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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Zoning Board of Appeals Meeting - August 25, 2015

Zoning Board of Appeals — Tuesday, August 25, 2015

BodyFrederick, Maryland

SessionZoning Board of Appeals

DateTuesday, August 25, 2015

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 1:04:48

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:18

Good evening, everybody.

0:20

Welcome to the August 25th, 2015 meeting of the Zoning Board of Appeals for the City of Frederick.

0:36

I'm back after a month out, so I'm glad to be back and uh with you all again.

0:41

Uh I think that's the first meeting that I've missed in all my years.

0:44

So yeah.

0:46

It broke my record.

0:47

Broke my streak.

0:50

Uh for uh the edification of the folks who might be here in the audience, or for anybody who happens to be watching at home, a little background about the zoning board of appeals.

1:01

Uh the members of the zoning board of appeals are all volunteers.

1:05

We are all residents of the city of Frederick.

1:07

We are appointed by the mayor, and those appointments are confirmed by the Board of Aldermen.

1:13

Uh in addition to the members of the zoning board of appeals, uh, we are also supported by members of the city staff in our duties.

1:23

Uh just uh for everyone's knowledge to my far right and uh your far left is Ms.

1:29

Rachel Depo.

1:30

She is an assistant attorney with the City of Frederick, Frederick.

1:33

Next to Ms.

1:34

DePo is Ms.

1:35

Gabrielle Dunn.

1:36

She is the uh division manager of current planning.

1:41

And then to my far left and everyone else's far right is Ms.

1:45

Lee Arties.

1:46

She is the office manager with the planning department, and in addition to her many, many, many tasks, she supports the ZBA in our tasks and our efforts.

1:57

Uh procedures for tonight.

2:00

Uh typically, if we uh have a case, I will call the case if the applicant is here uh and available.

2:10

A little bit of acknowledgement would be great.

2:12

We will ask for the staff report.

2:15

Um at the end of the staff report, the staff will make a recommendation regarding in the case.

2:20

That is one criteria that we use in our deliberations, but it is not our only criteria.

2:26

After that, we will hear from the applicant.

2:29

Uh the applicant can uh elaborate or clarify anything in the staff report or anything they wish us to know about the case.

2:36

Members of the board may ask the applicant questions.

2:39

Uh following the applicant's comments, we'll see if anybody from the general public uh has any testimony that they would like to offer regarding the case, and then following that uh we have the applicant uh kind of summarize and uh have the final uh say on the public testimony.

2:57

Uh after public testimony is closed, I will call for a vote from uh the members of the board.

3:04

Uh we need a majority of our five member voting members uh to pass uh any motion that's before the zone, the board of zoning appeals.

3:14

Um if you happen to be speaking regarding tonight's case, uh we'd like your name and address for the record when you come to the microphone.

3:21

The reason for that is that all of our proceedings are being recorded, and 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.

3:34

Uh that helps the judge who might be reviewing the case identify who happens to be speaking at any one time.

3:42

So do we have uh any questions uh from uh the audience related to tonight's proceedings?

3:51

All right.

3:53

Seeing none, we have a couple of housekeeping matters uh on the agenda uh that we take care of every month, and uh then we'll get on to the meat of tonight's j agenda.

4:03

Uh members, uh item one under board business.

4:07

Uh our first item is review and approval of uh the July 28th, 2015 ZBA minutes.

4:14

I know that you have those minutes before you, and I will entertain a motion regarding them.

4:23

I move to approve the minutes from the July 28th meeting.

4:28

Have a motion for approval of the minutes from Mr.

4:31

Patchen.

4:32

Do we have a second?

4:34

A second.

4:35

Second from Ms.

4:36

Colby.

4:37

Do we have any further discussion of the minutes?

4:43

Seeing none, all those in favor of the motion signify by saying aye.

4:46

Aye.

4:47

Any opposed?

4:49

Abstain.

4:50

And I abstain as well, since you and I both missed the last meeting.

4:54

Uh but uh majority of members vote in the affirmative, and so the minute meetings are the meeting minutes are approved as written.

5:04

Item number uh B under board business is board elections of uh uh the board chair, vice chair, and uh secretary.

5:16

Uh members, we do this uh every uh year annually.

5:22

Uh we elect a chair, vice chair, uh, and uh secretary who helps hurt us uh on the minutes.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Procedural█████████████████████████████████████████████54%

Zoning And Land Use██████████████████████26%

Board Appointments███████8%

Quorum Rules█████6%

Legal Matters█████6%

Summary of Proceedings

Zoning Board of Appeals Meeting - August 25, 2015

The Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) of Frederick, Maryland, held its regular meeting on Tuesday, August 25, 2015, at 7:00 PM at City Hall. The board approved the July 28, 2015 meeting minutes, elected a chairman and vice chairman, continued one conditional use case to September 29, 2015, and began a detailed review of the proposed revised Rules of Procedure. The meeting adjourned before Zoning Determinations on the agenda were addressed.

Consent Calendar

Approval of July 28, 2015 Minutes: The board approved the minutes as written via voice vote. The chairman and another member abstained because they had missed the July 28 meeting.

Public Comments

No members of the public offered general comments on zoning matters.

Old Business

ZBA15-394CU – 602 Crossover Court: The applicant requested a 30-day continuance to the September 29, 2015 ZBA meeting. Staff explained that the property had not been posted in accordance with Section 301 of the Land Management Code (LMC), making the hearing improper without proper notice. This is the second continuance; no limit exists in current rules, but a continuation beyond 90 days would require new notice. A representative of the "Annual Farm Community Levels Association" (transcript name; likely the "Carrollton Manor" or similar community association) attended, noting strong community interest. The board voted unanimously to grant the 30-day continuance.

Discussion Items

Revision of ZBA Rules of Procedure: Staff presented draft rules originally written in 2010, updating the existing rules dated July 9, 1998. Key points discussed:
- Field trips / site visits: Members debated whether site visits should be required. Some argued they are valuable for context (e.g., the West Patrick Street outdoor lift case), while others felt they should not be a prerequisite and that members should be encouraged, not required, to visit sites individually or as a group. The consensus was to include discretionary language encouraging site familiarity without mandating attendance.
- Swearing of witnesses: The draft would require swearing in witnesses, a practice the board has historically not followed; the planning commission and HPC now do this.
- Cross-examination: To align with a recent appeals ordinance amendment, the rules must include cross-examination procedures.
- Abstention: Proposed language would treat an abstention as a "no" vote; members discussed tie-vote scenarios.
- Alternate member participation: A proposed rule would limit alternates to participating only in cases where they will vote. Some board members argued alternates should be able to ask questions and participate in discussions, similar to staff, though not vote.
- Quorum: The appeals text amendment establishes a quorum of four voting members (the draft said three); staff will correct this.
- Secretary position: The board likely will eliminate the secretary role because staff supports the ZBA and minutes are recorded; no final decision yet.
Zoning Determinations (ZD-15-48, ZD-15-58, ZD-15-61): These items were on the agenda but were not reached before adjournment.

Key Outcomes

Approved the July 28, 2015 minutes with abstentions.
Re-elected Jim Racheff as Chairman and elected another member (identified in the transcript as "Ms. Colby") as Vice Chairman. The secretary position was deferred pending rules revision.
Granted a 30-day continuance for ZBA15-394CU to September 29, 2015.
Directed staff to revise the draft Rules of Procedure based on the board's discussion, circulate them, post them for public notice, and return them for adoption at the September meeting.
No zoning determinations were made.

Note

The meeting transcript contains several garbled or inaccurate speaker names (e.g., "Mr. Patchen," "Mr. Butcher," "Dr. Ying") that do not match the agenda's list of ZBA members (Jim Racheff, Lawrence Aronow, Bob Sisson, Dixon Hicks, Stephen Colar, Lee Hand). The summary above therefore generally refers to board members collectively. Additionally, staff names in the transcript ("Ms. DeHilk," "Gabrielle Dunn") differ from the agenda's listing (Gabrielle Collard).

Meeting Transcript

Good evening, everybody. Welcome to the August 25th, 2015 meeting of the Zoning Board of Appeals for the City of Frederick. I'm back after a month out, so I'm glad to be back and uh with you all again. Uh I think that's the first meeting that I've missed in all my years. So yeah. It broke my record. Broke my streak. Uh for uh the edification of the folks who might be here in the audience, or for anybody who happens to be watching at home, a little background about the zoning board of appeals. Uh the members of the zoning board of appeals are all volunteers. We are all residents of the city of Frederick. We are appointed by the mayor, and those appointments are confirmed by the Board of Aldermen. Uh in addition to the members of the zoning board of appeals, uh, we are also supported by members of the city staff in our duties. Uh just uh for everyone's knowledge to my far right and uh your far left is Ms. Rachel Depo. She is an assistant attorney with the City of Frederick, Frederick. Next to Ms. DePo is Ms. Gabrielle Dunn. She is the uh division manager of current planning. And then to my far left and everyone else's far right is Ms. Lee Arties. She is the office manager with the planning department, and in addition to her many, many, many tasks, she supports the ZBA in our tasks and our efforts. Uh procedures for tonight. Uh typically, if we uh have a case, I will call the case if the applicant is here uh and available. A little bit of acknowledgement would be great. We will ask for the staff report. Um at the end of the staff report, the staff will make a recommendation regarding in the case. That is one criteria that we use in our deliberations, but it is not our only criteria. After that, we will hear from the applicant. Uh the applicant can uh elaborate or clarify anything in the staff report or anything they wish us to know about the case. Members of the board may ask the applicant questions. Uh following the applicant's comments, we'll see if anybody from the general public uh has any testimony that they would like to offer regarding the case, and then following that uh we have the applicant uh kind of summarize and uh have the final uh say on the public testimony. Uh after public testimony is closed, I will call for a vote from uh the members of the board. Uh we need a majority of our five member voting members uh to pass uh any motion that's before the zone, the board of zoning appeals. Um if you happen to be speaking regarding tonight's case, uh we'd like your name and address for the record when you come to the microphone. The reason for that is that all of our proceedings are being recorded, and 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. Uh that helps the judge who might be reviewing the case identify who happens to be speaking at any one time. So do we have uh any questions uh from uh the audience related to tonight's proceedings? All right. Seeing none, we have a couple of housekeeping matters uh on the agenda uh that we take care of every month, and uh then we'll get on to the meat of tonight's j agenda. Uh members, uh item one under board business. Uh our first item is review and approval of uh the July 28th, 2015 ZBA minutes. I know that you have those minutes before you, and I will entertain a motion regarding them. I move to approve the minutes from the July 28th meeting. Have a motion for approval of the minutes from Mr. Patchen. Do we have a second? A second. Second from Ms. Colby.

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