CONSENT AGENDA REQUEST

Owners/Applicants:

Board of Supervisors Meeting Date: 

James L. and Elsie M. Browning

 February 12, 2009

Staff Lead:

Department:

Kristen Slawter, Senior Planner

Community Development

Magisterial District:                                                                                                               PINs:

Cedar Run                                                                                                            7828-69-9862-000
                                                                                                                             7828-79-6337-000

Service District:
None

Topic:  

A Resolution to Approve a Waiver for a Private Street that Does Not Connect Directly to a State-Maintained Road (WVRP09-CR-011)

Topic Description:

The applicants are seeking a waiver of Zoning Ordinance Section 7.302.1.A.2 which would allow a subdivision on a private street that does not connect directly to a state maintained road. 

The applicants submitted a series of administratively-reviewed applications to vacate the existing subdivision of two lots of ±15.0712 and ±6.0037 acres in size and then re-subdivide the land into a total of three lots, consisting of one ±11.0749-acre administrative lot, one ±3.9963-acre family transfer lot, and one ±6.0037-acre residue lot (Attachment 2).  This would be done by way of a Deed of Vacation, Deed of Re-subdivision, Family Transfer, and Administrative Subdivision approval concurrently. The Deed of Vacation would vacate a 50-foot wide ingress/egress easement that is located on both parcels that connects to a private, 50-foot wide easement named Eskridge’s Lane.  The application to re-subdivide the land into three lots proposes a 50-foot ingress-egress easement that does not connect directly to a state maintained road, hence the need for this legislative waiver of Zoning Ordinance Section 7.302.1.A.2.  Without approval of this waiver, the land would not be able to yield one additional lot.

It is up to the applicants and surveyor to establish the presence or absence of any private road maintenance agreements that would be applicable to the future lots.  As required, the applicants have signed an affidavit stating that the family transfer lot is not subject to a road maintenance agreement.  This leads staff to believe that none of the proposed three lots in the subdivision would be subject to a road maintenance agreement for the private road named Eskridge’s Lane.

The applicants also submitted an application for an Administrative Waiver of Subdivision Ordinance Section 3.2.A.6 to allow the lots to be serviced by a private road of more than 1,000 feet in length.  This administrative waiver was approved in August 2008.

The applicants’ statement of justification (Attachment 1) for this waiver explains they are pursuing the re-subdivision of land for their two daughters.  Attachment 2 shows that one home exists on each of the current parcels, each occupied currently by the applicants’ two daughters.  The applicants explain in their statement of justification that they intend the proposed residue parcel and the Family Transfer Lot (Parcel 2A) to go to their daughters, while Parcel 2B is proposed as an Administrative Lot. Should the aforementioned administratively-reviewed applications be approved, the lots as proposed would exhaust all subdivision potential.

Location,  Zoning and Current Land Use: 

The subject parcels associated with the waiver request are zoned Rural Agriculture and the land use is Rural.  Parcel 7828-79-6337-000 has frontage on a private, 50-foot wide ingress/egress easement named Eskridge’s Lane.  The other subject parcel (7828-69-9862-000) is accessed by a private, 50-foot wide ingress/egress easement that does not connect directly to a state maintained road.  The private road off Eskridge’s Lane connects directly to the state maintained portion of Eskridge’s Lane (Route 748). 

The subject parcels are bounded on all sides by parcels zoned Rural Agriculture.   

General Illustrative of Easements and Proposed Subdivision:

Site History:

A Subdivision Potential Letter from the Zoning Office dated June 13, 2007 indicated that PIN 7828-69-9862-000 had no subdivision potential after it was part of an Administrative Subdivision approved on September 30, 1987 and a Boundary Line Adjustment approved on August 28, 2006.  The letter stated that the Boundary Line Adjustment and Administrative Subdivision could be vacated and thus return the parcel to its original size of ± 21.0749 acres and hold a total of three potential lots.  The applicants have followed this course of action.

Staff Analysis:

The Zoning Ordinance allows the Board of Supervisors to waive Section 7.302.1.A.2 provided that the applicant can show that:

1.      No other remedy is realistically feasible;

2.      Plausible alternatives have been exhausted;

3.      Not to modify the applicable limitation would place an unreasonable restriction on the use of the property; and

4.      Properties through which access is planned will not be unreasonably affected.

The applicants explain in their statement of justification how these four items apply.

In addition, the Zoning Ordinance allows the Board to consider other development limitations on the proposed lots in granting the waiver, one being that the lot(s) is a Family Transfer.  The applicants are seeking the waiver to serve one future Administrative lot and one future Family Transfer lot.

Planning Commission Summary and Action of January 29, 2009:

The Planning Commission discussed this item at their work session.  While they were willing to allow this waiver, they did not want any additional properties or homes using this private street. 

At the public meeting, the Planning Commission unanimously recommended approval of the Waiver of Zoning Ordinance Section 7.302.1.A.2 to Allow for a Private Street that Does Not Connect Directly to a State Maintained Road for PINs 7828-69-9862-000 and 7828-79-6337-000 and their descendent PINs up to a total of three lots as illustrated on the Plat prepared by The Engineering Groupe and dated December 4, 2007 and signed by Ned Marshall, CLS on January 9, 2009 (Attachment 2), or a subsequently revised plat that illustrates the new subdivision lots.  The Waiver was recommended for approval, subject to the following conditions:

1. Any other parcel seeking access to the private ingress/egress easement created on this plat would need to obtain a separate waiver of Zoning Ordinance Section 7.302.1.A.2.
2. Each of the three, proposed lots are prohibited from future construction of a Family Dwelling Unit, Efficiency Apartment, or Guest House as defined by the Fauquier County Zoning Ordinance, or any other dwelling unit aside from one, single-family dwelling unit.

Requested Action of the Board of Supervisors:

Consider adoption of the attached resolution.

Attachments:

1.         Applicant’s Statement of Justification

2.         Reduced Plat Showing Proposed Administrative Division, Family Transfer Lot, and Easement