to do this in a fashion where they would be required in any zoning district without placing the requirement in each district. Mr. Wyatt presented the proposed language to the Commission. He also introduced two gentlemen from Shentel, a local telecommunications company, Mr. Michael Marr and Mr. Leonard L. Greisz, who would be contributing their expertise in helping to answer technical questions from the • Frederick County Planning Commission Minutes of February 19, 1997 Page 19 -4- • Commission. Commissioners asked if the language presented was written with outside consultation from people who are in the telecommunications business. Mr. Wyatt reported that much of the information is reflective of what is being used by jurisdictions across the country; however, the proposed language primarily reflects the direction asked for by the Commission and the Development Review & Regulations Subcommittee (DRRS). Mr. Wyatt said that once the language has been established, the staff will send it to the two groups in this area who are constructing towers, CFW and Shentel, for their comments. Commission members were interested in providing incentives for collocation. They asked what the industry's perspective of collocation was. Mr. Leonard L. Greisz, Project Manager with Shentel, said that in the past, the industry has not favored collocation; however, since he has been with Shentel, his company has not followed that way of thinking. Mr. Greisz said that Shentel specifically builds and over - engineers their towers to hold additional providers and encourage collocation. Commission members asked how many of Shentel's towers were collocated. Commission members asked if the average company could make it cost prohibitive for another company to collocate? Mr. Greisz explained that constructing a single tower could be a 1/4 million dollar investment and each site would have to be considered individually. Mr. Wyatt said that under the proposed language, the applicant would have to provide information concerning their attempts to collocate on existing facilities. The issue of an "abandoned in place" structure was next discussed and whether language should be included to prevent its occurrence. Mr. Greisz said that their commitment to the landowner within the lease agreement is that they will remove the tower. He said that if the tower is tall enough to be FAA regulated, then they are required by that agency to keep the tower operating or remove it. Members of the Commission asked if a property owner could get out of a lease agreement after the tower was in place. Mr. Greisz responded that in most cases, the lease is negotiated for an extended term. The Commission next discussed with the Shentel representatives the technologies of the PCS and cellular sites. They discussed lighting on the tops of the towers. Commission members also discussed the pros and cons of lattice towers and monopole towers - -ie: what kind does Shentel usually construct, what is their price differential. The representatives from Shentel said that the monopole tower was more expensive and it was also more limited and not as flexible with regard to collocation. The Shentel representatives suggested that the conditional use permit should be open to different types of communication systems, for example, microwave, and not limited to just the cellular and PCS. Mr. Greisz said that VDOT had taken an aggressive step into that area and they now offer lease space on facilities in the Washington - Metroplex area for collation for communication systems; however, they are using it for a camera system and weather monitoring. Mr. Marr stated that specific locations become critical and proprietary until a lease agreement has been negotiated with a landowner - -he said it could be costly to companies because they have divulged information about specific areas that caused the property to increase in value. He said this may come into play when the company is trying to provide the county with different facts about the location of the property. He explained the potential danger in divulging information before a lease agreement is established. Commissioners felt the wording should be strengthened concerning lighting; that the monopole Frederick County Planning Commission Minutes of February 19, 1997 Page 20 -5- • structure was preferred because it is more aesthetically pleasing; that the county should do everything it can to encourage multiple use. It was stated that proliferation of towers were unsightly and costly for everyone. Mr. Greisz said that he would like to have the opportunity to review the proposed language and give a point -by -point critique before it goes out for decision. The issue of offering incentives to encourage companies to consider aesthetics when constructing towers was next discussed. The Commission was very sensitive to the aesthetic issues because they felt the proliferation of these towers was going to increase dramatically. Mr. Marr suggested that the county should minimize the setback requirements. Mr. Marr explained that as a site acquisition person, when faced with large setbacks, he is limited to placing the tower in a place that may not be the optimum location. Mr. Marr said that the concept of the highest and best use of the property for the owner seems to be negated with these large setback requirements. He said that he has had landowners ask him to put the tower in the comer of their property because they had industrially -zoned land and may want to sell it or build on it. It was pointed out that there were reasons in the past why these setbacks were established; however, the new towers are structurally enhanced and exceed wind - loading requirements. The representatives from Shentel believed that the setbacks were a hindrance in establishing the optimum aesthetic location. The Commissioners decided to discuss the language further at the next DRRS meeting and this would also give the Shentel representatives enough time to review the language proposed. They asked that the staff obtain information on the following items for their next discussion: 1) cost differential between lattice and monopole towers; 2) a determination on the flexibility for expansion and modification of monopole towers; and 3) relating to setbacks, what are the collapse patterns of monopole and lattice towers. INTRODUCTION OF ANDREW EVANS, ZONING ADMINISTRATOR Mr. Tierney introduced Andrew Evans, the newly -hired Zoning Administrator for Frederick County. Chairman DeHaven welcomed Mr. Evans on behalf of the entire Planning Commission. RESOLUTION OF APPRECIATION FOR W. WAYNE MILLER, RETIRING ZONING ADMINISTRATOR Upon motion made by Mr. Thomas and seconded by Mr. Routine, a Resolution of Appreciation was unanimously approved for W. Wayne Miller, retiring Zoning Administrator, as follows: • Frederick County Planning Commission Minutes of February 19, 1997 Page 21 Resolution of Appreciation Honoring W. Wayne Miller WHEREAS, W. Wayne Miller served as the Zoning and Subdivision Administrator for Frederick County from the date of his appointment b the Fredericka Count Board of Supervisors on September 13, 1989, until his retirement on February 28, 1997 and, WHEREAS, Mr. Miller carried out the responsibilities of his position in a manner which demonstrated his strong sense of professionalism and sound judgement, as well as his dedication to both the position and to the County of Fredericka; and, WHEREAS, during his tenure, be instituted numerous management practices which have resulted in a dramatic increase in the level of efficiency and accuracy in such areas as the administrative oversight of subdivision bonds, the collection of committed monetary proffers, and the incorporation of subdivision streets into the State secondary road system; and, WHEREAS, the members of the Planning Commission wish him many years of peaceful relaxation and good health. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that on this 19th day of February 1997, the Fredericks • County Planning Commission does hereby officially express its sincere thanks to W. Wayne Miller for his years of outstanding service and dedication. ADJOURNMENT No further business remained to be discussed and the meeting adjourned by unanimous vote at 9:05 p.m. Respectfu s tyitted, Kris C. Tierney, Secretary Charles S. DeHaven, Chairman (Jr.) • Frederick County Planning Commission Minutes of February 19, 1997 Page 22