Town Planning Commission avoids Murphy Theater debate, bids farewell to Vice-Chairman Gordon

The Front Royal Planning Commission held its monthly meeting on October 19, and in the absence of Chairman Daryl Merchant, Vice-Chairman William Gordon, whose resignation from the Commission was effective at the end of the meeting, took over the gavel.  Gordon is resigning because he and his wife are moving out of the county.

Conspicuous by its absence from the agenda was a Special Use Permit application by SeeSuu, LLC to convert an existing commercial building at 131 E. Main Street (the old Murphy Theater building) to a larger number of dwelling units, cited at different points as 40 to 60 units between 320 and  640 square feet where currently there are less than five rental apartment units.  That idea was to have been presented to the Town’s Board of Architectural Review (BAR) on October 11, but that meeting was canceled due to a lack of a quorum.

In this Royal Examiner file photo of East Main St., the old Murphy Theater building, now housing the Dynamic Life Coffee/Tea shop on the first floor, is the last building visible on far left at one-way intersection with Church St.

It appears from the agenda for that cancelled BAR meeting that the project was
to be considered in the “Other” agenda section of that meeting, rather than an application for a Certificate of Appropriateness (CoA), which is the usual process of the BAR.  In its work session on October 5, the commission heard from Planning Director Lauren Kopishke that the project was to be reviewed by the BAR and a report from that review provided to the Commission for its use in deciding whether to recommend the SUP for approval by the Town Council.  This leaves the approval process in some limbo since the BAR:

“…determines the appropriateness of property improvements to maintain the historic character of the town’s historical districts and ensures the historic integrity of buildings and sites are preserved”

Coincidentally, a town council election will happen before any other official action can be taken by either the BAR or Planning Commission’s next regular meetings.

The consent agenda was a single item, an authorization to re-advertise a public hearing for an SUP for a short-term tourist rental by Aaron Hike at 1116 N. Royal Avenue.  The property is zoned commercial (C-1) and is located in the Entrance Corridor Overlay District.  The commission voted unanimously to approve the request to re-advertise.  The Public Hearing on the application will be held at the Commission’s regular meeting on November 16.

The regular agenda consisted of four items:

Life Point Church at 1111 N. Shenandoah Avenue has applied for a SUP to allow a daycare facility to be located in the church.  The property is zoned Commercial (C-1).  There were no speakers other than the applicant for the public hearing.  Sheree Jennings told the commission that they see their mission in the community to provide a safe and healthy environment for local children regardless of their religious affiliation.

Applicant Sheree Jennings explains the proposal for a Day Care Center at Life Point Church on North Shenandoah Ave. The Church plans to open the facility to provide safe, healthy daycare for area children. The commission unanimously recommended approval upon all relevant conditions being met. Royal Examiner Photo Stephen Sill

Commissioners agreed that it is a much-needed service.  On a motion by Commissioner Josh Ingram, and seconded by Commissioner Connie Marshner, the Commission unanimously voted to recommend approval of the permit, contingent on all other permitting and licensing being completed.

The Minick Group has applied for an SUP for short-term tourist rental for their property at 206 Lee Street.  The Property is in the Historic District and zoned Residential (R-3).  At the present time, the property does not have a driveway, which is a condition of the Zoning Ordinance for Short-Term rentals.  The applicant indicated that the driveway will be constructed if a permit is issued, so the Commission made that a condition of approval.  On a motion by Commissioner Marshner, seconded by Commissioner Wells, the commission unanimously voted to recommend approval.

Doug Ischiugi has applied for an SUP for his property at 200 East Main Street (Upper Level) for a short-term tourist rental.  The Commercial (C-2) property is in the Historic Overlay District, and the applicant indicated he had provided for reserved parking at the rear of the building.  There were no speakers either for or against the application, and on a motion by Commissioner Ingram seconded by Commissioner Wells, the Commission voted unanimously to recommend approval

Leandra Justice is applying for a special exception to the parking requirements for a short-term tourist rental at 12 Chester Street that was approved in a previous Planning Commission meeting, (see story here) subject to the condition that the applicant would arrange for parking for that facility, which is in the Historic District, but not subject to the parking exemption that East Main Street properties enjoy. Ironically, this property is probably less than 300 feet from two downtown parking lots. The applicant was not able to arrange formal parking arrangements and is asking the Town to grant an exception to the Town’s Ordinance 175-151 requirement.

The Town Planning Commission wrestled with a parking ordinance exception for a new short-term tourist rental at 12 Chester Street, pictured here from Village Commons/Gazebo parking lot across Chester St. As can be seen the facility has nearby town parking (the Peyton St. parking lot is 2 doors to the right), but none on the property itself. Commissioner Josh Ingram, below with Vice-Chairman William Gordon in file photo, said he was concerned about the omission of that part of Chester St. from the downtown exemption East Main St. has from on-site parking requirements. The commission voted to support the exemption request.

The commission discussed the challenge of providing designated parking for facilities that border Chester Street and ultimately determined that since exceptions are granted on a case-by-case basis, there was less risk of establishing an unworkable precedent. On a motion by Commissioner Wells, seconded by Commissioner Marshner, the commission voted unanimously to recommend approval.

Each of these recommendations will now be forwarded to the town council for final action.

The commission was asked to review a request for a Board of Zoning Appeals variance to move a boundary line between two currently nonconforming lots at 631 Kibler Street.  One of the two dwellings on the property encroaches on the surveyed property line.  Moving the boundary line would mean that each dwelling would have its own unencroached lot, but neither lot would conform to the current lot size requirement.  Many houses in Front Royal were built before there was a zoning ordinance or setback requirements, so this is a relatively common problem.  The commissioners agreed to have the Planning staff craft a document for the BZA, which the Planning Commission can discuss and develop as a recommendation.

Planning Director Kopishke updated the commission on activities in the Planning Department. She noted that 202 building permits have been issued in 2022, of which 34 are for new dwellings;  278 Code enforcement cases have been processed this year, which shows a downward trend from previous years;  25 Sign permits have been issued so far; and 126 Business Licenses.  The department is continuing to work on the Town’s Comprehensive Plan review and update.  The Town and County Planning Commissions are planning a joint work session on November 2nd from 6:15 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. at the Warren County Government Center (WCGC) to share information on their Comprehensive Plan activities.

The Commissioners expressed their appreciation to Vice-Chairman Gordon for his work on the commission, and as his last official act, he adjourned the meeting at 7:45 p.m.