Zoning Board of Appeals Meeting - April 22, 2014: Variance Approval and Entertainment Licensing Update
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Zoning Board of Appeals Meeting - April 22, 2014
The City of Frederick Zoning Board of Appeals met on April 22, 2014, at 7:00 PM in City Hall. The board approved minutes from the February 25, 2014 meeting, considered a variance application for roof-mounted signage, and received an informational update on proposed changes to the regulation of restaurants with entertainment.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of February 25, 2014 Minutes: The board unanimously approved the minutes as written (motion by Ms. Colby, second by Mr. Patchin; all in favor, none opposed).
Public Comments & Testimony
- No members of the public spoke during the general public comment period or on the variance case.
Discussion Items
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ZBA14-195V – Variance – 1550 Opossumtown Pike: The applicant, Dr. Mike Shodden (owner of Opossum Pike Veterinary Clinic, 8105 Clayborn Court, Frederick), requested a variance to Section 864(b)(10) of the Land Management Code to allow a 36-square-foot roof-mounted sign. The property’s frontage was reduced by a State Highway Administration road widening project on Opossumtown Pike, eliminating the area for a freestanding sign. Staff reported that the building’s roof design also limited options for attached signage.
- Staff recommendation: Approval of the variance, finding all seven criteria under Section 313(c) satisfied.
- Board discussion: A board member noted the proposed sign design was “utilitarian” and suggested the applicant consider a more aesthetically pleasing design to complement the building’s architecture, which the applicant agreed to consider.
- Motion: Mr. Butcher moved to approve the variance with enumerated findings of fact (including that the variance is not contrary to public interest, the situation was created by the road widening, the variance is the minimum necessary, etc.). The motion was seconded by Dr. Ying and passed 4-0 (all voting members present in favor).
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Information Item: Restaurants with Entertainment Initiatives: Gabrielle Dunn (Division Manager of Current Planning) presented an update on efforts to replace the current conditional use process for restaurants with entertainment with a standardized entertainment licensing system. The proposal aims to improve consistency, enforcement, and predictability for businesses, residents, and enforcement agencies (police, liquor board). Key points:
- The current conditional use process is cumbersome for enforcement; a licensing system would allow immediate municipal infractions (e.g., fines) for violations.
- Staff has held two workshops with the mayor and board (January and March 2014) and plans another in May 2014.
- The licensing would include standardized entertainment hours, a public notice component, and a possible review board for license renewals or revocations.
- Board members expressed concerns about preserving resident input, location-specific needs (e.g., noise), and the impact on the board’s workload if the conditional use is removed. Staff noted that the change would likely require a text amendment to the Land Management Code, which would go through the Planning Commission and mayor and board.
- No action was taken; the item was informational.
Key Outcomes
- Variance Granted (ZBA14-195V): The board approved the variance to allow a 36-square-foot roof-mounted sign at 1550 Opossumtown Pike, with the condition that the sign height not exceed 15 feet (the maximum allowed for freestanding signs in the GC district). The vote was 4-0.
- No Action on Entertainment Licensing: The board received the informational update but did not vote. Staff will continue developing the proposal and return to the mayor and board for further workshops.
Meeting Transcript
Welcome to the April 22nd, 2014 meeting of the City of Frederick Zoning Board of Appeals. I'll start off tonight by going over just a little bit about our procedures this evening and uh how we'll conduct tonight's uh business and we'll see if there's any questions from uh our one uh attendee in the audience. Uh and uh after we go through that, we'll go ahead and get on with uh tonight's cases. So um just very briefly since we might have some folks walking uh watching at home. Uh the zoning board of appeals, we are all volunteers. Uh we're all citizens of the city. Uh we're appointed by the mayor, and those appointments are approved by the board of aldermen. Um we have five voting members and one alternate. Uh tonight, Mr. Kennedy will be our alternate member. Um addition to the members of the board, we also have staff from the City of Frederick who supports us in our activities. Uh to my far right and to your far left, Mr. Jeff Love. He is a planner with the city's planning department. Next to Mr. Love is uh Ms. Gabrielle Dunn. She is the division manager of current planning. And then to my far left and your far right is Ms. Lee Artiz. She is the office manager for the planning department, and among her many duties is to also support the zoning board of appeals. Um procedures from tonight hopefully uh be pretty uh straightforward. Uh I will call your case. Uh since we only have one person here, I am pretty sure that our uh applicant is with us tonight. Um we'll first start off by having the uh staff report. The staff will read the report into the record, and at the end of the staff report, uh Mr. Love will give a recommendation uh concerning the case. Uh the staff report and the staff recommendation is one element that we use in our decision making. Uh but it is not the only element. Following the staff report, we will ask the applicant if they would like to add anything to the staff report, anything they'd like to elaborate on or uh discuss regarding the case. Following the applicant's comments, we will see if there is anyone from the public that would like to speak regarding the case. Um following that, we will see if the applicant has any uh closing comments or closing remarks that they would like to share with the board. That'll end our uh public testimony section uh of the case. I will then call for a motion from the board. Uh just for everyone's uh knowledge, uh, according to our current rules of procedure. Uh a motion of the board of the zoning board of appeals requires four votes in the affirmative to pass. So three out of five does not pass a motion. We need uh four votes to pass. Uh any uh motion before the board. Um you are speaking uh tonight, if we could have your name and your address for the record. If you happen to leave the podium and then uh return, if we could just have your name again, that's uh useful. Uh everything uh regarding tonight's proceedings is being recorded. That is because anyone who is aggrieved by a decision of the zoning board of appeals has the right to appeal that decision to the Circuit Court of Maryland. And um to have the people identify themselves helps the judge who's reviewing the case to sort of sort out who happens to be speaking at any one time. So any questions about tonight's uh proceedings. Uh seeing none, if uh anyone's got their cell phones uh with the volume up, if we could uh turn those down, uh that'd be great. Uh we've got a couple of short um housekeeping matters on the agenda for tonight, and then we'll get on with the case. Thank you. Board members, first uh item of business uh before us is review and approval of the February 25th, 2014 minutes. Uh we didn't meet last month, so that's why we have February's meeting minutes before us, and I will entertain a motion.
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