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Home My WebLink AboutSP200000040 Action Letter ':;().~~'ii~:, i.~. ·-µ,i Hlf ~.J\ I"~~-'I -<'--J" _ :.' l..~." . .:. .......,I,~~ \{~~~/ COUNTY OF ALBEMARLE Department of Planning & Community Development 40 I \lclntire Road, Room 218 Charlottesville. Virginia 22902-4596 (804) 296 - 5823 Fax (804) 972 - 4012 October 18, 2000 R Reynolds Cowles, Jr POBox 278 Free Union, VA 22940 RE: SP-2000-40 Blue Ridge Equine Partners, Tax Map 30, Parcel 11 0 Dear Mr Cowles The Albemarle County Board of Supervisors, at its meeting on October 11, 2000, unanimously approved the above-noted request Please note that this approval is subject to the following condition 1, The clinic shall be for equine care only and shall be operated in accordance with the plan deSCribed in the applicant's description (attached to the staff report for SP-00-040 as Attachment D), and the information contained in the letter dated July 23, 1997 (sent to homeowners and attached to the staff report as Attachment E), with the addition of the operation of the isolation barn deSCribed in the application for this permit In the event that the use, structure or activity for which this special use permit is issued shall not be commenced within eighteen (18) months after the issuance of such permit the same shall be deemed abandoned and the authOrity granted thereunder shall thereupon terminate, For purposes of this section, the term "commenced" shall be construed to include the commencement of construction of any structure necessary to the use of such permit within two (2) years from the date of the Issuance thereof which IS thereafter completed Within one (1) year Before beginning thiS use, you must obtain a zoning clearance from the Zoning Department Before the Zoning Department will issue a clearance, you must comply With the conditions in this letter For further Information, please call Jan Sprinkle at 296-5875 If you should have any questions or comments regarding the above-noted action, please do not heSitate to contact me Sincerely, . .. /) ~ V~~y~ /~) Director of Planning & co~munlty ~velopment VWC/Jcf Cc Amelia McCulley Steve Allshouse Jack Kelsey Bob Ball, VDOT Tex Weaver Paul R. Stephens and R. Reynolds Cowles, Jr., dba a partnership, request a special use permit for Lot 68 in the Hickory Ridge Subdivision to allow operation of an equine veterinary hospital and office. The original building was constructed as a horse drawn carriage showroom and repair facility. The adjoining stable is a customary center aisle a horse barn. The carriage building lends itself to easy conversion to an equine veterinary office and surgery. The existing landscaping beautifully screens this building from Mockernut Lane. Currently the building needs extensive outside repair and maintenance. It now houses a boot las t shop and landscaping equipment. The barn is now rented as an equine facility. Adjoining paddocks are also in use. Blue Ridge Equine Clinic- our veterinary rHactice and hosf)ital now oflerarAs under a special use permit at 4699 Catterton Road, 2 miles away from the Hickory Ridge site. We have expanded to our limits on the present property and need room to fully service the needs of our clientele. We currently Ilave four equine veterinarians and operate a full service surgical and hospitalization facility. We conduct a large ambulatory practice from our site. There are several horses seen as outpatients at the clinic each day. INe believe that the Hickory Ridge site lends itself to such a conversion Without affecting the character and beauty of the site and makes full use of [t18 original intended use as an equine facility. 8 -l:j~ I" , " ":-.1 ~:' : ,I. A TT ACHMENT E July 23, 1997 To: Hickory Ridge Homeowners Paul Stephens and Reynolds Cowles - equine veterinarians propose to move our equine veterinary clinic to the Hickory Ridge Carriage Facility and barn - Lot #68 in the PUO. This lot was originally used as an equine facility and is zoned for business. Our use would be congruous with the initial plan. Blue Ridge Equine Clinic is composed of four veterinarians- ors. Stephens, Cowles, Dagner and Casinella. 80% of our practice is ambulatory on the farms of Albemarle, Orange, and Nelson counties. \¡Ve enjoy an active equine referral practice to our surgical and hospitalization ser¡ice now based on Catterton Road. This would be housed in the barn and carriage (clinic) building at Hickor¡ Ridge. Our referrals are for the diagnosis of complex lameness and surgical problems, along with medical cases. Surgery and lameness is (he bulk , of our case load and we operate a wide variety of orthopedic and gastrointestinal conditions. Or. Paul Stephens is a board certified surgeon and chief of that service. Our plans for Hickory Ridge are as follows: 1) The existing buildings would be utilized as is. 2.) The only interior changes will be made in the carriage building and this consists of creation of a surger¡ suite in the back great room. 3,) Both the carriage building and the barn will be resided to beautify and protect the bUildings. 4,) EXisting fences do not conform to lot boundaries. These fences would be replaced 5.) \¡Ve will have only two small port-a-paddocks for hospital cases and will not utilize the existing paddocks running out to 665. 6) \¡Ve would propose that the Bowers Trust allow us to reseed, fertilize and create an esthetiC turf on these areas. 7 ) \¡Ve WIll use existing plantings as is, 8.) The small white barn in the lower SW corner is split with the property line. We propose to the homeowners that it be painted and repaired as we would use our half as a tractor shed. 9.) 'IIV e will create a small 40 x 80 level area in back of the bUilding where eXIsting mulch piles now stand. This will be an exercise ring for evaluation of lameness cases. This area will be tightly fenced. The surface will be well maintained and watered. As you are currently aware the existing buildings at Hickory Ridge are in disrepair. We will beautify and maintain this area in a manner fitting for a referral equine hospital. We feel our present facility speaks for itself and invite everyone to come and observe the present clinic. There are a number of common questions that we would anticipaie and would offer these comments for your consideration. Q. What kind of traffic will use the facility? A. We have four practice vehicles and four lay employees who would drive to the clinic each day. We have an average of two horse trailers visiting daily Monday through Friday. On the average we have a night visit once ever¡ two weeks for an emergency surger¡. These are usually concentrated in the spring during foaling season. Q. How will animal waste be handled? A. 'lIVe will containerize all stall waste and it will be disposed of off the property. Q. What about dead animals? A. There are occasionally carcasses to dispose of whether due (0 euthanasia or an animal that died. VVe have a disposal service that picks up such cases. ,f':., dead animal will be enclosed completely in a holding area until picked up. Q. VVhat about chemical wastes? A. lIVe comply fully with all environmental and OSHA regulations, vVe are strong environmentalists. Our disinfectant use is primarIly chlorhexidene whIch is extremely safe. Plain soap and water does most of the job. \¡Ve use about 1 gallon of a cold sterilization agent - glutaraldehyde - a month for surgical instruments and this goes in the normal septic system in veri small quantities, Q. How about X-rays or nuclear wastes? A. Our X-ray machines are used mainly on the farms and are portable. IjVe will have one machine in the clinic building and all radiation safety standards required by the state are followed. There would be no scatter outside the area. \¡Ve use a radionucletlde as licensed by the NRC for diagnosis of bone problems in the horse. This IS about 4 cases per month. These animals are isolated for 48 hours in our barn until they return to normal background levels. The stall bedding is tleld for 4 days until normal and then dispensed of in a normal fashion. These procedures are strictly 1 monitored and all regulations are complied with. There is no danger to our workers or to anyone off site. Q. What about exterior lighting? A. We will use existing courtyard lights at night when a case is coming in and then the lights will be turned off. In the barn, /ights will be on if we have technicians there è¡ night taking care of cases. 'vVe will need a small lighted sign at the entrance of 665 to guide horse trailers at night. This sign will be turned on when a case is expected and turned off after arrival - perhaps on for 2 hours at a time. Our proposed sign would be 18" x 32" and tastefully simple. Please see our current sign at Catterton Road. In summary, we are all excited with the prospect of utilizing the wonderful carriage facility at Hickory Ridge to house Blue Ridge Equine Clinic. Vlfe strongly beHeve that you will find us to be good neighbors and thai our renovations and enhanced esthetics will add beauty and value to our community. If you have questions do not hesitate to call Brian or Sam or Drs Cowles and Stepnens directly. We would love the opportunity to show you what we do and what our plans are and to answer any questions or concerns that you might have. ,A. free flow of communication usually dispels problems and we welcome such. Sincerely Yours, R. ~dS Cüwle¿t, Jr/v\ /(¿;'7~fi /! ~fc y ~ / .f------- Paul R. Stepher)s, D. \j,IVl. ./ ,,/" / :/J ~-/-;/ /' ,//.. /~- , (0~,' " / ( ( <: \" j ".;,... I I \ I I