The City of Frederick Zoning Board of Appeals held a public meeting on March 25, 2025, at 7:00 PM at City Hall. The board approved two major applications: a conditional use for a restaurant with entertainment (L'Afric) and a variance to allow additional gas pumps at a redeveloped convenience store along the Golden Mile. The board also approved the 2025-2026 meeting schedule.
Welcome to the March twenty-fifth, twenty twenty five meeting of the City of Frederick Zoning Board of Appeals. Before we get started with tonight's business, I always like to lead off with a little bit of background about the zoning board, our processes, and see if anybody's got any questions along those lines before we jump into tonight's cases. So it's the responsibility of the zoning board of appeals to authorize on appeal in specific cases, variants from terms of the city's zoning regulations to hear and decide special exceptions to the to the terms of the zoning regulations, and to hear it decide appeals of agreed parties where it's alleged there's been an error in an order requirement decision or determination made by an administrative officer in the enforcement of the city's land management code here in the city. Members of the board here of the zoning board of appeals, we are all volunteers. We are all residents of the city. If there's anything they'd like to clarify or expand upon or even present a different viewpoint than what was in the staff report. Members of the board here may ask the applicant at that time questions as well. Following the applicant's uh testimony, we will see if there is any public comment related to tonight's cases. It does not appear that we have a long list of uh people who are probably going to offer public comment, but uh under the terms of the land management code, uh any member of the public can give testimony on any of the cases that are before us tonight. So uh we will uh uh check and make sure uh that that is taken care of. Um and then following any public testimony we have, I will ask the applicant if they have any closing remarks that they would like uh to add. At that point, I will close the public testimony uh portion of the case and I will ask for a motion for the board. Um uh just for everyone's edification. A majority of the board members present will pass a motion that we have before us. So three out of five votes will pass uh any motion that we happen to have. Are there any questions or concerns about tonight's cases and the process? Well, pretty straightforward, and we are a pretty friendly uh group, so if any questions do happen to arise, right, just let us know, and we can certainly uh work through them. Um if you're following along on your agendas uh here in your packets or um uh on home tonight. Um uh that's item number one uh on our agenda, call to order and announcements. Item number two is general public comment about zoning uh in the city of Frederick. Um very, very rare occurrences. We have folks that come down and just want to pontificate about zoning in general. Um do we have any tonight? Seeing none, uh we will move on to item number three, which is approval from the minutes of our last meeting. Members of the board and your packet, you have the January 28th, 2025 meeting minutes. I will entertain a motion. Mr. Speaker, this is Bob Sisson. I move that we accept the minutes uh for 128-25 as written. We have a motion for from Mr. Sisson to uh approve the minutes as written. Do we have a second? I second the motion. We have a second from Mr. Hicks. Do we have any discussion of the motion? Seeing none, all those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed? Any abstained. Seeing none, the minutes from the January 28th, 2025 uh meeting are approved as written. Brings us to item number four. Swearing in of our witnesses. Um is planning on uh offering testimony uh before the zoning board of appeal, we ask that uh you be sworn in and you take up oath. Um we can do that uh as a group uh right now. So anybody who is planning on speaking, if you could can certainly stand, but if you can at least raise your right hand. And it doesn't harm anybody who doesn't know that they're gonna testify or not uh to go ahead and raise your right hand. Do you solemnly swear or affirm that the responses given in the statements made in this hearing before the zoning board of appeals will be the whole truth and nothing but the truth? If so, answer I do. Thank you all very, very much.