PLANNING COMMISSION
Wednesday, April
24, 2002
Commissioners Present: Mr. Harlow, Mr. Drumheller, Mr. Giles, Mr. Brush, Ms. Russell, Dr. Walker, Mr. Harvey
MIRIAM D. CORCORAN SITE PLAN – After determining that the lighting plan would be reviewed by the Planning Director, Commissioners voted 6-0 (Mr. Giles absent for this vote) to approve the site plan for a 9,600 square foot primary residence/Teacher Conference Center at the intersection of Rt. 151 and Horizons Village Road.
ADVANCING NATIVE MISSIONS SITE PLAN – The applicant is proposing a 5,000 square foot warehouse and 8,400 square foot office building at the intersection of Rt. 151 and Rt. 6 West. The plan includes two parking areas for 30 vehicles and one space for a tractor trailer with a new entrance onto Rt. 151. In response to Mr. Harvey’s question, the applicant noted a 550-600 foot sight distance for the new driveway and VDOT approval contingent on grading the bank back to achieve that distance. Mr. Harvey expressed concern that that distance would not be enough for a tractor trailer entering Rt. 151 from the business. The applicant said that the one tractor trailer coming and going is not a daily occurrence and they haven’t had a tractor trailer at their business for the past three months. Several citizens expressed concern about traffic safety and asked whether there would be enough trees left to screen the site. The applicant noted that VDOT has approved the new entrance and that most of the mature trees will remain with additional screening added at various locations on the site. Commissioners voted 6-1 with Mr. Harvey voting no. The site plan was approved with 7 stipulations including the appropriate Health Department, E&S and lighting reviews. Mr. Boger noted to the applicant that the Board of Supervisors does have the right to review a site plan if they wish.
JEFFREY S. ROBERTS DOUBLEWIDE – With no public comment, Commissioners voted 6-1 (Ms. Russell voting no) to recommend approval of a Special Use Permit to allow placement of a doublewide in a Residential (R-1) District. Ms. Russell noted that homes in the area on the west side of Afton Mountain Road are primarily stick-built homes.
REZONING REQUEST CURTIS BRUGUIERE – The applicant is requesting to rezone property at 1897 Avon Road from Residential (R-1) to Business (B-1), Conditional with the following proffers:
The Conditional zoning would allow all uses permitted under B-1 except –
Staff noted that the applicant states the current use of the property as a grocery/convenience store of less than 4,000 square feet and requests the rezoning to allow other uses should the current use become no longer economically feasible. Staff also presented several concerns including the speculative nature of the request, increased traffic at an already dangerous intersection, spot zoning and breaking the integrity of the surrounding Residential zoning. Mr. Boger also listed the allowed uses if the property were rezoned: boardinghouse, hotel, motel, retail drugstore, feed & seed store, food sales & restaurant, wearing apparel shop, auto & home appliance services, bank, barber & beauty shop, hardware store, office & personal & professional services, wholesale & processing activities, gasoline filling stations and/or servicing & minor repair of vehicles in an enclosed structure, public garage for storage and/or repair of vehicles in an enclosed space, business signs and a flea market.
The applicant noted that the store had been there since 1918, probably before any zoning ordinances existed. He also gave VDOT’s accident statistics at the intersection, comparing those to other similar intersections and noting that the 500 foot required sight distance was not a problem for that property. He said that changing the type of business would actually generate less traffic than what’s coming into the store now and noted that he is not requesting a change to Industrial, but the less objectionable Business District.
During the Public Hearing, several area and adjoining residents expressed concern about safety and increased traffic at the intersection with several noting the already existing parking problem at the store. Mr. Lynwood Rogers, an adjoining landowner, spoke against the rezoning saying that it would not benefit the community and would only benefit the applicant. He said that the area had always been residential and should stay that way.
Mr. Brush said that Planning Commission has historically discouraged speculative rezoning, especially along Rt. 151. He said that without knowing what other business might locate there, he would not be in favor of rezoning. Ms. Russell agreed saying that the Commission could not assess the traffic situation without knowing what business would locate there. She also agreed that the rezoning would be spot zoning. Commissioners voted 6-0-1 (Mr. Harvey abstaining) to recommend denying the request due to the dangerous intersection, the speculative nature of the request, spot zoning and comments from the public. Mr. Bruguiere asked if he could withdraw the application and reapply with a specific project and Mr. Boger said that he could withdraw by sending a written request to the Planning Department.
SUBDIVISION PLAT BREEZEWOOD COTTAGES/STONEY CREEK – Commissioners voted 7-0 to recommend approval of the revised plat. During discussion, Ms. Russell noted that as requested, Wintergreen has provided the County with current numbers on the lots remaining to be developed.
SUBDIVISION FIRE PONDS – Mr. Boger told Commissioners that a problem is developing with subdivision developers not maintaining fire ponds. He said that the developers are not turning the fire ponds over to property owner associations and have in fact sold lots that contain the fire ponds. He asked whether the Commissioners would be willing to amend the Subdivision Ordinance to include better enforcement power, noting that the current Ordinance rewrite would take at least a year. Mr. Harvey said that the fire ponds are critical to fire protection for the homeowners and that the developer is obligated. Ms. Russell asked if the maintenance of the fire pond could be included in the road maintenance agreement that the county reviews. Mr. Boger said that Staff is looking at those much more closely. Commissioners asked Staff to consult with the County Attorney to determine the best approach.
The next Planning Commission meeting is May 22.