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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSP201200008 Legacy Document 2012-08-30I IRGI V �\ ALBEMARLE COUNTY PLANNING STAFF REPORT SUMMARY Proposal: SP201200008 Daylily Preschool Staff: Joanne Tu Purtsezova Planning Commission Public Hearing: Board of Supervisors Hearing: September 11, 2012 October 10, 2012 Owner: Mountain Plain Baptist Church Applicant: Daylily Preschool c/o Margaret Willis c/o Elizabeth Claman Acreage: 2.34 acres Special Use Permit for: 10.2.2.7 Day care, child care, or nursery facility TMP: 05700 -00 -00 -02600 By -right use: RA Rural Areas - agricultural, Location: 4281 Old Three Notch'd Road forestal, and fishery uses; residential density (0.5 unit /acre in development lots Magisterial District: White Hall Conditions: Yes EC: No Proposal: Request for special use permit Requested # of Dwelling Units: 0 amendment to increase maximum number of children from 10 to 20 in private preschool located within existing Mountain Plain Baptist Church, but not affiliated with Church DA: RA: X Comp. Plan Designation: Rural Areas in Rural Area 3 Character of Property: Daylily Preschool Use of Surrounding Properties: single - currently operates in the Mountain Plain family residential and cemetery Baptist Church, which consists of two buildings, a small outdoor play area, and parking Factors Favorable: Factors Unfavorable: 1. The use is consistent with the 1. The Building Official can only Comprehensive Plan /Rural Area recommend approval with new Plan. conditions attached, as outlined below. 2. The proposal provides a day care 2. The Health Department can only option for people who live and work recommend approval with new in the area. conditions attached, as outlined below. 3. No detrimental impacts to adjoining properties are anticipated. 4. The renovations to the interior of the building, which are required for upper floor daycare occupancy, will enhance the site. RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends approval of SP201200008, Daylily Preschool with conditions. SP- 2012 -008 - Daylily Preschool Planning Commission: September 11, 2012 STAFF PERSON: Joanne Tu Purtsezova PLANNING COMMISSION: September 11, 2012 BOARD OF SUPERVISORS: October 10, 2012 SP201200008: Daylily Preschool Petition: PROJECT: SP201200008 Daylily Preschool PROPOSED: Request for special use permit amendment to increase maximum number of children from 10 to 20 in private preschool located within existing Mountain Plain Baptist Church, but not affiliated with Church ZONING CATEGORY /GENERAL USAGE: RA Rural Areas - agricultural, forestal, and fishery uses; residential density (0.5 unit /acre in development lots) SECTION: 10.2.2.7 Day care, child care or nursery facility COMPREHENSIVE PLAN LAND USE /DENSITY: Rural Areas in Rural Area 3 - Preserve and protect agricultural, forestal, open space, and natural, historic and scenic resources /density (0.5 unit /acre in development lots) ENTRANCE CORRIDOR: No LOCATION: 4281 Old Three Notch'd Road, at intersection of Brown's Gap Road (Rt. 680) and Seven Hills Lane TAX MAP /PARCEL: 05700 -00 -00 -02600 MAGISTERIAL DISTRICT: White Hall Character of the Area and Adioining properties: The subject property is located at 4281 Old Three Notch'd Road and is used by both Mountain Plain Baptist Church and Daylily Preschool. Two buildings, a small outdoor play area, and adequate parking (5 delineated spaces with bumper blocks and an additional gravel parking area) are existing. The surrounding area is primarily rural single - family residential. Mount Plains Cemetery is located just past the intersection of Old Three Notch'd Road and Browns Gap Turnpike. Background: The property is zoned RA, Rural Areas. The Mountain Plain Baptist Church and associated parking are currently located on this property. Along with the church, Daylily Preschool also currently uses the property, but is not affiliated with the church. The initial request of the applicant was to amend SP -2009- 022 to increase the maximum enrollment from 10 to 23. During the review process, the applicant modified the request to a maximum enrollment of 20. 2 teachers and 1 teaching assistant (3 staff) will supervise 20 children. The school will continue to be open from 8:30 AM to 12:30 PM, Mondays through Fridays. SP- 2009 -022 previously allowed for parents to drop off their children after 8 AM and pick up their children by 1 PM. However, the Health Department is currently only able to recommend approval of the site to be used for 4 hours per day, Mondays through Friday, due to the requested increase in maximum enrollment. Applicant's Justification for the Request: Daylily Preschool currently operates on the lower floor of the Sunday School building only. The applicant is requesting to operate on both floors of the Sunday School building and increase the maximum enrollment of Daylily Preschool to 20 children. The Building Official can only recommend approval of lower floor daycare occupancy unless required improvements are made to the upper floor [Attachment C]. The teacher /child ratio will be six or seven children to one teacher. The hours of operation will be 8:30 AM - 12:30 PM. The ages of the children will be 16 months to five years old. Prior to improvements being made to the upper floor, the applicant would like to have up to 17 children (state cap for Social Services) on the lower floor (Phase 1). Once improvements are completed as required by SP- 2012 -008 - Daylily Preschool Planning Commission: September 11, 2012 the Building Official, the applicant intends to have 17 children on the lower floor and 3 children on the upper floor (Phase II). The applicant has provided the following description and justification. Daylily Preschool will continue to play an essential role in the community because it will prepare children socially, cognitively, and physically for kindergarten. The children will still learn reading, art, math, science, and social skills in a safe, nurturing environment. They will be actively involved in small group learning centers and instruction on a daily basis. A reading specialist will individualize instruction and implement the children's lessons on a daily basis. The intention is to continue to serve the children in the Western Albemarle community. The school will still operate from an existing building with no exterior building or parking lot changes planned. A preschool in Western Albemarle helps reduce the traffic from the Crozet area to Charlottesville. Planning and Zoning History: SP- 2009 -022 Daylily Preschool — Approved 02/10/2010 — maximum enrollment of 10 children Conformity with Comprehensive Plan: The Land Use Plan designates this area as Rural Areas in Rural Areas 3, which aims to preserve and protect agricultural, forestal, open space, and natural, historic and scenic resources /density, at a density of 0.5 unit /acre in development lots. This proposal is generally in keeping with the recommendations from the Comprehensive Plan for the Rural Areas. One relevant element of the Comprehensive Plan is the vision for the Rural Areas, which states: "Rural citizens supported by community meeting places, a basic level of services, and rural organizations and other cultural institutions at traditional rural scales, with opportunities to take part in community life and decisions. " Furthermore, a Guiding Principle for the Rural Areas states: "Recognize in the policy development that all of the following defining principles are important to the Rural Area: • Address the needs of existing rural residents without fostering growth and further suburbanization of the Rural Areas" The location and scale of the proposed use is consistent with the Rural Area Vision and guiding principles. Daylily Preschool will continue to serve those who live and work in this rural area. Staff Comment on SP20120008 — Request for a Amended Daycare Use in the RA, Rural Areas: Section 31.6 of the Zoning Ordinance below requires that special use permits be assessed as follows: Will the use be of substantial detriment to adjacent property? The increase in maximum enrollment from 10 to 20 children is not anticipated to have detrimental impacts to adjacent properties. Potential traffic implications are present at the fork at Browns Gap Turnpike and Old Three Notch'd close to Seven Hills Lane. However, the current traffic volume in the area is low. A traffic analysis to address traffic and safety concerns may be required in the future, should a request to further increase enrollment at this site be submitted. Will the character of the zoning district change with this use? 2 SP- 2012 -008 - Daylily Preschool Planning Commission: September 11, 2012 The character of the district is not anticipated to change with the increase in maximum enrollment. The request is consistent with the rural character of the area, as no changes to the exterior of the building are proposed. This use will mostly occupy interior space within the church and will continue to operate as it does currently in this building. Daylily Preschool currently operates on the lower floor of the building only. The Building Official has indicated that daycare occupancy of the upper floor of the building may only be permitted if all required improvements are accomplished [Attachment C]. Fire and Rescue staff shares the same concern, and is requiring a fire inspection of the upper floor also. The previous Fire and Rescue condition from SP- 2009 -022 only required inspections at the discretion of the Fire Marshall, since use was limited to the lower floor of the building. Will the use be in harmony with the purpose and intent of the zoning ordinance? The current daycare use is in harmony with the Rural Areas and the modified daycare use and accompanying increase in maximum enrollment is anticipated to continue to be compatible with this area. Will the use be in harmony with the uses permitted by right in the district? The request is consistent with the rural character of the area. Planning staff previously evaluated the daycare use for compatibility with the uses permitted by -right in the Rural Areas and found it to be compatible. The current request is also compatible. Will the use comply with the additional regulations provided in Section 5.0 of this ordinance? There are no additional supplementary regulations applicable to this use. Will the public health, safety and general welfare of the community be protected if the use is approved? The public health, safety, and general welfare of the community are protected through the special use permit process, which assures that the proposed use is appropriate in the location requested. Although there are no immediate safety concerns stemming solely from the proposed increase in maximum enrollment, Engineering staff has recommended that the entrances and parking be formalized to create a safer situation. The proximity of the skewed intersection in the public road may become a problem if traffic increases significantly in this area. Based on current traffic volumes and the level of use requested by the applicant, VDOT staff has provided no objections and Engineering staff has not determined the recommended improvements to be necessary at this time. So, the applicant has elected not to provide a traffic analysis at this time due to cost constraints. Should the applicant seek to further amend the special use permit conditions in the future, a traffic analysis may become necessary, and these improvements to access and parking may be warranted. Health Department staff has expressed concerns regarding water and septic capacity, but agrees that a maximum of 20 students and 3 staff can be reasonably accommodated. Health Department staff has stated that they must review any further requests for modifications to the use, as concerns with water and septic capacity may grow with an intensified use. 3 SP- 2012 -008 - Daylily Preschool Planning Commission: September 11, 2012 Summary: Staff finds the following factors favorable to this request: 1. The use is consistent with the Comprehensive Plan /Rural Area Plan. 2. The proposal provides a day care option for people who live and work in the area. 3. No detrimental impacts to adjoining properties are anticipated. 4. The renovations to the building, which are required for upper floor daycare occupancy, will enhance the site. Staff finds the following factor(s) unfavorable to this request: 1. The Building Official can only recommend approval with new conditions attached, as outlined below. 2. The Health Department can only recommend approval with new conditions attached, as outlined below. Recommended Action: Staff recommends approval of SP- 2012 -008, Daylily Preschool with the following conditions: 1. Development of the use shall be in general accord with the conceptual plan titled "Special Use Permit 200900022 Daylily Preschool," prepared by the County of Albemarle, signed by the applicant and dated December 4, 2009, and amended by the applicant and re- submitted on July 2, 2012 under SP201200008 (hereafter "Conceptual Plan "), as determined by the Director of Planning and the Zoning Administrator. To be in general accord with the Conceptual Plan, development shall reflect the following major elements within the development essential to the design of the development: • Location of buildings and preschool • Location of parking area and entrance to be used for the preschool • Relation of buildings and parking to the street • Site access including pick -up and drop -off locations and circulation as shown on the plan. Minor modifications to the plan which do not conflict with the elements above may be made to ensure compliance with the Zoning Ordinance. 2. The maximum enrollment shall not exceed 20 children. 3. The number of staff (teachers /teaching assistants) to supervise the children shall not exceed 3. 4. The hours of operation for the preschool shall not begin earlier than 8:30 A.M. and shall end not later than 12:30 P.M. each day, Monday through Friday. 5. The use shall not operate without the required licensure by the Virginia Department of Social Services, as required by Section 5.1.06 of the Zoning Ordinance. 6. The stairway enclosure and smoke detector installation improvements noted in the Building Official's letter of July 19, 2012 shall be accomplished prior to the start of Phase II (upper floor occupancy). 7. No portion of the building shall be used without Fire and Rescue approval. 8. No more than five children under the age of 2 -1/2 years are permitted. 9. No food preparation is permitted on -site. 10. No washing of clothes is permitted on -site. 0 SP- 2012 -008 - Daylily Preschool Planning Commission: September 11, 2012 Planning Commission Motion A. Should the Planning Commission choose to recommend approval of this special use permit: Move to recommend approval of SP- 2012 -008, Daylily Preschool, with conditions as stated in the staff report. B. Should the Planning Commission choose to recommend approval of this special use permit: Move to recommend denial of SP -2012 -008, Daylily Preschool. Should a commissioner motion to recommend denial, he or she should state the reason(s) for recommending denial. ATTACHMENTS Attachment A — Vicinity Map Attachment B — Conceptual Plan, dated December 4, 2009 and amended July 2, 2012 Attachment C — Building Official's Letter, dated July 19, 2012 Attachment D — Board of Supervisors Action Letter, dated February 19, 2010 5 SP- 2012 -008 - Daylily Preschool Planning Commission: September 11, 2012