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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAP201900004 Correspondence 2019-06-06Kevin McCollum From: Kevin McCollum Sent: Thursday, June 06, 2019 4:10 PM To: jackmauslaw@gmail.com Subject: Major Home Occupation Clearance Bufton and Maus Attachments: HO2019-233 Bufton and Maus.pdf Good Afternoon John, I am in the process of reviewing your application for a Major Home Occupation and I was hoping you could provide me with a floor plan sketch that shows the total square footage of the dwelling and the proposed location and square footage of the law office. The application (see attached) shows that an applicant must provide this for the application to be properly reviewed. Additionally, I was hoping you could provide me with the typical hours of the law office, an estimated traffic generation (number of customers visiting the site per week), and if there will be any signage on the property related to the law office. I will be sending out neighbor notices, as indicated on the application, shortly. And once those go out I will have to wait a minimum of 5 business days before I proceed. Lastly, before the final approval I would like to come out to visit the site to verify the location of the proposed home occupation, the amount of parking available, etc. We can set up a date and time at a later date. I have highlighted the portions of the application that I would like more information on. Let me know if you have any questions. Thanks, Kev;.w McCollA"w Planner, Zoning Albemarle County Community Development kmccollum(@albemarle.ore 434-296-5832 x 3141 Kevin McCollum From: Jack Maus <jackmauslaw@gmail.com> Sent: Thursday, June 06, 2019 4:47 PM To: Kevin McCollum Subject: Re: Major Home Occupation Clearance Bufton and Maus Kevin Thanks for your email. We started this project in 2017 and didn't finish it until last month. We got the final building inspection and are working out of the office. It wasn't until I applied for a business license that I was told I had to get a zoning permit. We'll get you a copy of the floor plan. But, for now, the building has 1020 square feet (30x34). My wife (law partner) and I are semi -retired and don't spend more than 20 or 25 hours per week at our practice, except when we have a complicated case going to trial. We may get 2 or 3 clients per week coming to the office. The times that we're here vary since the office is just across the driveway from our house. If our clients work during the day, it's easy for us to offer evening appointments. We have a small lawn sign in our yard that is not visible from the road, but helps visitors know where to park. We have a sign that we may put up on the road fence. You're welcome to visit at your convenience, but,since we're not here all the time, it's best to call first. My cell is 540- 894-1006. The County has told me that, if I don't get a business license within 30 days of beginning our practice here, we're going to have to pay a financial penalty. I hope that your part of this process is not going to force us into incurring that expense. John R. "Jack" Maus, Attorney at Law Bufton & Maus, PLC Post Office Box E Gordonsville, Virginia 22942 Phone: 540-832-6172 Fax: 540-406-5911 Web: buftonandmauslaw.com This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. Ifyou are not the intended recipient, you are notified that disclosing, copying, distributing or taking any action in reliance on the contents of this information is strictly prohibited. Please notify the sender immediately if you have received this communication by mistake and delete this email from your system. On Thu, Jun 6, 2019 at 4:10 PM Kevin McCollum <kmccollum@albemarle.org> wrote: Good Afternoon John, I am in the process of reviewing your application for a Major Home Occupation and I was hoping you could provide me with a floor plan sketch that shows the total square footage of the dwelling and the proposed location and square footage of the law office. The application (see attached) shows that an applicant must provide this for the application to be properly reviewed. Additionally, I was hoping you could provide me with the typical hours of the law office, an estimated traffic generation (number of customers visiting the site per week), and if there will be any signage on the property related to the law office. I will be sending out neighbor notices, as indicated on the application, shortly. And once those go out I will have to wait a minimum of 5 business days before I proceed. Lastly, before the final approval I would like to come out to visit the site to verify the location of the proposed home occupation, the amount of parking available, etc. We can set up a date and time at a later date. I have highlighted the portions of the application that I would like more information on. Let me know if you have any questions. Thanks, Kevi.w McColAaww Planner, Zoning Albemarle County Community Development kmccollum@albemarle.org 434-296-5832 x 3141 Kevin McCollum From: Kevin McCollum Sent: Thursday, June 06, 2019 4:55 PM To: Jack Maus Subject: RE: Major Home Occupation Clearance Bufton and Maus Jack, Thanks for the quick response. Once I send out the required neighbor notices (I plan on sending them tomorrow morning) I have to wait 5 days for responses before I can act on the Home Occupation Clearance. I can come visit the site once I receive the floor plans that confirm that the business is not more than 25% of the gross square footage of the home or 1500 total SF. I'll try my best to work on this application quickly for you, but I will not be able to do anything for at least 5 more days after tomorrow. Thanks, Kevin From: Jack Maus <jackmauslaw@gmail.com> Sent: Thursday, June 06, 2019 4:47 PM To: Kevin McCollum <kmccollum@albemarle.org> Subject: Re: Major Home Occupation Clearance Bufton and Maus Kevin Thanks for your email. We started this project in 2017 and didn't finish it until last month. We got the final building inspection and are working out of the office. It wasn't until I applied for a business license that I was told I had to get a zoning permit. We'll get you a copy of the floor plan. But, for now, the building has 1020 square feet (3004). My wife (law partner) and I are semi -retired and don't spend more than 20 or 25 hours per week at our practice, except when we have a complicated case going to trial. We may get 2 or 3 clients per week coming to the office. The times that we're here vary since the office is just across the driveway from our house. If our clients work during the day, it's easy for us to offer evening appointments. We have a small lawn sign in our yard that is not visible from the road, but helps visitors know where to park. We have a sign that we may put up on the road fence. You're welcome to visit at your convenience, but,since we're not here all the time, it's best to call first. My cell is 540- 894-1006. The County has told me that, if I don't get a business license within 30 days of beginning our practice here, we're going to have to pay a financial penalty. I hope that your part of this process is not going to force us into incurring that expense. John R. "Jack" Maus, Attorney at Law Bufton & Maus, PLC Post Office Box E Gordonsville, Virginia 22942 Phone: 540-832-6172 Fax: 540-406-5911 Web: buftonandmauslaw.com This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you are not the intended recipient, you are notified that disclosing, copying, distributing or taking any action in reliance on the contents of this information is strictly prohibited. Please notify the sender immediately if you have received this communication by mistake and delete this email from your system. On Thu, Jun 6, 2019 at 4:10 PM Kevin McCollum <kmccollum albemarle.org> wrote: Good Afternoon John, I am in the process of reviewing your application for a Major Home Occupation and I was hoping you could provide me with a floor plan sketch that shows the total square footage of the dwelling and the proposed location and square footage of the law office. The application (see attached) shows that an applicant must provide this for the application to be properly reviewed. Additionally, I was hoping you could provide me with the typical hours of the law office, an estimated traffic generation (number of customers visiting the site per week), and if there will be any signage on the property related to the law office. I will be sending out neighbor notices, as indicated on the application, shortly. And once those go out I will have to wait a minimum of 5 business days before I proceed. Lastly, before the final approval I would like to come out to visit the site to verify the location of the proposed home occupation, the amount of parking available, etc. We can set up a date and time at a later date. I have highlighted the portions of the application that I would like more information on. Let me know if you have any questions. Thanks, Kevi.w McCoU,u.w� Planner, Zoning Kevin McCollum From: Jack Maus <jackmauslaw@gmail.com> Sent: Thursday, June 06, 2019 9:12 PM To: Kevin McCollum Subject: Re: Major Home Occupation Clearance Bufton and Maus Attachments: Office floor plan.pdf Kevin Found a pdf of the floor plan for the office. It's attached. Let me know if you need anything else. Again, you're always welcome to visit; just call to make sure someone's here. Jack John R. "Jack" Maus, Attorney at Law Bufton & Maus, PLC Post Office Box E Gordonsville, Virginia 22942 Phone: 540-832-6172 Fax: 540-406-5911 Web: buftonandmauslaw.com This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you are not the intended recipient, you are notified that disclosing, copying, distributing or taking any action in reliance on the contents of this information is strictly prohibited. Please notify the sender immediately if you have received this communication by mistake and delete this email from your system. On Thu, Jun 6, 2019 at 4:10 PM Kevin McCollum <kmccollum@albemarle.org> wrote: Good Afternoon John, I am in the process of reviewing your application for a Major Home Occupation and I was hoping you could provide me with a floor plan sketch that shows the total square footage of the dwelling and the proposed location and square footage of the law office. The application (see attached) shows that an applicant must provide this for the application to be properly reviewed. Additionally, I was hoping you could provide me with the typical hours of the law office, an estimated traffic generation (number of customers visiting the site per week), and if there will be any signage on the property related to the law office. I will be sending out neighbor notices, as indicated on the application, shortly. And once those go out I will have to wait a minimum of 5 business days before I proceed. Lastly, before the final approval I would like to come out to visit the site to verify the location of the proposed home occupation, the amount of parking available, etc. We can set up a date and time at a later date. I have highlighted the portions of the application that I would like more information on. Let me know if you have any questions. Thanks, Kevi,w McGoU� Planner, Zoning Albemarle County Community Development kmccollum@albemarle.org 434-296-5832 x 3141 Kevin McCollum From: Kevin McCollum Sent: Friday, June 07, 2019 8:43 AM To: Jack Maus Subject: RE: Major Home Occupation Clearance Bufton and Maus Jack, Thanks for the floor plan. But, I am still a little confused. Is the law office within the house on the property? Or is there an additional building on the property that is not showing up on the Maps. The 2018 aerials and the GIS map only show one single family house on the property. Either way I still need to know the square footage of the single family house. The law office, to be approved as a home occupation, can be no larger than 25% of the of the square footage of the house. All my other questions have been properly answered and I will be sending neighbor notices out this morning. http://gisweb.albemarle.org/GPV 51/Viewer.aspx?state=934345942427 This link shows what the Property looks like on our Web Mapping. http://gisweb.albemarle.org/GPV 51/Viewer.aspx?state=396473406498 This is what it looks like from the aerial view. Thanks, Kevin From: Jack Maus <jackmauslaw@gmail.com> Sent: Thursday, June 06, 2019 9:12 PM To: Kevin McCollum <kmccollum@albemarle.org> Subject: Re: Major Home Occupation Clearance Bufton and Maus Kevin Found a pdf of the floor plan for the office. It's attached. Let me know if you need anything else. Again, you're always welcome to visit; just call to make sure someone's here. Jack John R. "Jack" Maus, Attorney at Law Bufton & Maus, PLC Post Office Box E Gordonsville, Virginia 22942 Phone: 540-832-6172 Fax: 540-406-5911 Web: buftonandmauslaw.com This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you are not the intended recipient, you are notified that disclosing, copying, distributing or taking any action in reliance on the contents of this information is strictly prohibited. Please notify the sender immediately if you have received this communication by mistake and delete this email from your system. On Thu, Jun 6, 2019 at 4:10 PM Kevin McCollum <kmccollum@albemarle.org> wrote: Good Afternoon John, I am in the process of reviewing your application for a Major Home Occupation and I was hoping you could provide me with a floor plan sketch that shows the total square footage of the dwelling and the proposed location and square footage of the law office. The application (see attached) shows that an applicant must provide this for the application to be properly reviewed. Additionally, I was hoping you could provide me with the typical hours of the law office, an estimated traffic generation (number of customers visiting the site per week), and if there will be any signage on the property related to the law office. I will be sending out neighbor notices, as indicated on the application, shortly. And once those go out I will have to wait a minimum of 5 business days before I proceed. Lastly, before the final approval I would like to come out to visit the site to verify the location of the proposed home occupation, the amount of parking available, etc. We can set up a date and time at a later date. I have highlighted the portions of the application that I would like more information on. Let me know if you have any questions. Thanks, Keviov McCoUtiww Planner, Zoning Albemarle County Community Development kmccollum@albemarle.org 434-296-5832 x 3141 Kevin McCollum From: Jack Maus <jackmauslaw@gmail.com> Sent: Friday, June 07, 2019 10:30 AM To: Kevin McCollum Subject: Re: Major Home Occupation Clearance Bufton and Maus Kevin The law office is NOT within the house, but is a separate 1020 SF structure on the north side of the property. I cannot explain why neither the County's web mapping nor its aerial view has been updated. Each of those shortcomings can only be fixed by the County. We got our building permit in late 2017. We cleared the property in the summer of 2018 and began construction in the early fall. Construction has been inspected by the County throughout the process and we have passed our final inspection just last month. It's a little late to now tell us that we can't use it for what we clearly intended all along. I respectfully disagree with your view that you need to know the SF of the house because the home occupation building can't exceed 25% of that. By my estimation, the office is much more than 25% of the size of the main house. Looking at the front of the Application for Major Home Occupation Clearance, the requirements in Item 2 apply when the home occupation is being conducted inside the residence. That's when it matters whether the occupation overtakes the residential use. The reverse of the Application, in the section "Location and Area," says: The home occupation shall be conducted within the dwelling unit or accessory structures, or both, provided that mot more than twenty-five (25) percent of the gross floor space of the dwelling unit shall be used for the home occupation [in our case, the percentage is zero since we're in a separate building] and further provided that the cumulative area used for the home occupation, including the gross floor area within the dwelling unit [which, again is zero],.... shall not exceed one thousand five hundred (1500) square feet. [our floor plan for the office shows that it's 30x34, or 1020 SF] As I read these narrative requirements, I believe that we are in full compliance with the requirements for our home business and urge you to so find. John R. "Jack" Maus, Attorney at Law Bufton & Maus, PLC Post Office Box E Gordonsville, Virginia 22942 Phone: 540-832-6172 Fax: 540-406-5911 Web: buftonandmauslaw.com This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you are not the intended recipient, you are notified that disclosing, copying, distributing or taking any action in reliance on the contents of this information is strictly prohibited. Please notify the sender immediately if you have received this communication by mistake and delete this email from your system. On Fri, Jun 7, 2019 at 8:43 AM Kevin McCollum <kmccollum@albemarle.org> wrote: Jack, Thanks for the floor plan. But, I am still a little confused. Is the law office within the house on the property? Or is there an additional building on the property that is not showing up on the Maps. The 2018 aerials and the GIS map only show one single family house on the property. Either way I still need to know the square footage of the single family house. The law office, to be approved as a home occupation, can be no larger than 25% of the of the square footage of the house. All my other questions have been properly answered and I will be sending neighbor notices out this morning. http://gisweb.albemarle.org/GPV 51/Viewer.aspx?state=934345942427 This link shows what the Property looks like on our Web Mapping. http://gisweb.albemarle.org/GPV 51/Viewer.aspx?state=396473406498 This is what it looks like from the aerial view. Thanks, Kevin From: Jack Maus <jackmauslaw@gmail.com> Sent: Thursday, June 06, 2019 9:12 PM To: Kevin McCollum <kmccollum@albemarle.org> Subject: Re: Major Home Occupation Clearance Bufton and Maus Kevin: Found a pdf of the floor plan for the office. It's attached. Let me know if you need anything else. Again, you're always welcome to visit; just call to make sure someone's here. Kevin McCollum From: Kevin McCollum Sent: Friday, June 07, 2019 11:06 AM To: Jack Maus Subject: RE: Major Home Occupation Clearance Bufton and Maus Jack, You are correct. The 25% or less square footage requirement does not apply in this case because it is an accessory structure. Sorry for the confusion, this is actually my first major home occupation, so I'm still learning! Also, I have completed and sent the neighbor notices in the mail. Like I said before I now how to wait 5 days before I can take further action. I'm shooting for a site visit next Wednesday if that works for you. Thanks! And sorry for the confusion! Kevin From: Jack Maus <jackmauslaw@gmail.com> Sent: Friday, June 07, 2019 10:30 AM To: Kevin McCollum <kmccollum@albemarle.org> Subject: Re: Major Home Occupation Clearance Bufton and Maus Kevin The law office is NOT within the house, but is a separate 1020 SF structure on the north side of the property. I cannot explain why neither the County's web mapping nor its aerial view has been updated. Each of those shortcomings can only be fixed by the County. We got our building permit in late 2017. We cleared the property in the summer of 2018 and began construction in the early fall. Construction has been inspected by the County throughout the process and we have passed our final inspection just last month. It's a little late to now tell us that we can't use it for what we clearly intended all along. I respectfully disagree with your view that you need to know the SF of the house because the home occupation building can't exceed 25% of that. By my estimation, the office is much more than 25% of the size of the main house. Looking at the front of the Application for Major Home Occupation Clearance, the requirements in Item 2 apply when the home occupation is being conducted inside the residence. That's when it matters whether the occupation overtakes the residential use. The reverse of the Application, in the section "Location and Area," says: The home occupation shall be conducted within the dwelling unit or accessory structures, or both, provided that mot more than twenty-five (25) percent of the gross floor space of the dwelling unit shall be used for the home occupation [in our case, the percentage is zero since we're in a separate building] and further provided that the cumulative area used for the home occupation, including the gross floor area within the dwelling unit (which, again is zero],.... shall not exceed one thousand five hundred (1500) square feet. [our floor plan for the office shows that it's 30x34, or 1020 SF] As I read these narrative requirements, I believe that we are in full compliance with the requirements for our home business and urge you to so find. John R. "Jack" Maus, Attorney at Law Bufton & Maus, PLC Post Office Box E Gordonsville, Virginia 22942 Phone: 540-832-6172 Fax: 540-406-5911 Web: buftonandmauslaw.com This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you are not the intended recipient, you are notified that disclosing, copying, distributing or taking any action in reliance on the contents of this information is strictly prohibited. Please notify the sender immediately if you have received this communication by mistake and delete this email from your system. On Fri, Jun 7, 2019 at 8:43 AM Kevin McCollum <kmccollum@albemarle.org> wrote: Jack, Thanks for the floor plan. But, I am still a little confused. Is the law office within the house on the property? Or is there an additional building on the property that is not showing up on the Maps. The 2018 aerials and the GIS map only show one single family house on the property. Either way I still need to know the square footage of the single family house. The law office, to be approved as a home occupation, can be no larger than 25% of the of the square footage of the house. All my other questions have been properly answered and I will be sending neighbor notices out this morning. http•//gisweb.albemarle.org/GPV 51/Viewer.aspx?state=934345942427 This link shows what the Property looks like on our Web Mapping. http://gisweb.albemarle.org/GPV 51/Viewer.aspx?state=396473406498 This is what it looks like from the aerial view. Thanks, Kevin McCollum From: Jack Maus <jackmauslaw@gmail.com> Sent: Friday, June 07, 2019 11:24 AM To: Kevin McCollum Subject: Re: Major Home Occupation Clearance Bufton and Maus Kevin Next Wednesday is fine. Just give me a couple of hours' notice so that, if I'm at the gym or the doctor, I can get back in time. John R. "Jack" Maus, Attorney at Law Bufton & Maus, PLC Post Office Box E Gordonsville, Virginia 22942 Phone: 540-832-6172 Fax: 540-406-5911 Web: buftonandmauslaw.com This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you are not the intended recipient, you are notified that disclosing, copying, distributing or taking any action in reliance on the contents of this information is strictly prohibited. Please notify the sender immediately if you have received this communication by mistake and delete this email from your system. On Fri, Jun 7, 2019 at 11:06 AM Kevin McCollum <kmccollum@albemarle.org> wrote: Jack, You are correct. The 25% or less square footage requirement does not apply in this case because it is an accessory structure. Sorry for the confusion, this is actually my first major home occupation, so I'm still learning! Also, I have completed and sent the neighbor notices in the mail. Like I said before I now how to wait 5 days before I can take further action. I'm shooting for a site visit next Wednesday if that works for you. Thanks! And sorry for the confusion! Kevin From: Jack Maus <iackmauslaw@gmail.com> Sent: Friday, June 07, 2019 10:30 AM To: Kevin McCollum <kmccollum@albemarle.org> Subject: Re: Major Home Occupation Clearance Bufton and Maus Kevin: The law office is NOT within the house, but is a separate 1020 SF structure on the north side of the property. I cannot explain why neither the County's web mapping nor its aerial view has been updated. Each of those shortcomings can only be fixed by the County. We got our building permit in late 2017. We cleared the property in the summer of 2018 and began construction in the early fall. Construction has been inspected by the County throughout the process and we have passed our final inspection just last month. It's a little late to now tell us that we can't use it for what we clearly intended all along. I respectfully disagree with your view that you need to know the SF of the house because the home occupation building can't exceed 25% of that. By my estimation, the office is much more than 25% of the size of the main house. Looking at the front of the Application for Major Home Occupation Clearance, the requirements in Item 2 apply when the home occupation is being conducted inside the residence. That's when it matters whether the occupation overtakes the residential use. The reverse of the Application, in the section "Location and Area," says: The home occupation shall be conducted within the dwelling unit or accessory structures, or both, provided that mot more than twenty-five (25) percent of the gross floor space of the dwelling unit shall be used for the home occupation [in our case, the percentage is zero since we're in a separate building] and further provided that the cumulative area used for the home occupation, including the gross floor area within the dwelling unit [which, again is zero],.... shall not exceed one thousand five hundred (1500) square feet. [our floor plan for the office shows that it's 30x34, or 1020 SF] Kevin McCollum From: Kevin McCollum Sent: Monday, June 17, 2019 8:25 AM To: Jack Maus Cc: Rebecca Ragsdale; Keith Bradshaw Subject: Major Home Occupation Clearance Jack, Thanks for allowing us to come out and visit the property again on Thursday. Since then, Keith and I have met with the Zoning Administrator, along with the County Attorney's office, and have concluded that the Major Home Occupation Clearance cannot be approved until we can confirm that the structure meets the applicable setbacks, which are: Front — 75' Side — 25' Rear — 35' We can confirm that these setbacks are met by either seeing a physical survey that shows the location and distance of the structure to the property line or visibly seeing the property line in the field by clearly marked stakes. If the structure does not meet the required 25' side setback a boundary line adjustment is a possible solution to the bring the structure into compliance with the required Major Home Occupation side setback. The Building Permit (B2017-02431-NNR) was correctly approved given the information we were given at the time. The building was permitted as an accessory structure and no Major Home Occupation clearance was submitted alongside the building permit. Therefore, the setbacks were front — 75, side — 6, and rear — 6. Kwi,h. McC,olluvw Planner, Zoning Albemarle County Community Development kmccollumPalbemarle.ore 434-296-5832 x 3141 Kevin McCollum From: Kevin McCollum Sent: Tuesday, July 30, 2019 2:03 PM To: Jack Maus Cc: Keith Bradshaw; Bart Svoboda; Francis MacCall Subject: RE: Major Home Occupation HO201900233 Attachments: RE HO201900233 Bufton and Maus.pdf Jack, Please see my attached letter regarding your Major Home Occupation Clearance HO201900233. Let me know if you have any questions. Thanks, Kevi.w McCoUtiww Planner, Zoning Albemarle County Community Development kmccollum(@albemarle.ore 434-296-5832 x 3141