City of Frederick Zoning Board of Appeals Meeting - April 28, 2015
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City of Frederick Zoning Board of Appeals Meeting - April 28, 2015
The City of Frederick Zoning Board of Appeals met on April 28, 2015 at 7:00 PM at City Hall. The board considered two main items: approval of minutes from March 24, 2015, a final written opinion on an appeal concerning Frederick High School (old business), and a request for substitution of nonconforming use for a salon/day spa at 1201 North Market Street (new business). Public comments were heard on the new business item. The board approved both items with votes of 5-0 and 4-0 respectively.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of March 24, 2015 Minutes: The board voted 5-0 to approve the minutes from the March 24, 2015 meeting.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Gail Bradley (NAC 7 coordinator, resident of West 12th Street): Expressed concerns about increased daily traffic and parking impacts from the proposed salon compared to the occasional use of the funeral home. Noted that West 12th Street is already used by school buses, park overflow, and synagogue traffic, and parking on both sides would make the street impassable. Urged consideration of peaceful enjoyment and fire/rescue access.
- Mike Bradley (resident of West 12th Street): Supported the applicant's sincerity but raised concerns about parking enforcement, staff numbers, and potential future nonconforming uses. Emphasized the need for protections for residents.
- Jeff Arnt (resident of 1326 North Market Street): Had no issues with the proposed use but expressed concern that approving a less intensive nonconforming use would lower the bar for future substitutions.
- Charles Reiser (applicant’s son): Defended the applicant’s track record and noted that on-site parking is sufficient for current employee and client load. Emphasized the family’s commitment to restoring old properties.
Discussion Items
- Old Business – ZBA14-761A (Frederick High School Appeal): The board reviewed a draft final written opinion on findings of fact from the previous meeting. Staff attorney Rachel DePo noted two minor corrections: change language from “rebuilt in the same location” to “relocated on the same property” and update a citation from LMC 315E to LMC 301. The board agreed to these changes. The opinion affirmed the Planning Commission’s approval of the subdivision plat, finding that notice signs were properly posted and that LMC Section 507D (common access/usage) did not apply to a consolidation plat. Chair Racheff also commented on recent legislation transferring appeal authority to circuit court, noting concern about implications for citizen boards.
- New Business – ZBA15-178NCU (1201 North Market Street): A request to substitute the existing nonconforming funeral home use with a hair salon and day spa. Staff planner Jeff Love presented the staff report, recommending approval subject to conditions. The applicant’s representative, David Severn, argued the proposed use is less intensive than a funeral home in terms of traffic, noise, and other impacts. Applicant Mary Louise Riser testified about her business experience and plans to restore the property. Traffic consultant Mike Workowski compared trip generation, concluding peak-hour trips would be lower for the salon and that large funeral services often cause road closures. Board members discussed parking concerns; Chair Racheff suggested conditioning that staff park on-site first, but the board did not adopt that condition. The motion to approve included findings consistent with the staff report and a condition that the applicant obtain a zoning certificate by June 30, 2015.
Key Outcomes
- ZBA14-761A (Frederick High School Appeal): The board voted 4-0 to approve the final written opinion with amendments (language change to “relocated on the same property” and citation corrected). The opinion affirms the Planning Commission’s approval of the subdivision plat.
- ZBA15-178NCU (1201 North Market Street): The board voted 4-0 to approve the substitution of nonconforming use for a hair salon and day spa, subject to the condition that the applicant apply for and receive a zoning certificate/building permit by June 30, 2015, or the nonconforming use will cease. The board found the use to be in harmony with the comprehensive plan, that compliance with LMC Section 905C ensures no greater adverse impact, and that the proposed use has same or lesser effects than the existing funeral home.
- Retirement Recognition: Chair Racheff recognized Mr. Kennedy, who is retiring from the Zoning Board of Appeals after service since 1999.
Meeting Transcript
Good evening, everybody. Welcome to the April twenty eighth uh two thousand fifteen meeting of the City of Frederick Zoning Board of Appeals. Uh I see some uh new faces with us here tonight. So uh if everyone will bear with me, I'll at least give a brief overview of uh our procedures uh that we will file tonight, see if there's any questions uh along those lines from anybody that's here uh before we get on with tonight's cases. So members of the zoning board of appeals, we are all volunteers, we are all residents of the city. Uh we are appointed by the mayor, and those appointments are confirmed by the Board of Aldermen. In addition to the members of the zoning board of appeal, we're also supported in our work by members of the City of Frederick staff, and uh they may be speaking uh tonight regarding some of tonight's cases. Uh so to introduce them for everybody to my far far right and your far left is Mr. Jeff Love, so planner with the planning department here in the city. Next to Mr. Love is Ms. Rachel DePo. She is uh assistant attorney here with the uh City of Frederick. And then seated next to Ms. DePoe is Ms. Gabrielle Dunn. She is the uh division manager of current planning for the City of Frederick in the planning department. And then to my left and to your right is Ms. Leo Ortiz. She is the office manager for the planning department, and in addition to her many, many, many duties, uh, part of her activity is to support the ZBA in uh our efforts uh here this evening. Uh a couple of uh housekeeping uh matters regarding our procedures for tonight. Um if you are speaking on tonight's cases, uh, when you come to the microphone, we'd like your name and your uh address for the record. Um if you happen to leave the microphone and then come back for some reason and speak again, if you could just state your name again. Uh, the reason for that is that all of the proceedings tonight are being recorded. Anyone who is aggrieved by a decision of the zoning board of appeals uh has the right to appeal our decision to the circuit court. And when the circuit court judge might be reviewing uh the transcripts and the proceedings, that helps them sort out who might be uh speaking at any one time. Uh is there um oh, process for tonight's case. Sorry about that. Um I will uh call the case on the docket if we could at least have an indication that the uh party uh representing uh the case before us is here tonight. Um that would be great. I will ask for the staff report. Uh staff report will be read into the record. At the end of the staff report, the staff will make a recommendation or recommendations regarding the case. Um the members of the Board of Appeals will take that recommendation into consideration, but I want to be clear that is not our only criteria that we will use tonight. Following the staff report, we will see if the applicant has anything that they would like to add to the case, elaborate on, or information that they want to share with the board. Following the applicant's testimony, we will see if any members of the public wish to testify regarding the case. Following that, we will have the applicant have an opportunity to uh sum up one last time. The end of that, that will be the end of our public input that we take. We'll need to vote in the affirmative for that motion to pass. Any questions about tonight's proceedings? Pretty straightforward. Seeing none, uh I used to say in the old days, if anyone has a cell phone, uh today everyone has a cell phone. So if you could uh turn the ringers down on those or set them to vibrate, uh that would be great. Uh I'm pretty sure at least two of us have been guilty up here of not doing that in the past. Uh and when the macarena starts playing, it can be a little embarrassing for us. Uh so if we can do that, we have a couple of housekeeping matters on our agenda tonight in general business, and then we'll get on to the two cases that we have before us. Thank you. First item of business tonight under board business uh is review and approval of our minutes from the March 24th, 2015 meeting. Members of the board, you have those meeting, those minutes before you, and I will entertain a motion. Move to approve the minutes from March Trent.
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