MINUTES
Members Present: Mary Templeton, Marti Shamberger,
Members Absent: Ray
Hicks, Jr. and Ken Martis.
Staff Present:
Motion by M. Shamberger, second by T. Miller, to approve the
minutes of
OLD BUSINESS: NONE.
NEW BUSINESS:
1.
CU05-05 /
Kuehn /
J. Wood read the staff report stating that Mr. Kuehn would
like to convert the upper two floors of
J. Wood advised that staff believes this is a sound adaptive reuse of this building, and one that maintains the commercial frontage on High Street while providing residential units in the downtown and recommends approval. There will be no exterior modifications to the building.
John Kuehn, applicant, stated that he is seeing most offices downtown moving out and he has a waiting list for apartments.
M. Templeton asked for public comment. There being none, the public portion was closed.
Motion to approve the request by M. Paparozzi, second by T. Miller. Motion carried 6-1. (M. Templeton abstained).
2. CU05-06 / Cellular One / 5000 Greenbag Road: Request by David Ginter (Cellular One) to install a cellular telecommunications facility to include equipment, lines, and antennas on an existing structure (the Mountaineer Mall Water Tower) in a B-5, Shopping Business District at 5000 Greenbag Road. Tax Map #48A, Parcel #3: a B-5, Shopping Business District.
J. Wood read the staff report stating that David Ginter, representative from Cellular One, is requesting conditional use approval to install a cellular telecommunications facility to include equipment, lines, and antennas on the existing water tower located at the Mountaineer Mall. Cellular One would like to erect a stealth flat-panel antennae array on the existing handrail located on the water tower. The coax cable will be attached to the back of an existing tower leg, with the bands painted to match the color of the tower. Cabling and additional equipment will be located on a platform at the base of the tower. Details are on the site plan and photo renderings.
J. Wood reported that Cellular One had originally applied
for approval from
J. Wood explained that Cellular One is seeking to solve a signal strength problem in that part of town. The results of the meeting were quite productive. It was determined by Cellular One’s radio frequency engineer that the same coverage results could be achieved by erecting one regular tower on a different hillside much further away from the city, in combination with erecting a stealth antennae array at a location near Mountaineer Mall. The existing water tower was the logical choice for the array. Because of the high degree of cooperation between the city, the county, and the applicant, a solution was found that eliminated the need to erect an unattractive tower within close proximity to city neighborhoods.
J. Wood reported that staff strongly recommends approval because the water tower stealth antennae array is a key part of this optimal solution that takes the new tower farther away from city neighborhoods. He noted the letter of support from Christopher Fletcher in the packet.
B. Rasmussen questioned if the Section 1.06 review letter from the state had been received.
J. Wood replied that he did not know.
M. Paparozzi asked if the tower would be higher than the airport.
J. Wood replied that he did not know how it compares in relation to the airport.
Richard Pennington,
Cellular One, stated the Section 106 application has been filed with the State Historic Preservation Office,
and nothing would be done without the state approval. The tower will be a 160’ structure and they
are waiting on FAA approval. The tower
will be situated on the Dellslow side of I-68.
J. Wood reiterated his appreciation of Christopher Fletcher’s efforts to bring this to our attention and helping us find a solution.
B. Rasmussen advised
waiting until the “certificate of no adverse impact” was received from SHPO.
M. Templeton asked for public comments. There being none, the public portion was closed.
J. Selin asked how the delay would impact what has been arranged.
B. Rasmussen replied that they need certification no matter where or when the tower is built.
Mr. Pennington had no indication of when the certificate may be issued.
J. Wood questioned when the application was filed.
Mr. Pennington replied that it was probably at least two weeks ago.
Motion to table the request until the state issues the certificate of no adverse impact by B. Rasmussen. second by J. Selin. Motion carried unanimously.
3.
CU05-07 /
Camlan Creameries / 143 High Street.:
Request by Camlan Creameries for a sign over twelve square feet in the
B-4 District at
J. Wood presented the staff report stating that Carvel
Creameries is opening a new franchise at
J. Wood read that 15.F.3.b – Signs in Pedestrian Shopping Areas, states, “Signs larger than twelve square feet and free-standing signs shall require Conditional Use approval, subject to conditions set by the Board of Zoning Appeals. The Design Review Committee is requesting that the applicant only be given 15 square feet of signage, instead of the requested 24.5 square feet. It is difficult to find information on other historic district locations for Carvel Ice Cream stores, so we have no real basis for comparison with their other locations.
J. Wood advised that staff believes the new design is appropriate for the historic district. What remains to be decided is whether to accept the applicant’s requested size of 24.5 square feet, or to approve the same design with a maximum 15 square foot size.
Susan Riddle, applicant, stated the intention is to bring
additional business to the entertainment district downtown. She explained the rendering of the sign and
brought up three issues: High Street is one-way, the historic
S. Wearden questioned if the rendering was to scale with the
Ms. Riddle clarified that it is actually a photo that was colored.
J. Wood responded that the larger sign is probably necessary because of the sight obstruction caused by the existing theater marquee.
Ms. Riddle and M. Paparozzi agreed with J. Wood.
M. Templeton asked for public comments. There being none, the public portion was closed.
Motion to approve the request by M. Paparozzi, second by T. Miller. Motion carried 4-3.
(S. Wearden, J. Selin, and B. Rasmussen voted NO, stating that they would have voted yes on a smaller version of the sign.)
J. Wood read the staff report stating that Mr. Ly would like to combine two parcels into one at 361 Dille Street. Both parcels contain 3,800 square feet. The combination of properties would make one parcel with 7,600 square feet. Mr. Ly is proposing a six-unit apartment building, which has already undergone in-house Technical Review. According to Table 2, Residential Development Standards, the proposed project requires 6,000 square feet of property. The minimum lot size will be exceeded by 1,600 square feet.
J. Wood stated that staff recommends approval with the following conditions:
M. Shamberger questioned if it was the big, empty lot area on Dille Street.
J. Wood stated that it is an empty parcel right now.
M. Templeton asked for public comments. There being none, the public portion was closed.
Motion to approve the request by J. Selin, second by B. Rasmussen. Motion carried unanimously.
J. Wood read the staff report stating that Mr. Roberts would like to combine two sub-standard parcels into one at 819 Riverview Drive. Parcel 231 contains 4,491.37 square feet and Parcel 230 contains 6,490.20 square feet. The new parcel would contain 10, 981 square feet; exceeding the R-1 minimum lot size requirement of 7,200 square feet by 3,781.57. Mr. Roberts is proposing the combination because he would like to construct an attached garage, which would encroach onto his adjacent parcel if they were left separated.
J. Wood stated that staff recommends approval with the following conditions:
M. Templeton asked for public comments. There being none, the public portion was closed.
Motion to approve the request by T. Miller, second by M. Shamberger. Motion carried unanimously.
J. Wood read the clarification of the PUD amendment; stating
that several months ago, the Planning Commission forwarded an ordinance
amendment to
J. Wood advised that when the ordinance got to
Motion to approve the amendment by T. Miller, second by M. Paparozzi. Motion carried unanimously.
OTHER BUSINESS:
Public Comments None.
ADJOURNMENT