City Council
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CITY OF FREDERICKSBURG, VIRGINIA CITY COUNCIL City Hall, 715 Princess Anne Street, Council Chambers Fredericksburg, Virginia 22401 Tuesday, October 10, 2017 5:30 P.M. Second Floor, Room 218 CALL TO ORDER TOPICS • Visitors Center/Executive Plaza • Legislative Agenda • Dominion Power Easement Update ADJOURNMENT HON. MARY KATHERINE GREENLAW, MAYOR HON. WILLIAM C. WITHERS, JR., VICE -MAYOR , WARD TWO HON. KERRY P. DEVINE, AT-LARGE HON. MATTHEW J. KELLY, AT-LARGE HON. BRADFORD C. ELLIS, WARD ONE HON. TIMOTHY P. DUFFY, PH.D., WARD THREE HON. CHARLIE L. FRYE, JR., WARD FOUR CITY OF FREDERICKSBURG, VIRGINIA HON. MARY KATHERINE GREENLAW, MAYOR CITY COUNCIL HON. WILLIAM C. WITHERS, JR., VICE -MAYOR, WARD TWO HON. KERRY P. DEVINE, AT-LARGE HON. MATTHEW J. KELLY, AT-LARGE HON. BRADFORD C. ELLIS, WARD ONE HON. TIMOTHY P. DUFFY, PH.D., WARD THREE Council Chambers, 715 Princess Anne Street HON. CHARLIE L. FRYE, JR., WARD FOUR Fredericksburg, Virginia 22401 October 10, 2017 7:30 p.m. Vice-Mayor William C. Withers, Presiding 1. Call to Order 2. Invocation Councilor Bradford C. Ellis 3. Pledge of Allegiance Vice-Mayor William C. Withers 4. Presentation 5. Public Hearings (5 minute rule applies to all public comment) A. Ordinance 17-__, First Read, Amending the Unified Development Ordinance for Land Within the Historic Fredericksburg District, to Remove the 50% Reduction of Residential Density when 25% or More of the Site is in the 100 Year Floodplain; and to Remove the 25% Reduction of Residential Density for Sites Containing 15% to 24% Floodplain 6. Comments from the Public City Council provides this opportunity each regular meeting for comments from citizens who have signed up to speak before the start of the meeting. To be fair to everyone, please observe the five-minute time limit and yield the floor when the Clerk of Council indicates that your time has expired. Decorum in the Council Chambers will be maintained. Comments that are not relevant to City business and behavior that is disruptive, such as applause, are inappropriate and out of order. 7. Council Agenda A. American Disabilities Act – Charles and William Street – Councilor Frye 8. Consent Agenda A. Ordinance 17-24, Second Read, Adding Ficklen Island to the Description of the City's Riparian and Watershed Property; Expressly Prohibiting Hunting and Campfires on the Island B. Ordinance 17-25, Second Read, Prohibiting Securing Bicycles, Benches, Trash Receptacles, Signs, and Other Items to Trees, Street Lights, Street Signs, and Other Public Facilities in the Public Rights-of-Way C. Resolution 17-__, Authorizing the City Manager to Submit an Application for the Riverside Manor Connector and to Execute a Related Funding Agreement 9. Minutes A. Regular Session – September 26, 2017 10. Board and Commissions A. Economic Development Authority – Stacy Horne, Lynn Keenan, Thomas Liles, Will Mackintosh, Berkley Mitchell, Rene Rodriguez Regular Meeting Agenda October 10, 2017 Page 2 11. City Manager’s Agenda A. Ordinance 17-__, First Read, Amending the Unified Development Ordinance to Exempt Wireless Communication Infrastructure, Placed in the Public Rights of Way, from Zoning Regulation; and to Amend the Regulations Governing Wireless Communication Infrastructure on Private Property B. Ordinance 17-__, First Read, Granting a Ten-Year (with Three Options for Five Year Renewals Upon Mutual Agreement) Non-Exclusive Franchise to Mobilitie, LLC for Wireless Infrastructure in the City’s Public Rights-of-Way C. Ordinance 17-__, First Read, Amending the City and Public Utility Review Committee Review Authority and Procedures for the Location of Infrastructure in the Public Rights of Way in the Historic Fredericksburg District D. Ordinance 17-__, First Read, Amending Chapter 66 of the City Code by Adopting an Ordinance Regulating Utility and Wireless Facilities, Poles, Lines and Structures in the Public Rights-of-Way E. City Manager’s Update F. Calendars 12. Adjournment ITEM #5A MEMORANDUM TO: Tim Baroody, City Manager FROM: Mike Craig, Zoning Administrator DATE: October 3, 2017 (for the October 10, 2017 meeting) RE: Proposed Unified Development Ordinance Text Amendment– Historic District Floodplain Density ISSUE Should the City Council approve a text amendment to the Unified Development Ordinance to remove the 50% reduction of residential density when 25% or more of a site is in the 100 year floodplain and the 25% reduction of residential density for sites containing 15% to 24% floodplain, within certain areas of the Historic Fredericksburg Overlay District outside of the regulatory floodway? RECOMMENDATION Approve a text amendment to the UDO to remove the 50% reduction of residential density when 25% or more of a site is in the 100 year floodplain and the 25% reduction of residential density for sites containing 15% to 24% floodplain, within certain areas of the Historic Fredericksburg Overlay District outside of the regulatory floodway. PLANNING COMMISSION PUBLIC HEARING AND RECOMMENDATION The Planning Commission held a public hearing on this item on September 13 at which no one spoke. After discussion, the Planning Commission voted 3 to 2 to recommend approval of the text amendment to the City Council with one member absent and one member abstaining. PROPOSED ORDINANCE AMENDMENT § 72-51.1(1)(b) reduces the maximum residential density permitted on unbuildable lands, when the sum of such features comprises 15% to 24% of the site, by 75%, and when the sum of such features comprises more than 25% of the site, by 50%. Unbuildable lands are defined as: [1] One-hundred-year frequency floodplains; [2] Slopes in excess of 25%; [3] Quarries or landfills, abandoned mines, or excavation areas; and [4] Soils determined to be unbuildable for residential and street development; The proposed text amendment would add a subsection c to this regulation that states: (c) “The area of a site within the Historic Fredericksburg District that is in the one-hundred-year frequency floodplain, but is not in the floodway or otherwise unbuildable, is exempt from the residential density reductions in (a)(1) and (b).” Within the Historic Fredericksburg Distirct (HFD), 159 acres are within the 100 year floodplain. The 100 year floodplain consists of the two elements, the floodway (shown in turqoise on the map on page 2) and the floodfringe (shown in pink on the same map). The designated floodfringe Page 2 of 8 (shaded pink) consists of 84 acres. Out of the 84 acres, only 49 acres are privately held. This text amendment would restore the right to 83 total residential units on that land as shown on the following map1. 16 of the 83 units would be on vacant properties. The remaining 67 units would be restored on properties with existing structures that are currently in use. The restored units cluster in two general areas: the historic industrial area south of the train station around Frederick and Charles Street and the historic Caroline Street corridor. Half (eight) of the rights restored on vacant parcels are on parcels centered on the intersection of Frederick and Charles Streets that are either vacant or contain historic industrial structures in need of renovation and reuse. Six of those units are on the parcels located at 306-312 Frederick Street, which is the subject of a special exception application that seeks restoration of the units in order to faciliate the adaptive reuse of the historic tomato cannery at 306 Frederick Street. The rights to seven additional units would be restored in the historic industrial structures in that neighborhood. 1 Number derived from GIS information and existing by-right density levels using the following assumptions. Parcels containing single family homes in the Commercial Downtown were calculated based on the single family density of 12 units per acre. All other parcels used the multi-family density of 18 units per acre. The hotel parcel (98 existing rooms), and the Hughes Adult Home (110 beds) were excluded from the calculation. Page 3 of 8 The map also shows the restoration of units on parcels with occupied structures that are in active use. Seven of the units would be restored on parcels with historic industrial structures at the Frederick and Charles Street intersection. The majority of the restored units (37) would be within existing historic buildings along the Caroline Street corridor. New construction within the floodfringe is subject to the construction standards in the City’s Floodplain Overlay District (FOD) as well as the Virginia Statewide Building Code (VSBC). These codes require that new residential construction be elevated 18 inches above the regulatory base flood elevation Aerial view of the intersection of Frederick and Charles Streets. established by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Any substantial improvement of an existing historic building will be required to conform to the City’s modern floodplain rules once more than half the assessed value of the structure is spent. Additionally, any modification of these buildings or new construction is subject to review by the Architectural Review Board and requires a Certificate of Appropriateness. This will ensure that the form of the restored units fits into the existing historic fabric. 20 parcels in the floodfringe and the HFD currently have non-conforming density levels. This ordinance change will make 8 of these parcels conforming. While the remaining 12 will not be made conforming, the removal of the density restriction will bring more of their historic use into compliance with modern zoning laws. Prior to modern zoning, the character of the buildings, streetscape, and urban fabric in the City’s historic core created higher general density levels than are allowed today. Overall general density levels in the core should be reviewed during the Area 7 small area planning process. The proposed UDOTA would make the 2 units at 801 Caroline Street legally conforming. There are 6 units at 1017 Caroline Street built prior to zoning.