Zoning Board of Appeals Meeting - October 23, 2018
STREAMING COPY IN PREPARATION — RECORDING AVAILABLE FROM THE ORIGINAL SOURCE
Zoning Board of Appeals Meeting - October 23, 2018
The City of Frederick Zoning Board of Appeals met on Tuesday, October 23, 2018, at 7:00 PM at City Hall. The board heard two conditional use requests, one continued variance request, and an administrative appeal. They also approved minutes from the August 28, 2018 meeting and deferred approval of April and May minutes.
Consent Calendar
- Approved the August 28, 2018 meeting minutes unanimously. The April 24, 2018 and May 22, 2018 minutes were deferred to the next meeting because not enough board members were familiar with them.
Public Comments & Testimony
- No general public comment was made under Agenda Item II.
- For ZBA18-863CU (tourist home), public speakers included Fred Michelle (202 College Ave), who asked for clarification on the definition of a meal, and Philip Clark (4 Clark Place), a B&B operator who supported the application. Courtney Ecademis (22 West South St) also spoke in support, praising the positive impact of the neighboring Airbnb.
- For ZBA18-563V (gas station variance), Jim McGarrin (1778 Valley Side Dr) raised environmental concerns, recommending an environmental assessment and a limit on the number of pumps. Debbie Thaxton (8101 Claiborne Ct) expressed concern for nearby well-water users.
- For ZBA18-686AA (administrative appeal), public comment was extensive. Fred Michelle spoke in favor of Airbnb generally. Brian Chaney (407 W 2nd St) and Aaron Marsh (11053 St. Andrew Dr) asked the board to dismiss the appeal, emphasizing economic benefits. Jim Smerson (35 E All Saints St) argued that short-term rentals constitute a commercial use and should require zoning permits. Julia Ferguson (20 E 2nd St) offered a balanced view, noting the code may need revisiting.
Discussion Items
- ZBA18-645CU – 351 Ballenger Center Drive: The applicant, on behalf of Ogden Newspapers of Maryland LLC, requested a conditional use to extend an existing 90-foot telecommunications monopole to 142 feet, add antennas, and expand ground equipment. Staff found the proposal met all criteria, and the applicant noted the extension was for AT&T wireless. The board unanimously approved the request.
- ZBA18-863CU – 20 E 2nd Street: The applicant, Julia Ferguson, requested a conditional use for a tourist home (basement suite) in her owner-occupied residence. Staff recommended approval, noting no adverse impacts in nearly a year of operation. The board approved unanimously.
- ZBA18-563V – 23 Thomas Johnson Drive: This variance request was continued from the August meeting. The applicant sought to allow six pumps (12 fueling stations) at a convenience store with gas sales in an M1 zone, despite being only 34 feet from an R4 district where only one pump is permitted. The applicant presented expert testimony on legal self-created hardship, traffic planning, fuel storage technology, and groundwater flow. Public speakers raised environmental and public safety concerns. A motion to approve with a condition limiting the number to six pumps failed 1–3. A subsequent motion to deny passed 3–1 (Mr. West dissenting).
- ZBA18-686AA – Administrative Appeal: Phil LeBlanc, owner of a bed-and-breakfast at 4 Clark Place, appealed Zoning Determination 18-600ZD, arguing that short-term rentals should be classified as tourist homes requiring conditional use approval. Assistant City Attorney Rachel Deepo argued the determination was informational and not appealable, and that the appellant lacked standing. After hearing public testimony and board discussion, the board reached a consensus to continue the matter to the November meeting to adopt formal findings that the appeal is not within their jurisdiction and that a letter should be sent to the Mayor and Board of Aldermen recommending review of the Land Management Code.
Key Outcomes
- Unanimously approved ZBA18-645CU (telecom facility expansion).
- Unanimously approved ZBA18-863CU (tourist home).
- Denied ZBA18-563V (gas station variance) by a 3–1 vote.
- Continued ZBA18-686AA (administrative appeal) to the November meeting for adoption of written findings, including a recommendation to the Mayor and Board of Aldermen to consider updating the Land Management Code.
- Deferred approval of April and May 2018 minutes to the next meeting.
Note: The agenda included an election of officers under Board Business, but this item was not addressed during the meeting.
Meeting Transcript
Good evening, everybody. Uh, welcome to the October twenty third, twenty eighteen mid eight meeting of the City of Frederick Zoning Board of Appeals. Uh, welcome everybody. Thanks for coming out. Uh, before we get started on tonight's business, I'd like to give a little bit of brief information and background about the Zoning Board of Appeals, what our authorities and responsibilities are, um, and then go over how the proceedings will go in tonight's cases, just to make sure that everybody's clear on what our rules of procedure are and see if anybody has questions along those lines. So it's the responsibility of the zoning board of appeals to authorize on appeal in specific cases a variance from the terms of the city's zoning regulations to hear and decide special exceptions to the terms of the zoning regulations, and to hear and decide the appeals of agreed parties when it's alleged that there's an error in any order requirement decision or determination made by an administrative officer in the enforcement of division one of the land use article of the annotated code of Maryland, or any law adopted under that division, which includes the City of Frederick's land management code or the LMC as we call it. Members of the Board of Appeals are all volunteers. We're all residents of the city. Four members constitute a quorum of the board. We do have a fifth member who is on the way, but we have four, and so we have a quorum to move forward with tonight's business. Board is also supported in our activities by city staff. Just for everybody's benefit, I'd like to introduce those individuals who are supporting us tonight. To my far right and everybody's far left is Ms. Sherry Kelly. She is a planner with the planning department in the City of Frederick. Seated next to Ms. Kelly is Mr. Scott Waxter. He is an assistant attorney with the city's attorney's office. And then sit next to Mr. Waxner is Ms. Gabrielle Collard. She is the division manager of current planning for the City of Frederick. And then to my far left, and everybody else's far right is Ms. Jessica Murphy. She's an office manager with the planning department. And in addition to her many, many numerous duties, she supports the ZBA in our activities and make sure that we keep everything straight here before everybody and stay in line with our rules of procedures. As I mentioned before, we have uh really sort of two categories of appeals that uh the ZBA hears. Um and tonight we have cases that fall into both those categories. So I'll go ahead and go through the rules of procedures, which are a little bit different depending on the type of appeal that happens to be before the board. Um our procedure for tonight's cases for variances and special exceptions. Um I'll call the case by the case number. If the applicant's present, if they could just please indicate that they're here for us, that'd be great. Um I'll then ask for the staff report. The staff will read and enter their entire report into the record. At the end of the staff report, the staff may make a recommendation or recommendations regarding this case. Um that's one element that the board uses in our determination, but not the only element in our decision making process. Um following the staff report, I'll ask the applicant to give a statement during which time the applicant can clarify, expand on their application or anything in the staff report or provide the board with additional information that might be useful in our decision making. Members of the board may ask questions of the applicant uh during that period. Following the applicant's testimony, I'll call for any public comments with regards to the case. Any member of the public may offer testimony either uh support or in opposition of the particular case or to provide information to the CBA that you feel might be useful to us in our decision making process. Um following public testimony, I'll ask the applicant if they want to make any closing statements or address any points that were raised during the public testimony. Um, and I will then close the public testimony portion of the case. Um I'll then ask for a motion from the board. Um three members of the board must vote in the affirmative for any motion to pass. We also have tonight a um case uh for somebody who is uh an aggrieved party appealing the decision of a zoning administrator in the city of Frederick. For those types of cases, we handle a different set of rules of procedures. Um call the case by the number if the applicant is here if they can give us a short wave, that would be great. Um I will then ask for any presentation of any papers constituting the record of the action that's going to be appealed. So we have documentation that's already been provided to us as part of the record.
openpublica.com