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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 three (3) sides by
parcels that are zoned Residential (R-4) and on one (1) side
by a parcel that is zoned Rural Agricultural (RA).
The
Applicant proposes this reduction of open space to
accommodate a proposed water storage silo on Stephenson Hill
(per local historian Eugene Scheel), 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 as such it 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 for
this area should be given particular scrutiny and, if so
located, the facility should be very unobtrusive.
Summary and Recommendations:
Staff and
the Planning Commission do not support this Special
Exception and recommend a resolution to deny the request.
Also note that this application is directly linked to
another Special Exception request (SPEX04-MA-020) for a
water storage silo that the Planning Commission forwarded
with recommendation of denial at its April 29, 2004
meeting. Staff recommends that the Board hold the public
hearing and postpone action to allow for the appropriate
public notice.
Since the
two Special Exceptions are linked, it is suggested that they
are treated in the same regard. Additionally, staff also
asks the Board of Supervisors to consider 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, and to have this change
of open space include the reduction of the access road to
the site.
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