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Topic Description:
The purpose
of this Special Exception is to obtain approval to amend a
previously approved Special Exception condition. The
amendment would allow for a further incremental reduction in
open space in order to accommodate the placement of a water
storage silo on the site. The
property is in the Marshall Service District and is located
off West Main Street in Marshall; across from the Marshall
Rescue Squad and east of Lunceford Lane.
The Cannon
Ridge Subdivision already has an approved Special Exception
(SPEX03-MA-016) for a reduction in open space for the
subdivision. This resolution was approved by the Board on
April 21, 2003. The subdivision’s proposed clustering of
lots required the provision of common open space equal to
50% of the total land area. The Applicant was approved for
a reduction of 6%, which is equivalent to an open space
allocation of 44%. This amount of land was determined to
still provide ample recreation opportunity and preservation
of the hilltop area which has local and historical
significance to residents.
This
Special Exception requires an amendment in order to further
reduce the open space requirements so a proposed water
storage silo can be placed there. Because the Fauquier
County Zoning Ordinance Section 2-309.4 indicates that: “In
no instance shall open space credit be given for lands which
are included in or reserved for the right-of-way of any
street, or for any public facility…” With respect to
public utilities, the Ordinance does not consider it to be
part of open space, except as part of utility easements, and
then only when the remaining portions of the easements are
dedicated for recreation/open space use.
The
original open space reduction caused the open space to be
about 7.92 acres instead of the required 9 acres. With this
amendment, the Applicant requests a further reduction of
open space, equivalent to less than one percent (0.63
percent), to be approved. That action would allow the site
to accommodate the proposed water storage silo, which will
be interconnected with the public water service system. The
resulting open space area would then total about 7.86
acres. However, this figure has not taken into account the
access road to the silo.
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Land Area, Location and Zoning:
The
property, which is in the Marshall Service District, is
located off Main Street in Marshall, Virginia; across from
the Marshall Rescue Squad and east of Lunceford Lane,
Marshall District. The property is zoned Residential
(R-2). A map of the property is shown below.
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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.
Zoning and Land Use
The property is currently zoned
Residential (R-2). Consistent with this zoning category,
this property is located in a district that contains similar
zoning and parcels, which are also within the Service
District. The property is bound on 3 sides by parcels that
are zoned Residential (R-4) and on one side is Rural
Agricultural (RA).
In Zoning Ordinance Section
5-2701, Standard for Reduction of Common Open Space as
Permitted by Paragraph 2-410, there are two criteria in
determining whether a reduction in common open space is
permissible.
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The required amount is not necessary in order to
establish neighborhood open space for useable
recreation, accessibility, visibility and linkage with
other established or planned subdivisions, adjacent open
space, parks, schools, or similar land uses.
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The area, particularly adjacent parcels, is developed
predominately as conventional subdivisions without open
space and the required open space would result in an
inconsistent pattern of development, in which case open
space may be reduced to zero.
Per the
Ordinance, the Applicant will still have ample active
recreation area, and retain the majority of trees as
indicated in the Marshall Service District Plan, should the
reduction of open space be approved. The adjoining
properties do not have common open space since they were
developed in the past as conventional subdivisions.
The
Applicant proposes this reduction of open space to
accommodate a proposed water storage silo on Stephenson Hill
(per local historian Eugene Scheel), or otherwise known as
Cannon Ridge, in the south-west quadrant of Marshall. This
small hill was identified in the Marshall Citizen Committee
VISION exercise as an important cultural and environmental
resource to the community, and had a military significance
associated with the Civil War. Accordingly, the Marshall
Service District Comprehensive Plan identifies Stephenson
Hill as a preserved area, and such was given consideration
during recent subdivision approval of this parcel. Given
the importance of Stephenson Hill/Cannon Ridge to the
community, any public facility proposed to be located in
this area should be given particular scrutiny to this regard
and, if located, the facility should be very unobtrusive.
Summary and Recommendations:
Staff is
not in support of this Special Exception and recommends a
resolution to deny the request. Also note that this
application is directly linked to another Special Exception
request for the water storage silo.
At its
April 29, 2004 meeting, the Planning Commission recommended
that the water storage silo Special Exception application
(SPEX04-MA-020) be denied. Staff recommends that the Board
hold the public hearing and take this action into
consideration.
Since the
two Special Exceptions are linked, it is suggested that they
be considered concurrently. Additionally, staff also
requests that the Board of Supervisors take into
consideration the historical significance of this site. The
proposed location sits upon the highest point in Marshall,
as well as one of historic significance. It is an area
that, albeit privately owned, is of great importance to
community residents. If the Board should decide to approve
the aforementioned request, staff recommends maintaining the
original conditions and resolution, with the addition of the
amendment to the text, to reflect the change in open space
(0.63 percent), and a reduction to 43% versus the required
50% [or the formerly approved reduction of 44%].
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