Who’s on first? Curb & gutter waiver request = council comedy routine

Can we get on the same page, or something – Mayor Hollis Tharpe, at right, may have been thinking at August 20 work session discussion of curb & gutter waiver request. Councilmen Gillespie, to far left, and Sealock continued to come down on opposite sides the following week. Photos/Roger Bianchini

The mid-20^th century comedy team of Bud Abbot and Lou Costello would have been proud as confusion abounded when a divided Front Royal Town Council addressed a requested waiver on curb and gutter requirements on new residential construction on Luray Avenue.  At issue Monday evening, August 27, was a waiver request by the owners of two residential lots being built on steep slopes at 419 and 423 Luray Avenue.

The Wines family waiver request is based on financial hardship.  In the waiver request to the Town, Mark, Susan and Jessica Wines noted the amount of expense they have incurred on the two lots in order to accommodate state requirements on water runoff and erosion control.

“We and our daughter wanted to build here, in our home town, to allow her to be close to her family,” the Wines wrote in a 2-1/4 page letter to council dated August 3.

The two Wines’ lots in question – they better hope those state erosion control requirements are in place.

But back to the ballpark, or rather the Warren County Government Center meeting room for the “night game” of August 27.

“Who’s on first” indeed.

First an extensive motion to approve the waiver request not included in the agenda packet was read by Gary Gillespie, seconded by John Connolly.  Gillespie’s motion approved the waiver for a period of five years or until the properties were sold and asked the owners to sign a written contract to that effect.

Then Vice-Mayor Eugene Tewalt, who has opposed the waiver because council added curb and gutter requirements on new construction to its codes last year, offered an amendment.

Tewalt explained that his amendment to add a lien requirement to any signed document on the waived property curb and gutter work would assure that the Town is able to recover the cost of the waived work at a future point per the conditions of the written agreement.  The vice mayor asserted that as written the initially-offered motion provided no such assurance on eventual payment for the work.

Tewalt said he would not support the requested waiver without the additional strength of a lien being added to the waiver agreement.  William Sealock, who has sided with Tewalt in earlier work session discussion of the waiver request, seconded the motion.

Then the fun started.

423 Luray Avenue

Faced with a vote on the amendment that Tewalt indicated would change his vote to allow the waiver, the three councilmen favoring the waiver outright – Gillespie, John Connolly and Jacob Meza voted against it.  Chris Morrison and Sealock joined Tewalt in favor of the amendment creating a 3-3 deadlock.  Mayor Hollis Tharpe then joined the Tewalt contingent in breaking the tie in favor of the amendment.

A vote on Gillespie’s original motion to approve the waiver as amended to include the lien language then saw the trio who had voted in support of the amendment vote “no” and the three who had voted against the amendment vote “yes”.

Faced with another 3-3 tie, the mayor again voted in the affirmative allowing the waiver to be approved as amended.

Speaking of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello – wasn’t “who’s” teammate “I don’t give a damn” on third?  Not really, I’m sure Bud and Lou would have applauded political compromise striking a middle ground, no matter how that compromise was reached.

419 Luray Avenue

At issue

The Wines waiver request was the topic of extensive debate at an August 20 council work session.  Vice-Mayor Tewalt was adamant in restating his belief such waivers should not be issued once an infrastructure requirement is approved into town codes.  Tewalt suggested either total enforcement or removal of the recently-passed curb and gutter ordinance.

The Town curb and gutter code passed last year requires new construction to include curb and gutter if there is existing curb and gutter within 200 feet.  There is no curb and gutter on the Wines’ side of the street for 2,000 feet to the north toward Salem Avenue and 500 feet toward the Kerfoot Avenue intersection to the south, they point out in their waiver request.

However, there is curb and gutter the length of the other side of the street in front of about five residences also built on slopes to the south of Skyline Middle School.

A home directly across Luray from the Wines properties

Both Tewalt and Councilman William Sealock stated that at some point the Town has “to make a stand” on blanket code enforcement.  Sealock pointed to some recent street repairs done on Braxton Road due to the absence of curb and gutter that town taxpayers footed the bill for.

Pointing to the financial need and expense rationale, Tewalt suggested that added costs should be built into anyone’s equation building on such a steep slope.

“If you’re going to build on a slope like that you’ve got to factor in the costs,” Tewalt observed.

However, John Connolly led a council contingent much less adamant about enforcement.  “I think we need to make this ordinance work for the applicants, he told his colleagues.

Connolly also said he viewed curb and gutter as a town infrastructure like others, supported by the tax dollars of the entire community for a general benefit, rather than a benefit specific to the residence being required to install curb and gutter by code now.

Chris Morrison went so far as to say he favored removal of the curb and gutter ordinance if such a hard line was going to be struck on enforcement.

Curb & gutter extends in front of more homes across Luray Avenue, north toward Skyline Middle School