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HomeMy WebLinkAbout6/5/2001 - MinutesROANOKE COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES — JUNE 5, 2001 Present: Mr. Al Thomason Ms. Martha Hooker Mr. Don Witt Mr. Kyle Robinson Mr. Todd Ross Ms. Janet Scheid Mr. John Murphy Mr. David Holladay WORK SESSION: Mr. Thomason called the session open at 3:12pm. Approval of Agenda Ms. Martha Hooker moved to approve the agenda. Motion passed 5 -0. Approval of Minutes Mr. Kyle Robinson moved to approve the May minutes as amended. Minute changes were noted and revised. Motion passed 5 -0. Approval of Consent Agenda Mr. Don Witt moved to approve the consent agenda. Motion passed 5 -0. Site Viewing The meeting was adjourned for site viewing at 3:30pm. PUBLIC HEARING: Mr. Al Thomason called the meeting to order at 7:00pm. Mr. Todd Ross gave the invocation and led the pledge of allegiance. There was a continuance of the petition of the Trustees of the Evangel Foursquare Church to obtain a Special Use Permit for 48 acres for a church and day care facility located on the 5400 block of Indian Grave Road, Cave Spring Magisterial District. Mr. John Murphy, Roanoke County Planning, presented the Staff Report for this petition. There were no new changes. Mr. Carr Kinder, 22 Church Avenue verified that he had received all the information sent to him by the staff and had the VDOT requirements. Mr. Ross asked why the petitioner had not appealed the original conditions imposed by the Board of Supervisors and Rev. Wright, Evangel Four Square pastor, stated that he was advised by his previous attorney that he only had 30 days to appeal. VDOT's final road requirements are unknown at this time but they have issued a Temporary Construction Permit. Petitioner is going through the Planning Commission as a formality to go before the Board of Supervisors. There were no citizen comments. Mr. Witt then made the motion to recommend approval of the Special Use Permit for Religious Assembly with the conditions as originally recommended by the Planning Commission and condition (e) revised as follows: (e) The church shall undertake all transportation and road improvements along Indian Grave Road between Route 220 and the entrance to the church and at the intersection of Indian Grave Road and Route 220 as required by VDOT and deemed necessary to insure that adequate and safe access to the site is provided. Special Use Permit for a Religious Assembly: AYES: Mr. Thomason, Ms. Hooker, Mr. Witt, Mr. Robinson, Mr. Ross NAYS: None ABSENT: None Mr. Witt then made the motion to recommend approval of the Special Use Permit for a Day Care Center with conditions as originally recommended by the Planning Commission with condition (e) revised as follows: OA (e) The church shall undertake all transportation and road improvements along Indian Grave Road between Route 220 and the entrance to the church and at the intersection of Indian Grave Road and Route 220 as required by VDOT and deemed necessary to insure that adequate and safe access to the site is provided. Special Use Permit for a Day Care Center: AYES: Mr. Robinson, Mr. Witt, Ms. Hooker, Mr. Thomason NAYS: Mr. Ross ABSENT: None 2. There was a public hearing authorized by Section 15.2 -2232 of the Code of Virginia to review a proposed public facility not shown on the Roanoke County Community Plan, (City of Roanoke Parking Lot) to be located on Carvins Cove Road in the Catawba Magisterial District. Ms. Janet Scheid, Roanoke County Planning, presented the Staff Report for this petition. Mr. Phil Shermer, Roanoke County Engineer presented information to make a determination that the Parking Lot is in conformance with the Community Plan. The recommendation of the master plan were to conserve and protect the water shed lands around Carvins Cove as well as offer limited recreational use of those lands to the extent that they do not endanger the water supply. The lot is approximately Y2 acre and will have 25 Regular Parking Spaces and 6 Horse Trailer Parking Spaces. Parking at Carvins Cove Road is now in front of private homes. The exact number of Carvins Cove recreational users is not known — but the majority of users are Roanoke County residents, with some Roanoke City and some from the surrounding areas. The parking lot is approximately 1 %2 miles from the nearest trail. Mr. Witt questioned the location of the proposed lot . He stated that in terms of water quality issues, the proposed lot was located very close to a stream that flowed by the parking area and was within the watershed. Mr. Witt also questioned the logic of placing a parking lot 1 '/2 miles from the trailheads. Mr. Shermer stated that the proposed parking lot located was chosen for the following reasons: • The area around the "gate" was privately owned so not available. • The City did not want to locate the lot in the backyard of neighboring properties. • The City was utilizing crime prevention by environmental design. Therefore, the lot location was chosen so that adjacent landowners can monitor and police the area around the parking lot. Mr. Shermer stated that no other locations were available. He stated that the City wanted to encourage all recreational use of the Cove to be centered at the Hollins side but recognized that the remote, wilderness experience available at the Bennett Springs side was attractive to a certain caliber of hikers and bike riders. Ms. Hooker and Mr. Thomason stated disappointment that more location alternatives were not studied. Mr. Robinson questioned why the chosen location was just inside the Roanoke County boundary. Eight citizens made presentations to the PC basically stating the number of years they have used the trails and how often the trails are used. These users also stated what a beautiful area the Cove is and how fortunate we are to have this type of recreational facility in our Valley. Several stated that the proposed location was not perfect but was an okay solution to a critical parking need. Mr. Shermer introduced other City staff members in attendance: Mr. Jesse Purdue, Roanoke City Water manager and Ms. Wanda Reed, Parks & Recreation manager. Ms. Hooker expressed appreciation for the number of residents who supported this project. Mr. Witt questioned why the City gate was located on private property and was told that there were many complaints in the past when the gate was located further into the City property, and the City and the residents had an agreement to have the gate at the present location. Mr. Shermer stated that a parking lot location in Botetourt County was not considered because there is very little Botetourt county land on Carvins Cove Road. It was verified that the distances to the nearest residents were' /2 mile to the east and'/ mile to the west. Mr. Witt confirmed that the Board of Supervisors can pass the request without it being on the docket. Mr. Ross confirmed that the Planning Commission determines whether the lot complies with the Community Plan. Citizens were instructed to call the Planning office for further details. Mr. Witt stated that the lot was a quality of life issue for Roanoke County as well as the City of Roanoke. Ms. Hooker made the motion to determine this proposal is in conformance with the Community Plan. AYES: Mr. Ross, Mr. Robinson, Mr. Witt, Ms. Hooker, Mr. Thomason NAYS: None ABSENT: None 3. There was a petition of Richard A. Hall to rezone 7.964 acres from 1 -2 Industrial District to AR Agriculture /Residential District for residences, located at Peaceful Drive (Rte. 821), Catawba Magisterial District. Mr. John Murphy, Roanoke County Planning, presented the Staff Report 4 for this petition. Responding to a question from the Commission, Mr. Murphy stated that the number of lots allowed on the property is determined by the road frontage. The Petitioner, Richard Hall, 6273 Joyce Lane addressed the Commission and asked if there were any questions. Mr. Hall confirmed that only two residential lots were planned and that he was agreeable to that number. Mr. Hall stated that the business was a home improvement /general contractor business and that all the equipment will be stored inside buildings. There were no citizen comments. Ms. Hooker stated that she appreciated the efforts Mr. Hall had undertaken to work with the adjoining neighbors and then made the motion to approve the rezoning with the following proffer: The development will be limited to two (2) residential building lots. AYES: Mr. Ross, Mr. Robinson, Mr. Witt, Ms. Hooker, Mr, Thomason NAYS: None ABSENT: None 4. There was a petition of James and Sandra Worley to obtain a Special Use Permit for a private horse stable on 3.617 acres located at 4390 Harborwood Road, Catawba Magisterial District. Mr. David Holladay, Roanoke County Planning, presented the Staff Report for this petition. The petitioner was unable to be present: due to an emergency. The intent of the petitioner is to eventually fence the entire pasture and the trees will be kept along the border of the property for a buffer. The perimeter fence will be placed behind the tree buffer. Ms. Hooker then made the motion to approve the Special Use Permit with the following condition: There will be a maximum of three (3) horses maintained on the property. AYES: Mr. Ross, Mr. Robinson, Mr. Witt, Ms. Hooker, Mr. Thomason NAYS: None ABSENT: None 5. There was a petition of Faith Christian School to obtain a Special Use Permit to construct a new school, on 21.12 acres located on the north side of Buck Mountain Road (Rt. 679), Cave Spring Magisterial District. Ms. Janet Scheid, Roanoke County Planning, presented the Staff Report for this petition. The school is seeking to build a new facility to allow 5 themselves room to grow. They would like to expand from 6 -12 grades to K -12 grades and need athletic facilities and performing arts space. Ms. Scheid informed the Commission that only a small portion of this site is in the Secondary Area of the Clearbrook Overlay. Mr. Dave Savitz, 265 Lakewood Court and Jeff Straughn, 1946 Bridle Lane were co- presenters of the petition to the Planning Commission. Mr. Witt stated that his primary concern was the sports field lighting affecting the Parkway. It was stated that there are no firm plans at this time for school team sports other than probably soccer. Mr. Ross stated that other ballfield lights in the area are annoying when seen from the Parkway. Mr. Robinson expressed concern regarding development problems with land topography and covering the HVAC equipment on the roof due to unsightly views of the roof from the Parkway. Mr. Savitz confirmed that the majority of the traffic ( from the present demographics) is coming from the west — Starkey Road. Mr. Thomason strongly suggested that core drilling be completed prior to finalization of the property contract. Mr. Straughn stated that he had visually surveyed the site with a geotechnical engineer. The entrance for the school was verified and it was confirmed that the petitioner had also met with Marcus Brown of VDOT. Several Board members from the school and students spoke in support of the petition. Responding to a question, the petitioners confirmed the school hours of 8:00am --- 2:45pm. The Planning Commission expressed concern about peak hour traffic and the petitioners responded that as they grow they will explore the option of using school buses. It was pointed out that maximum traffic impact will be in the morning. Mr. Don Witt then made the motion to recommend the approval of the Special Use Permit with the following proffer: Site lighting shall not exceed the elevation of the Blue Ridge Parkway as measured horizontally from a line perpendicular from the Blue Ridge Parkway center line. AYES: Mr. Ross, Mr. Robinson, Mr. Witt, Ms. Hooker, Mr. Thomason NAYS: None ABSENT: None Citizens Comments There were no citizen comments. C1 Planning Commission and Staff Comments 1 -73 Location Analysis of Primary Route and Connector will be completed by staff in July 2. June 19' Work Session has been cancelled. The next work session will be July 17 #h , Final Orders 1. Petition of Stephen D. and Marie Freeman to rezone 1,50 acres from C -2 General Commercial District with Conditions to C -1 Office District for office use, located at the southwest corner of Rosecrest Road and Route 221, Windsor Hills Magisterial District was approved on May 22, 2001. 2. Petition of Steven L. Nash and William F. Richards to rezone 1.17 acres from R1 Low Density Residential District to C -1 Office District to operate professional offices located at 4920 Colonial Avenue, Cave Spring Magisterial District was withdrawn by the petitioners. 3. The petition of the Trustees of Evangel Foursquare Church to obtain a Special Use Permit for 48 acres for a church and day care facility located on the 5400 block of Indian Grave Road, Cave Spring Magisterial District was continued for the June BOS hearing on May 22, 2001. 4. The petition of Michael A. Anderson to obtain a Special Use Permit for 2.1848 acres to develop a non- conforming lot of record with no public street frontage, located in the 5100 block of Starkey Lane, Cave Spring Magisterial District was approved on May 22, 2001. 5. Petition of Nextel Partners, Inc. to obtain a Special Use Permit for 2.14 acres for an extension on tower height located at 880 Brushy Ridge Road, Catawba Magisterial District was approved on May 22, 2001. There being no additional business, the meeting was adjourned at 10:45 pm. Respectfully Submitted, Approved: Secretary, Roanoke County Planning Commission 7