City of Frederick Zoning Board of Appeals Meeting - March 19, 2013
STREAMING COPY IN PREPARATION — RECORDING AVAILABLE FROM THE ORIGINAL SOURCE
City of Frederick Zoning Board of Appeals Meeting - March 19, 2013
The Zoning Board of Appeals met on Tuesday, March 19, 2013, at 7:00 p.m. at City Hall in Frederick, Maryland. Chair Jim Racheff presided. The board approved minutes from February 26, 2013, granted a continuance for a non-conforming use case, and approved setback variances for an in-law suite addition after extensive discussion. Note: The transcript refers to some board members as Ms. Colby, Mr. Patchon, and Mr. Dacey, which do not match the agenda roster (Jim Racheff, Lawrence Aronow, Bob Sisson, Dixon Hicks, Stephen Colar, Lee Hand), likely due to transcription errors.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of the February 26, 2013 minutes: Moved by "Ms. Colby," seconded by "Mr. Patchon," approved without opposition. (Name discrepancy noted above.)
Public Comments & Testimony
- General public comments: None offered.
- ZBA13-88V public comment: Donald Lee, a candidate for mayor of Frederick (address 119 East Fifth Street), spoke in favor of the May family and builder Joe Devilbiss, citing his 30 years of work at the I-70 truck stop.
Discussion Items
- ZBA13-87NCI (Substitution of Non-Conforming Use, 329 East Second Street): The applicant requested a one-month continuance to the April 23, 2013 ZBA meeting. Staff supported the request. The board voted unanimously to grant the continuance.
- ZBA13-88V (Variance, 1102 Evergreen Avenue): Applicant Teresa May requested variances from the R6 district requirements: rear setback (30 ft required), front setback (25 ft required), and impervious surface ratio (ISR, 50% max). The proposal is a 1,150 sq ft addition for a handicapped-accessible in-law suite for her parents. Staff's report recommended approval, finding that the lot's shape and orientation (resulting from US 15 construction) created practical difficulties. Staff noted the lot is currently 51% impervious; the addition would increase it to 59% or 63% depending on driveway work. Discussion focused on whether permeable paving could reduce the ISR to 50% or below, making the ISR variance unnecessary. Board members also considered limiting the ISR variance with conditions. The board decided to separate the setbacks from the ISR and vote on setbacks only.
- The motion for setback variances was amended to specify "a one-story handicapped accessible in-law suite" to preserve the use, and to incorporate the seven findings of fact from the staff report.
Key Outcomes
- Minutes approved.
- ZBA13-87NCI continued to April 23, 2013.
- ZBA13-88V: Variance for front setback (25 ft) and rear setback (30 ft) approved, with the addition specified as a one-story handicapped accessible in-law suite. Vote was 4-0 in favor. The ISR variance was not voted on; it may be avoided if the applicant uses permeable materials to keep impervious surface at or below 50%. The board encouraged permeable options and did not grant a specific ISR variance. The case will proceed with that understanding.
Meeting Transcript
Good evening, everybody. Welcome to the March nineteenth, uh, twenty thirteen meeting of the City of Frederick Zoning Board of Appeals. Uh, see some new faces uh in the audience tonight, so if it's all right, I'll kind of go over a little bit about our procedures tonight, so everyone's clear on that uh before we get started with tonight's agenda. Um the members of the zoning board of appeals, we're all citizens of the City of Frederick. We are appointed by the mayor, and those appointments are confirmed by the Board of Alderman. Um for your information, uh, to my far right and to your far left. All the way on the end, Mr. Brandon Mark. He is a city planner with City of Frederick. Next to Mr. Mark is Ms. Gabrielle Dunn. She is the uh division manager of current planning. And then over on my far left and your far right, Ms. Leo Ortiz. She is the office manager for the planning department, and among her numerous duties. If you are the um applicant, we don't have a crowded room tonight, so you're probably okay. Mr. Mark will read the staff report into the record. At the end of the staff report, he will make a recommendation regarding the case. That is one element that we will use in our consideration of tonight's cases, but not the only element. Following the staff report, I will ask the applicant if they have anything that they would like to elaborate on, any additional detail, anything that they feel adds to the case or anything that they feel might need some clarification with regards to staff report. Following that, we'll call for public comment. And anyone who is interested in speaking regarding the case have opportunity at the podium to give their opinion. Following that, we will uh allow the applicant to sort of have the closing remarks. We'll then close public comment and I will call for a motion from the board. According to the bylaws of the zoning board of appeals, we need four votes in the affirmative to pass a motion. So tonight we will need all four members to vote in favor of any motion that happens to be for us uh to approve it. Uh when you uh approach the microphone tonight, um if we could have your name and your address for the record, uh that would be very helpful. If you happen to leave and come back to the microphone, I'll um might ask for you to state your name again. Reason for that is that all of tonight's proceedings are being recorded. Anyone that feels aggrieved by a decision of the zoning board of appeals has a right to appeal that decision to the Maryland Circuit Court. And when the judge reviews the um tape from tonight's meeting, uh that helps them straighten out at any one time uh who happened to might be speaking. Uh do we have any questions regarding tonight's proceedings? No. Um, if you anybody has any uh cell phone uh these days, if you could send them to to vibrate or silent, uh that would be great. Uh uh. And uh we've got a couple of housekeeping matters on the agenda tonight. We'll go ahead and handle those and then we'll head on to tonight's cases. Thank you all very much. First item on the agenda tonight under board business is approval of the February 26, 2013 meetings of the ZBA. Uh members, you have those minutes before you. I'll entertain a motion. Um I move to approve the minutes. Uh February 26, 2013, as written. We have a motion for approval by Ms. Colby. Do we have a second? Second. Second by Mr.
openpublica.com