|
For many
years, Fauquier County permitted family dwelling units as
accessory structures on a lot. In August, 2005 the Board of
Supervisors initiated a text amendment to liberalize the
restrictions on such units. This amendment was at the
request and for the benefit of Lee Smith who wanted to build
a family home for one of his children and family. The Board
of Supervisors’ proposed text amendment, as initiated: (1)
increased the size of the second home from 1,200 square feet
to 1,600 square feet; (2) allowed the owner to occupy the
smaller second house while permitting a close family member
to reside in the principal structure; (3) removed the
current occupancy cap (3 people) for use of the second home;
(4) eliminated the prohibition on charging rent for the
second unit during the first two years (an owner may want or
need to charge his family member rent); and (5) extended the
period in which immediate family must occupy the second
house from two to five years.
The Planning
Commission held a work session on this issue on September
27, 2005, and public hearings on August 25, 2005 and
September 29, 2005. By a vote of 4 – 1, the Planning
Commission recommended approval of a significantly different
amendment. The Planning Commission was troubled by the Board
of Supervisors’ proposed increase in size of the house to
1,600 square feet. It believed that a second home should
clearly be subordinate to the existing home. Accordingly,
the Planning Commission recommended that the size of the
accessory family dwelling be limited as follows: “Such a
unit shall contain no more than 1200 square feet
of gross floor area. may be 600 square feet in gross
floor area or 25 % of the gross floor area of the existing
house, which ever is larger, but in no circumstance may the
family dwelling unit exceed 1,200 square feet of gross floor
area.” The Planning Commission also was concerned by
unlimited occupancy of the family dwelling unit. It
recommended that the occupancy be increased to four.
Finally, the Planning Commission believed that family
occupancy should be similar to family subdivisions and have
a ten year holding period before it could be used as a third
party rental unit.
The Board of
Supervisors rejected the Planning Commission’s
recommendation as to size and occupancy limits. It adopted
a maximum size of 1,400 square feet and increased permitted
occupancy to five. The Board of Supervisors concurred with
the ten year holding period by close relatives. The Smiths
opted not to take advantage of the new Ordinance; rather,
they kept their permit alive under the prior law.
This
proposed text amendment by the Smiths raises the square
footage of a family dwelling unit from 1,400 square feet to
1,600 square feet, redefines what is included in calculating
the gross floor area, expands the number of occupants
allowed in a family dwelling unit (from five to no limit),
and changes the required time for family usage from ten to
two years. The square footage and capacity limits are the
same as those originally initiated by the Board of
Supervisors.
For
comparison, staff surveyed the conditions imposed by other
counties on second dwellings. Among the jurisdictions
surveyed, Fauquier County is the most liberal regarding size
and options.
Rappahannock County limits a
second dwelling to 1,200 total square feet of combined
living and storage space. Storage space shall include
basements, garages, crawl spaces of five feet or greater in
height and attic spaces not constructed of trusses with a
pitch of nine to twelve (9:12) or greater. Carports are
excluded from storage space calculation unless it is planned
to close in the same at a later date; if excluded, then
carports may not be enclosed later. Such use may be in a
separate building constructed specifically for the use.
Further, excluding renovation of existing structures, no
such family apartment shall be more than 200 feet from the
main residence, except upon a written finding by the BZA, to
be recorded in the permit, that exceptional topographic
conditions exist on the site (or that a negative impact on
adjacent properties may be mitigated), such that varying
this limit shall not act to the detriment of the public
interest, upon which finding the BZA may grant such
separation as it deems appropriate. No family apartment
shall utilize a separate entrance to the property unless
such entrance is already in existence. For apartments to be
constructed in existing accessory buildings, the amount of
living space shall be no more than 1,000 square feet and the
limitation on enclosed utility/storage/accessory space shall
not apply. In no case shall accessory space be converted to
residential occupancy, and the BZA is empowered to impose
such conditions as will render such conversion unlikely,
including but not limited to floor plans, means of
ingress/egress, etc. The apartment may not be rented to
anyone other than a family member for a period of two years
following completion thereof. There shall be no more than
one family apartment per separate parcel of land.
Warren County
does not allow second dwellings for full time residents.
Only guest houses are permitted.
Stafford County
allows accessory dwellings,
unrestricted to family members – anyone may occupy. However,
rent is prohibited except rent paid by family member
occupants. Only one accessory dwelling per lot is allowed
and the accessory dwelling can be no larger than twenty-five
percent of the gross floor area of the principal structure.
If this rule applied in Fauquier County, the Smiths would be
allowed an accessory dwelling of approximately 600 square
feet.
Culpeper County
permits accessory dwellings. Such
dwellings are restricted to twenty-five percent of the gross
floor area of the principal dwelling. Attached apartments
may be the larger of thirty percent of the gross floor area
or one thousand square feet.
Clarke County
allows accessory guest cottages of
six hundred square feet. The house may be no more than
three hundred feet from the principal dwelling. They may be
rented.
Madison County
only allows accessory dwellings
when the parcel is large enough to be divided into two
lots. The structure must meet the same requirements (set
backs, well and septic, etc.) as the principal structure.
Orange County
only allows accessory dwellings in
cases of medical emergencies. A special permit may be
issued for six months and reauthorized for up to two years.
Continuation after two years requires a variance.
Note that Fauquier County also
permits, by right, efficiency apartments. Under the Zoning
Ordinance, efficiency apartments are subject to the
following standards:
1.
Such a unit shall not be occupied by more than two
persons;
2.
Not more than one such unit shall be located on a
lot;
3.
Such a unit shall contain no more than 600 square
feet of gross floor area or 25% of the total gross floor
area of the dwelling, whichever is greater;
4.
Such a unit shall be located only on the same lot as
the residence of the owner of the lot; and
5.
Architectural features of such a unit shall conform
to the single family character of the neighborhood (e.g., no
additional front doors).
Fauquier
County also permits quarters for a caretaker, watchman, or
tenant farmer but only in the rural districts at a density
not to exceed one unit per fifty acres. These houses are
unrestricted as to size and occupancy.
The Smiths
promote this amendment as a means of alleviating a housing
crisis in Fauquier County. The fair market rental for a
two-bedroom unit in Fauquier County is $1,225, and the
annual income required to make this unit affordable as
$49,000.
A study
prepared by the Rappahannock Rapidan Regional Commission
Workforce Housing Working Group reports that in 2004, the
median housing sales price in Fauquier County was $347,000.
The income required, per the report, to purchase a house at
that price was $80,000. Based on this analysis, 95% of the
full-time permanent employees of Fauquier County General
Government, at FY 2007 salary levels, cannot afford (based
on their individual salaries) to purchase a home in Fauquier
County at the 2004 median housing sales price. In May of
2006, the Fauquier Democrat reported that the average home
price in Fauquier County is now $508,000.
Family
housing units are recognized as a way of alleviating a
shortage of affordable housing, not only for the renter but
also for the owner who now has supplemental income to apply
against rising mortgage, insurance, and tax costs. A plus
side of this method (using second dwellings for rental
units), as opposed to proffers or other means of securing
affordable units, is that the program is free of government
monitoring and bureaucratic control. It is market driven.
The process runs itself.
The Smiths’
proposal begs the question whether their proposed amendments
will encourage the building of more family dwelling units.
Twenty-three were built in 2004. Fourteen were built in
2005. As of today, fourteen have been built in 2006.
The Board of Supervisors may want to consider dropping the
requirement that such second units be for family members.
Certainly, there are childless couples who would want the
benefit of renting to a person or young couple for myriad
reasons. At present, childless couples can build efficiency
apartments that can be even larger than family dwelling
units. These apartments, however, are limited to two
individuals and must be in the principal house.
This
proposed text amendment was initiated by the Smiths. A copy
of their transmittal letter is attached. On July 27, 2006,
the Planning Commission conducted a work session on the
proposed amendment. A public hearing also was held on July
27, 2006. After closing the public hearing, the Planning
Commission voted to conduct a second work session on August
31, 2006. During the work session, the Planning Commission
separately discussed each of the Smiths’ amendments to
determine if there was any consensus or majority on any
item. On each item, the Planning Commission found they
could not support the changes. Members of the Planning
Commission did note that affordable housing is an issue that
warrants attention, but felt that this was not the vehicle
for addressing that issue. At its regular 4:00 p.m. meeting,
the Planning Commission unanimously voted to recommend
denial.
On October
12, 2006, the Board of Supervisors conducted a public
hearing. Several Board members indicated an interest to
slightly alter the existing family dwelling unit provisions;
for example, to: (a) substitute “tenant” or something
similar in lieu of “family” dwelling unit; (b) remove
porches eight feet or less in depth as an element required
in calculating the unit’s gross floor area; (c) allow 1,600
square foot tenant dwelling units in Rural Agriculture (RA)
and Rural Conservation (RC) districts, while such units in
all other residential districts will be restricted to the
existing 1,400 square feet threshold; and (d) require well
and independent drainfield site provisions must be met. Such
changes will require the Board of Supervisors to direct
staff to re-advertise the revised text amendment for public
hearing. In response to these comments, an alternative
Ordinance is attached for consideration.
Upon
reviewing the alternative draft, Supervisor Graham expressed
his desire to not require independent well and septic.
Rather, he believes that well and septic requirements should
abide with the Health Department. Accordingly, he may move
to change Subsection 5 of the alternative proposal in the
following manner: Accessory dwelling units shall have
separate water and sewage systems, including, in
non-sewered areas, drainfield reserves. in accordance
with Health Department regulations.
|