August 4th and 5th provided wealth of
information for thought and future articles. The Planning Commission
met on the 4th for a work session/ regular meeting and on the 5th for
a Joint Public Hearing with the Town Council, a formal Planning
Commission meeting, and the Town Council meeting.
Planning
Commissioner Jim Vanhoozier (soon to be Town Council Member) did
something I really did not expect to see. He exercised the right of a
Planning Commissioner to study a possible change in the Town Code. He
embraced both Spirit and the Letter of the Law. This was prompted by
the Planning Commission's review of a
rezoning request that I wrote about earlier where a change from R-2
to B-3 was required in order for the owner of a home listed in the
National Register and located within the boundaries of the Cambria
Historic District to transform this grand old home into a Bed and
Breakfast.
Let me make it clear that it is financially
challenging to take stewardship of one of these structures. Where the
owner of the average home can simply make a few phone calls and have
repairs made, this is not true for historic buildings. The inclusion
into the National Registry means that the owner will take all
possible steps to maintain the structure in a condition that
accurately reflects the time frame during which the structure was
built. Thus, you cannot simply go out and buy a new window and put it
in. It is a very tedious process of repairing or rebuilding is
required rather than a simple replacement. It can be very difficult
to find the correct types of hardware, windows, paint colors, and the
type of wood used (wood frequently has to be custom cut at a mill).
It can be even more difficult to find someone who knows how to do a
particular type of repair.
An example of this would be when
the freight elevator in the Cambria Emporium broke down. The elevator
was originally installed in a warehouse in Roanoke in 1870 and
purchased used and installed in the Lee-Surface Building in 1908,
thus the elevator is actually older than the building itself. It took
months to get the custom ordered belts made to replace old belts.
(The price would make a lot of people turn rather pale.) Thankfully,
neither the wooden drums nor the cast iron gears needed to be
replaced, which could have taken even longer. In order to find
someone who knew how to work on this remarkable piece of antique
technology, an elevator repairman, residing in North Carolina, was
pulled out of retirement. Southern Elevator went to great lengths to
find him, and then had him train other technicians so they would be
prepared for future incidents. To the best of my knowledge, this is
the oldest working elevator in the state. There is one older unit but
it is on display in a museum.
For the building owner, as for
the owners of many other such structures , it is only through the use
of the building as a business setting (The Antique collective in the
Cambria Emporium Building) or as a combination of business and
residential (a private residence, the Cambria Toy Station, and
Dorsett Publications in the Old Cambria/Christiansburg Depot) that
provides the funding necessary to maintain those structures. A bed
and breakfast is an ideal use for larger historic houses, as evidence
by both The Oaks and by the Evergreen Bed and Breakfast in the East
Main Historic District.
Now, back to the actions of the Planning Commission:
According to the Virginia Code:
§
15.2-2221. Duties of commissions. To effectuate this chapter, the
local planning commission
shall:
Exercise general supervision of, and make regulations for,
the administration of its affairs;
Prescribe rules pertaining to its investigations and
hearings;
Supervise its fiscal affairs and responsibilities, under
rules and regulations as prescribed by the governing body;
Keep a complete record of its proceedings; and be responsible
for the custody and preservation of its papers and documents;
Make recommendations and an annual report to the governing
body concerning the operation of the commission and the status of
planning within its jurisdiction;
Prepare, publish and distribute reports, ordinances and
other material relating to its activities;
Prepare and submit an annual budget in the manner prescribed
by the governing body of the county or municipality; and
8. If
deemed advisable, establish an advisory committee or committees.
(Code 1950, § 15-963.7; 1962, c. 407, § 15.1-444; 1997,
c. 587.)
§
15.2-2253. Preparation and adoption of amendments to ordinance.
A local planning commission on its own initiative may or at the
request of the governing body of the locality shall prepare and
recommend amendments to the subdivision ordinance. The procedure
for amendments shall be the same as for the preparation and
recommendation and approval and adoption of the original ordinance;
provided that no amendment shall be adopted by the governing body of
a locality without a reference of the proposed amendment to the
commission for recommendation, nor until sixty days after such
reference, if no recommendation is made by the commission.
(Code
1950, § 15-967.7; 1962, c. 407, § 15.1-472; 1975, c. 641;
1997, c. 587.)
§
15.2-2285. Preparation and adoption of zoning ordinance and map and
amendments thereto; appeal.
A. The planning commission of each
locality may, and at the direction of the
governing body shall, prepare a proposed zoning ordinance including a
map or maps showing the division of the territory into districts and
a text setting forth the regulations applying in each district.
The commission shall hold at least one public hearing on a proposed
ordinance or any amendment of an ordinance, after notice as required
by § 15.2-2204, and may make appropriate changes in the proposed
ordinance or amendment as a result of the hearing. Upon the
completion of its work, the commission shall present the proposed
ordinance or amendment including the district maps to the governing
body together with its recommendations and appropriate explanatory
materials.
(Code 1950, §§ 15-822, 15-846, 15-968.7; 1962, c. 407, §
15.1-493; 1964, c. 279; 1968, c. 652; 1970, c. 216; 1972, c. 818;
1975, c. 641; 1984, c. 175; 1988, cc. 573, 733, 856; 1989, c. 359;
1990, c. 475; 1991, c. 235; 1996, c. 867; 1997, c. 587.)
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My views:
Since the proposed Rezoning request resulted in a change in Zoning
status that is in direct conflict with the Comprehensive Plan there
exists a bit of confusion (See
Chapter 10 of the Comprehensive Plan, Land Use Plan, Future Land Use
Priorities, Residential). One of the jobs of the Planning
Commission before a Comprehensive Plan is completed is to review the
Zoning Ordinance and recommend changes to bring the Zoning Ordinance
into compliance with the Comprehensive Plan. They are also the ones
who would need to make any changes to the Comprehensive Plan when
potential/real problem areas are discovered.
In this case, a change in the Comprehensive Plan would require
that the area around Downtown Cambria be converted to Business only
which would upset a fair number of property owners and open the
doorway for destruction of the Historic District should businesses be
allowed the by-right Business Zoning uses of the properties in the
Historic District. (Also,
in direct conflict with the Comprehensive Plan. See Chapter 11,
Goals, Objectives, and Strategies, Environmental Goals and
Objectives.) This is a situation in which there was a deficiency
in the Zoning Ordinance that did not become obvious until after the
fact. The solution that would serve to prevent encroachment into and
destruction of the historic district would be to address the issue
from the Zoning perspective of being out of compliance with the
Comprehensive Plan. That is exactly what Mr. Vanhoozier did.
Mr. Vanhoozier asked that the Planning Commission review the
existing codes to determine if Bed and Breakfast entities should be
allowed in R-2 Zoned areas WITH CONDITIONAL USE PERMITS. Given that
the whole premise of the Bed and Breakfast is based on 'setting'
(which is usually a historic or special neighborhood setting -
really, when is the last time you saw a B&B next to a Wal-Mart?)
this would be a perfect long-term solution to a problem that could
reoccur multiple times. It is certainly a more palatable solution
than rezoning multiple properties to Business which could open up a
nice, residential area to a multitude of business uses including
garages, storage facilities, recycling businesses, etc. Even with
proffers to control the use, when the owner decides to make changes
that are less restrict towards the by-right use of the property
without a conditional use permit, those same Town Council members may
not be in office. There is no guarantee that proffers will last more
than a few months or until the Council members change.
This is exactly the type of proactive behavior that we should
expect from the Planning Commission: identify situations of conflict
between the Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Ordinances that are likely
to be repetitive and where a degree of control is maintained that
allows elected officials to maintain the integrity of neighborhoods.
It further supports the type of business that is most likely to
generate revenue for the Town as these people are likely to shop
locally, eat locally, and who are paying the lodging tax. It
simultaneously provides historic property owners a way in which to
help cover some of the cost required to maintain those
buildings.
(Next time you see a Town Council member, ask
him/her, what percentage of the historic structures within the Town
of Christiansburg are privately owned and receive no incentives from
the Town for maintaining those buildings. I think you will be
surprised. Then, spend some time at those buildings to see exactly
how many people come to see them and treat them as it they were
public property. Again, I think you will be surprised.)