Liar, Liar, Pants on fire..

At the Front Royal Town Council Work Session on June 10th, Councilman Eugene Tewalt brought up the Work Force Housing project, again. This project was brought to Council in 2016 and a special use permit was granted on November 14, 2016. This permit was issued to the EDA and allowed for three 12-unit apartment buildings, for a total of 36 apartment units intended to be owned by the EDA and rented for workforce housing.

In an interview with Royal Examiner publisher Mike McCool, Tewalt said he would like those permitting exceptions rescinded because the Town was lied to about who the actual developer of the property would be and more.

The Royal Examiner’s camera was at the worksession – watch the Council discussion of the matter.

Download special use permit and documentation here.

Should Town Council rescind Work Force Housing permitting exceptions? Interview with Councilman Eugene Tewalt

Here’s the what is outlined in the special permit:

This SPECIAL PERMIT incorporates the application and all plans as submitted with the application and the following conditions:

1. The special use permit is only valid for 36 apartment units on the subject property, and includes a special exception to Town Code 148-820.H.3 for the proposed extension of Royal Lane as shown on the preliminary site plan. The apartment units shall be marketed as workforce housing.

2. The portion of the proposed access road extension of Royal Lane that is part of the adjacent parcel, identified as Tax Map Parcel 20A17-1-14A, shall be dedicated to the Town prior to issuance of any construction permits.

3. The remaining portion of the proposed access road extension of Royal Lane, as identified on the preliminary site plan, shall include all necessary access and utility easements, as well as a right-of-way reservation to the Town. Such reservation shall legally authorize the Town to dedicate the roadway as a public street when determined by Town Council, such as, but not limited to, when extension of the road is feasible.

4. All site improvements and utilities shall be constructed and paid for by the Applicant, and all applicable utility connection fees shall be paid at the time of application for a zoning permit to construct the apartments, unless otherwise waived by Town Council.

5. A complete final site plan application shall be submitted that adequately addresses the technical requirements of the Town Code and the review comments included in the staff report. Provided that the final site plan generally conforms to the preliminary site plan, as submitted with this application, Town Staff is authorized to approve the final site plan.

6. A playground, sitting area, and bicycle racks shall be provided. The playground shall meet the standards of the Public Playground Safety Handbook (2010), published by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, or comparable alternative standard approved by the Building Official and Planning Director.

7. Town Council, or other designated representative, may inspect the property at any reasonable time to ensure compliance with local regulations, including, but not limited to, the conditions placed on this special use permit. Upon inspection of the property, if it is found that the property is not in compliance with local regulations, including but not limited to, the conditions of this special use permit, the Town may revoke this special use permit after notice to the applicant and public hearing.

8. The proposed apartment units shall be marketed as workforce housing, and shall not be used as subsidized housing for “very-low” or “extremely low” incomes, as classified by HUD.

9. The final design of the apartment buildings shall substantially conform to the building elevation drawings submitted by the EDA.

This SPECIAL PERMIT applies only to the property noted herein and is not transferable to any other property.