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The existing Zoning Ordinance regulations do not clearly
address blacksmith shops or similar artisan shops. In the
case where someone wished to operate such a shop on the
property where they reside, the Ordinance would allow it as
a home occupation, with up to one employee by-right or four
employees as a major home occupation with approval of a
special permit.
The Zoning Ordinance is less clear regarding where such a
use would be allowed in the cases where the proprietor did
not live on the property. One possibility would be to
categorize the use as a Heavy Industrial use under
Section 3-317.5, because that category does specifically
allow “Iron, steel or copper works for foundries.”
However, staff does not believe the use would be accurately
categorized as an iron works or foundry, because typically
such uses are characterized by mechanized processes
involving molds, whereas a blacksmith forges and shapes
metal by hand utilizing an anvil and hammer. If the use
was categorized as Heavy Industrial it would only be
allowed in the I-2 Industrial District, and with a Special
Exception.
Alternatively, it might be possible to classify the use
under existing regulations as Limited Industrial
under Section 3-316.1. While there is no definition in the
Ordinance for Limited Industrial, Section 3-316.1
elaborates by describing the category as “enclosed
laboratories and facilities for manufacturing, assembling,
research and development.” Blacksmithing and similar
crafts could certainly be considered manufacturing, which is
defined by Webster’s Dictionary as “the
act of making something (a product) from raw materials.”
Limited Industrial uses are currently allowed in
the RA district with approval of a special exception on
parcels of at least 100 acres, and subject to additional
standards.
The issue
at hand is whether a Blacksmith Shop may be appropriate on
smaller rural parcels and/or by-right or with special permit
approval rather than by special exception approval. The
issue was raised because staff has been working with the
Cardine family to resolve a number of land use issues
related to a parcel they own at 6588 Balls Mill Road, at its
intersection with Marsh Road/Route 17 in the Cedar Run
District. One of the outstanding issues is a Blacksmith
Shop that was located on the property approximately 4 years
ago in existing agricultural buildings, without approval of
any zoning or building permits. Board members may have read
about the Blacksmith Shop in a recent edition of the
Fauquier Times-Democrat, which featured an article on
the business (See attachment 2).
Staff is
unable to approve the shop under the existing Zoning
Ordinance. Mr. Patrick Cardine, the owner and operator of
the ornamental blacksmith shop, does not live on the
property and therefore the use does not qualify as a home
occupation; in any case, with 7 existing employees and an
anticipated growth to 12 employees, the home occupation
limitations would not work for this particular use.
Likewise, the use cannot be approved under the Heavy
Industrial classification because the property is not
zoned I-2, nor can it be approved as Limited Industrial,
as the property does not meet the 100 acre minimum lot
size, as the Cardine property encompasses only 65.41 acres,
with approximately 3.8 of these acres zoned V/Village.
From a
land-use perspective, craftsmen such as Blacksmiths
historically worked within rural areas, so allowing such
uses on parcels less than 100 acres may not be inconsistent
with the County’s goals related to rural preservation.
Therefore, at the request of Supervisor Graham, staff has
prepared this text amendment, which reduces the minimum lot
size for Blacksmith shops and similar artisan shops from 100
acres to 50 acres. The amendment would also allow the use
to be approved by special permit rather than special
exception, but limits the size of the shop to a maximum of
12 employees. (Larger shops would still be allowed on
parcels of 100 acres or more, with special exception
approval.) The existing standards for such limited
industrial uses are retained and provide additional
protections related to traffic, building design and impacts
on adjoining properties.
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