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HomeMy WebLinkAbout9/19/2001 - Minutes ROANOKE COUNTY BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS—MEETING MINUTES PUBLIC HEARING— SEPTEMBER 19, 2001 PRESENT: Mr. Eldon Karr, Chairman Mr. Rodney McNeil Mr. Eric Thomas Mr. Richard Jones Mr. Timothy Beard, Secretary Mr. David Holladay Mr. Paul Mahoney, County Attorney Ms. Tammi Wood, Recording Secretary ABSENT: Mr. Carlton Wright Mr. Eldon Karr called the meeting to order at 7:00pm. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Mr. Jones moved to approve the agenda. Mr. McNeil seconded the motion, which carried unanimously. PUBLIC HEARING PETITION 1. A continuance of a variance requested by Thomas W. and Marian M. Watkins of Section 30-41-3(B)l.a. of the Roanoke County Zoning Ordinance to reduce the minimum front yard setback from 30 feet to 20.5 feet. The purpose of this request is to construct a front porch located at 5845 Darby Road, Hollins Magisterial District. Mr. Thomas W. and Mrs. Marian M. Watkins, 5845 Darby Road approached the lectern. Mr. Karr stated that the reasoning for the continuance of the petition was to speak to the builder and for the staff to look into the history of the two adjacent properties. Mr. Russell Arrington, of 145 Cornell Road, Rocky Mount, Class C contractor, also approached. Mr. McNeil stated that he had two questions, regarding who obtained the permit and how the setback line was determined. Mr. Arrington stated that he obtained the building permit stating that a porch could be constructed. He also stated that he had checked with Roanoke County staff and was told to measure from the road to determine setback. From that measurement, the porch needed to be reduced to 8 feet rather than 10 feet. Mr. Karr questioned the basis of the request, since the hardship was not shared by neighbors. Staff had also talked with the neighbors, Charles and Kathryn Martin, and the McFalls. Mr. Richard and Mrs. Elizabeth McFalls, 5901 Darby Road, approached the lectern. Their porch was built over 10 years ago. There was a permit obtained (without a variance) and the contractor(Mr. Webb-now deceased)handled the permit. Mr. Charles Martin, 5839 Darby Road, approached. He stated that his porch was built in 1998 by Mr. Ricky Arrington. County records show that the permit was for re-roofing of the house only and picked up by Mrs. Martin. It was mentioned that Darby Road has a 50-foot right of way. 1 Mr. Karr stated that the variance request was due to someone complaining in the neighborhood but that further research showed that the permit was for re-roofing only. It was also mentioned that there were several entries on the permit application, which were marked out, and the final entry was for re-roofing the existing house and there was no variance for a setback. Mr. Martin stated that he was unaware that the permit was "scratched out." Mr. McNeil questioned who picked up the placard and what was stated on the placard. Mr. Martin stated that he was not sure. Mr. Jones asked if the roof were removed from the porch, could the floor structure be left up. Mr. Holladay stated that if it is less than 30", it can be left. Mr. Martin stated that Ricky Arrington works for Russell Arrington and that the contractor's license is in Russell Arrington's name and that Ricky was a friend of Mr. Martin's. Mr. McNeil asked what the recourse would be for the houses with existing porches. It was questioned whether the porch that is over 10 years old would have a different requirement for setback than the newer porches. Mr. McNeil stated that he would have a problem denying the variance request if the adjoining property porches are allowed to stay. Mr. Karr stated that it is not a good message to the county to allow porches to be built without variances. The Watkins both stated that they did not intend for this to happen, they did not want the neighbors to take the porches down because of their variance request. Mr. Rodney McNeil motioned to grant the requested variance due to the fact that there is a lot of confusion pertaining to paperwork with the following condition: That an investigation be done that the contractors make sure that this doesn't happen again. Mr. Eric Thomas seconded the motion. Mr. Karr asked if there was any more discussion. He asked staff if the adjoining property owners could be directed to get variances for their properties. Mr. Holladay stated that would be fair and that more answers could be gotten in the process. Mr. Karr stated that he would like to add to the motion that staff instruct the adjoining property owners to apply for a variance for their front porches. AYES: McNeil, Karr, Thomas, NAYS: Jones ABSENT: Wright 2. A continuance of an Administrative Appeal requested by Outlook Media, Inc. of 30-93- 14(A)1 denying the placement of an off-premise sign within a 500 foot radius of an existing off-premise sign, located at 4057 Electric Road Cave Spring Magisterial District. The purpose of this request is to determine the applicability of the definitions of"off- premise sign" and "directional sign." Mr. David Holladay, Roanoke County staff, gave a brief overview of the history of the appeal. He also stated that the face of the sign had been removed, leaving only the arrows and the frame. Thus, no off-premises sign exists and therefore no distance problem for the proposed sign. Mr. Wilburn Dibling, Gentry, Locke, Rakes and Moore, 10 Franklin Road stated that he had nothing to add. Mr. Paul Mahoney stated that the board move to drop the case. The appeal was then withdrawn. 2 APPROVAL OF MINUTES Mr. McNeil moved to approve minutes of August 15, 2001. Mr. Jones seconded the motion. COMMENTS There were no comments There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 7:25pm. Respectfully Submitted, Tammi L. Wood Approved: Tim Beard, Secretary Board of Zoning Appeals 3