Zoning Board of Appeals Meeting - September 23, 2014: Variance and Appeal Decisions
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Zoning Board of Appeals Meeting - September 23, 2014
The City of Frederick Zoning Board of Appeals met on September 23, 2014, at 7:00 PM in City Hall. The board addressed two major items: a variance application by Frederick Community College for signage exceeding Land Management Code limits, and an appeal of the Planning Commission's approval of the Crumland Mixed Use Master Plan. The board approved some variances for the college and denied others, and after hearing oral arguments, the board voted to uphold the Planning Commission's decision on the Crumland plan.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of Minutes: The board unanimously approved the minutes of the July 22, 2014 meeting.
Public Comments & Testimony
- No general public comments were offered for zoning matters not related to the cases.
Discussion Items: Variance Application – Frederick Community College (ZBA14-580V)
The applicant, Frederick Community College, requested variances to Section 864 of the Land Management Code to allow larger and additional signage at its two entrances on Opossumtown Pike. The property has 1,175 feet of frontage on a single roadway with two access points. The existing signs are legally nonconforming. The proposed new signs were substantially larger than permitted. Staff recommended supporting a variance for two freestanding signs (one per entrance) but not for increases in individual sign size, height, or changeable copy area. After a presentation by the applicant's representatives (John Anzinger, Jack Hume, and FCC staff), board members discussed the unique challenges of the property and the need for visible signage. The board voted on five separate variance requests.
Discussion Items: Appeal – Crumland Mixed Use Master Plan (ZBA14-170A)
The appellant, Friends of Frederick County, appealed the Planning Commission's February 10, 2014 approval of the master plan for the Crumland Mixed Use project (approximately 535 acres on the west side of US Route 15). The appellant argued that the plan allowed development on "Tier 3" land, which the 2010 Comprehensive Plan designates for future growth after Tiers 1 and 2 are substantially developed (20-25 years). The appellant contended the Planning Commission acted arbitrarily by relying solely on water availability (PRWSA) to justify immediate development of Tier 3 property. The appellees (the developer and the City Planning Commission) argued that the annexation of Crumland 2 in 2012 (Resolution 12-30) legally brought the land into the city and that the annexation resolution already determined the phased development, including immediate development of Tier 3 land. They also argued the appeal was untimely and that the Planning Commission's decision was supported by substantial evidence. The board heard oral arguments from Benjamin Aram (appellant), Bruce Dean (developer's attorney), and Scott Waxter (city attorney).
Key Outcomes
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Variance – Frederick Community College:
- Approved variance to allow two freestanding signs (one per entrance) — vote 4-0.
- Approved variance to increase total lot signage from 32 sq ft to 64 sq ft (32 sq ft per sign) — vote 4-0.
- Denied variance to increase individual sign height from 6 ft to 9.5 ft — vote 4-0.
- Denied variance to increase maximum size per sign beyond 32 sq ft — vote 4-0.
- Denied variance to increase changeable copy area from 12 sq ft to 54.7 sq ft — vote 4-0.
- The board noted that a text amendment addressing institutional signage is pending with the Mayor and Board.
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Appeal – Crumland Mixed Use Master Plan:
- The board voted to deny the appeal and uphold the Planning Commission's decision. The board found that the comprehensive plan's Tier 3 designation does not prohibit development of annexed land, and that the Annexation Resolution 12-30 had already determined the phasing and development timeline. The board concluded the Planning Commission's decision was not arbitrary, capricious, discriminatory, or illegal.
- A formal written opinion will be adopted at the October 20, 2014 meeting.
Meeting Transcript
Good evening, everybody. Welcome to the September 23rd, 2014 meeting of the City of Frederick Zoning Board of Appeals. We have definitely have a couple cases on the agenda tonight. I'd like to start out, if I could, by just kind of going over our basic rules of uh procedure, uh how we're going to handle things tonight, see if anybody has any questions to that. Uh, and then we can get on to tonight's business, if that's all right. So the members of the zoning board of appeals, we are all volunteers. We are all residents of the City of Frederick. Uh we are appointed by the mayor, and those appointments are confirmed by the Board of Alderman. We have five voting members and one alternate member. Uh all five voting members are here tonight, and tonight Mr. Kennedy will be our alternate. But if for some reason uh that somebody had to recuse themselves from a particular case, Mr. Kennedy will be voting on tonight's case. Um supporting the boat board of zoning appeals in our work in our activities or some members of the city staff. So just for everybody's uh edification, I'll start to my far right and your far left. Uh Mr. Jeff Love, who is a planner with the City of Frederick. And then coming in the door is Ms. Rachel DePo. She is an assistant attorney with the City of Frederick that supports the zoning board of appeals. And next to Ms. DePo 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. Leo Ortiz. She is the office manager with the planning department, and among her many, many duties is to also support the zoning board of activity uh appeals in our activities. So the way that we'll handle tonight's uh cases. We actually um have uh a little bit of uh split personality going on here tonight. Um our first case will be handled under our normal rules of procedure. The way that we'll handle that is that the um chair will ask if the appellant um appellant, I'm sorry, if the applicant is here tonight. Um and if you could just wave and let us know that you're here, uh that would be great. The first thing we'll do is we'll ask for the staff report. Staff will read the staff report into the record, and at the end of the staff report, staff will make a recommendation or recommendations regarding that case. Um that is one element that we will use in our decision making tonight, but it is not the only element. Uh following the staff report, we will ask the applicant if they would have anything that they would like to add or clarify uh to the comments that staff made, anything that they feel that we need to be enlightened on. Um during that time, members of the board may ask questions of the applicant. Uh following the applicant's comments, we will see if we have anybody here from the public that would like to give public testimony regarding the case. Um following any public testimony that we have, we'll have the applicant come back up and have any closing remarks that they would like to give, and that will end sort of the testimony phase of the case. Um following that, uh the chair will call for a motion from the board, just for everyone's knowledge. Uh by our rules of procedure, a motion requires four votes out of five to pass, so a simple majority does not pass a motion of the board. We need four votes uh for a motion to pass through uh our procedures. Um in addition, uh if you happen to come to the microphone tonight and you're speaking, if we could have your name and your address for the record, that would be great. And if you happen to leave and come back to the microphone, if we could have your name again. Uh the reason for that is is that all of our proceedings are recorded, and anyone who is aggrieved by a decision of the zoning board of appeals has the right to appeal that to the Circuit Court of Maryland. And when the judge listens back to the audio recording of tonight's cases, that helps them straighten out at any one time who happened to might be speaking. Um questions regarding our first regular appeal tonight. No. We also have an appeal of a decision of the planning commission uh tonight, and that's a little bit more uh formal and involved activity that we have. And um if we can uh after we uh when we get to that point in tonight's proceedings, I'll briefly go over what we call the special rules of procedure that will govern that. Um but things are a little bit different there.
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