Rezoning requests and conditional use permits top County Planning Commission agenda

The Warren County Planning Commission met Wednesday April 14^th, still one commissioner shy of a full board since the resignation of Crystal Beall of the South River Magisterial District.  Social distancing requirements still in effect mean that both commissioners and audience are somewhat spread out, but what they lacked in density, they made up for in activity.  Chairman Robert Myers dispensed quickly with agenda approval and minutes before the work of public hearings began.  There were twelve public hearings in a row for citizen input on pending business before the commission.

County Planning Commission still has a vacant position since the resignation of Crystal Beall of South River.

Michael and Barbara Olsen have requested a rezoning of a property off High Top Road in the Shenandoah Magisterial District from Residential (R-1) to Agricultural.  The property is in a conservation easement created in 2012.  Planning Director and Deputy County Administrator Taryn Logan provided an overview of the application.  The applicants have stated their intent is to erect a structure and a residence, then to grow and sell trees on the property.  There were no citizen comments, so the Commission unanimously approved the motion to recommend approval by the Board of Supervisors. As always, a County Supervisors action includes an additional public hearing.

Kevin and Shauneen Melton have made a request for a conditional use permit for a short-term tourist rental for their residential property at 186 Reid Drive in the Shenandoah Magisterial District. The Meltons live in Washington D.C., and are experienced hosts for tourist rentals.  They have submitted a property management plan and identified a local manager who lives 3 minutes away from the property.  There were no citizen comments about the application and the Commission voted unanimously to forward it to the Board of Supervisors with a recommendation of approval.

Raymond Ditto has requested a conditional use permit for a short-term tourist rental for his residential property at 461 Thunderbird Road in the South River Magisterial District.

Due to the age of the property, The Department of Health has not yet determined the allowable occupancy for the use, so a final determination or recommendation cannot be made until next month.  One citizen, Edwin Wright, addressed the commission regarding this request, and he outlined the benefits of allowing short-term tourist rentals for the community.  In his experience, property values are improved rather than degraded because the rentals must be strictly controlled and maintained to attract business and the standards for that category of lodging are extremely high.

The planning staff recommended tabling the application until the occupancy determination has been made.  The commission then unanimously agreed to table it.

John and Anna Carpenter have Requested a conditional use permit for short-term tourist rental for their residential property at 703 Kildare Drive in the Shenandoah magisterial district.  The Carpenters reside in Williamsburg, Virginia, and purchased the property as a second home in 2018. The property is in the Sligo Estates subdivision.  The Sligo Estates Citizen’s Association submitted a letter to the commission opposing the application and citing safety and security concerns.  The letter asserted that there had been problems in the past with noise, safety, fires, and trespassing, but no specifics were cited, and the complaints were not related to this property.  A citizen letter alleged that the use of the property as a tourist rental was prohibited by the protective covenants.  The chairman pointed out that subdivision covenants are not enforceable by the county but must be civilly litigated by the association.  The public hearing was opened and the reason for the larger-than-usual attendance became clear.  Seven residents had signed up to address the commission on this application.  All of those opposed had related complaints – concerns for strangers in the neighborhood, safety on the roads, the possibility of noisy activities such as bonfires, shooting, or fireworks, and general disturbance of an established neighborhood.

Attendees at Wednesday’s County Planning Commission meeting gather to voice their opinion about short-term tourist rentals in their subdivision.

Once the public hearing was closed, the chairman reminded the attendees that The Virginia Legislature has explicitly stated that short-term tourist rental is not a commercial activity.  Vice Chairman Hugh Henry also stated that activity is much more restrictive than longer-term rental, which is a use by right for residential property owners.  Should a property owner decide to rent their residence long-term and the renters turn out to be problematic, it is a much greater problem than weekend visitors.  There are no other permitted short-term tourist rentals in the Sligo Estates Subdivision, so approval of one could create a precedent.  After some discussion, the Commission unanimously approved forwarding the request to the Board of Supervisors for final approval.

Two conditional use permit requests from Front Royal Self Storage, LLC were presented for a facility at 8897 Winchester Road in the North River Magisterial District for the construction of a climate controlled 39,000 sq Ft building and 38,000 Sq ft of drive-up storage, as well as a car, boat, and RV storage area at the back of that lot.  Representative for the applicant Ed Murphy provided a brief overview of the project, which would proceed in phases, depending on the business.  Future expansion could eventually increase the total square footage of storage to 125,000.   The property is zoned commercial and lies within the 340/522 overlay district which has architectural, landscape, and overall appearance requirements that must be met.  There were no citizen speakers regarding the project and the commissioners unanimously approved forwarding the requests to the Board of Supervisors with a recommendation for final approval.

Jacob Foltz has requested a conditional use permit for a commercial repair garage on his property at 288 Durham Drive in the Fork Magisterial District.  The applicant runs a mobile forklift repair business, and occasionally projects need to be brought back to the shop for additional work.  The planning department has outlined the requirements for the facility, and the repair shop is a permitted use in an Agricultural District.  The shop will permit inside storage of materials and vehicles, help with the appearance of the area, and there will be no customer hours.

Adjacent resident Daniel Gillette addresses the Planning Commission to voice his opposition to a conditional use permit by Jacob Foltz for a repair shop for his mobile forklift repair business

One adjacent resident spoke to the commission, not so much asking for outright denial of the request, but asking for conditions for its approval.  He indicated that debris from the site could blow over onto his property, and the noise and visual appearance could be improved by the applicant by using a screening tree line, as well as fencing.

Another citizen, Leonard Cameron, briefly addressed the commission by urging approval of the request by commending the applicant as “good people”.

The commission then unanimously approved a motion to recommend approval by the Board of Supervisors.

The commission then reviewed a series of four applications by Frank O’Reilly for short-term tourist rentals for residential properties in the Shenandoah Magisterial district, at 187, 261, and 315 Old Barn Lane, and 2973 Shenandoah Shores Road.  There was no public comment on any of them, so the commission unanimously voted to approve the applications to be forwarded to the Board of Supervisors.

Finally, George Lombardi has applied for a conditional use permit for private camping on a residential lot he owns on Harris Drive in the Shenandoah Magisterial District.  He intends to use it for fishing and tent camping and to place a shed on the lot for storage of tools and equipment.  The shed will require a building permit and flood venting if the conditional use permit is approved.  Since the property is in Flood Zone AE and the floodway, an emergency egress plan must also be in place. The commission voted unanimously to forward the permit request to the Board of Supervisors with a recommendation for approval.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:45 p.m.