Zoning Board of Appeals Meeting – June 27, 2017
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Zoning Board of Appeals Meeting – June 27, 2017
The Zoning Board of Appeals met on June 27, 2017 at 7:00 PM at City Hall to consider two applications: a conditional use for a telecommunications tower at 110 Airport Drive East and a variance for a rear setback at 510 Culler Avenue. The board also approved prior meeting minutes and postponed officer elections.
Consent Calendar
- The minutes from the May 23, 2017 meeting were approved unanimously (4-0, with one abstention due to absence).
Public Comments & Testimony
- No members of the public spoke during general public comment or on either case.
Discussion Items
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ZBA17-182CU – Conditional Use, 110 Airport Drive East
- The applicant, Sean Hughes of Milestone Communications, requested approval to construct a 79-foot 6-inch monopole telecommunications tower (capable of supporting four additional carriers) with ground equipment at the Law Enforcement Center, owned by Frederick County. Staff recommended approval with conditions.
- Board members questioned the coverage area (Verizon RF engineer Mercy Luhanga explained it would relieve congestion and improve capacity), co-location efforts (applicant documented that existing towers within a mile were unsuitable), and visual impact on the Monocacy National Battlefield. Architectural historian Kate Cranda noted that the Section 106 review process with federal and state agencies is ongoing and must be completed before construction.
- No public testimony was offered.
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ZBA17-390V – Variance, 510 Culler Avenue
- The applicant, Gary Sandbar (builder) and owner Deborah Culler, requested a variance of 4 feet 6 inches from the required 30-foot rear setback in the R6 zone to build a 40x24 foot addition (including a garage, mudroom, and porch) to allow aging-in-place. Staff recommended denial, finding no unique or exceptional lot characteristics.
- Board discussion centered on the lack of practical hardship or undue hardship. The applicant noted alternatives (detached garage or side-load) but argued they were less desirable or neighbor-friendly. The owner stated she intended to stay in the home long-term.
- Dr. Ying expressed concern about precedent but ultimately voted against the motion to deny.
Key Outcomes
- ZBA17-182CU: Approved 4-0 with three conditions: (1) minor site plan approval and zoning certificate within two years; (2) before building permit, submission of a finding of no adverse effect, a memorandum of agreement for mitigation, or a finding that adverse impacts are acceptable under Section 106; (3) addition of level one screening (six-foot wide buffer with trees) around the fenced compound at final site plan.
- ZBA17-390V: Denied 3-1 (Dr. Ying opposed) based on staff findings that the lot lacked unique characteristics, the applicant was not deprived of rights common to other properties, and granting would provide a special privilege not available to others.
- Election of Officers: Postponed to the next month’s meeting due to the absence of one board member.
Board Business
- The board voted to postpone the election of officers until the next meeting when all members could be present (unanimous).
Meeting Transcript
Good evening, everybody. Welcome to the June 27th, 2017 meeting of the City of Frederick Zoning Board of Appeals. I see that we've got some uh new faces uh with us tonight. So uh we'll start tonight's meeting by giving you all a little bit of background on the ZBA and our processes uh for tonight that will follow just to see if there's any questions and kind of orient everybody. Uh the zoning board of appeals, uh we are a five-member board. We are all uh resident volunteers of the city. Uh we are appointed by the mayor, and those appointments are confirmed by the Board of Alderman. Uh the zoning board of appeals uh hears appeals to the land management code of the city of Frederick. Um and uh in our work, uh we are also supported by uh members of the city staff. And uh just for uh everybody's uh information to my far right and your far left is Ms. Rachel DePo. She is the assistant city attorney with the city. Uh next to Ms. DePo is Ms. Gabrielle Collard. Uh she is the division manager of current planning uh in the planning department for the City of Frederick. And then to my far left and your far right is Ms. Jessica Murphy, and among her many, many administrative duties in the planning department, uh she supports the zoning board of uh of appeals in all of our work. Um a little bit of background on tonight's processes. Uh I will uh start the meeting. We will swear uh all of our uh witnesses in, anybody who might happen to be testifying, and then we'll call the first case uh to come forward. Um I am assuming that all of our applicants are with us here tonight, but when I call your case, uh if you could just give me a little wave and let me know that uh you're here. Uh the first thing we'll do is we'll ask for the staff report to be read into the record. At the end of the staff report, the staff will make a recommendation regarding uh the application before us. That is one criteria that we use in our decision making process, but it's not the only criteria. Uh we will then ask the applicant if the applicant has anything that they would like to elaborate on, anything that they would like to clarify before the uh before the board. Uh board members uh may ask the applicant questions at the that time. Uh after the applicant speaks, we will see if anybody else here tonight uh wants to speak regarding the case. Anybody from the public uh is welcome to come and speak uh regarding tonight's matter. Uh after that, we'll have the applicant uh have an opportunity to have a closing statement and wrap up any thoughts that they might have, and that will close the testimony part um of the particular case. Uh following the testimony, I will ask for a vote from the members of the board. Uh there are five voting members here tonight, so three out of the five constitutes a majority, and that's what it needs for a motion to pass uh the board. Um a couple of things I mentioned earlier that we would ask uh anybody who is planning on speaking tonight, uh we'll swear you all in like you're on an episode of Perry Mason. Um then when you come to the microphone, we'll ask for your name and your address uh for the record. And if you happen to leave the microphone and come back, uh we uh will probably ask for your name again. The reason is that all of tonight's proceedings are being recorded, and anyone aggrieved by a decision of the zoning board of appeals has the right to appeal our decision to the Circuit Court of Maryland. And so when the judge is reviewing the audible tapes of uh the proceedings, uh those types of things help keep them uh clear on who happens to be speaking at any one time. Do we have any questions about tonight's proceedings? No. Well, um uh I will say for members of the board, because I'm sure you all have already silenced your cell phones or turned them off, but uh we get forgetful up here sometimes. So if everybody could uh put their phones on uh vibrate if uh possible. We have a couple of housekeeping measures on the agenda tonight, and then we'll get on with tonight's cases. Thank you. First item on the agenda tonight is what we call general public comment. If there is anybody here who is not speaking regarding one of the cases and just wants to give general comment on zoning in the city of Frederick, it has happened maybe three times in the last 15 years that I've been here. Seeing none, uh we will move on to item number three. Uh members of the board, you have before you uh the May 23rd, 2017 meeting minutes uh for your consideration and approval. I move to approve the minutes from uh the meeting on May 23rd 2017. We have a motion for approval from Mr. Patchin.
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