Northumberland County Planning Commission August 18, 2011 Minutes The regular monthly meeting of the Northumberland County Planning Commission was held on August 18, 2011 at 5:00 p.m. in the Courthouse at Heathsville, VA with the following attendance: Chris Cralle Present George Kranda- Chairman Present Kevin Elmore Present Garfield Parker- V. Chairman Present Alfred Fisher Present Albert Penley, Jr. Present Ed King Absent Charles Williams Present Present Others in attendance: Luttrell Tadlock (Assistant County Administrator) W.H. Shirley (Zoning Administrator) RE: CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by George Kranda, Chairman. Garfield Parker gave the invocation. George Kranda led the Commission in the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. RE: APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA With a motion from Alfred Fisher, seconded by Albert Penley, Jr., and approved by all, the August 18, 2011 Planning Commission Meeting Agenda was approved. The vote was as follows: Chris Cralle Absent George Kranda- Chairman Alfred Fisher Albert Penley, Jr. Ed King Absent Charles Williams Absent RE: WORK SESSION The Commission reviewed proposed language for signage. The following was discussed: 1. Leave Temporary Sign definition as written. 2. Modify 148-119 P, limit the size of a temporary sign to thirty-two (32) square feet. It shall not be illuminated internally or externally. 3. Change the maximum height of a monument style sign to the following: a. 148-121 A1ii2- C1 District change to six (6) feet. 1
b. 148-121 B1ii2- A1 District change to eight (8) feet. c. 148-121 C1ii2- Residential Districts change to six (6) feet. d. 148-121 D1ii2- Business and Industrial Districts change to eight (8) feet. 4. 148-123, change signage for subdivisions, multi-family, and planned unit developments from six (6) to ten (10) feet in height and increase the square footage from forty-eight (48) to sixty (60) square feet. Modified sentence to have a better flow. 5. 148-125 electronic signs only on monument style signs and not allowed on pole signs. 6. 148-125 included word graphic as well as increases the time from 10 seconds to 30 seconds between intervals. 7. 148-126: Eliminate statement about Board of Zoning Appeals, also eliminate the word freestanding throughout this section so as to reference all types of signs, freestanding and on the wall signage. 8. Provision for allowing one sign per 125 feet of road frontage was removed in each district. 9. Corrected language in appropriate areas from shall be to shall not exceed With a motion from, seconded by Chris Cralle, and approved by all, the Commission asked that the proposed sign ordinance language be advertised with the appropriate changes. The vote was as follows: Chris Cralle George Kranda- Chairman Alfred Fisher Albert Penley, Jr. Ed King Absent Charles Williams Absent RE: RECESS FOR DINNER RE: MINUTES- JULY 21, 2011 With a motion from Garfield Parker, seconded by Albert Penley, Jr., and approved by all, the July 21, 2011 minutes were approved as written. The vote was as follows: Chris Cralle George Kranda- Chairman Alfred Fisher Albert Penley, Jr. Ed King Absent Charles Williams RE: COMMISSIONERS COMMENTS There were no Commissioners comments received. RE: STAFF MEMBERS COMMENTS 2
There were no Staff comments. RE: CITIZENS COMMENTS There were no Citizens comments. RE: PUBLIC HEARINGS Clegg Rezoning Request by James M. Clegg, owner, for a change in zoning district classification to rezone Tax Map Parcel #42-(1)-144 from Residential General (R-1) to Business General (B-1). After a brief discussion of the request, George Kranda, Chairman, opened the meeting for public comments. No public comments were received, and the Public Hearing was closed. Alfred Fisher noted that this rezoning request is in the area of Wicomico Church and falls within the guidelines of the support area. With a motion from Alfred Fisher, seconded by, and approved by all, the Commission is recommending to the Board of Supervisors parcel 42-(1)-144 be rezoned from Residential General (R-1) to Business General (B-1). The vote was as follows: Chris Cralle George Kranda- Chairman Alfred Fisher Albert Penley, Jr. Ed King Absent Charles Williams Storage of an unoccupied mobile home zoning language change 1) Amendment to the Northumberland County Zoning Ordinance Chapter 148, Article li, Section 6 A (20); Article lll, Section 18 A (67); Article lv, Section 31 A (20); Article V, Section 43 A (28); Article Vl, Section 55 A (12): Use regulations in Conservation District (C-1), Agricultural District (A-1), Residential General District (R-1), Residential Waterfront (R-2), Residential Restricted District(R-3) respectively: to remove Storage of an unoccupied Mobile Home as a permitted use. 2) Amendment to the Northumberland County Zoning Ordinance Chapter 148, Article XV, Section 136 D Mobile/manufactured homes: to remove requirements for temporary storage of mobile/manufactured homes in various districts. Staff explained the proposed zoning ordinance change brought before the Commission. Luttrell Tadlock noted that the County Building Official has observed individuals 3
violating this portion of the County Ordinance by living in the mobile homes, as well as leaving the mobile homes there longer than the allowed six months, and therefore wished for the storage of mobile homes to be removed. George Kranda opened the public hearing. Lee Allain questioned whether this ordinance should be changed. It does not sound like it is a huge problem. There are only a few who are violating the ordinance. With no further public comments, the Public Hearing was closed. Kevin Elmore asked if there was an exact figure of the number of violations? Luttrell Tadlock stated that Bill Knight did not provide any numbers. Charles Williams commented he would not want to cause a hardship for someone. We need to have a tool to help individuals in getting into homes. Albert Penley, Jr. commented that he does see the storage of mobile homes on properties as a problem. Upon motion from Albert Penley, Jr., seconded by, the motion to approve the language as advertised to remove the storage of a mobile home on property for six months was not passed by the Commission. The 1 to 7 vote was as follows: Chris Cralle NAY George Kranda- Chairman NAY Kevin Elmore NAY Garfield Parker- V. Chairman NAY Alfred Fisher NAY Albert Penley, Jr. Ed King Absent Charles Williams NAY NAY After further discussion, the Commission noted that looking at what fines can be placed on those individuals may be a better option than just striking the language from the Zoning Ordinance. With a motion from, seconded by Kevin Elmore, and approved by all, it is the Commission s recommendation to keep the current language and not remove the storage of mobile homes from the ordinance and to determine what enabling legislation is available to the County to target the violators. The vote was as follows: Chris Cralle George Kranda- Chairman Alfred Fisher Albert Penley, Jr. Ed King Absent Charles Williams RE: WORK SESSION ITEMS 4
Work session items were covered in an earlier part of the meeting, no additional items were discussed. RE: DISCUSSION ITEMS Board of Supervisors Report Luttrell Tadlock gave the Board of Supervisors report. RE: PUBLIC COMMENTS No public comments were received. RE: ADJOURNMENT With a motion from Alfred Fisher, seconded by Garfield Parker, and approved by all, the meeting was adjourned. The vote was as follows: Chris Cralle George Kranda- Chairman Alfred Fisher Albert Penley, Jr. Ed King Absent Charles Williams 5