MINUTES OF THE STRASBURG PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING HELD ON TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2006, AT 7:30 P.M. IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS OF THE TOWN HALL.

Planning Commission Members present:  Chairman Smith, and Commissioners Elliott, Kepler, Terndrup, and Council Member Whittle. Absent:  Commissioner Davis (on vacation) and Commissioner Howard.  Others present:  Town Planner Amos and Council Member Terndrup.

Chairman Smith asked for the approval of the following minutes:

August 22, 2006 Regular Meeting

September 14, 2006 Worksession

September 14, 2006 Public Hearing

The minutes were approved as submitted.

Action Items

o                    Aikens/Claytor Final Site Plan

Robert Claytor, applicant:  In the absence of Mr. Ron Mislowsky, PHR&A, the engineer of record, Mr. Claytor spoke on the project.  He said they have been working on this for the past three years and have worked with the Town on the PD ordinance.  They do feel they have complied with all of the ordinances and have addressed the comments from agencies.  At the last Worksession a comment had been made about putting a thru street in --- a concern about cul-de-sacs.  He said the issue brought up about the cul-de-sac was safety and these are two way streets leading into the cul-de-sac and if something did happen, you could just drive up over the curb to get out.  He would like it approved as is because they do not know what will happen to the adjoining property.  The request from the Planning Commission was to allow for a road for a period of four years and if nothing was done, then the lots could go in as planned.  Mr. Claytor said his comment to Mr. Mislowsky had been that they had already cut the project by 12 units or lots and he doesn’t want to cut it by another.  They would like it approved as-is, but if the Planning Commission really wants the road, then allow the developers to re-draw the lines to the last three lots to allow the road easement to go through and still have the three lots.  These lots are a bit larger than the others and he feels this would work and it wouldn’t hold up the project any longer.

Commissioner Kepler asked about the issue with Shenandoah Gas and the gas line easement.  Chairman Smith said the Commissioners had asked for a letter from Shenandoah Gas saying they were satisfied with the layout of the plan, etc.  Mr. Mislowsky has said he has been working with the company and that everything is fine, but they did want this letter to be on record.  Mr. Claytor said he was previously in contact with the gas company and had all the regulations on this sent to him and the plans conform to them.  He said Shenandoah Gas does not have a problem with what they are doing and building roads over the gas lines is fine and they are meeting the setback requirements for structures.  Commissioner Kepler asked if the setback was from the actual line or from the easement.  Mr. Claytor said from information he had received it is acceptable to go right up to the easement, but a structure cannot be put over the easement.  If they do not comply, the gas company will not allow them to build; it will not be the responsibility of the Town. 

Planner Amos discussed the cul-de-sac and said the concern was that they wanted the road to be able to connect to future development and it is not only that the Commissioners did not like this cul-de-sac.  Chairman Smith said he liked inter-connectivity between properties and Commissioner Terndrup added safety was also a concern.  Planner Amos said the language about 4 years was added by Mr. Mislowsky and this was not asked for by the Commissioners.  Commissioner Kepler said it is the Commission’s job to make sure developments are laid out correctly, but it wouldn’t be fair to the developer to hold it indefinitely (the area for the road) for future development.  Again, Mr. Claytor said if the road is required, then they would like for the last three lots be re-adjusted to allow for the road.  Commissioner Kepler said he thinks this is only fair to the developer and he asked about the build-out on the development.  Planner Amos said the build-out would now be 3 years since it has come under 120 units.

Commissioner Kepler said he does not have a problem with the development, but some sort of language needs to be added for fine tuning on the cul-de-sac issue and the road, but said this could be done at Staff level.  Chairman Smith agrees and asked if this should have a time limit placed on it.  He said he does like the inter-connecting developments, but the plans are not known for the adjoining property.  Commissioner Terndrup asked what the zoning was on the property and Planner Amos said it is in the County. Commissioner Kepler does not think 4 years is enough, but does not think an indefinite amount of time is fair either. He doesn’t want to put off the approval, but would like to see the letters from VDOT and Shenandoah Gas, but this could be approved contingent on the receipt of these letters.  He thinks there should also be a contingency that the developer and Staff work out a plan to allow for the road.  Planner Amos said this site plan could be approved with the approval being contingent on the road issue being worked out by the submission of the Final Plat Review.

Council Member Whittle said he thinks Mr. Claytor and Mr. Aiken have worked well with the Town.  He would still like to see Vesper Hall be saved and he also wants to look at the commercial area and make sure this follows the entrance corridor guidelines.  He said this is his challenge to the developer --- to make this entrance look better than the other entrance corridor leading into Town.

Commissioner Kepler moved to approve Aikens/Claytor Final Site Plan contingent on the receipt of a letter from Shenandoah Gas and VDOT and the cul-de-sac access easement issue to neighboring property be addressed by final plat submission; second by Council Member Whittle.

Chairman Smith said he feels this is a fine compromise.

The motion passed unanimously.

o                    Strasburg Green Final Site Plan

Denny Dunlap, Triad Engineering:  Mr. Dunlap said Mr. Scott Marsh, Marsh and Legge Land Surveyors, and Mr. Scott Rosenfeld, owner, were also in attendance with him to help answer any questions.

Mr. Dunlap said he wanted to touch on several issues that had been brought up at the Worksession.  Mr. Marsh would be answering any questions on the floodplain. 

An issue that was brought up was that the gas easement was not shown on the plan.  They have met with Shenandoah Gas and have the locations of the easements.  The plans have been slightly altered due to the meeting with Shenandoah Gas at their request.  The gas company prefers to have as little asphalt over the easements as possible so the plans were revised in accordance to this request.  He continued by saying Mr. Rosenfeld has worked diligently on this project with Town Staff.  They feel they have addressed all comments and concerns to date.                                          

Council Member Whittle asked about details in the proffer statement concerning signalization.  Planner Amos said they proffered to enter into a signalization agreement at Hite Lane.  A discussion followed on the time table of the signal.    

Commissioner Kepler asked if the geotech studies were still on-going and Mr. Dunlap said they were.  Commissioner Kepler said he only found one thing that wasn’t addressed and it was the requirement of landscaping between the commercial and residential --- Burger King and Denny’s and the townhouse units.  He said it would require a 50’ landscape buffer.  Mr. Dunlap said he believes they show 25’ on the residential side and 25’ on the commercial.  Commissioner Kepler asked if the buffer is from the structure or the property line.  Planner Amos said it is from the structure as the entire amount could be in someone’s backyard.  Commissioner Kepler does not see where the plans show the 25’ buffer and Planner Amos said this could be added as a note on page C-29. 

Commissioner Terndrup said she thought someone was going to address the issue on the floodplain --- has information been received from FEMA and what will happen if the berm is built in the proposed area.  Mr. Marsh said he has been working on the base topography map and the 100 year flood.  They coordinated with the surveyor of record on the Oxbow project to gain the information for their survey data.  Based on this information they were able to determine the floodplain elevation.  The predominate floodplain side is on the other side of the creek in this area.  They have determined a very conservative flood elevation which they feel is good.  He said the retention pond is a positive element of this design and then went on to discuss the 2 year, 10 year, and 100 year flood.  The effect of the berm would be nominal because of the flood zone on the east side of the creek is so large.  They do not have a letter from Dewberry saying they agree with this, but they expect to get it.  He feels these are good numbers and are better than what you would normally have on a project like this and you could make the approval contingent on the letter from FEMA.

Commissioner Terndrup said she didn’t think FEMA was working with Dewberry anymore.  Planner Amos said they are not, but they are still highly regarded by FEMA.

Commissioner Kepler said he is concerned that there is a berm located in a floodplain.  He is concerned it will impact the floodplain and has potential to back-up into neighboring properties.  He said it is the responsibility of the engineer on record to guarantee this.  He still thinks it should be outside the FEMA floodplain record or a detailed study should be done.

Planner Amos asked if information comes back saying the berm is within the 100 year floodplain, does the Planning Commission want to see it again.  Commissioner Kepler doesn’t think they would need to be seen again unless it would change significantly.   

Commissioner Elliott moved to approve Strasburg Green Final Site Plan contingent on the proper FEMA studies; second by Council Member Whittle. 

Commissioner Kepler suggested it be approved contingent upon satisfactory resolution of the floodplain issue through Dewberry and Davis and Staff review and also contingent on the landscape note.  He asked what will need to be done concerning the already existing Burger King and landscape buffering.  Planner Amos said she will need to ask the Town Attorney about this.  Mr. Rosenfeld said he is sure this can be worked out with Mr. Holtzman.

Commissioner Terndrup asked about the sinkholes.  Mr. Rosenfeld said there are some sinkholes on Mr. Holtzman’s property and they are being addressed.

Chairman Smith said the motion could be amended that the Strasburg Green Site Plan be approved contingent upon completion of Dewberry and Davis floodplain evaluation and also the landscape note being added regarding the  undeveloped commercial and residential and the 50’ buffer be addressed between existing commercial and residential to Staff satisfaction. 

Commissioner Elliott made the amendment to the motion as stated above; second to the amended motion by Council Member Kepler.  Approved unanimously.

o                    SUP2006-05 Chris and Pam Fry requesting a Special Use Permit to operate a cabinet and furniture shop on property zoned Commercial (C-1).  The property is located at 181 West King Street.

Chris Fry, 181 W. King Street:  Mr. Fry said he has spoken to the Chief of the Fire Department, Ronnie Cromer, who has said all he is looking for is that there are adequate fire exits and adequate fire extinguishers.  Mr. Cromer will visit the building on September 27.

Another issue that had been discussed at the Worksession was noise.  He did some research on the Internet and all noise is done by decibels; woodworking equipment is about 100 decibels.  This is the same as traffic and a baby crying is 90 decibels.  He doesn’t think this will be an issue as most of the noise will be inside a block building and he also does not think odor will be a problem.

Chairman Smith said they had discussed the possibilities of adding contingencies such as making sure the work hours are 8 – 5, Monday thru Saturday; making sure the driveway was not opened up to thru traffic; and getting the fire marshal to inspect more frequently.

Planner Amos has not heard back from Mr. Yew who is with Shenandoah County Fire and Rescue Department; he would do the actual inspections.  He was going to check on State codes, but he didn’t know of any at this time.

Planner Amos said a condition could also be added that the woodworking only take place in the 1000 sq. ft. area and not in the remainder of the building.  Commissioner Kepler asked the reason for this and Planner Amos said it would mainly be in case the business would be sold.  Chairman Smith asked if 1000 sq. ft. would be enough for him.  Mr. Fry said it would come down to what is considered woodworking equipment.  He said the portion of the building that will be beyond the partitioned off area is actually larger than 1000 sq. ft.; he doesn’t want to limit himself to just the 1000 sq. ft.  Commissioner Kepler said he thinks the entire operation would be for woodworking so maybe the condition could be that a minimum amount of showroom would be 2000 sq. ft. or the workshop could be 2500 sq. ft.  Mr. Fry asked about an additional building on the property that he does not have use of currently.  He was told the special use permit would not cover this building; if it is used for storage, it would not be an issue.

Commissioner Kepler said his only concern is with the stipulation of operation hours.  He doesn’t think it needs to be stipulated the hours between 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. because he feels the Town’s noise ordinance would cover this if there would be a problem  Mr. Fry said he does not have a problem with the 8 – 5 stipulation.  Council Member Whittle is not sure he is comfortable with that as Mr. Fry might want to work on his own project after hours or if he would be on a deadline to finish a project and needed to work past 5 p.m..  He also does not think the time stipulation should be tied in on the retail portion.  Mr. Fry asked what would happen if he actually stayed over and Planner Amos said his special use permit would become null and void if it was reported.  Planner Amos said this stipulation is up to the Commission, but her recommendation would be to have certain hours of operation. 

Commissioner Kepler said the only other problem he sees is not actually with Mr. Fry and his current plans, but he can see that in the future there may need to be some venting to the outside.  He thinks it should be stated that if external venting is to occur, it would occur out the back or the roof and not the sides and that it be properly filtered to prevent excessive odors, but he is not sure you can actually pinpoint the odor issue. 

Chairman Smith asked about conditions and said he would still like to see a time frame added.  He would be agreeable to being a bit more flexible such as 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Commissioner Elliott thought this would be acceptable.  Commissioner Terndrup asked what the noise ordinance hours are and Planner Amos said it was from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., but woodworking tools are not directly addressed as it states “other appliances.”  Commissioner Kepler said the condition could be that the hours of the use of equipment would be within the limits of the noise ordinance.  Other conditions the Commissioners would like included include the venting issue and that a maximum of 2500 sq. ft. for the woodworking area.  Chairman Smith said he was not so concerned about the driveway issue and said it sounds as if the Fire Marshal will do his part.

Chairman Smith moved for recommendation of approval for SUP2006-05 with the restrictions that the operation of equipment would coincide with the noise ordinances of the Town; a maximum of 2500 sq. ft. will be used for working space for the woodworking tools; and that any external venting must be to either the rear or roof and properly screened.  Council Member Whittle seconded the motion.

Discussion:

Commissioner Kepler feels the term woodworking tools should be better defined. 

Chairman Smith amended the motion to say any equipment that is used in the manufacturing and production of furniture.  (The restrictions on hours and venting were to remain the same as stated in the original motion).  Second by Council Member Whittle.

The motion passed unanimously.

Council Member Whittle said he is glad to see the store back in business and wished the Fry’s all the best in their business.

Information Items:

Chairman Comments:

Old Business:

New Business:

Being no further business, the meeting adjourned at. 8:46 p.m.