Town Planning Commission Work Session reviews Special Use Permits for public hearings

The Front Royal Planning Commission met on Wednesday, October 5, to discuss upcoming Special Use Permits (SUPs) that will face public hearings at the Commission’s regular meeting on October 19. The Chairman called for a brief break before beginning the meeting’s formal business to recognize retiring member and former Chair Douglas Jones. Mr. Jones served as a member or Chair of the Commission for 14 years of significant changes to the planning functions of the town. “When I started with the Commission, there were, what, 7 or 8 staff members in the Planning Department. Now there are four or five doing more work,” Jones observed.

‘Just don’t hit anything too hard!’ Chairman Darryl Merchant seems to be advising his predecessor in a brief ceremony to recognize former Chairman Douglas Jones. Royal Examiner Photos Stephen Sill

Chairman Darryl Merchant presented the former chairman with a beautiful crystal gavel as a token of appreciation from the Planning Department and the Commission. The former chairman and work session attendees were treated to a delicious cake before resuming the official agenda. Jones was acknowledged as a cordial and straightforward leader and a voice of reason in an often-challenging role with many competing interests.

The commission is also bidding adieu to Commission Vice-Chairman William Gordon, who will be moving out of the county this month. Inquiries to the planning department have not yielded a potential replacement.

Continuing the trend from previous months, the commission reviewed three new SUPs for Short-Term Tourist Rentals in commercially zoned districts at 206 Lee Street by the Minick Group, LLC; 200 E. Main Street by Doug Ichiugi; and 1116 N. Royal Avenue by Aaron Hike. These SUP applications will have public hearings at the October 19 meeting.

Life Point Church (Formerly First Assembly of God) at 1111 North Shenandoah Avenue has applied for a SUP for a daycare facility in the church. This application will also have a public hearing at the October 19 meeting.

In a previous meeting, the commission approved a SUP for Leandra Justice for a short-term tourist rental for her property at 12 Chester Street, subject to a solution for parking for the property, which does not have off-street parking. The language of the zoning ordinance enacted in February 2022 by the Town Council for short-term tourist rentals spells out a somewhat vague rule: “Parking for the use shall be located in driveways or other designated and approved parking areas.”

The applicant is now applying for a special exception to that provision for this property, which is within 300 feet or less from the town parking lots on Peyton and Chester Streets. The commission discussed the challenge with interpretation of the ordinance and recognized the difficulty with the properties along that section of Chester Street, which were omitted from the general parking exemption granted to East Main Street properties. Commissioners agreed that the section of the ordinance regarding requirements for short-term rentals will need to be tightened. Planning Director Lauren Kopishke reminded the members that part of the Comprehensive Plan process will be revisions to the zoning ordinance, and that process should be wrapping up at the end of this year, providing a good opportunity for improvements to be made. The special exception request for this property will be considered and have a public hearing at the October 19 meeting.

The how-many units ‘Elephant’ in the room

Finally, the commissioners took up the SUP application from SeeSuu LLC for the conversion of an existing commercial structure at 131 East Main Street, the former Murphy Theater now housing the Dynamic Life Coffee Shop in the first-floor commercial space, into a greater number of dwelling units in a building up to a height of 60 feet.

The Town Code reads, “Buildings may be erected up to forty-five (45) feet in height from grade as a matter of right. Buildings may be erected at heights between forty-five feet (45′) and sixty feet (60′) by Special Use Permit, with reasonable conditions necessitated by the historic and unique nature of the Downtown Business District, issued by Town Council after recommendation of the Planning Commission.”

Town Planning Commission members review the limited details about a project to convert the former Murphy Theater building at 131 East Main Street to a multi-unit apartment building with retail and office spaces and possibly a hotel, according to the promoters.

The Planning Commission will have to decide, on the basis of the information provided in the application, whether to recommend Town Council approval of a SUP. According to Chapter 175 of the Front Royal Town Code, “…a special use permit may only be permitted, when Town Council determines that the use (i) is not detrimental to the overall health, safety, and general welfare of the public, (ii) does not conflict with the Comprehensive Plan, (iii) is substantially compatible with surrounding land uses, and (iv) complies with laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia.”

In this case, the request is for sixty feet of height and not for the actual use of the building for dwellings. Critical information about the details of the project, necessary supporting infrastructure, the demolition and construction processes, or even a preliminary site plan is not yet available. Small sketches in the package provided to the commission showed a 6-story structure with 40 dwelling units, each comprised of 600 square feet, but even details about that structure or whether that configuration will be the final one have not been made public. As many as 60 units have been on the table in earlier submissions on the project. In addition, grave concerns remain that parking woes in the downtown would be exacerbated by the project during the construction period and once the units were occupied.

Two representatives of the applicant were present at the work session but did not make a formal presentation. The concept has undergone several changes since it was first floated earlier this year, including the type and number of dwelling units, as noted above, and the possibility of hotel rooms, retail spaces, and offices. The concept is scheduled to be presented to the Board of Architectural Review at its 7 p.m., October 12 meeting in Town Hall before coming to the Planning Commission for its first public hearing on October 19. Members of the public are welcome to attend and speak at the public hearing. Town Planning Commission meetings are held at the Warren County Government Center main meeting room at 7:00 p.m.