County Planning Commission forwards 4 short-term rentals among other CUP applications with recommendations of approval

At its regular meeting of Wednesday, March 9, the Warren County Planning Commission recommended approval of four short-term rental conditional use permit (CUP) requests with only one public hearing expression of concern from a neighboring property owner of one of those requests. And with those concerns being at least partially non-specific to the request in the Shenandoah Magisterial District’s Mossy Rock Way, and the more specific concerns, most prominently of dangers from open burning, being addressed by the applicant in their management plan, that application of Nicholas Webster and Morgan McCabe, along with the three others were forwarded to the board of supervisors by 4-0-vote recommendations of approval.

Short-term rental applicants Nicholas Webster and wife Morgan McCabe respond to questions about their management plan for property at 203 Mossy Rock Way on R-1 land in the Shenandoah District. Satisfied with what they heard, the commission recommended approval, along with three other short-term rental permitting applications. Royal Examiner Photos by Roger Bianchini

A fifth scheduled short-term rental CUP application public hearing was adjourned with no speakers but continued to the commission’s April meeting. That continuation was to facilitate neighboring public comment after Planning Director Joe Petty explained an error in advertising the date of the public hearing for Emelia Simeonova and Sergei Kulaev’s 5462 Browntown Road (Ag zoned) CUP application in the South River District.

Approved in order of public hearing discussion were the short-term rental CUP applications of Jerry Lang Jr. at 468 Lands Run Road in the South River District; the above-referenced Webster-McCabe application for 203 Mossy Rock Way in the Shenandoah District; Pratick Patel’s application 368 Freeze Road in the Shenandoah District; and Michael and Judith Albarelli at 740 Broad Run Road in the South River District. The involved property of Lang and Albarelli is zoned Agricultural, while that of Webster-McCabe and Patel is zoned R-1 (Residential 1).

A sixth public hearing was to address Robert and Crystal Dolan’s request for a Subdivision Ordinance variance “to allow the voluntary transfer of a proposed subdivided lot to an immediate family member within the required five (5) years of having held fee simple title to the property.” That property is on Gruver Grade Drive (Ag zoned) in the North River District. Robert Dolan explained that he had owned an adjoining property for seven years and had bought the involved lot and another one more recently with the intention of subdividing to create a small family neighborhood in the future. The requested variance would go to his sister, with the other lot intended for his brothers “down the road”. There were no speakers at the public hearing other than the applicant’s response to questions from the commission.

The WC Planning Commission listens to Planning Director Joe Petty, below, seated at staff table with Assistant County Attorney Caitlin Jordan.

Planning Director Petty suggested some timing conditions to allow the future subdivision to occur within prescribed guidelines. Petty noted the involved property was over 20 acres, with two 10-plus acre lots at this point.

“We’re not giving anything but time,” Commission Chairman Robert Myers observed of the requested variance. After Petty agreed that was the case, Commissioners Joe Longo, Hugh Henry, and Kaylee Richardson joined Myers in approving the request for the subdivision variance transfer within the applicant’s family, with the conditions set forth by the planning director during the commission discussion.

With its six public hearing business, including five votes of approval and the sixth vote pending comment at the continued public hearing to the April meeting, the commission moved to an eight-item Consent Agenda. That agenda included authorizations to advertise four short-term rental CUP requests, two private-use campground CUP requests, and the Rivermont Baptist Church’s request for an ordinance amendment to add Day or Child Care Center (Nursery) as a use allowed by Conditional Use Permit in an Agricultural District, and the church’s request for a CUP for that
use at 575 Catlett Mountain Road in the Fork District.

The Consent Agenda was approved as presented.

One item was removed from the agenda at the meeting’s outset. That was ViaSat’s request for a Comprehensive Plan Review for a Public Utility Structure at 380 Freezeland Road in the Happy Creek District.

Other matters discussed included Planning Director Petty’s update on the Comprehensive Plan Review. Petty noted staff was working with the Town on its Comprehensive Plan review in areas where the two municipalities might have overlapping interests to assure cohesion where necessary.

Petty also noted that in the wake of recent permitting discussion about how the 100-foot setback requirement was established, the department was reviewing the matter, among other potential Comp Plan matters. He said prohibitions on shooting and ATV use in certain areas would be reviewed as to a general ban versus review on a case-by-case basis.

The board voted unanimously to forward the 2021 Annual Report to the board of supervisors.

At one point in the general discussion, Chairman Myers asked about the status of the Town’s return of the Building Department inspection and permitting process to the County and approval of a Memorandum Of Agreement (MOA) between the county’s two municipalities on that return. Petty said he had no new news in the wake of last week’s County-Town Liaison Committee meeting at which town council members raised issue with some conditions. That led to an audience member, oh it was this reporter, volunteering the information that earlier in the day the Town had forwarded notice of the addition of a Special Meeting, at which action could be taken, to the already scheduled Special Work Session upcoming on the topic. And while the speaker was unsure of the date of those sessions, it was later verified that they are slated for Monday, March 14.

Deputy Planning Director Matt Wendling and Zoning Officer Chase Lenz update the commission on departmental business.

Deputy Planning Director Matt Wendling and Zoning Officer Chase Lenz added staff reports including work towards conditions and hours at a sanitary convenience site at Howellsville Road near the bottom of Blue Mountain. Wendling also noted the County still has not received any complaints about approved short-term rental sites in the county. He termed the County’s experience with the use thus far as “a passive use” during which renters are seeking to relax and get away from stress, rather than create it during their visits to Warren County – knock on wood.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:53 p.m.