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PC_07-19-78_Meeting_MinutesMINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE FREDERICK COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION Held in the Board of Supervisors' Room July 19, 1978. PRESENT: C. Langdon Gordon, Chariman; Frank Brumback, Vice Chairman; Manuel DeHaven; James Golladay, Jr.,; W. French Kirk; Elmer Venskoske; Herbert L. Sluder ABSENT: Thomas Rosenberger CALL TO ORDER The Chairman called the meeting to order and proceeded to the first order of business. Minutes of the Meeting -- July 5, 1978 -- Approved with Corrections. July 11, 1978 -- Approved as Submitted. Upon motion made by James Golladay, Jr—and seconded by Elmer Venskoske, BE IT RESOLVED, That the Planning Commission`for the County of Frederick, Virginia does hereby approve both sets of minutes with typographical corrections. The motion passed by the following vote: Kirk; DeHaven; Golladay, Jr.; Venskoske; Brumback; Chairman -- YES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Notice of Rezoning Mr. Berg presented the Commission with a notice of a rezoning request he-had-received from the Clarke County Planning Commission concerning property near the Double Tollgate. He told the Commission the public hearing had already been-held by the Planning Commission, however, if the Commission wanted to go on record with a comment then it could be brought up at the Clarke County Board of Supervisors' meeting. The Commission discussed the request and decided they would like`Clarke County to be aware of their Land Use Plan, therefore the following motion was made by Frank Brumback and seconded by James Golladay, Jr.: BE IT RESOLVED, That the Planning Commission for the County of Frederick, Virginia does hereby instruct Mr. Berg to review with the Clarke County Board of Supervisors or the Planning Commission the Land Use Plan for Frederick County in that particular area. 485 (P /C '7/19/78) p 2 The motion passed by the following vote: Kirk; DeHaven; Golladay, Jr.; Venskoske; Brumback; Chairman -- YES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - WORKSESSION Mr. Berg told the Commission that this worksession was to be used to discuss the rezoning for the Robert Kerns property that had been tabled at their meeting of July 5.. The Chairman told the Commission a letter had been received from Mrs. Castro concerning the rezoning. Upon motion made by Manuel DeHaven and seconded by James Golladay, Jr., BE IT RESOLVED, That the Planning Commission for the County of Frederick, Virginia does hereby move to make the letter of Mrs. Castro a part of the minutes. The motion passed by the following vote: Kirk; DeHaven; Golladay, Jr.; Venskoske; Brumback; Chairman -- YES Mr. Langdon Gordon, Chairman Frederick County Planning Commission Route 111, Box 67 -D Winchester, Virginia 22601 Re: Zoning Map Amendment Petition 11008 -78 Robt. W. & Betty Kearns, Cross Junction, Virginia Dear Mr. Gordon: Dr. Castro and I have just returned to Washington and have found a certified mail notice signed by Dorothea Stefan, Frederick County Zoning Administrator, informing us of a hearing which was held during our absence, at 3 P.M. on July 5th, 1978, to consider rezoning 1.348 acres on the south side of route 11692, approximately 0.8 mile from the intersection of 692 and rt. 522. This property is owned by Robert W. Kerns and Betty Kerns, Box 26 -A, Cross Junction, Virginia. Dr. Castro and I own the adjoining farm on Route 692 between the--Kerns property and Rt. 522, and are sorry we were not aware of the hearing, as we are very much interested in the future of our area. Our property was originally owned by Curtis Story and his wife, and purchased from them by my aunt, Marguerite L. Sullivan, in 1962. We purchased the farm, as a retirement home, from Miss Sullivan in 1966. Since that time our son Alex Jr. and his family have made the farm their home. Dr. Castro and I hope to live there when he retires within the next three or four years, and since we have owned the property we have spent much effort, time and expense to improve the property and keep up the land value and at the same time to do everything possible to use the land wisely and protect it from erosion, etc. _. I certainly dread the thought of the ugly eyesore, noise, etc., we will have if Mr. Kerns is successful in his endeavor to have his property rezoned to enable him C (P /C 7/19/78) p 3 to run a "garage" for repairing old cars. I have been told by neighbors that he is planning a junk yard of wrecked and abandoned autos, and have also been told today that there are at least ten cars and over four trucks and buses on the property at the present time, and that he has been and is presently in violation of the zoning code. I do not wish to be unreasonable, but isn't it time we all realized that once the land and the trees have been destroyed it takes generations to renew it again - -and so often it is never returned to it's original state. What will Mr. Kerns do to dispose of all the old car bodies once he has taken the parts he needs? Will they just accumulate for generations, as they have in junk yards all over this country? Isn't it time to think ahead to the future, and to preserve our beautiful land, the good Lord isn't making any more land. /s/ Sincerely, Franchon A. Castro (Mrs. A. F.) 5132 Westpart Way Washington, D. C. 20016 July 11, 1978 Mrs. Castro appeared before the Commission and told them she hated to have a man put out of business however, she did not like the idea of having the eyesore of junk cars. Mrs. Castro stated that they owned about 158 acres and when her husband retired they would like to move to the farm and build a house on "the prettiest spot" which is located next to the Kern's property. She told the Commission Mr. Kerns had about ten (10) cars and four (4) buses and trucks on the property. A lengthy discussion was held and Mr. Berg pointed out that many of the businesses in the County are operating in violation but the staff can not police the entire County, therefore, the staff has to rely on violations that are reported by the residents of the County. It was decided no action would be taken on this application since the applicant was not present. Upon motion made by James Golladay, Jr. and seconded by Frank Brumback, BE IT RESOLVED, That the Planning Commission for the County of Frederick, Virginia does hereby table this petition until the August 2 meeting. The motion passed by the following vote: Kirk; DeHaven; Golladay, Jr.; Venskoske; Brumback; Chairman -- YES 487 (P /C 7/19/78) p 4 More discussion followed and Mr. DeHaven stated he thought the Commission was going to come up with some solution before any action would be taken on the petition. Mr. Brumback pointed out that the motion passed at the July 5 meeting stated that the Commission would hold a worksession to discuss garages. Mr. Berg told the Commission garages were not compatible with residential areas. He explained that the purpose of zoning was to protect adjoining property owners. Mr. Berg pointed out that the staff now issues an occupancy permit after a building is constructed and a final inspection is made. He stated if there is any doubt that a garage is not going to be used for personal use than an affidavit is signed by the applicant and this affidavit can be used in Court. Mr. DeHaven brought up the idea of issuing a Conditional Use Permit. Mr. Berg maintained than he felt issuing a Conditional Use Permit would be difficult for the staff to police and also it would be adding more and more uses to the Agricultural districts. The Commission discussed this matter in length and it was brought up that perhaps the person could be licensed by the County. Mr. Berg stated the County could not adopt licensing because of a State moritorium. It was noted that the Commission would like to have comments from the Board of Supervisors before they decided on any definite solution for garages in the County. WORKSESSION A worksession was held on the Property Identification Maps in the Middletown area. The consensus of the Commission was to have spot zonings included on the maps for the improved properties. Mr. Berg stated that Lawrence Ambrogi, Commonwealth's Attorney, had been notified regarding the rebuilding of a nonconforming building that might be M. (P /C 7/19/78) p 5 destroyed and he had agreed that the building could be rebuilt as long as the new structure presented no greater nonconformity to the area. MEETING DATE A meeting date was scheduled for August 3rd at 7:00 PM to discuss the Property Identification Maps. ADJOURNMENT Upon motion made by James Golladay, Jr., seconded by W. French Kirk and approved unanimously, BE IT RESOLVED, That the Planning Commission for the County of Frederick, Virginia does hereby adjourn its meeting; there being no further business. Respectfully Submitted, H. Ronald Berg, Secretary i aa c�.�A1_Mj - C. Langqqn Gordon, Chairman