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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/14/2009 - Planning Commission - Minutes - RegularAPPROVED MINUTES PLANNING COMMISSION October 14, 2009 A regular meeting of the Planning Commission of the City of Salem, Virginia, was held in Council Chambers, City Hall, 114 North Broad Street, at 7:00 p.m., on October 14, 2009, there being present the following members of said Commission, to wit: Gardner W. Smith, Jimmy W. Robertson, and Vicki G. Daulton (Bruce N. Thomasson and Terrance D. Murphy – absent); with Gardner W. Smith, Chairman, presiding; together with James E. Taliaferro, II, Assistant City Manager and Executive Secretary, ex officio member of said Commission; Melinda J. Payne, Director of Planning and Development; Charles B. Aldridge, Sr., Acting Building Official and Zoning Administrator; Benjamin W. Tripp, Planner; Judy L. Hough, Planner; and William C. Maxwell, Assistant City Attorney; and the following business was transacted: ON MOTION MADE BY COMMISSION MEMBER DAULTON, AND DULY CARRIED, the minutes of the regular meeting and work session held on July 15, 2009, were approved as written – the roll call vote: all present – aye. In re: Request of Richard H. Fisher, M.D., property owner, and Blue Ridge Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine P.L.C., lessee, for the issuance of a Special Exception Permit to allow a medical office on the property located at 103 East Main Street (Tax Map # 106-10-1) The Executive Secretary reported that this date and time had been set to hold a public hearing to consider the request of Richard H. Fisher, M.D., property owner, and Blue Ridge Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine P.L.C., lessee, for the issuance of a Special Exception Permit to allow a medical office on the property located at 103 East Main Street (Tax Map # 106-10-1); and WHEREAS, the Executive Secretary further reported that notice of such hearing had been published in the October 1 and 8, 2009, issues of The Roanoke Times, and adjoining property owners were notified by letter mailed October 2, 2009; and 2 WHEREAS, staff noted the following: the subject property consists of one parcel, located at northeast corner of Market Street and East Main Street; the property isapproximately 120 feet wide and 270 feet deep; it is occupied by a building generally known as the “Old Post Office,” an approximately 4,984 square foot general office building; this request is for a Special Exception Permit to allow a medical office specializing in osteopathic manipulative medicine, “a hands-on-treatment for musculoskeletal problems such as back pain, sciatica, and athletic injuries;” the applicant states the practice will be open part time, by appointment and will involve few, if any, additional employees; the applicant states she will not be prescribing narcotic medications, except in an emergency situation, but has not proffered this condition; and she also states there will be no laboratory or “X-Ray” equipment located at the facility; and WHEREAS, Dr. Sarah Steele-Killeen of Blue Ridge Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine, P.L.C., lessee, appeared before the Commission in support of the Special Exception Permit request; she noted that she would like to open an office for her business in the Old Post Office building located at 103 East Main Street; and WHEREAS, Commission Member Daulton noted that in the request she had stated that she would not be prescribing narcotic medication except in a rare situation; Mrs. Daulton asked what would be a rare occasion; Dr. Steele-Killeen stated that as a licensed physician if she has a patient that comes in who has excruciating pain, then she is obliged to treat it, but the nature of her business is hands-on treatment, and she does try to stay away from narcotics; further, she noted it will be her office policy not to prescribe narcotics, and she would not make it known that she would potentially make an exception for that; and WHEREAS, Commission Member Daulton asked if she would be doing acupuncture, and Dr. Steele-Killeen stated she does not do acupuncture – it is all hands-on treatment; Commission Member Daulton asked if the treatment is similar to a chiropractor, such as manipulation; Dr. Steele-Killeen noted that she supposed you could relate it to a chiropractor; she is a fully-licensed physician but is also a D.O.; she noted that in medical school D.O.’s also 3 learn how to do manipulation; further, she actually has two specialties, one is the musculoskeletal, and the other is family medicine; and WHEREAS, Commission Member Robertson noted that in the application Dr. Steele- Killeen had said she would be working part time; he asked if she had another location that she works at also; Dr. Steele-Killeen noted that she also teaches at the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine two days a week; and WHEREAS, no other person(s) appeared related to said request; ON MOTION MADE BY COMMISSION MEMBER ROBERTSON, AND DULY CARRIED, the Planning Commission of the City of Salem doth recommend to the Council of the City of Salem that the request of Richard H. Fisher, M.D., property owner, and Blue Ridge Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine P.L.C., lessee, for the issuance of a Special Exception Permit to allow a medical office on the property located at 103 East Main Street (Tax Map # 106-10-1) be approved – the roll call vote: all present - aye. In re: Consider amending Chapter 106, Article II District Regulations, Section 106- 310.9(A)(1) and Article VI Definitions and Use Types, Section 106-602.9 of THE CODE OF THE CITY OF SALEM, VIRGINIA, pertaining to homestay inns The Executive Secretary reported that this date and time had been set to hold a public hearing to consider amending Chapter 106, Article II District Regulations, Section 106- 310.9(A)(1) and Article VI Definitions and Use Types, Section 106-602.9 of THE CODE OF THE CITY OF SALEM, VIRGINIA, pertaining to homestay inns; and WHEREAS, the Executive Secretary further reported that notice of such hearing had been published in the October 1 and 8, 2009, issues of The Roanoke Times; and WHEREAS, staff noted the following: the following changes to the Use and Design Standards and Definition relating to homestay inns are proposed: Sec. 106-310.9 Homestay Inn. 4 (A) General standards: 1. The owner or the owner’s family agent shall reside on the same parcel occupied by the Homestay Inn. And Sec. 106-602.9 Commercial use types Homestay inn – A dwelling, occupied by the owner, in which not more than five bedrooms are provided for overnight guests for compensation, on a daily or weekly basis, with or without meals. The owner or the owner’s agent shall reside on the same parcel occupied by the Homestay Inn. A Homestay Inn may also be known as a bed and breakfast; And WHEREAS, Jay Taliaferro, Assistant City Manager and Executive Secretary, appeared before the Commission noting there has been some discussion over the last several months about the City’s definition of homestay inns, which is also referred to as a bed and breakfast, the current ordinance provides for a homestay inn only in an owner-occupied structure; there has been some interest from people in the community to potentially have this changed so that it would not have to be an owner-occupied structure; the proposed ordinance amendments would allow a homestay inn to be operated by the owner or the owner’s agent; and WHEREAS, Chairman Smith noted there are specific requirements in the ordinance that an applicant must also meet in order to apply for a homestay inn so the proposed ordinance amendments are not an all inclusive action; and WHEREAS, Mr. Taliaferro noted that if the Commission wants to recommend the changes presented, staff suggests that they also request legal counsel add a definition for owner’s agent; and 5 WHEREAS, Chairman Smith asked Mr. Taliaferro if he was referring to having legal counsel to define the title, owner’s agent; Mr. Taliaferro noted that this was correct, and the reason was that the title, owner’s agent, could not be given to a temporary resident who was only staying there for two nights; theoretically the owner’s agent could rotate between people who are simply staying in the bed and breakfast; and WHEREAS, there was some discussion related to the use and design standards for a homestay inn; and WHEREAS, Charles Hutsell of 220 Union Street, Salem, appeared before Commission in support of the proposed ordinance amendments; he presented the Commission some information on bed and breakfast related zoning ordinances from different states that the Commission might want to consider; one particular ordinance does allow for owner occupied or owner employee occupied; in addition, there are other standards that have to be met as well; he noted that he was in support of the request; and WHEREAS, Chairman Smith asked Mr. Hutsell if he had some experience with this type of lodging; Mr. Hutsell noted that he has stayed in a number of bed and breakfasts, and he really enjoys them; in addition, he feels it is nice to have someone who knows the community and can tell you a good place to eat or who knows something about the history of the area; he has stayed in some that were owner occupied and some that had a manager, and he really could not tell the difference; and WHEREAS, Chairman Smith asked if he felt that this request would be an advantage in terms of the City’s direction; Mr. Hutsell stated he believes that the proposed changes are a good move on the City’s part; and 6 WHEREAS, Bob Brugh of 628 Chamberlain Lane and owner of the Brugh’s Inn, appeared before the Commission in support of the changes; he noted that they have operated the Brugh’s Inn for almost two years now, and they do not have an agent at that location; in addition, when they applied for the rezoning on that property, they had to rezone for a hotel/motel; initially they had some concerns that guests might have a problem staying there without them being on the premises, but it has actually been a benefit; most people enjoy having the run of the house and not being worried about being too loud for the owners of the house; he noted that he has stayed in both types just like Mr. Hutsell has, and he felt more comfortable in the ones where the owner either lived in an adjacent property or off premises; they have found that their guests feel it is a more relaxed atmosphere and really enjoy their stay; he noted that he is aware there have been some concerns about the changes; he stated that when people go to a beach rental for a week, you stop and pick up a key at a rental facility; there are no owners or anyone there at the house to check on the occupants; he noted that with the existing B & B, they check on the property daily when someone is staying there, and his wife goes and prepares breakfast for the guests; they also have an assistant manager who comes over to clean up and do the preparation of the rooms; they keep a close eye on the property more so than they would if it were a rental property; he noted that Salem is doing a lot of really nice things right now with the amphitheater coming, the Farmers’ Market area, and the things we are doing to attract people but where we are lacking is in intimate lodging facilities; they have found this to be a significant problem with their current facility; there are weekends when they could rent 30 rooms; generally people who are looking for a bed and breakfast do not want the Comfort Inn or the Holiday Inn experience, so they feel we are losing restaurant revenue and downtown shopping revenue because we do not have the facilities they are looking for; he believes that going forward, we really need to make it easier for people to offer this type of facility in Salem; someone asked earlier if this type of lodging exists in established neighborhoods; this is generally where they are located; in Lexington there are bed and breakfasts mixed in with single family houses, and in Blacksburg and Christiansburg, it is the same there; further, with regards to the definition of the “owner’s agent,” he asked them to try to avoid using wording such that the person is on the payroll because their current manager is a 1099 employee; he noted with a manager living on premises, they would probably get reduced 7 living expenses in exchange for being there and taking care of the property; he further discussed a proposed homestay inn that he and his wife wish to open in the near future; he feels that the proposed changes to the ordinance will be a real benefit to the City and the community if we can provide more of these type of facilities; and WHEREAS, Commission Member Daulton stated that she is concerned about traffic for bed and breakfast facilities; specifically how do we handle the traffic for bed and breakfast facilities; she does weddings and a lot of weddings are performed at bed and breakfast inns; she noted that she realizes that we are considering changes to the ordinance this evening, but if we are talking about more of these coming into Salem, then this is something we need to think about; she wonders how he thinks we need to address the issue of traffic; Mr. Brugh stated they have found this to be kind of a self-correcting situation in their current operation; they have had a lot of requests for weddings, but what they have found is that people aren’t doing 20 to 30 guests weddings; rather, they are doing 100-200 guests weddings, and they are not able to accommodate a gathering this large; they have had a few small receptions, but if the group is over 50 people, they turn them down; and WHEREAS, Commission Member Robertson noted that he appreciated the comments Mr. Brugh made about the City; he feels that there are probably a lot of people who plan their vacations around this type of lodging; he is wondering if most of the Brugh’s customers are people that are coming to attend the same events, such as a VPI ballgames, Olde Salem Days, etc.; Mr. Brugh noted that they have not been able to find a rhyme or reason for the times when they are full; but on certain weekends such as graduations at Roanoke College, Virginia Tech, etc., there are other events taking place at the same time, and they have found the guests are usually attending the other events; they would like to see more of these facilities located within walking distance of downtown; further, they have found that if the guests have to get in their car and drive somewhere, then they will usually stay in Roanoke; and WHEREAS, there was further discussion related to the definition for “owner’s agent”; 8 ON MOTION MADE COMMISSION MEMBER ROBERTSON, AND DULY CARRIED, the Planning Commission of the City of Salem doth recommend to the Council of the City of Salem that Chapter 106, Article II District Regulations, Section 106-310.9(A)(1) and Article VI Definitions and Use Types, Section 106-602.9 of THE CODE OF THE CITY OF SALEM, VIRGINIA, pertaining to homestay inns be amended as follows along with a definition for “owner’s agent”: Sec. 106-310.9 Homestay Inn. (B) General standards: 2. The owner or the owner’s family agent shall reside on the same parcel occupied by the Homestay Inn. ; and Sec. 106-602.9 Commercial use types Homestay inn – A dwelling, occupied by the owner, in which not more than five bedrooms are provided for overnight guests for compensation, on a daily or weekly basis, with or without meals. The owner or the owner’s agent shall reside on the same parcel occupied by the Homestay Inn. A Homestay Inn may also be known as a bed and breakfast; – the roll call vote: all present - aye. There being no further business to come before the Commission, the same on motion adjourned at 7:31 p.m.