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This text amendment proposes
changes to the Zoning Ordinance related to two categories of
commercial uses: Category 12-Commercial retail and Category
13-Commercial business and personal services. The
proposed changes broaden the uses allowed in various
districts. The changes also seek to reduce approval
requirements where appropriate, particularly by
consolidating approvals up-front where possible. The
proposed changes are also intended to bring more consistency
to the regulations by adjusting requirements so that more
review is provided in the C-1/Neighborhood Commercial and
CV/Village Commercial districts as compared to the more
intense C-2/Commercial Highway and C-3/Commercial Shopping
Center districts.
Few changes have actually
been made to the CV/Commercial Village Zoning District,
because the Planning Commission asked that this district be
considered separately, allowing more focus on the unique
characteristics of the County’s villages. Therefore,
changes within the CV district as part of this amendment are
limited to clarification and consistency issues.
More specifically, the
proposed amendments accomplish the following:
·
Allows more
(up to 20,000 sq. ft. compared to the existing 5,000 sq. ft.
limit) retail/shopping center uses in the C-1/Commercial
Neighborhood zone without approval of a special permit.
The 5,000 sq. ft. to 20,000 sq. ft. levels of
retail/shopping center are proposed to be allowed by
approval of an Administrative permit, subject to certain
standards that limit the size and scale of individual retail
uses to one appropriate in these neighborhood oriented
areas. Hence, a 20,000 sq. ft. building with a 10,000 sq.
ft. footprint would not be allowed administratively, but
four 5,000 square foot retail uses each built to a smaller
“townhouse” scale footprint could be approved
administratively. As the administrative approval could be
processed concurrent with required site plans, one separate
step in the approval process is eliminated, saving potential
time in the process.
·
Clarifies the
distinction between “Retail Sales Establishment” and
“Shopping Center,” which has historically created confusion
and potential delays. Allows shopping centers over 50,000
sq. ft. in the C-2 Commercial Highway district, with
approval of a special exception (not currently allowed,
although a single store of more than 50,000 sq. ft. is
allowed by special exception). For consistency, also adds
requirement for special exception for a shopping center over
50,000 sq. ft. for the C-3 commercial district (now up to
200,000 sq. ft. shopping center allowed by-right), in
recognition that a large center could potentially have
significant impacts. Although this change adds an
additional approval requirement for large shopping centers
in the C-3 district at the onset, this change is offset by a
decrease in subsequently required approvals for individual
uses.
·
Clarifies and
expands the uses that can be placed within an approved
“Shopping Center” without the need for further approvals, to
include most office, eating establishment, retail, personal
service and business uses. For example, if a fast food
eating establishment wants to locate within an approved
shopping center, it currently requires special permit
approval. This recently occurred where a Pizza Hut
carry-out restaurant wanted to locate at Bealeton Station
shopping center. The proposed change would allow the use to
go into an existing approved shopping center provided all
Zoning Ordinance requirements can be met (i.e., parking).
As amendments to additional categories of uses in the
Zoning Ordinance are proposed, it is anticipated that
additional uses will be identified to be allowed by-right in
a shopping center, including such uses as amusement arcades,
auto-parts shops (no installation), indoor technical
schools, etc.
·
Eliminates
certain specific categories of retail uses (antique shops
over 3,000 sq. ft., furniture stores, gift shops) allowing
these retail uses to go anywhere that retail/shopping
center uses are allowed subject to the same limitations as
retail/shopping center uses. Note, the “antique shops less
than 3,000 square feet” is maintained as a separate category
to allow such small shops to continue to be considered in
the RC/RA and R-1 districts, where other retail uses are not
allowed.
·
Eliminates the
distinction between professional offices and business
offices, combining them into a single “office category” that
is then categorized by size. As with retail, a new category
is introduced for offices 5,000 sq. ft. to 20,000 sq. ft. in
size, allowing increased levels of office space in the C-1
zoning district with approval of an administrative permit
rather than a special permit.
·
Creates a new
laundry/dry-cleaning category, for drop-off and pick-up only
(as opposed to processing), allowed in every commercial
district and I-1 light industrial. Also changes the
break-point for other laundry/dry-cleaning facilities from
3,000 sq. ft. to 5,000 sq. ft., consistent with other uses
in the commercial business category.
·
Adds “repair
service establishment;” “furniture repair, cabinet making,
upholstery,” “barber/beauty shop”; “carpentry, plumbing,
electrical, printing, welding, sheet metal shops” and
“photographic studio” to additional zoning districts. Also
changes approvals required in some cases. All changes are
highlighted in red and underlined. The proposed changes are
intended to eliminate gaps and inconsistencies in the
Ordinance. Uses allowed in the smaller scale neighborhood
oriented districts (C-1 and CV) are added to the other
commercial districts where not currently allowed. For
example, “furniture repair, cabinet making, upholstery”
shops over 5,000 sq. ft. are now allowed in C-1 with a
special permit, but are not allowed at all in C-2, or C-3.
The proposed language adds the use to the additional
commercial districts. The proposed changes also bring more
consistency to where a use is allowed by-right versus with a
special permit; in some cases uses allowed in the smaller
scale neighborhood oriented districts by-right require more
stringent approvals in other commercial districts. For
example, currently a “laundry, dry-cleaning establishment,
laundromat” use is allowed in C-1 and CV by-right, with a
special permit required in C-2. The proposed change makes
the use a special permit in the lower density, neighborhood
oriented districts, and makes the use by right-in the more
intense C-2 district.
·
Eliminates
barber/beauty shop from the rural and residential districts;
however, these uses have been added back in as a home
occupation under separate amendment. The existing standards
for the barber/beauty shop in rural and residential zones
already require that the use meet the home occupation
standards.
·
Creates a
drive-through facility as a separate use requiring a special
permit, regardless of whether or not it is associated with a
bank, a restaurant, a drug-store or any other use.
·
Adds
additional commercial uses to the I-1/Industrial district to
allow development of more flex/warehouse/office type uses as
opposed to only pure industrial uses. New uses added
include: offices, repair services, laundry/dry-cleaning
facilities, barber/beauty shop and photographic studio.
·
Offices are
currently allowed in rural and residential zones under two
categories: “Office, professional 3 or less employees” and
“Office, professional 6 or less employees.” The text
amendment combines the office uses into a single category
“Office, 6 or less employees.” The change broadens the
types of offices allowed in these districts, but continues
to require a special permit for all such offices and
continues to limit the number of employees to six.
The Board of Supervisors
initiated the text amendment at their August 10, 2006
meeting. The Planning Commission held a work session and
public hearing on the text amendment on October 26, 2006.
At that meeting, the Commission directed staff to eliminate
proposed changes to the Commercial Village district as part
of this amendment, asking that such amendments be considered
separately. The attached text amendment language reflects
the proposed Planning Commission changes. On November 30,
2006, by a 4 to 0 vote, the Planning Commission recommended
adoption.
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