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Home My Public Portal About10 18 2018 PC MinutesThe Town of Leesburg in Virginia Leesburg Planning Commission Meeting Minutes October 18, 2018 The Leesburg Planning Commission met on Thursday, October 18, 2018 in Town Hall Council Chambers, 25 West Market Street, Leesburg, VA 20176. Staff members present included Susan Berry -Hill, Chris Murphy, Barbara Notar, and Karen Cicalese. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm by Chairman Babbin Members Present: Chairman Babbin, Commissioners Barnes, Faliskie, Kidder, Robinson, and Walker Absent: Lanham ADOPTION OF AGENDA Motion: Commissioner Walker Second: Commissioner Faliskie Vote: 6-0-1 (Lanham absent) APPROVAL OF MINUTES — September 20, 2018 Motion: Commissioner Kidder Second: Commissioner Barnes Vote 6-0-1 (Lanham absent) DISCLOSURE OF MEETINGS None CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT None PETITIONERS None PUBLIC HEARING • TLOA-2017-0002 Minor Special Exception Zoning Ordinance Text Amendment Public Hearing, Chris Murphy, Sr. Planning Project Manager Planning and Zoning Chairman Babbin opened the public hearing at 7:02 pm and invited staff to make their presentation. Mr. Murphy explained that this is a proposal to amend Articles 3,6, and 9 of 1 Leesburg Planning Commission October 18, 2018 Minutes the Town of Leesburg Zoning Ordinance establishing a new application type; "Minor Special Exception", designating minor special exception uses and establishing associated submittal requirements and review procedures. Mr. Murphy noted that there is an error in the staff report that includes revisions to Article 5 residential districts. Such revisions are not included in the initiating Resolution. The initiating Resolution was to establish the Minor Special Exception uses in non-residential districts only. This correction will need to be reflected in the motion, should the Commission take action at this meeting. Mr. Murphy explained that in keeping with the Town objectives to streamline processes and procedures associated with land development applications Town Council adopted Resolution No. 2017-079 on May 9, 2017 initiating Zoning Ordinance text amendments to consider establishing the new land development process "Minor Special Exception". This use designation, and associated procedures will take the place of existing special exception use designations, processes and review procedures for certain uses deemed to have the potential for minimum impacts on adjacent land uses within the districts where permitted and, as a result, will require less staff review time than other special exception uses typically do. Currently TLZO Sec. 3.4.1 establishes the purpose and intent of the Special Exception Application review process which requires that all special exception applications have Public Hearings at both the Planning Commission and Town Council. The typical review process takes approximately six to eight months. The proposed amendments would eliminate Planning Commission review of specifically designate Minor Special Exceptions uses; retain the same special exception requirements (including waiver provisions); maintain staff review time; and refine and clarify the regulations relating to approved special exceptions/minor special exception applications. The appropriate application fee will be determined by Town Council. The proposed process is borrowed from Loudoun County Zoning Ordinance Sec. 6-1304 where it is utilized largely for rural economy uses where potential impacts are minimized. Mr. Murphy concluded his presentation with staff s recommendation of approval. Planning Commission Comments and Concerns Some of the Commission members present expressed concerns regarding the elimination of Planning Commission review and the need for this type of land development application at the Town level. It was noted that Loudoun County has a much larger work load and population than the Town and it was felt that eliminating Planning Commission review could negatively impact the adjacent property owners and the Town in general. Other Commission members were in support of the proposed amendments as they felt the amendments would streamline the application process, expedite application review, and save time and expense for developers. Leesburg Planning Commission October 18, 2018 Minutes After further discussion, Chairman Babbin closed the public hearing at 7:30 pm and called for a motion. Commissioner Faliskie moved that Zoning Ordinance Amendment TLOA-2017-0002 establishing Minor Special Exception uses and associated procedures be forwarded to the Town Council with a recommendation of approval, on the basis that the amendments further the objectives of the Town Plan and that the proposal would serve the public necessity, convenience, general welfare and good zoning practice, excluding any changes to Article 5 and corresponding changes to the use table in Article 9. Commissioner Walker seconded the motion and the motion failed by a vote of 3-3-1 (Aye: Babbin, Faliskie and Walker; Nay — Barnes, Kidder, and Robinson; absent — Lanham) SUBDIVISION AND LAND DEVELOPMENT None ZONING None COMPREHENSIVE PLANNING • Town Plan Update Discussion, Susan Berry Hill, Director Planning and Zoning Ms. Berry Hill gave a brief review on the Town Plan update process noting that Town Council has given direction to staff to proceed with a comprehensive Town Plan update and funding has been identified for this project. Staff is preparing to go forward with this project and has prepared a draft work scope for the Planning Commission to review and discuss. Staff has also prepared a request for proposal (RFP) to hire a consultant to help with the update. Ms. Berry Hill gave a brief overview of the Draft Work Scope, RFP, and the current Crescent District Master Plan vision, guiding principles, and implementation. At their Work Session on November 26, 2018 Town Council will be discussing the following three items: • Council's Direction to staff to move forward with the development of the Draft Work Scope and RFP • The Planning Commission's September 6th motion to recommend to Council that the focus should be on the Crescent Design District Master Plan first. • Council Member Dunn's proposal to focus on land use first. A majority of Planning Commission members supported addressing Land Use prior to Transportation Planning. 3 Leesburg Planning Commission October 18, 2018 Minutes Other Planning Commission members suggested a number of edits to the Draft Work Scope and RFP to include software licensing and training, aggressive time frames, delegation of duties to the consultant, and language changes. There was concern expressed regarding the ability of the Commission to fully vet the Draft Work Scope and RFP prior to Council taking action as they had previously passed a motion to recommend that Council proceed witht eh Crescent Design District first. Ms. Berry Hill addressed this concern and noted that Town Council will first need to determine which direction they wish to take. Dependent upon Council action, the RFP and Work Scope will be coming back to the Planning Commission for further discussion and review. This is meant to be a collaborative process between Town Council, the Planning Commission, and staff. STAFF AND COMMITTEE REPORTS None SRTC REPORT None BAR REPORT None TOWN COUNCIL LIAISON REPORT Council Member Campbell informed the Commission of the following: • At their Work Session on Monday, October 22 Council will be discussion the BAR recommendation on Rogers Farm to consider bringing it into the historic district. Council has a letter from the family who are not in agreement with this recommendation. • Council will also be discussing a street naming proposal for Mr. Lassiter, who just retired from Robinson Barbershop just shy of 50 years. • On Tuesday, they will be discussing community applications for bus shelters and review of ridership of the transit system and various locations. • They will also be discussing undergrounding of electrical line distributions in the JLMA (Joint Land Management Area) • The 40 year ground lease for the Plaza Street Fire & Rescue was approved at their last meeting. • The Leesburg Cottages Special Exception and 2 zoning modifications were approved. 4 Leesburg Planning Commission October 18, 2018 Minutes OLD BUSINESS None NEW BUSINESS None ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adj ourned at 8:5 8 PM Ap roved by: \ Kar n Cicalese, Commission Clerk S r n Babbin, Chairman