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Neighboring Zoning/Land Use:
The subject building is located on
the property known as Vint Hill Station and within a Planned
Commercial Industrial Development (PCID) district. This
portion of Vint Hill is indentified on the Vint Hill Concept
Development Plan (CDP) for innovative technology.
Special
Exception Analysis:
At present the Board of
Supervisors may find that the school use is compatible at
this location within an industrial development since the
market is down and many buildings are vacant. If the market
changes and the “Innovative Technology” uses designated for
this area become more intense, the school use may no longer
be compatible as those types of uses may put the children’s
health, safety, and welfare in jeopardy.
All Special
Exceptions are subject to the provisions set forth in
Chapter 5 of the Zoning Ordinance. Section 5-001.1 states
“There are certain uses which, by their nature, can have an
undue impact upon or be incompatible with other uses of land
within a given district. These uses as described may be
allowed to locate within certain designated districts under
the controls, limitations and regulations of an
administrative permit, special permit, or special
exception.” Further Section 5-006.1 says:
5-006 General Standards for
Special Permits and Special Exception Uses
In addition to the
special standards set forth hereinafter for specific uses,
all special permit and special exception uses shall also
satisfy the following general standards:
1. The proposed
use shall be such that it will not adversely affect the use
or development of neighboring properties. It shall be in
accordance with the applicable zoning district regulations
and the applicable provisions of the adopted Comprehensive
Plan. The location, size and height of buildings,
structures, walls and fences, and the nature and extent of
screening, buffering and landscaping shall be such that the
use will not hinder or discourage the appropriate
development and/or use of adjacent or nearby land and/or
buildings or impair the value thereof.
General
Standards (5-006) require, among other things, that the
proposed use shall not adversely affect the use or
development of neighboring properties; the pedestrian and
vehicular traffic generated will not be hazardous or
conflict with the anticipated traffic in the neighborhood
and on the streets serving the site; and adequate utilities
to serve the site are provided. Although the school use is
allowed, via Special Exception, in the PCID district, as
other users rent space in the building the use may become
incompatible. The applicant has requested a 5-year Special
Exception. Based on the current market and amount of vacant
space at Vint Hill, at present, the use would likely be
compatible. The Planning Commission had concerns with
future incompatibility and so a condition was added to
provide annual Administrative renewal to ensure that the use
remains compatible with all other uses within the building.
The Board
of Supervisors will have to consider whether the provisions
of the Zoning Ordinance for a Special Exception have been
met in this application; 1) will the application negatively
impact the public health, safety and welfare of residents of
Fauquier County; 2) will the proposed use hinder and
discourage the appropriate development and use of adjacent
land and buildings and impair the value of adjacent land and
buildings in violation of Section 5-006 of the Zoning
Ordinance; 3) will the proposed use be compatible with
existing or planned development in the general area, as set
forth in Section 5-006 of the Zoning Ordinance; and 4) will
it be compatible with the general area?
Category 5:
Section 5-500 of the Zoning Ordinance outlines the following
standards for this Special Exception:
PART
5 5-500
CATEGORY 5 EDUCATIONAL USES
In addition to the
general standards set forth in Section 006 above, the
following standards shall apply:
5-501 Standards for All
Category 5 Uses
All off-street
parking and loading areas, swimming pools and tennis courts
and similar facilities shall be effectively screened and
shall not be located in any required yard in all Residential
and Rural District.
Information for the applicant
for the Site Plan phase.
5-502 Additional Standards for
All Category 5 Uses Other than Pre-School/Day Care
Center/Nursery School
1.
No structure used for or in
conjunction with the use shall be located within 100 feet of
any adjoining property which is in a Residential or Rural
District, except where such use proposes to utilize an
existing structure and the Board of Supervisors or the Board
of Zoning Appeals find that the lesser setback will not
cause an undue impact on adjoining properties because of the
specific characteristics of the proposed school or adjoining
property.
There are no new structures
proposed with this application; the current building meets
setback standards.
2.
The site shall have minimum
road frontage, as required for the site's zoning district,
on a road designated as a major collector in the
Comprehensive Plan, unless the Board of Supervisors or the
Board of Zoning Appeals find that the type and amount of
traffic generated by the facility is such that it will not
cause an undue impact on the neighbors or adversely affect
safety of road usage.
The site is
located on Watson Court which is not classified as a Major
Collector in the Comprehensive Plan. In order to approve
this application, the Board of Supervisors must make a
finding that the type or amount of traffic generated by the
facility is such that it will not cause an undue impact on
neighbors or adversely affect the safety of road usage.
Watson Court has not been accepted for State Maintenance,
but it is part of the Vint Hill road network.
The Institute of Traffic
Engineers (ITE) Manual (5th addition), states
that at full capacity (150 students) the requested private
school use (Private School Land Use Category 521 Private
School K-8) has a trip generation AM/PM peak hour rate as
follows:
a)
(0.93) trips per student during the AM peak hour with
a 63% enter versus 37% exiting directional distribution (140
AM PH trips)
b)
(0.61) trips per student during PM peak hour with a
43% entering versus 57% exiting directional distribution (92
PM PH trips)
The road network at Vint Hill is designed to accommodate
this level of traffic.
3.
All off-street parking and
loading spaces, swimming pools and tennis courts and similar
facilities shall be effectively screened and shall not be
located in any required yard in all Residential and Rural
Districts.
Information for the applicant
for the Site Plan phase.
5-504 Additional Standards for
Primary School, Secondary/Advanced Schools and Technical
Schools (Indoor)
1. In addition to
complying with the minimum lot size requirements of the
zoning district in which located, the minimum lot area for a
private school of general education shall be of such size
that:
A. 200 square feet
of usable outdoor recreation area shall be provided for each
child in grades kindergarten through three(3) that may use
the space at any one time, and
B. 430 square feet
of usable outdoor recreation area shall be provided for each
child in grades four (4) through twelve (12) that may use
the space at any one time. Such usable outdoor recreation
shall be delineated on a plat submitted at the time the
application is filed. For the purpose of this provision,
usable outdoor recreation area shall be limited in the same
manner as paragraph 503.1.
Adequate recreation space has
not been provided. The area is only 1600 feet. Thus it is
limited to a maximum of eight (8) children in kindergarten
through third grade or three (3) children in grades four
through twelve. The applicant intends to utilize public
sports fields for recreation during good weather and rent
space from the Fauquier County Parks and Recreation
Department at Vint Hill for indoor recreation space during
winter months.
Staff would recommend that the
applicant secure additional useable outdoor recreation space
adjacent to the building such that the area is sufficient in
size to allow a grade level (classroom) to utilize the
space. This can be accomplished during the Site Plan phase.
2. All outdoor
recreation areas shall be fully fenced, unless waived by the
Board with approval of a Special Exception.
Since the school is located
within a PCID district, staff recommends full fencing of the
recreation area.
3. The following
standards shall apply to primary and secondary/advanced
schools in residential zoning districts:
A.
Minimum lot size shall be 5
acres.
The site meets this standard;
it is 8.5702 acres in size.
B.
All exterior lighting shall be
designed and installed so that all direct rays are confined
to the site and adjacent properties are protected from
glare.
Information for the applicant
for the Site Plan phase. |
