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HomeMy WebLinkAboutVA199800005 Staff Report 1998-04-07 1110 0 STAFF PERSON: Jan Sprinkle PUBLIC HEARING: April 7,1998 STAFF REPORT VA 98-05 OWNER/APPLICANT: International Cold Storage TAX MAP/PARCEL: 109/33 ZONING: LI, Light Industrial, pending rezoning approval to HI, Heavy Industrial ACREAGE: 8.412 LOCATION: Northeast side of Rt. 33 approximately 600 feet west of its intersection with Rt. 29 near Covesville TECHNICAL REQUEST AND EXPLANATION: The applicant requests relief from Sections 26.10.2 and 26.10.3, which state in part: 26.10.2 Adjacent to residential districts: For the heavy industry (HI) district, no portion of any structure, excluding signs, shall be located closer than one hundred (100) feet to any rural areas or residential district and no off-street parking shall be closer than thirty (30) feet to any rural areas or residential district. 26.10.3 Buffer zone adjacent to residential and rural areas districts: No construction activity including grading or clearing of vegetation shall occur closer than thirty (30) feet to any residential or rural areas district. Screening shall be provided as required in section 32.7.9. A variance is requested to allow the existing building to remain a minimum of 17.25 feet and a maximum of 98.66 feet from the eastern most property line and as shown on the physical survey in this file done by William S. Roudabush, Inc. and dated November 4,1977. The parking needs a maximum variance of 20 feet to allow the continuance of parking 10 feet from the southern property line. The applicant wants this variance to allow the property to be rezoned to the HI zoning district that allows their basic use. The ultimate reason is to expand the existing building, starting at the end 98.66 feet from the property line and extending the new building in a direction that will increase in distance from the Rural Areas zoning district to the 100 foot setback within a few feet of length. The parking will not be increased and therefore the variance is only needed for what is existing. No additional buffering or screening from the Rural Areas properties will be required for the existing building. RELEVANT HISTORY: This property was originally zoned Al, Agricultural in 1969. ZMP- 69-64 granted what was then the M1 , Industrial zone to Wayland Machinery Co. In 1975, International Cold Storage had a site plan approved to add to the then existing building. They bought the property in 1977. The property was reclassified to LI, Light Industrial in the adoption of our 1980 zoning ordinance. PROPERTY DESCRIPTION AND QUALIFYING CONDITIONS: This property was acquired in good faith by International Cold Storage in November 1977. They believed that Staff Report: VA 98-05 April 7, 1998 • Page 2 their use was a conforming use in the M1 district. The parcel is the same size and shape now that it was in 1980 when the Zoning Ordinance was adopted. There are neither exceptional size nor shape restrictions nor topographic features that unreasonably restrict the use of this parcel. The current desire of the owner to enclose an area where work is routinely performed outdoors has brought to our attention the fact that their use is only allowed in the HI, Heavy Industrial zoning district. In applying for the rezoning to accommodate the building expansion, it was discovered that the existing facilities do not meet the yard requirements for that district. Thus, ICS has requested this variance. The building addition will not be any closer to the surrounding properties nor will there be any expansion of manpower or parking needs. Without the variance, the Board of Supervisors will not approve the rezoning due to their prohibition of creating nonconforming lots or structures. The strict application of the zoning ordinance does not effectively prohibit the use of the property, but it definitely restricts the use. Staff finds that for the following reasons, this restriction is unreasonable and therefore meets the hardship criteria. The "condition of such piece of property" is that these buildings have been the same size and shape since before our ordinance. It is only the zoning district that has changed and will have to change again to allow the desired expansion. An "extraordinary situation" exists in the county's 1980 acknowledgement of the industrial use. When they zoned the property LI, rather than the nonconforming RA, they indicated that they intended to make it a conforming use. Staff believes that this was an oversight in the process whereby the individual uses were not examined on a parcel-by-parcel basis. Rather the M1 zoning district was simply converted to LI since they were both the "light" industrial zones. APPLICANT'S JUSTIFICATION AND STAFF COMMENT: A review of the variance criteria is as follows: Necessary Finding Number One: Hardship The applicant comments that the variance is necessary because: • The property was purchased by ICS in 1977 with the existing buildings and parking. • The manufacturing business began in 1975 and has remained the same since the beginning. • The existing buildings are the integral infrastructure of this business. Staff previously identified the hardship as described under the Code of Virginia relating to granting a variance. Therefore, staff concludes: The applicant has provided evidence that the strict application of the ordinance would produce undue hardship. S M! Staff Report: VA 98-05 April 7, 1998 Page 3 Necessary Finding Number Two: Uniqueness of Hardship The applicant notes: • This is an isolated existing industrial zoned parcel surrounded by RA zoned parcels and has been used in a similar fashion by Wayland Machinery Co. since the 1930's. There is no other industrial zoning in the same vicinity. Even the apple-packing building in Covesville is zoned RA, as the apple business is agricultural and allowed by right. Therefore, staff concludes: The applicant has provided evidence that such hardship is not shared generally by other properties in the same zoning district and the same vicinity. Necessary Finding Number Three: Impact on Character of the Area The applicant offers: • The adjoining properties have not changed character since the 1930's. • Granting the variance will allow ICS to add a building to enclose part of the work that has been exposed to the elements. • It will thereby reduce noise and visual impact to the neighboring parcels. • It will also give the employees a more controlled environment to work in. Staff agrees that allowing the variance to allow the rezoning will not change the character of the district. If anything, it should improve the character since more of the refrigerator units will be kept inside making a better visual impact and reducing the noise level in the immediate area. No additional buffering is needed to separate the existing structures from the Rural Areas adjoining properties. Therefore, staff agrees: The applicant has provided evidence that the authorization of such variance will not be of substantial detriment to adjacent property and that the character of the district will not be changed by the granting of the variance. STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Since all three variance criteria have been met, staff recommends approval for cause with the following conditions: 1. This variance is for the existing building, parking, and the proposed addition shown on a site plan submitted to the Department of Planning and Community Development on February 23, 1998 only. Any further addition will require a separate variance application. 2. If ZMA 98-09 to HI is not approved, the variance will apply to the LI setbacks which are: 50 feet for structures and 30 feet for parking from RA zoned properties, and 50 feet for structures and 10 feet for parking from public road rights-of-way. This would make the existing building conform by granting a variance of 32.75 feet and the existing parking conform by granting a variance of 20 feet.