Please forgive the length of this one, but there is too much information to condense without losing the important facts:
On August 4th, the Planning Commision
will meet to discuss:
1)
An ordinance in regards to a rezoning request by Cheryl A. Hessney,
Joshua D. and Sara T. Akers, and William C. Osborne for property at
470, 500, and 520 Montgomery Street (tax parcels 497 – ((A)) – 80
and 497 – ((27)) – 1 and 2) from R-2 Two-Family Residential to
B-3 General Business. The property contains approximately 1.5
acres and is scheduled as Residential in the Future Land Use Map of
the Christiansburg Comprehensive Plan. The Public Hearing is
set for August 5, 2008.
Reading the above clip from the Agenda
can give you an idea of how confusing this process can be to the
average citizen. This is further complicated when information as to
what type of business is proposed is not provided.
A
quick call to the Planning Dept. and I found that property at 470 is
the property that actually needs the change in order for the owner to
establish a Bed and Breakfast in a wonderful old historic building. A
great use for such a structure.
The
2 additional properties are being added in order to circumvent the
need for Spot Zoning (which is illegal). Since one of these
properties abut an area already Zoned Commercial, incorporating those
properties into the request means that the zoning change would appear
contiguious rather than spot zoning.
Where
it is noted that the Zoning would be changed from R-2 to B-3 is a
Zoning issue and does not necessarily indicate any of the criteria
involved in the Comprehensive Plan. In order to more fully understand
what the proposed change would create from a Zoning perspective, one
would need to go to the Existing
Land Use section of Christiansburg's Comprehensive Plan. One
would then need to go to the Zoning
Ordinances for clear definitions of what is
allowed to exist in each of the different zoning categories.
A
review of the Zoning Ordinance shows that Bed and Breakfast
establishments are not allowed in R-2 zoned areas. In fact, Bed and
Breakfast establishments are only eligible for placement in MU-1 and
MU-2 zoning areas with a Conditional Use Permit or in B-3 General
Business by-right (no special permits required)
If
these 3 properties are rezoned to B-3, this will mean that any of the
following uses can be applied to those 3 properties in the future
according to the Town Code Section 30-100. Permitted Uses (B-3)
In
the B-3 General Business District, structures to be erected or land
to be used may be for one or more of the following uses [Note:
Activities or uses which instruct the reader to “see” a permitted
use serve only as a cross reference to the list of permitted uses and
associated conditions, if any. The listing of a cross reference in no
way implies that the cross reference is a permitted use or activity.
Listed permitted uses which instruct the reader to “see also”
another permitted use or section of the Zoning Ordinance or Town Code
are intended to refer the reader to additional information that is
relevant to that permitted use, ed.]:
(a) Any
principal use permitted in the R-3 Multiple-Family Residential
District, with a Conditional Use Permit, except that uses permitted
as conditional uses in the R-3 District but permitted as of right in
the B-3 District shall not require a Conditional use permit.
Dwellings are subject to the same requirements as in the R-3 District
except that a single-family dwelling in association with a permitted
office, business or commercial use, in the same building or on the
same premises for use by the proprietor or an employee of said
business shall be permitted but not subject to said requirements,
including one unrelated individual per unit.
(b) Animal
hospital, pet shop, or pet grooming establishment.
(c) Retail
stores, including sale of accessories, antiques, appliances, art or
art supplies, beverages (alcoholic or otherwise), books, carpets,
clothing, drugs, fabrics, flowers, food, furniture, hardware,
jewelry, gifts, office supplies and stationery, shoes, paint,
wallpaper, sporting goods, and similar stores and shops.
(d) Bakeries.
(e) Banks
and other financial institutions.
(f) Dry
cleaners, laundries and laundromats
(g) Barber
and beauty shops
(h) Fitness
center or health club
(i) Auto,
truck and home appliance services. See also Service stations and
Commercial garages.
(j) Theaters
and assembly halls.
(k) Hotels
and motels, tourist homes and bed and breakfast inns.
(l) Offices,
business, professional or administrative.
(m) Churches
and other places of worship.
(n) Public
buildings to consist of fire, police and rescue squad stations,
schools, recreational facilities, libraries, museums, and art
galleries. Private buildings to consist of schools, recreational
facilities, libraries, museums, and art galleries with a Conditional
Use Permit.
(o) Hospitals,
general.
(p) Funeral
homes and crematories.
(q) Service
stations with major repair under cover. See also Commercial garage.
(r) Clubs
and lodges with a Conditional Use Permit.
(s) Auto
and truck rental, sales and service. See also Service stations and
Commercial garages.
(t) Restaurants,
food handlers and caterers.
(u) Shoe
repair or tailor shop.
(v) Plumbing
and electrical supply with storage under cover.
(w) Printing
and duplicating services.
(x) Rental
of household items, tools and appliances.
(y) Lumber
and building materials store, wholesale, or retail, but not a
lumberyard or manufacturer of brick or concrete blocks.
(z) Self-service
storage compartments commonly known as miniwarehouses.
(aa) Facilities
and structures necessary for rendering utility service, including
poles, wires, transformers, transmission lines, telephone booths and
the like for normal electrical power distribution or communication
service; communications antennas; meters and pipelines or conduits
for electrical, gas, sewer, or water service; pumping and regularoty
stations; substations. Communications monopoles and major
transmission lines are permitted with a Conditional use Permit.
(bb) Off-street
parking and loading as required by this chapter.
(cc) Signs
in accord with the Sign Ordinance [Chapter 3, Advertising].
(dd) Dancehalls,
with a Conditional Use Permit.
(ee) Mobile
home parks with a Conditional Use Permit. See also Article [XVIII,]
Mobile home parks.
(ff) Mobile
home sales, single- or double-wide, with a Conditional Use Permit.
(gg) Machinery
and equipment sales, service and storage (but not junk) with a
Conditional Use Permit.
(hh) Commercial
garage and/or towing service, with major repair and related storage
under cover, with a Conditional Use Permit. See also Auto, truck
sales and home appliances services and Service stations.
(ii) Contractors
equipment storage yard or plant or rental equipment commonly used by
contractors (but not material storage), with a Conditional Use
Permit.
(jj) Radio
and television stations and studios or recording studios.
(kk) Industrialized
building units for business, institutional, security or construction
purposes, with a Conditional Use Permit. Conditional Use Permits
shall not be required for construction trailers on active
construction sites.
(ll) The
following listed uses provided not more than fifty persons are
engaged in actual production work, with a Conditional Use permit:
Assembly
of electrical appliances, electronic instruments and devices, radios
and phonographs and the manufacture of small parts such as coils,
condensers, transformers and crystal holders.
Commercial
cabinet or woodworking shops; blacksmith shops, and welding or
machine shops.
Pharmaceutical,
medical or dental laboratories.
(mm) Carnival
or fairgrounds, with a Conditional Use Permit
(nn) Public
billiard parlors and poolrooms, game rooms, bowling alleys and
similar forms of public amusement with a Conditional use Permit.
(oo) Greenhouse
or nursery, commercial, wholesale or retail.
(pp) Convalescent
homes, rest homes, nursing homes and housing for the elderly and
handicapped.
(qq) Rooming
and boarding houses serving one through four persons. Rooming and
boarding houses serving five through fourteen persons with a
Conditional Use Permit.
(rr) Child
day care center.
(ss) Campground,
overnight, with a Conditional Use Permit. Other permitted B-3 uses
located upon the same property as the campground are permitted
provided that non-campground users do not traverse the campground
areas to have access to these non-campground uses. Provided further
that a fence or other suitable barricade and screening separates the
campground from adjacent properties or uses.
(tt) Recycling
collection center with a zoning permit application and plan of
operation approved by the Administrator. The Administrator may refer
any proposed collection center application to the Town Planning
Commission or health official or both for their advice as to the
desirability, practicability or health affects [effects] of any such
center before issuing a zoning permit to any collection center
applicant. Collection center zoning permits may be revoked at any
time by the Administrator or health official when such recycling
center poses a threat to public safety, health or general welfare.
(uu) Recycling,
post collection separation facilities with a Conditional Use Permit
and a plan of operation approved by the Administrator. In cases of
doubt regarding the nature of a process or use, the Administrator
may require an engineering report describing the process or use and
the probable impacts of the facility.
(vv) Auction
house, business, with a Conditional Use Permit.
(ww) Family
day homes with a Conditional Use Permit.
(xx) Kennels
with a Conditional Use Permit
(yy) Automobile
upholstery shops with a Conditional Use Permit.
(zz) Railroad
yards and terminals with a Conditional Use Permit
(aaa) Farmers'
markets or flea markets with a Conditional Use Permit
(bbb) Automobile
auctions with a Conditional Use Permit.
(ccc) Tattoo
parlors and body piercing establishments with approval of the
Montgomery County Health Department.
(ddd) Portable
storage containers in accordance with Section 30-199
[Note:
The following activities or uses serve only as a cross reference to
permitted uses listed above which may or may not have conditions
attached to the use. The listing of the following cross references in
no way implies that they are a permitted use or activity unless
permitted elsewhere within this section. ed.]
Appliance
service, see Auto, truck and home appliance services.
Bed
and breakfast inns, see Hotels, motels ....
Building
material sales, see Lumber and building materials sales.
Equipment
sales, service, etc., see Machinery and equipment sales and services.
Pet
shops, see Animal ....
Tourist
homes, see Hotels, motels ...
The
Second portion describes the property and notes it is scheduled as
Residential in the Future Land Use Map. The Land Use Map is a very
generic tool, however, and in order to see what could be done in
specific areas, one would need to read a bit further to find the text
description of what the designated area is allowed to contain:
"Low-density residential would be appropriate in these areas.
Lands designated for residential development in the more urbanizing
areas of Town (near the Peppers Ferry Road/North Franklin Street
commercial district; near the Cambria downtown area; south of the
Central Business District; and near the eastern industrial/commercial
areas) might develop as higher density residential uses such as
apartments, townhouses, or condominiums. Promotion of the location of
nursing homes and eldercare facilities in these areas would be
appropriate due in part to accessibility to services."
In
a situation where a Conditional Use Permit is required, stipulations
could be placed on the properties as to uses that would restrict the
types of businesses that could be placed on the properties. Once
rezoned, however, it is pretty much a 'Katie bar the door' scenario.
I wonder if the owner of the property that wants to have a Bed and
Breakfast is prepared to have self-storage warehouses across the
street, or perhaps a Tatoo Parlor, Funeral Home, or a Recycling
Center (which according to the above does not appear require a conditional use permit but rather the approval of the Administrator).
Or, is it possible that once rezoned, someone could come along and
buy up properties in adjacent areas and he/she would find him/herself
with a modern hotel within walking distance of the Bed and Breakfast?
All may seem fine at the moment with adjacent property owners, but
once property is rezoned, if it is sold, the new owner can do
whatever they want to within the by-right criteria of the zoning.
Rezoning has a long-term impact on the future uses of land as well as
how it is used today.
Perhaps
a better solution would be to take a look at the text of the
Comprehensive Plan and change the text wording to include Bed and
Breakfast in R-3. Then do an amendment to the Town Code whereby Bed
and Breakfasts could be included in R-3 with a Conditional Use Permit.
This is singularly important when you look at the existing Bed and
Breakfast entities that are already located in residential districts.
The whole premise of a Bed and Breakfast is the setting. Usually,
that setting is in a combined use situation such as the proposed
Downtown area, existing residential only areas, or in Historic Districts like East Main and Cambria.
This use of historic structures, in particular, is what often allows
the owner to be able to restore and/or conserve such grand
buildings.
Or,
another solution that could encompass so many more of these
types of issues, the Historic Overlay District. Adoption of a
Historic Overlay District would allow the Town to specify that
certain types of businesses that would contribute to the district
(such as Bed and Breakfasts, Tea Rooms, small Art Galleries, etc.)
would be allowed in the Historic Overlay Districts. Conditional Use
Permits could be attached to any/all of these allowing the Town (and
citizens) to allow businesses without compromising the integrity of
the entire district and neighborhood. The Architectural Review Board
could act in an advisory capacity to provide Town Council/Planning
Commission with information as to the appropriateness of specific
businesses within the Historic District. Furthermore, inclusion into
the Historic District could provide the property owner with
incentives that would make the proposed business more likely to
succeed (a business that generates funds via the lodging tax and
encourages people to eat in the area – meals tax, seems like a
pretty good business deal for the Town as well).
What
I have tried to produce (with my limited knowledge and training) is
what most jurisdictions have provided in their staff analysis
document. This is a document that is produced by the Planning
Department that addresses relevant issues (both positive and
negative) of proposed changes and offers possible alternatives and provided to decision-making bodies such as the Planning Commission and Town Council. The
Town of Christiansburg chooses not to utilize this tool. That is a
shame. Such a document could be invaluable to the decision-making
processes of officials and provide the information needed to come up
with solutions that best meet the needs of ALL citizens.
In
this case, if an alternative to rezoning could be established, and
the owner is willing to wait a bit for other changes to occur, the
owner would be in a much better position in the long run. I will
again note that the Bed and Breakfast establishment is the perfect
use for such a building in that location. It is the means whereby
this is allowed to occur that should be carefully evaluated by
officials.