Frederick Zoning Board of Appeals Meeting - July 22, 2014: Conditional Use for Bed and Breakfast at 301 N Market Street
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Frederick Zoning Board of Appeals Meeting - July 22, 2014
The Zoning Board of Appeals met on July 22, 2014 at 7:00 PM at City Hall to consider one new business item: a conditional use application (ZBA14-441CU) for a bed and breakfast/tourist home with a ground-floor restaurant at 301 N Market Street. After a staff report, public testimony, and board discussion, the board unanimously approved the request with conditions.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of Minutes: The board approved the minutes from the May 27, 2014 meeting by voice vote with no opposition.
Public Comments & Testimony
- True Bagard (East Third Street resident and property owner) spoke in favor of the proposal, calling it a "wonderful idea and creative opportunity" that would benefit the area.
- Phil LeBlanc (owner of B&B on Clark) also expressed support, noting that the city would now have four bed and breakfasts, returning to the number from eight years ago. He welcomed the new business.
Discussion Items
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Staff Report: Gabrielle Dunn, Division Manager of Current Planning, presented the staff report. The property is zoned DB (Downtown Commercial and Residential) and is within the Historic Preservation Overlay. The applicant proposes to renovate the existing 5,000+ square foot building into a mixed-use space: a restaurant/café on the first floor and a single-family residence on the second and third floors, with three guest bedrooms available for rent as a bed and breakfast/tourist home. The applicant will reside on the premises. Breakfast for guests will be provided through the commercial café, not within the residence.
Staff classified the use as a "tourist home" under the Land Management Code (LMC) because it does not serve breakfast in the traditional bed-and-breakfast manner, but noted that the regulations are interchangeable. The staff found that the proposal meets all criteria for a conditional use, including consistency with the Comprehensive Plan, compatibility with the surrounding neighborhood, and compliance with Section 809 of the LMC. Staff recommended approval with a condition that a zoning certificate be obtained within two years.
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Parking Modification: Because the property is in the DB district and the building qualifies for a change-of-use parking exemption under Section 607 of the LMC, the applicant requested total relief from the off-street parking requirement (three spaces for guest rooms plus two for the residential unit). Staff supported this request, noting that on-street parking and public parking garages are available. The board agreed and included the modification in its findings.
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Applicant Presentation: Michelle Camden and Francis Grobashewski (applicants) confirmed that they intend to live in the building and comply with all conditions (no wedding receptions, no kitchen facilities in guest rooms, guest stays limited to 14 days per 30-day period, etc.). They stated that the project would contribute positively to the downtown community.
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Board Questions: Board members asked about the relationship between the restaurant and bed and breakfast, particularly regarding parking requirements. Staff clarified that the restaurant is a separate use permitted by right and does not trigger additional parking under the existing building exemption. The board confirmed that the conditional use approval covers the bed and breakfast/tourist home only.
Key Outcomes
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Motion: Member Colby moved to approve case ZBA14-441CU for a conditional use to operate a bed and breakfast/tourist home under Section 809 of the LMC, finding that the applicant meets all requirements as read into the record by staff. The motion included a modification to the minimum parking requirement pursuant to Section 607(C)(3)(a), based on the proximity of public parking. The approval is conditioned on the applicant applying for and receiving a zoning certificate under Section 312(G) within two years, or the approval becomes void.
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Second: Member Butcher seconded the motion.
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Vote: The board voted 4–0 in favor (Mr. Butcher, Mr. Patchant, Ms. Colby, Dr. Ying). The motion passed, approving the conditional use with the parking modification.
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Next Steps: The applicant must obtain a zoning certificate for the bed and breakfast/tourist home within two years. The restaurant use will be handled separately under a zoning permit. The board noted that the meeting had been rescheduled from June due to a lack of a quorum when several members worked election polls.
Meeting Transcript
Good evening, everybody. Welcome to the July 22nd, 2014 meeting of the City of Frederick Zoning Board of Appeals, or as we like to call it, the ZBA summer edition. So I see some new faces uh who haven't been with us before. Uh if I can, I'd like to start off by giving you a little background on our procedures tonight, and we'll go all over that, see if there's any questions. Uh after that, we got a couple of housekeeping uh items on the agenda to take care of, and then we'll get on with uh the cases for tonight. Uh members of the zoning board of appeals are all volunteers. We are all residents of the City of Frederick. Uh we have five voting members on the board and one alternate. Uh Mr. Kennedy will be our alternate for tonight. Uh also supporting uh the Board of Appeals in our activities are members of the City of Frederick staff. Uh just for your edification to my far right and to your far left is Ms. Gabrielle Dunn, and she is the division manager of current planning for the City of Frederick. And then to my far left and your far right is Ms. Lee Ortiz. She is the office manager with the planning department, and among her many duties is to also support the zoning board of uh appeals in our uh work. Um little bit on the process for tonight. Uh I will uh call your case. Uh if the applicant is uh with us, if you could just let us know that you're here tonight, that would be great. Um we'll start off by uh asking for the staff report. Uh at the end of the staff report, uh there will be a recommendation regarding the case. That's one criteria that the zoning board of appeals uses in our evaluation of tonight's case, but it is not the only criteria. Following uh the staff's report and recommendation, we will ask the applicant if they have anything that they would like to add or clarify regarding the staff report. Uh during that time, members of the board may uh ask the applicant uh questions uh regarding the case or uh particulars. Following the applicant's comments, we will see if uh there is anyone from the general public who would like to speak regarding the case. And then following our public testimony, we'll ask if the applicant has uh any closing remarks that they would like to make. Following that, we will close the public testimony uh portion of the case, and I will call for a vote from uh the members of the board. Just for everyone's knowledge, according to our rules of procedure, um, a motion from the zoning board of appeals requires four out of five votes to pass. So a simple majority does not pass a motion. We need four out of five votes to do so. Um also uh if you happen to be speaking tonight, uh the first time that you approach the microphone, if we could have your name and address for the record, and if you happen to leave the microphone and come back, uh if we could have your name again. Uh the reason for that is that all of tonight's proceedings are being recorded. Um and anyone aggrieved by a decision of the zoning board of appeals has the right to appeal uh our decision to the Maryland Circuit Court. Uh and that helps the judge who's reviewing the case sort out who might happen to be speaking at any one time when they listen back to the to the audio recordings. Um we have any questions uh regarding the procedures tonight. No, seeing uh none. If uh I could ask you guys all to turn down the volumes or set your cell phones uh to vibrate uh for this evening, that would be great. Uh as I mentioned, we've got a couple of housekeeping uh items on our agenda to start off with, and then we'll get on to the cases. Thank you. Uh members of the board, first item of business tonight is uh item one review and approval of the minutes from the May 27th, 2014 uh meeting of the ZBA. I will entertain a motion. I will entertain a motion move to approve. We have a motion to approve by Mr. Butcher. Do we have a second? I'll second. Second by Ms. Colby. Do we have any further discussion of the motion? Seeing none, we can take a simple voice vote for this.
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