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HomeMy WebLinkAbout9/15/2004 - MinutesROANOKE COUNTY BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS — MEETING MINUTES PUBLIC HEARING — SEPTEMBER 1S, 2004 PRESENT: Mr. Eric Thomas, Chairman Mr. Richard Jones Mr. Eldon Karr Mr. Kevin Barnes Mr. Joseph Obenshain, Senior Assistant County Attorney Mr, Timothy Beard, Secretary Ms. Susan Carter, Recording Secretary Absent: Mr. Carlton Wright Mr. Thomas called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Mr. Karr moved to approve the agenda. Mr. Barnes seconded the motion, which carried unanimously. PUBLIC HEARING PETITION 1. Variance requested by Baron Enterprises of Virginia of Section 30-34-3(B)1.a of the Roanoke County Zoning Ordinance to reduce the minimum front yard setback from 30 feet to 20 feet. The purpose of this request is to construct a single family dwelling located at 3805 Buck Mountain Road, Cave Spring Magisterial District. Mr. George Baron, 2111 Chestnut Oak Court, referred to site drawings. He stated he purchased property around the parcel. He stated he was unable to fit a house on this property due to the creek at the back of the property. He stated he tried unsuccessfully to renovate existing dwelling but it is located too close to the creek. Mr. Thomas asked if the petitioner had received flood certification. He stated Lumsden Associates stated the property does not require flood certification. He stated he does plan to elevate the dwelling. Mr. Karr asked if public sewer was available to this property. Mr. Baron stated both public water and sewer are available to the property. Mr. Barnes asked to see plan the petitioner was displaying. Mr. Baron explained the plan to the board members. Mr. Jones asked why petitioner was not shifting the house back. Mr. Baron stated the creek goes straight up so the house can not be pushed back on the property. Mr. Karr asked if the variance request was for a proposed lot as indicated on the map. Mr. Baron stated the property has since been subdivided. Mr. Karr asked if the lot had been created. Mr. Baron stated he shifted a lot in order to create a new lot. He stated water flows under the concrete structure near the lot. Mr. Jones asked staff if VDOT has any plans for this portion of Buck Mountain Road. Mr. Beard stated this property would be approximately 113 mile from the Buck Mountain Road realignment. Mr. Barnes asked if the house on the site plan was the size structure the petitioner plans to build. Mr. Baron stated the house was drawn on the map to serve as an example. Mr. Thomas inquired about not being required to elevate the house. Mr. Baron stated Lumsden Associates stated the creek will serve as a watershed for the property. Mr. Karr inquired about the entrance being off of Buck Mountain Road. Mr. Baron stated he plans to elevate the structure about 8-9 feet using fill and constructing a basement. Mr. Karr expressed concern regarding the hardship if the property is a rough piece of land and unbuildable. He stated the property may have to be purchased by the state. Mr. Baron stated the property has been sitting for years and he feels like he would be improving the property. Mr. Karr asked about the petitioner's purpose. Mr. Baron stated his purpose is to make the area look better. Mr. Karr expressed concern if that portion of Buck Mountain Road is widened in the future, the house would be in the way. Mr. Baron stated the house is 40 feet from the center lane. Mr. Karr stated according to the topography the house will require more property. Mr. Baron stated he will fill the front. Mr. Karr stated the hardship may be more of an economic hardship for the petitioner. Mr. Baron stated the lot is substandard and he is trying to improve it. Mr. Jones asked about the original request being to reduce the setback from 30 feet to 20 feet with the revised request being 30 feet to 15 feet. Mr. Baron stated the request was amended after speaking to staff. Mr. Beard stated the variance request was advertised as a reduction of the setback from 30 feet to 15 feet after the applicant requested the change, Mr. Charles Dillon, 3367 Pamlico Drive, spoke against the requested variance. He expressed concern regarding future widening of Buck Mountain Road. He expressed concern regarding the property access which would cross his driveway. He also expressed concern regarding more water being forced into the creek bed which would create more problems in the area. Mr. Karr stated that because a hardship has not been established sufficiently to justify granting a variance, he motioned to deny the requested variance. Mr. Jones seconded the motion with the following vote: AYES: Thomas, Jones, Karr, Barnes NAYS: None ABSENT: Wright 2. Variance requested by Shashi, Inc. of Section 30-93-13(E)5 of the Roanoke County Zoning Ordinance to increase the freestanding sign height from 35 feet to 65 feet. The purpose of this request is to improve visibility of the existing sign located at 1671 Skyview Road, Catawba Magisterial District. Mr. Pramod Sharma, owner, spoke regarding the request. He stated when the hotel was a Holiday Inn it earned $1.3 million; however, since changing to Ramada Inn it has earned only $400,000. He stated Ramada Inn is not visible from the road when coming from Roanoke towards Christiansburg. He stated patrons who have made their reservations via the internet, have a difficult time finding his hotel. He stated only people who already know of his location visit because they are unable to find the hotel. Mr. Thomas inquired about signs on 1-81. Mr. Sharma stated VDOT will not Iet him have larger signs. He also stated the signs have poor lighting. He stated he has tried to buy surrounding property in order to cut trees for better visibility. He stated he also requested VDOT cut some trees but they denied his request. Mr. Rick Gordon, 1661 Skyview Road, spoke against the request. He agreed the hotel has a visibility problem but he does not agree with erecting a 65 ft. sign. He stated the business does need more visible off-site signs. He stated he does not want to see a large sign from his front yard. He noted the potential for tree growth is great and the sign would soon be obscured. Mr. Karr asked about the location of Mr. Gordon's property. Mr. Gordon stated he is on the east side 2 of the hotel near the swimming pool side of the hotel. Mr. Jones stated he is sympathetic to the petitioner's problem but it does not measure up to a hardship. Mr. Jones motioned to deny the requested variance. Mr. Barnes seconded the motion with the following vote: AYES: Thomas, Jones, Karr, Barnes NAYS: None ABSENT: Wright 3. Variance requested by Lance A. Copperman of Section 30-34-3(B)3.a of the Roanoke County Zoning Ordinance to reduce the minimum principal structure rear yard setback from 25 feet to 15 feet. The purpose of this request is to construct an addition to the existing dwelling located at 5733 Sugar Loaf Mountain Road, Windsor Hills Magisterial District. It was noted that the petitioner is attempting to purchase sufficient adjacent property which would allow him to withdraw this request, if successful. Mr. Jones motioned to continue the requested variance: Mr. Karr seconded the motion with the following vote: AYES: Thomas, Jones, Karr, Barnes NAYS: None ABSENT: Wright 4. Variance requested by David Pugh, DP Designs PC of Section 30-42-3(B) l.a and Section 30-23-3 of the Roanoke County Zoning Ordinance to reduce the minimum front yard setback from 30 feet to 16 feet. The purpose of this request is to construct an addition to the existing building located at 4493 Bonsack Road, Vinton Magisterial District. Mr. David Pugh, DP Designs PC, spoke regarding the requested variance. He introduced Mr. Sean Goldsmith, Providence Engineering. Mr. Pugh stated the addition would be 14,465 feet with an elevator. He stated his hardships are that the 1983 addition encroached on our now required setbacks. He stated the current sanctuary has side aisles which we would like to keep with the build out. He stated the topography also is a hardship. He stated the facility needs more parking and adequate access. Mr. Karr stated the hardship is self-imposed and not created by the Zoning Ordinance. Mr. Pugh stated restrictions were applied after construction in 1983. Mr. Goldsmith explained the elevation difference was approximately 10 feet. Mr. Karr stated the situation was created by building too close to the setback. Mr. Goldsmith stated future access would be to the back of the parcel. Mr. Pugh stated they are using the existing house as an office. He stated they will remove the old house and move the office into the church when completed. Mr. Karr noted the ordinance is not at fault. He stated the church may have outgrown the lot. Mr. Jones asked if the petitioner had explored shifting the Family Life Center. He expressed concern granting the variance would increase non -conformity of the structure. Mr. Jones explained his suggestion to Mr. Pugh and Mr. Goldsmith. Mr. Jones asked if the Layman Road access would be closed. Mr. Pugh stated they would like to leave that access open for supply deliveries. Mr. Karr asked if they would reposition the current power line. Mr. Pugh affirmed this line would be moved. Mr. Barnes asked about constraints of property. Mr. Pugh 3 stated portions of the lot are too steep for building. He stated they could possibly move the road over but then they may get into a problem with the adjacent property. Mr. Jones motioned to continue the requested variance for 30 days pending submission of additional information. Mr. Barnes seconded the motion with the following vote: AYES: Thomas, Tones, Karr, Barnes NAYS: None ABSENT: Wright APPROVAL OF MINUTES Mr. Barnes moved to approve the minutes of August 18, 2004. Mr. Karr seconded the motion which carried unanimously. COMMENTS Mr. Beard provided a memo updating the BZA on the boat issue on the corner of Stoneybrook Drive and Pommel Drive. He requested comments be forwarded to Mr. Obenshain. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 7:58 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Susan Carter Approved: _ Tim Beard, Secretary Board of Zoning Appeals 11