Town Planning Commission blesses revised downtown apartment conversion ordinance language, avoids elephant in room

The Front Royal Planning Commission at its regular meeting on August 18^th wound up nearly six months of back-and-forth work on revisions to the town ordinance regarding standards for conversion of buildings in the Historic Downtown Business District to include residential units. Chairman Douglas Jones opened the public hearing to address the revisions, which have considerably simplified the ordinance from its original form. The new proposed revisions define an apartment house or building as containing three or more dwelling units occupying space on not more than one story in the structure.  It also defines a conversion as “a physical, structural, or design change from one state or condition to another, especially to affect a change in use”

The proposed change also allows for the by-right conversion of residential or commercial buildings in the commercial district not to exceed a total of eight total units combined. The current ordinance does not restrict the number of units. It also provides new language for cases where a conversion would result in a building with more than 8 units, but it would require a Special Use Permit (SUP), and it restricts such conversions to the area on East Main Street between Royal Avenue and the Happy Creek bridge, and Jackson Street between Royal Avenue and Church Street.

The proposed amendments also add a requirement for each apartment building to have off-street parking that is accessible from public streets that meets town or state standards.

Three citizens spoke to the commission during the public hearing. Ellen Aders, who owns and works out of a commercial property at the corner of Church & Jackson Streets, raised concerns about the potential conversion of downtown buildings to add large numbers of apartments without considering the consequences on neighboring properties. She gave as an example her experience with people loitering nearby and parking in no parking zones while attending meetings at an office on Church Street. The apartments in the former Murphy Theater building at 131 E. Main Street have recently been the site of domestic violence calls, firearms discharge, and other activities that are not the kind of thing that will draw people downtown, she pointed out.

Downtown business and property owner Ellen Aders describes her concerns about adding apartment units to commercial buildings in the commercial district without considering the impacts on neighboring businesses. Royal Examiner Photos by Stephen Sill

Bill Barnett, a local property owner and developer of long standing, addressed the commission in support of the ordinance text change. He complimented the commission on their work in clarifying and improving the ordinance. At the June Planning Commission meeting, Barnett addressed rumors that he wanted to convert the old Murphy Theater site into a 60-unit apartment building, perhaps not coincidentally, in the area being addressed by this ordinance change.

As was the case in June, no applications have been made or permits issued for such a project, as it is merely in the conceptual stage. Still, the “trial balloon” was sufficient to raise the concerns of business and property owners surrounding it. Barnett, who continues to be vague about the proposed Murphy Building apartment unit number at 60, reiterated his belief that housing for starters and seniors was in short supply, and the old concept of residences over retail stores was part of the answer. Naturally at the stage of conceptual ideas, many implications or impacts are vague or unaddressed.  Even so, the potential Murphy Theater project is the elephant in the room when the discussion turns to needed improvements to the downtown.

For example, parking for additional apartment residents will have a profound effect on downtown businesses and other residents. Whether or not a formal project is underway, a lot of interest is focused on the downtown district and its need for improved access, security, and business.

Finally, William Huck of C&C Frozen Treats at 409 E. Main Street addressed the commission. Huck acknowledged the need for growth and was happy to see the town paying attention to the downtown business district specifically. But as have others, he indicated that he was concerned more about easily accessible parking as the potential for more residential living units is discussed. He disagreed with the idea that dwellings as small as 300 square feet as indicated by the proposed ordinance were helpful to the downtown, as units that size really are not desirable enough for permanent housing for families.

Once the public hearing was closed, commissioners weighed in with their comments.  Commissioner Darryl Merchant observed that the Town Council had generated the request to the Planning Commission to suggest changes to the current ordinance, which fails to limit by-right conversions. The commission is currently working on the town comprehensive plan, and part of that process is a review of the ordinances, where further improvements could be made.

Commissioner Joshua Ingram acknowledged the amount of work that the commission and the planning staff had put into the suggested amendments to the ordinance. Vice-Chairman Marchner commended the speakers for acting as a “distant early warning” system as they identify issues and contribute their voices. Whatever the town council enacts in these ordinance text changes could be difficult or impossible to reverse in the future, she pointed out.

Finally, Vice Chairman Marchner asked if the off-street parking requirement mentioned above would apply to conversions within the specific areas on East Main and Jackson Streets. The planning staff indicated it would not; however, the text provided does not exempt any apartment buildings from the requirement for off-street parking that fronts on a dedicated public street or on an access easement. It’s very likely that the parking issue, and specifically off-street parking, will come up again as the public gets another opportunity to comment at the regular Town Council meeting on August 23 at 7 p.m. at the Warren County Government Center.

The amendment presented to the commission also contained a minimum apartment unit size of 300 square feet. But on an amendment proposed by Vice-Chairman Marchner the commission voted 4-1 to increase that minimum to 450 square feet before unanimously recommending approval of the ordinance amendment as a whole.

The Commission then turned to a text amendment in the ordinance governing Bed and Breakfast uses in Residential Districts. The amendment increases the number of allowable rooms on lot sizes of .5 acres to 1.49 acres from three to six guest rooms; and on a lot of 1.5 acres or larger, from six to 10 guest rooms. During the brief discussion, Commissioner Gordon asked the planning staff if this request was generated by town council. The answer was “yes”. The commission unanimously then recommended approval.

Front Royal’s new Director of Planning and Community Development is introduced to the public and observes her first Planning Commission meeting with a smile.

Chairman Jones recognized and welcomed the town’s newly appointed Director of Planning and Community Development, Lauren Kopishke, before the meeting was adjourned.