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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03/11/24 Planning Commission MinutesCommissions Present: Kevin Meyer, AJ Schrantz, Van Taylor, Terry Hale, Dustin Davis, Rachel Arthur Commission Absent: Rachel Nelson (sworn in 3/11/2024) Staff Present: Summer Bork Call to Order Mr. Meyer Called the Meeting to order at 6:02 PM. Roll Call A roll call was made, and a quorum was determined with six members present. It was noted that Ms. Nelson was absent. However, she had been sworn in that afternoon, which is understandable. Minutes Approval January 8, 2024, minutes were reviewed, and Mr. Taylor moved to approve the minutes as written; Mr. Hale seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. February 12, 2024, minutes were reviewed. Mr. Schrantz made a motion to approve the minutes as written, and Mr. Taylor seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. Ms. Arthur made a point of order and asked whether it was appropriate to abstain if you were absent at a meeting. Ms. Bork replied that it is typically done out of courtesy. However, in an instance like the previous minutes' approval, where it is the difference between them passing or not, don’t abstain because it’s not a requirement. February 20, 2024, minutes were reviewed. Mr. Meyer noted a couple of typos, and Mr. Taylor said the minutes should be approved with corrections. Mr. Hale seconded his motion. The motion passed with the voting as follows: Ayes: Mr. Davis, Mr. Hale, Mr. Schrantz, Mr. Meyer, Mr. Taylor Abstain: Ms. Arthur Public Hearing 24-RZ-01 Rezoning parcel 73-1-16 and 82-1-1 from DS to B-2 Mr. Meyer explained, with a few clarifications from Ms. Bork, that the town owned the property in question. Historically, it was a convenience center, and the town still had its wastewater processing facility there. Because the zoning for the property no longer had written provisions within the town’s zoning ordinance, the staff were interested in rezoning the parcel so that it conformed with the present zoning regulations. Ms. Bork explained that the parcel was abutting three types of zoning B-2, I-2, and R-2. In her professional opinion, B-2 presented the best option for protecting the public interest from both potential future uses should the town decide to sell the land, protect the public interest by preventing hazards due to past uses and flooding (the parcel is in the flood plain) on potential future residents, and would if but also enable the town to expand the water management operations on the parcel via a special exception if the town needed to increase the capacity of public infrastructure to accommodate future development and population increases. Commissioners agreed that this made the most sense given the location and the town’s goals to protect and restore Peak Creek and green space in the town. Ms. Schrantz commented that he believed it better to rezone the parcel to B-2 than I-2. Mr. Meyer opened the public hearing. No members of the public were present for comment. Mr. Meyer closed the public hearing. Mr. Schrantz moved that the town recommend to the council the rezoning of parcels 73-1-16 and 82-1-1, 1733 Lee Hwy, from DS to B-2. Mr. Taylor seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously upon a roll call vote. 24-RZ-02 Rezoning parcel 72-140-187 from DS, Drop Site to I-2, Industrial District. Ms. Bork reported that this site, similar to the Dora Hwy site, was also zoned DS. The town owned the property. It currently houses the town’s convenience center. She recommended rezoning the parcel to I-2 to make it contiguous with the surrounding area’s zoning. Mr. Davis asked if the town prioritized protecting Peak Creek and why she recommended I-2 zoning for the parcel. And why weren’t staff exploring other options, given the proximity to the creek? Ms. Bork explained without rezoning more than just the town’s parcel. It was impossible to consider another zone because the parcels that adjoined and abutted this parcel were all Industrial. She agreed with Mr. Davis that having an industrial facility in such close proximity to the creek may be counterproductive to town objectives. She believed exploring what would best serve the town moving forward was a good idea. She remarked that exploring these questions was a larger undertaking than they should attempt to tackle this evening. Given the area's history, it would behoove the town to do further exploration and testing to determine potential impacts on public welfare, as remediation would likely be needed for several parcels to accommodate non-industrial development. Ms. Arthur requested clarification about this section of the town’s history. Mr. Schrantz and Mr. Meyer explained a bit about the site and past town actions to identify and remediate bi-products of former uses. Still, he assured her that the town had done testing and determined that public safety was not in jeopardy for its current use at the present location. Mr. Schrantz commented that leaving the parcel as industrial made sense until further assessment could be done and believed that the Commission should look at the issue in the near future. Mr. Meyer reminded the commissioners that testing and remediation were done at the convenience center site before the town used it for collection. He then opened the public hearing with no members of the public present. He closed the public hearing and asked if anyone wanted to make a motion. Mr. Taylor moved to recommend to the council that parcel 72-140-187 be rezoned to I-2. Mr. Hale seconded the motion, and with a roll call vote, the results were as follows. Ayes: Mr. Meyer, Mr. Schrantz, Mr. Hale, Mr. Taylor Nays: Mr. Davis and Ms. Arthur Old Business Definition of Hospital The town’s attorney had finally reviewed and commented on the proposed amendment to the town’s hospital definition. Hospital: A facility licensed by the Commonwealth of Virginia, primarily providing in-patient diagnosis, treatment, psychiatric, and surgical care that treats two or more unrelated individuals. The following are acceptable accessory activities: outpatient diagnostic, treatment, and surgical centers, substance abuse disorder clinics, rehabilitation facilities, offices, laboratories, teaching facilities, meeting areas, cafeterias, maintenance, and parking facilities. Mr. Schrantz moved to un-table the item. The commissioners requested clarification as to why parking facilities were part of the proposed definition. Once clarified, parking facilities were often parking structures or parking built under the primary building instead of parking lots. The Commissioner agreed that they believed the major omission of the definition was not providing accommodations for helicopter landing and ambulance and other rescue vehicle storage. Commissioner requested that Ms. Bork schedule a public hearing for the definition and send them an amended definition that reflected the changes made that evening. Commissioners then focused on which zones made the most sense for locating in the town. They asked if there was a way for Ms. Bork to provide a map at the next meeting. Ms. Bork said that if Commissioners would bear with her a moment, she could pull up an interactive zoning map that Austin, one of the Town’s Engineering Project Managers, had created. After working with the zoning tool, commissioners determined that limiting hospitals to B-1 and B-2 zones would put the use on major transportation corridors, which would be ideal for efficient emergency response access and limit the possibility of a hospital creating a nuisance in a residential neighborhood. The Chairman said he wants to move the matter to a public hearing. No members objected, and Ms. Bork stated that she would put that on next month’s agenda. New Business General Provisions and Zoning for Modular and Manufactured Housing. Ms. Bork explained the actions which she had proposed to the staff and explained why she recommended the actions. She also mentioned that she had asked the building official to review the provisions to ensure they were compatible with Virginia’s Building Code. To make getting a manufactured home as smooth as possible for citizens and avoid legislation contradictions in town’s ordinance. The commissioners were generally amenable to the proposed actions. The provisions were as follows: 1. Remove the Definition of Mobile/Manufactured Housing from Section 11.2 2. Add new definitions to Section 11.2 for Manufactured Dwellings and Residential Industrialized Buildings. 3. Add Manufactured Dwellings as a by-right use in R-3 and a special exception in R-2 4. Add General Provisions for Manufactured Dwellings within R-3 and R-2 zones. 5. Add a general provision to Article 3 enabling Industrial Buildings as an acceptable building method. 6. Edit wording of single-family dwellings, two-family dwellings, and Multi-family dwelling definitions. However, Ms. Bork did comment that these provisions had not been reviewed by the town attorney to date, and she recommended that the town attorney review the ordinance changes before taking them to the public hearing. Mr. Taylor tabled the item pending the Attorney's comment. Other Business Annual Report Ms. Bork explained that per state law Commission is required to present an annual report of the Town Council to update and inform them of accomplishments and needs of the past and upcoming year. She explained that she would be giving the document to the Council, but as the report comes from the Planning Commission, she did not want to send it until they had a chance to review and approve it. Mr. Meyer stated that he had a few minor changes: the cover image was distorted, and the picture had an unattractive weed. He wanted to know if the cover page text box should be covered. He also suggested that Mr. Schrantz have Vice-Chair added after his name after other commissioners commented on formatting changes. Mr. Schrantz moved that the Planning Commission approve the annual report with changes and send it to the council. Mr. Taylor seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously. Staff Report Commissioner interested in formalizing Time Management Measures Ms. Bork asked commissioners to think over whether there should be formalized time management measures incorporated into the Commission’s by-laws. She stated that this is a common practice among other commissions and was something the Commission should think about doing. Identifying zones for “substance abuse disorder clinics,” “hospitals,” and “medical offices.” She also said that if the Commissioners were amenable, she would like to explore where medical offices and substance abuse disorder clinics would best fit within the town’s zoning as a use. Commissioners agreed that this should be done. Commissioner Comments/ Adjournment Mr. Taylor asked if Ms. Bork could share the interactive zoning map with commissioners for meeting preparation purposes. Ms. Bork said she would send that to them. Mr. Meyer asked about the muffler shop on the 5th St. and Madison Ave corner. He wanted to know whether the building had sold and what was expected to go into the space. Ms. Bork explained that someone had bought it building and was planning to continue to operate it as an auto repair shop. With no further business to discuss, Mr. Hale moved to adjourn the meeting, and Mr. Schrantz seconded it with no objections. The meeting closed at 8:05 pm.