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HomeMy WebLinkAbout200302 - Minutes, Planning Commission61 WASHINGTON COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING March 2, 2020 The Washington County Planning Commission held its regular monthly meeting on Monday, March 2, 2020 at 7:00 p.m. at the Washington County Administration Building, 100 W. Washington Street, Room 2000, Hagerstown, MD. Commission members present at the meeting were: Clint Wiley, Denny Reeder, Drew Bowen, BJ Goetz, David Kline, Jeremiah Weddle and Ex -officio County Commissioner Randall Wagner. Staff members present were: Washington County Department of Planning & Zoning: Jill Baker, Director; Travis Allen, Comprehensive Planner; and Debra Eckard, Administrative Assistant; Washington County Department of Plan Review & Permitting: Ashley Holloway, Director; Rebecca Calimer, Chief of Plan Review; and Lisa Kelly, Senior Planner. CALL TO ORDER The Chairman called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. MINUTES Motion and Vote: Mr. Bowen made a motion to approve the minutes of the February 3, 2020 meeting as presented. The motion was seconded by Mr. Kline and unanimously approved. OLD BUSINESS RZ-19-007 — WALCZ, LLC Recommendation Mr. Allen reminded Commission members that a public information meeting was held on February 3rd for a proposed map amendment application for property located at 14624 National Pike in Clear Spring. The applicant is requesting the extension of a Rural Business floating zone onto an adjacent parcel of land which is .88 acres in size. The property is currently zoned Agricultural Rural — A(R). Mr. Allen noted that only one person, Mr. John Barr, spoke during the public information meeting and he was in favor of the proposed amendment. No other verbal or written comments have been received. Motion and Vote: Mr. Goetz made a motion to recommend approval of the proposed map amendment to the Board of County Commissioners. The motion was seconded by Mr. Kline and unanimously approved with Commissioner Wagner abstaining from the vote. Mr. Wiley announced that two additional items have been added to the evening's agenda under Other Business: Adkins Automotive (change to a site plan) and a discussion regarding the Workshop with the Historic District Commission regarding the Demolition Permit Process. -NEW BUSINESS MODIFICATIONS PR Valley Anchor -S LLC [OM -20-002] Ms. Kelly presented for review and approval a modification request to create a lot with existing businesses (BJ's Brewhouse, Sleep Number, and Verizon retail store) that have road frontage but ingress/egress is not public and a request for approval of off -site parking. The lot would be 1.44 acres in size. The off -site parking would across Valley Mall Road. Discussion and Comment: Mr. Steve Cvijanovich of Fox & Associates, Inc., the consultant, gave a brief history of the property and changes previously made at the Valley Mall. He spoke briefly about the off - site parking and noted that there are pedestrian crossing areas across Valley Mall Road. Motion and Vote: Mr. Kline made a motion to approve the modification request as presented and to grant staff the authority to approve the final plat. The motion was seconded by Mr. Goetz and unanimously approved. 62 SITE PLANS St. James School — Turner Athletic Center [SP -19-020] Ms. Kelly presented for review and approval a site plan for the St. James School Turner Athletic Center located along the east side of College Road. The developer is proposing to construct a 44,436 square foot addition to the Alumni Hall Field House for athletic and other special events. The addition would house the new basketball arena with spectator seating, locker rooms, offices and meeting space for athletes. It will connect to Alumni Hall via a breezeway. The hours of operation will be 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. A total of 88 parking spaces and one existing loading area will be provided for use. The Washington County Department of Water Quality provides water and sewer to the site. There is an existing sign with new building mounted signs proposed. Lighting will be wall mounted and pole mounted within the parking lot. There will be two to three delivery trucks per week. Solid waste will be collected inside and moved to existing screened dumpsters. Sidewalks are proposed in the front and along the side of the building to serve parking lots. Landscaping is proposed along the front of the building adjacent to the new patio and in the bio-retention ponds. Forestation requirements are being met by paying the fee -in -lieu in the amount of $914.76. All agency approvals have been received. Motion and Vote: Mr. Kline made a motion to approve the site plan as presented. The motion was seconded by Mr. Weddle and unanimously approved. Delivery Station Program DBA7 [SP -19-036] Ms. Kelly presented for review and approval a site plan for a proposed warehouse and package distribution center for Amazon Distribution in an existing 167,298 square foot building located at 16604 Industrial Lane (the former Lenox site). The property is currently zoned PI — Planned Industrial and is 15.37 acres in size. An overhead canopy with concrete pad will be added. There will be four entrances off Industrial Lane: one for employee parking, two for delivery vans arrival/departure, and one for truck deliveries. Van arrivals and departures will be daily from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Hours of operation will be 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with 100 employees each shift. Total parking spaces will be 204 spaces. Public water will be provided by the City of Hagerstown and public sewer will be provided by the County. Lighting will be building mounted and pole mounted throughout the parking area. Signage will be building mounted as well as a monument sign along Industrial Lane. Landscaping will be installed around the building and throughout the parking lot. There will be a dumpster for trash collection. Forestation requirements will be addressed by paying the fee -in -lieu in the amount of $6,403.32. Approvals from the Engineering Department, Soil Conservation District and City of Hagerstown Water Department are pending; all other agencies approvals have been received. Motion and Vote: Mr. Reeder made a motion to approve the site plan as presented and to grant staff the authority for final approval contingent upon receiving final approval from the Engineering Department, Soil Conservation District and City of Hagerstown Water Department. The motion was seconded by Mr. Bowen and unanimously approved. OTHER BUSINESS Black Rock PUD [DP -13-001] Ms. Calimer presented for review an amendment to the approved development plan for Black Rock PUD. Staff is seeking the Commission's determination if the change is a minor or major change to the final development plan. The development is located north of Mt. Aetna Road and east of Robinwood Drive. The developer is also requesting a modification for an additional panhandle lot. A request was granted in 2013 to allow three panhandle lots. The developer is proposing to consolidate the forest easement in one area. The previously platted open space will be relocated and an additional lot will be placed in that location. Mr. Gordon Poffenberger of Fox & Associates, Inc., the consultant, gave a brief description of the proposal. He noted the previously recorded forest easements across the back of several lots have been eliminated. There was a brief discussion regarding the shared access and maintenance of that access by the property owners. This will be noted on the plat. Motion and Vote: Mr. Kline made a motion to consider this a minor change to the final development plan. The motion was seconded by Mr. Weddle and unanimously approved. 63 Motion and Vote: Mr. Reeder made a motion to approve the additional panhandle as presented and requested that Staff confirm there is a note on the final plat regarding the maintenance of the shared access. The motion was seconded by Mr. Goetz. Mr. Reeder amended his motion to grant staff the authority to approve the final subdivision plat. That motion was seconded by Mr. Weddle and both motions were unanimously approved. Proposed Text Amendment Ms. Baker presented for review a proposed text amendment for short-term residential rentals (Airbnb, VRBO). She noted that the short-term residential rentals would be a permitted use in the A(R) — Agricultural Rural, EC — Environmental Conservation, and P — Preservation zoning districts. It would be a special exception use in the RV — Rural Village, RT — Residential Transition, RS — Residential Suburban, RU — Residential Urban, and RM — Residential Multi -Family zoning districts. Short-term residential rentals would be a permitted use in the BL — Business Local, BG — Business General, and SED — Special Economic Development zoning districts. Also included in the text amendment is a definition for a short-term residential rental. No site plan will be required; however, off-street parking must be provided. There was a brief discussion regarding the length of time for a rental. By consensus, the Commission decided to change the language to 30 days. Update of Staff Approvals Mr. Holloway distributed a written report to Commission members and noted the following for Land Development projects: 8 inspection and maintenance agreements; 5 site plans; 3 standard grading plans; 3 public works agreements; and 1 traffic impact study. Adkins Automotive Mr. Holloway presented a proposed change to the site plan for Adkins Automotive located at 9920 Crystal Falls Drive. The property was granted the RB (Rural Business) floating zone in 2014. Variances were granted in October 2015 for the first commercial building [AP -2015-031j for side yard and front yard setbacks and a setback for placement of a free-standing sign. The owner is now proposing to construct a 4,200 square foot commercial building for fire engine truck repair. If the site plan is approved, Mr. Adkins will be required to go before the Board of Zoning Appeals for side yard variances for the second commercial building. Discussion and Comments: Mr. Kline expressed his opinion that the applicant should not be required to plant trees because the property is in a wooded area. Ms. Baker clarified that the previously planted trees were not for forest conservation but to provide a landscaping buffer for the neighboring residential areas. Mr. Holloway stated that his department would review the need for additional landscaping once the site plan has been submitted. Motion and Vote: Mr. Kline made a motion to approve the change to the site plan as presented. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Wagner and unanimously approved. Discussion of Workshop with HDC Mr. Kline expressed his opinion that the Historic District Commission is a special interest group. He believes that developers and builders should have the opportunity to present their side of the proposed demolition permit process. Mr. Kline is opposed to having a "private workshop meeting with a special interest group to come in and promote their agenda". He believes the Commission is being used and manipulated and pushed to advance a process without hearing all sides of the story. Mr. Wiley expressed his opinion that the process is being "politicized" by the newspaper and Preservation Maryland. Mr. Kline agreed. Mr. Goetz expressed his opinion that there is a difference between a special interest group and a Commission that has influence as to whether something moves on in the process or has to go down a different path in the process. There was a brief discussion concerning the intent of the workshop and what is to be accomplished. Commissioner Wagner believes the HDC is looking for recommendations to present to the County Commissioners to tighten the demolition permit process. Mr. Kline stated he is generally opposed to more government regulation because the regulation can be "weaponized" by somebody with an agenda. 64 Mr. Wiley noted that the historic sites inventory is more than 30 years old and suggested it should be updated before any decisions or recommendations are made. Mr. Weddle expressed his opinion that historic preservation should follow ag land preservation seeking funding to preserve the historic resources. Motion and Vote: Mr. Weddle made a motion that the workshop should be canceled until the Historic District Commission has its data up to date. The motion was seconded by Mr. Kline and unanimously approved with Commissioner Wagner abstaining from the vote. -ADJOURNMENT Mr. Bowen made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:15 p.m. The motion was seconded by Mr. Goetz and so ordered by the Chairman. -UPCOMING MEETINGS 1. Monday, April 6, 2020, 7:00 p.m., Washington County Planning Commission rezoning public information and regular meeting, Washington County Administration Building, 100 W. Washington Street, Room 2000, Hagerstown, MD 21740 Respectfully submitted, Clint Wiley, Chairman