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Home My WebLink AboutLOD202100013 Application 2021-08-09FOR OFFICE USE ONLY LOyD # Fee Amount $Laku Date PaiBy who? it.-l�t{teceipt # (iLJ� Ck#� By:,� Application for Official Letter of Determination 0 Official Letter of Determination of Parcel of Record and/or Development Rights = $123.76 Official Letter $119 + Technology Surcharge $4.76 A separate fee is required for each parcel shown on the tax map. (1 parcel is $119 + $4.76 = $123.76, 2 parcels are $238 + $9.52 = $24752, etc.) 0 ❑ All other Official Letters of Determinations (including but not limited to Use, Zoning, Nonconformity, Parking, Floodplain, Vested Rights, Area & Bulk Regulations, De minimis) = $123.76 Official Letter $119 + Technology Surcharge $4.76 nCertification that notice of this application has been provided to the property owner if the owner is different from applicant. Project Name: Homestay application Tax map and parcel(s): 9000000024D Zoning: BA1 Contact Person (Who should we call/write concerning this project?): Howe Whitman Jr. Address 1202 Simmons Gap Road City St. George State 22935 Zip Daytime Phone (609 1 466-2596 Fax # (_) Owner of Record E-mail.howewhitman@gmaii.com Address 1202 Simmons Gap Road City St. George State VA Zip Daytime Phone (609) 468-2596 Fax # (_) Applicant (Who is the Contact person representing?): Howe Whitman III E-mail howewhitman@gmail.com Address 1202 Simmons Gap Road City St. George State Vim_ Zip Daytime Phone (609) 468-2596 Fax # (_) E-mail howewhitman@gmail.com County of Albemarle Department of Community Development 401 McIntire Road Charlottesville, VA 22902 Voice: (434) 296-5832 Fax: (434) 972-4126 Official letter of Determination Application Revised 7/1/2021 Page 1 of 2 Submittal Requirements Parcel of Record and/or Development Rights ❑ Tax Map Page ❑ Provide evidence showing when the parcel/parcels was/were created. This will include the following; ❑ The last instrument of record in the Clerk's Office of the Circuit Court of Albemarle County, Virginia on or prior to December 10,1980. ❑ Include deeds that provide a plat or metes and bounds description of the property. (Highlight or underline references to the subject property). ❑ All plats and deeds of record after December 10, 1980, UP UNTIL THE PRESENT DATE. (Highlight or underline references to the subject property). ❑ Cover letter stating the assumed number of parcels and development rights, with explanation of same. ❑ Any other pertinent information. ❑ A fee is reauired for each separal shown on the tax All other Determinations 0 Cover letter stating what is being requested. Provide all necessary information for the consideration of this decision including 0 Tax Map Page if request is regarding a specific property. ❑ If the request is reearding a nonconforming use, structure, or lot then you must provide enough probative material evidence to prove the nonconformity. 0 Provide justification for the request and any other pertinent information. 0 Fee as noted above. Please refer to the Albemarle County Land Use Law Handbook for more information regarding zoning determinations and nonconformities. http://www.albemarle.org/LandUseLaw Determination may take up to ninety (90) days from submittal Signature of OwRt;r" Howe Whmtman Jr Manager Rivar Rork I I Q Print Name 7/30/20 t Date 609-46s-2596 Daytime phone number of Signatory Official Letter of Determination Application Revised 7/1/2021 Page 2 of 2 Howe Whitman Jr. 1202 Simmons Gap Road St. George, VA 22035 August 1, 2021 County of Albemarle Department of Community Development 301 McIntire Road Charlottesville, VA 22902 Re: Request for Letter of Determination Homestay Application 1202 Simmons Gap Road St. George, VA 22935 Dear Sir or Madam, We submitted a Homestay Application for the referenced parcel this spring. The application was dismissed because the parcel is held in an LLC. I have enclosed correspondence with Lea Brumfield in the Zoning Office. The LLC is merely a means of limiting our liability. The LLC is owned 100% by a family trust. In fact, the LLC and the family trust have the same tax identification number; the LLC is a "disregarded entity" according to the IRS, meaning the IRS considered the LLC and the family trust to be one and the same for tax purposes. The ownership is transparent and easy to verify - the LLC is registered with the Commonwealth of Virginia. The zoning office said that if we switched the parcel to direct ownership by the family trust, then our application would be acceptable. Therefore, I request a letter of determination on this issue. On what basis of law is our application being dismissed? Thank you for your attention to this matter. Si Howe Whit r. Trustee of the Howe D Whitman Jr Family Trust Manager of River Rock, LLC, a wholly owned LLC of the Trust Gmail - Re: 1202 Simmons Gap Homestay Ownership Issue https://mail.google.com/mail/u/ 1?ik=425e581 db9&view=pt&search=... M Gmail Howe Whitman, Jr. <howe.whitman@gmail.com> Re: 1202 Simmons Gap Homestay Ownership Issue 1 message Lea Brumfield <Ibrumfield@albemarle.org> Wed, Jul 28, 2021 at 12:04 PM To: "Howe Whitman, Jr." <howe.whitman@gmail.com> Cc: Travis Wilburn <travis@staycharlottesville.com> Hi Howe, Unfortunately, the ownership question isn't up to staff to interpret. We have been given firm direction on this from the County Attorney's Office, and we're not able to allow LLC's as a form of ownership without a "resident manager" on the property, which is not permitted on large rural parcels. I do understand it's frustrating, but it's unfortunately one of the situations where the regulations intended to restrict purely commercial hotel -like situations ends up catching family farms under the same regulations. Please let me know if you have any additional questions. Best regards, Lea Brumfield, AICP Candidate (she, her) Senior Planner Il, Zoning Division Albemarle County Ibrumfield@albemarle.org 434-296-5832 x3023 401 McIntire Road, Charlottesville, VA 22902 On Jul 28, 2021, at 11:40, Howe Whitman, Jr. <howe.whitman@gmail.com> wrote: CAUTION: This message originated outside the County of Albemarle email system. DO NOT CLICK on links or open attachments unless you are sure the content is safe. Hello Lea, Thanks for your reply below. I could dissolve the LLC that holds the property for the family trust. What is strange is that the LLC is owned 100% by the family trust. The LLC even has the same tax id number as the trust, thus, they are one and the same entity to the IRS. The only thing that changes if I dissolve the LLC is that I lose the protection of the LLC which limits our liability. That's a big deal when you are trying to run a farm - with all the heavy equipment, cows, chainsaws, and homestay visitors, there is a lot of potential liability. I understand that Albemarle County wants to make sure the Homestay properties are owner occupied and not operated by businesses. In this case, it is very easy to verify that the LLC and the trust are one and the same - the LLC ownership is registered with the Commonwealth of Virginia. Isn't there another way to verify owner occupancy without taking away our liability protection? Thanks for your consideration. Howe On Fri, Jul 9, 2021 at 3:50 PM Lea Brumfield <Ibrumfield@albemarle.org> wrote: Hi Howe, if 4 7/30/21.2:54 PM Gmail - Re: 1202 Simmons Gap Homestay Ownership Issue https://mail.google.com/mail/u/l?ik=425e58ldb9&view=pt&search=... Yes, that is correct. If the property is held in a family trust and a beneficiary of the trust is the full-time resident of the property, that is an acceptable form of ownership. Best regards, Lea Brumfield (she, her) Senior Planner U, Zoning Division Albemarle County lbrumfield@albemarle.org 434-296-5832 x3023 401 McIntire Road, Charlottesville, VA 22902 From: Howe Whitman, Jr. <howe.whitman@gmail.com> Sent: Friday, July 9, 2021 2:58 PM To: Lea Brumfield <Ibrumfield@albemarle.org>; Travis Wilburn <travis@staycharlottesville.com> Subject: Re: 1202 Simmons Gap Homestay Ownership Issue CAUTION: This message originated outside the County of Albemarle email system. DO NOT CLICK on links or open attachments unless you are sure the content Is safe. Ms. Brumfeld, I have a follow up question about our application. If the property were held in a family trust, is that deemed an acceptable form of ownership for homestay purposes? Thank you. Howe On Fri, May 28, 2021 at 10:00 AM Howe Whitman, Jr. <howe.whitman@gmail.com> wrote: Hello Ms. Brumfield, Thanks for your email. IYs my understanding that the county supervisors are having a hearing about the Homestay code which would potentially change the rules in favor of our application. Thus, I request that you keep our application active, pending their decision. Thank you. Howe 2 of 4 7/30/21, 2:54 PM Gmail - Re: 1202 Simmons Gap Homestay Ownership Issue https:Hmail.google.com/mail/u/l?ik=425e58ldb9&view=pt&search=... On Thu, May 27, 2021 at 5:24 PM Lea Brumfield <Ibrumfield@albemarle.org> wrote: Mr. Whitman, I just wanted to confirm before I take action — I'll be marking your application as withdrawn due to the ownership issue tomorrow. Since we cannot legally approve the application at this time, the only possible actions are to deny the application or withdraw it. Lea Brumfield (she, her) Senior Planner ll, Zoning Division Albemarle County lbrumfield@albemarle.org 434-296-5832 x3023 401 McIntire Road, Charlottesville, VA 22902 From: Lea Brumfield Sent: Thursday, May 13, 2021 5:34 PM To: howewhitman@gmail.com Subject: 1202 Simmons Gap Homestay Ownership Issue Mr. Whitman, I'm reviewing your recently submitted Homestay Zoning Clearance Application for a homestay at 1202 Simmons Gap Road, but there is unfortunately an issue with the application. As it's currently held under an LLC, "River Rock LLC," the property is not eligible to be used as a homestay. Our County Attorney has determined that as an LLC is not a natural person, an LLC cannot "occupy" a parcel, and therefore an LLC- owned parcel cannot be owner occupied. The regulations chart found in the application packet is below; please note that under Required Occupancy for Rural Areas parcels over 5+ acres, there is no permitted Special Exception for owner occupancy. If you wanted to switch the ownership of the parcel to your own name, with we would be able to proceed with the application review. If not, we will refund your application fee. Let me know how you'd like to proceed, or if you have any additional questions. <image002.png> Best regards, 7/30/21.2:54 PM Gmail - Re: 1202 Simmons Gap Homestay Ownership Issue Lea Brumfield (she, her) https: //mai I .google.com/mai I /u/ 1 ? i k=425 e58l db9&view=pt&search=... Senior Planner 11, Zoning Division Albemarle County lbrumfield@albemarle.org 434-296-5832 x3023 401 McIntire Road, Charlottesville, VA 22902 RECEIVED COMMUNITY 01EV8LOPMENT 4 of 4 7/30/21.2:54 PM