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Summary Staff
Report:
Proposal:
The 13-acre
property is one of 253 properties that comprise the 19,212-acre
Southern Fauquier Agricultural and Forestal District, which
expires on February 16, 2006. The property has been in the
Agricultural and Forestal District since September 20, 1983.
Normally, the proposed uses are
allowed by Special Permit within the Rural Agricultural (RA)
zone. However, the County requires properties located in
Agricultural and Forestal Districts to receive Special Exception
approval by the County Board of Supervisors prior to site plan
submittal for uses usually approved as Special Permits.
Ten dogs per
acre are allowed at the kennel per the Zoning Ordinance Category
13 standards. The conditions proposed by the Planning
Commission would permit up to a maximum of 119 dogs per day.
The entire 13-acre parcel is subject to the Special Exception.
However, the applicants intend to utilize only two (2) acres for
the proposed boarding kennel. The 11-acre portion of the
property will remain in agricultural uses.
Planning
Commission Action:
On February 19,
2004, the Planning Commission held a public hearing on the
proposal and postponed action to allow for a site visit. On
March 11, 2004, the Planning Commission and a representative
from the Virginia Department of Transportation attended the site
visit. After the March 25, 2004 public hearing, the Planning
Commission recommended approval of SPEX04-CR-015, subject to the
following conditions:
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The approved Special Exception shall be granted for and run
with the land indicated in this application and shall not be
transferable to other land.
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The subject parcel under this Special Exception shall not be
subdivided without amendment to the Special Exception in
accordance with the provisions of Article 5 of the Zoning
Ordinance.
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The
term of this Special Exception shall be limited to three (3)
years from the date of site plan approval,
but may be extended on an annual basis by the Zoning
Administrator in accordance with the provisions of Section
5-012 of the Zoning Ordinance for seven (7) annual
extensions, a total of ten (10) years. Thereafter, the
Special Exception must be renewed in accordance with Section
5-013 of the Zoning Ordinance.
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The dog grooming use shall be limited to no more than 24
grooming clients per week with no grooming clients permitted
on Sundays. However, this condition does not limit the
grooming of boarded dogs.
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The hours of operation shall be limited to 7:00 a.m. to 7:00
p.m., Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to noon Saturday and
1:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Sunday.
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The dog boarding use shall be limited to boarding of no more
than 75 dogs per day. And, the proposed training classes
shall be limited to ten (10) dogs per class for four (4)
classes per year. The cat boarding shall be limited to no
more than 20 cats per day.
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The dog daycare portion of the operation shall be limited to
10 clients per day, with no daycare permitted on Sundays.
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Any expansion of the boarding, daycare, grooming, or
training uses shall require amendment to this Special
Exception approval.
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The applicants shall maintain the farm building appearance
of any remodeled or reconstructed buildings used for the
kennel/day care operation.
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The applicant shall file a site
plan within one year of approval of this Special Exception.
Land Area, Location and Zoning:
The property is
located in Bealeton at 10104 Green Road (Route 674) near the
intersection of Old Marsh Road (Route 837). The property is
zoned Rural Agricultural (RA). A map of the property is shown
below.
Neighboring Zoning/Land Use:
The property is currently zoned RA
(Agriculture). Consistent with this zoning category, this
property is located in a district that contains the areas where
agriculture and forestry are the predominant uses or where
significant agricultural lands or large lot type residential
development exists. While the property borders the Village of
Liberty, the properties on three sides of the subject property
are also zoned RA.
Staff
Analysis:
Staff and the appropriate referral agencies have reviewed this
request for conformance with the Comprehensive Plan, the Zoning
Ordinance, and other relevant policies and regulations. Staff
and referral agency findings, comments, and recommendations are
summarized below. The actual responses from referral agencies
are included as attachments.
Code Requirements
The proposed kennel operation must be
consistent with the requirements of Section 5-1301 (Additional
Standards for Kennels):
1. The minimum lot size requirement
shall be two (2) acres.
2. No structure for the
confinement, care or breeding of dogs, and no associated
structure shall be located closer than 75 feet to any lot line,
except that this requirement shall not apply to structures which
are completely enclosed, adequately soundproofed and constructed
so that there will be no emission of odor or noise detrimental
to other properties in the area.
3. All dogs shall be kept in pens
designed and maintained for secure confinement.
4. In consideration of an
application for a permit, the Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA)
shall take into account the numbers and kinds of dogs proposed
to be kept and the characteristics thereof and may prescribe
conditions with respect thereto.
5. Maximum of ten (10) dogs per
acre.
Virginia Department of Transportation
The Warrenton Residency staff
reviewed the above referenced Special Exception dated January 9,
2004, and has the following comments:
1. Under Virginia Administrative Code § 24 VAC 30-71-10 a
Commercial Entrance is needed to serve all entities other than
an individual private residence. This planned use will generate
vehicular traffic to a residence. The entrance must be
constructed in accordance with VDOT’s Minimum Standard of
Entrance to State Highways and must meet minimum sight distance
requirements. An updated entrance permit and appropriate
entrance improvements are the responsibility of the owner.
Staff Comments:
During the March 11, 2004 site visit, the applicant and the
VDOT representative discussed the site specific refinements
that would be necessary in order to create the appropriate
commercial entrance for the site. The applicant intends to
implement the VDOT recommendations and standards.
2. The number of trips per day with the dog daycare would
represent a significant impact on Green Road. The 68 estimated
trips per day with the dog daycare would double the number of
trips currently on the road. The dog daycare would concentrate
the bulk of the trips in a small window of time during the peak
times on the road. The remaining uses should distribute the
trips in such a manner that there will be no significant impact,
and many of the trips should be during off peak times. We
recommend that the dog daycare be removed from the special
exception, and that conditions be placed that no increase in the
usage be approved until Green Road has been upgraded.
Staff Comments:
Trip generation associated with this new business is dependant
on the number of clients, workers and other business or service
trips. The applicants estimate approximately 30 trips per day
on average (this figure includes employees and deliveries) as
they do not anticipate that a new business would be at peak
capacity during the initial start-up phase. It is also unlikely
that the facility would have 100% occupancy or hypothetically
have all of the clients arrive or depart at the same time or
day. It is more likely that the trips will be distributed
throughout the day and therefore not impact peak periods. The
applicant has also reduced some services and total numbers of
animals in order to minimize impact to Green Road. It should
also be noted that the site does have administrative subdivision
potential and that that some of the Planning Commissioners
indicated that keeping the parcel intact and maintaining its
farming and agricultural characteristics would be preferable to
breaking up the parcel to build additional residences. In
addition, the site activities have been limited on Sundays to
address the traffic impacts associated with the church located
nearby on Green Road.
Health Department
Although the Health Department
does not regulate disposal of animal waste, they offered a
recommendation to the applicants for the new drain field that
will serve the proposed kennel operation. The applicants have
indicated that they intend to follow the Health Department’s
suggestion and they will install a grinder pump on the
(separate) septic system that will be used for their business.
Summary and
Recommendations:
Staff
recommends that the Board of Supervisors consider approval of
the Resolution for SPEX04-CR-015: A Category 13 Special
Exception to allow for a kennel offering boarding to pets,
grooming, indoor obedience training and doggy daycare, as
recommended by the Planning Commission.
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