HomeMy WebLinkAboutAP202200002 Correspondence 2022-05-27APPEAL OF ZONING DETERMINATION
VIO-2022-076
This is in support of the Applicant's Appeal of the Zoning Determination (VIO-2022-076), dated
May 5, 2022. The Applicant is the owner of Allied Portable Toilets in Central Virginia and leases the
property at 801 Franklin Street in Charlottesville from the owner, Mr. John Falls. The property is zoned
Light Industrial (LI) and located on the line of the City of Charlottesville limits. Applicant stores portable
toilets at the site which are leased on a short-term basis primarily for customers in the construction
industry, but also for other commercial and recreation uses which require portable sanitation disposal.
As an example, the County of Albemarle leases portable toilets from the Applicant for a variety of uses,
as does the City of Charlottesville. The location is favorable because of its proximity to the RWSA solid
waste disposal site. The portable toilets stored at the site do not contain any human waste and are
without any fluid chemicals during storage. The Applicant began storing portable toilets at this site in
2017 and has never received a complaint until the May 5, 2022 Notice of Violation.
1. The Zoning Determination is erroneous because the Applicant's manner of use was a continuation of
lawfully existing uses prior to and on April 2, 2014 and therefore is a lawful nonconforming use pursuant
to Sec. 30.3.3 of the Albemarle County Code.
The Zoning determination asserts that the storage of portable toilets violates the Flood Hazard Overlay
District (FHOD) regulations. The Applicant concedes that the property is located within the FHOD. If not
for the FHOD regulations however, the storage of portable toilets would be permitted as a matter of right
in the underlying zoning district — I.J. The zoning determination does not assert that the use is unlawful
under the LI District regulations — only those of the FHOD.
Sec. 30.3.3 states that any use or development lawfully existing on April 2, 2014 shall be nonconforming
to the extent that it is not in compliance with Sec. 30.3 (the FHOD regulations). The property has been
used for the storage of equipment and materials, without discontinuance since well before April, 2014.
The primary use of this property, since 1946 has been as a livestock auction and sales facility. The current
owner, Mr. Falls has owned the property since 1980. During that period and prior to April, 2014 the
property was also leased to a succession of construction orconstruction-related companies for equipment
and materials storage —uses which did not interfere with the weekly livestock auctions. According to two
of Mr. Falls' family members, during the period prior to April 2014, Summit Construction leased the
property for equipment and storage. According to Mr. Fall's son, Mr. Palmer Putnam, Summit
Construction leased the property up until the time that the Applicant took possession. Prior to Summit
Construction, Slurry Pavers, Inc. leased the property for equipment and materials; and prior to Slurry
Pavers, Baxley Materials Company did the same. A Google Earth photograph taken in April, 2013 is
attached which depicts the site with equipment and trailers, as well as materials present.
The Applicant's storage of portable toilets for use on construction sites as well as for customers with
temporary sanitation needs is a continuance of a storage use that predates the effective date of the FHOD
regulations. Based upon the facts present, the Zoning Determination is erroneous as the Applicant's use
is a continuous, lawfully conforming use.
2. The Zoning Determination is erroneous because the Applicant's manner of use could be argued to be
lawful as a matter of right under the FHOD.
The FHOD regulations allow as a matter of right: 'Recreational uses including, but not limited to, parks,
swimming areas, golf courses and driving ranges, picnic areas, wildlife and nature preserves, game farms,
fish hatcheries, hunting, fishing and hiking areas, athletic fields, and horse show grounds." Virtually all of
the permitted recreational uses listed, and that can be found throughout the County of Albemarle deploy
portable toilets. The Applicant is a supplier to a number of such uses. If recreational uses located within
the FHOD are not permitted to maintain portable toilets on site, (as a result of the logic of the Zoning
Determination), then the operation and enjoyment of such uses will be severely, and negatively impacted.
For the foregoing reasons, we respectfully request that the Zoning Determination be reversed.
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