D1 June 11, 2014 Public Hearing

Transcription

1 D1 June 11, 2014 Public Hearing APPLICANT: VIRGINIA BEACH HORSEBACK PROPERTY OWNER: CHARLIE & ROSEMARY THOMPSON STAFF PLANNER: Kristine Gay REQUEST: Conditional Use Permit (Horses for Hire) ADDRESS / DESCRIPTION: 1117 Horn Point Road GPIN: ELECTION DISTRICT: PRINCESS ANNE SITE SIZE: 219,309 square feet AICUZ: Less than 65dB DNL BACKGROUND / DETAILS OF PROPOSAL This item was previously deferred on May 14, 2014 at the request of the applicant to provide additional time to address issues raised by staff and surrounding property owners. On August 12, 2013, written notification of an illegal operation of the use defined as Horses for Hire, and thus, the need for a Conditional Use Permit was provided to the applicant. The subject property is zoned AG-2 Agricultural, and Section 401 of the City Zoning Ordinance requires a Conditional Use Permit for the use defined as Horses for Hire. After the written notification was provided, the applicant continued to operate through the remainder of the 2013 summer season. An application for a Conditional Use Permit was submitted in March The subject site is located at 1117 Horn Point Road and is just over 5 acres in size. The front of the site is gated with a tall iron-rod style gate and has a long narrow gravel driveway that leads to a single-family detached home located near the rear of the lot. The remainder of the lot is vegetated; however, it is not devoted to an agricultural operation. The applicant transports the horses each day via a truck and trailer to the site. At the beginning of the season, the applicant assembles a temporary corral on the site (a similar corral is shown near the end of this report). With the exception of taking customers on tours, the Page 1

2 horses are kept in the corral until they are placed back in the trailer and transported again off site in the evening. The applicant keeps between 9 and 11 horses on site daily. Tours are an hour long and can accommodate up to 9 individuals at a time. Customers make their reservation on line, and meet the applicant on site. Customers are given directions, the horses are saddled up, and the tour begins; the customers are led out of the gated entrance and north on Horn Point Road for one half of a mile, where they then enter Back Bay from the public-right-of-way of Horn Point Road. The majority of the one hour tour is spent in Back Bay and advertised as swimming on horseback. The applicant is proposing to operate seasonally each year, from June to September. EXISTING LAND USE: Single-family dwelling LAND USE AND COMPREHENSIVE PLAN SURROUNDING LAND USE AND ZONING: North: Single family dwellings and wooded or agricultural land AG-2 Agriculture District South: Single family dwellings and wooded or agricultural land AG-2 Agriculture District East: Single family dwellings and wooded or agricultural land AG-2 Agriculture District West: Wooded and natural area AG-1 Agriculture District NATURAL RESOURCE AND CULTURAL FEATURES: A portion of this property is located in the Southern Watershed Management Area. COMPREHENSIVE PLAN: The Comprehensive Plan designates the subject property as being located within the Rural Area. The Rural Area lies south of Indian River Road from North Landing Road to Muddy Creek and Back Bay and extends to the North Carolina Border. The subject property is also located in the Southern Watershed, for which the Southern Watershed Area Management Plan was adopted in 2001 as an amendment to the Comprehensive Plan. All associated policies for protection of the Back Bay Watershed, as set forth in the plan, as well as the regulations of the Southern Watershed Management Overlay District, should be considered in the design and operation of this use. IMPACT ON CITY SERVICES WATER & SEWER: City water is not available. Health Department approval is required for private wells. City sanitary sewer is not available. Health Department approval is required for septic systems. Page 2

3 EVALUATION AND RECOMMENDATION The applicant is requesting a Conditional Use Permit for Horses for Hire to continue guided horse tours from a property zoned AG-2 Agricultural. Section 401 of the City Zoning states that uses defined as, Riding academies, horses for hire or boarding are allowed with a City Council approved Conditional Use Permit. A portion of the subject site, and the public right-of-way used for the operation of the proposed use fall within the Southern Watershed Management Area. Section 2(b) of the Southern Watersheds Management Ordinance states that, Extensive floodplains and marsh fringes bordering the waterways within the Southern Watersheds provide a unique and valuable habitat. Lands adjacent to waterways have an intrinsic water quality value due to the ecological and biological processes they perform or which occur within them. The portion of public right-of-way used for the operation of the tours is adjacent to the waterways. Applicable objectives of the Southern Watersheds Management Ordinance, found in Section 3, include, to encourage productive and enjoyable harmony among agricultural, recreational, developmental and conservation interests, and the natural resources of the city; to enhance, restore and protect the chemical, physical and biological integrity of waters within the Southern Watersheds; to minimize or reduce erosion and sedimentation; and to protect, restore and maintain plant and animal, including fish, communities in the Southern Watersheds. The Habitat Management Division of the Virginia Marine Resources Commission shared that recent inspections of this area of Back Bay have verified the presence of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV). Submerged aquatic vegetation is an important natural resource which provides a variety of ecological functions, including stabilizing sediments, physically baffling wave energy, reducing water column turbidity, recycling water column nutrients, and providing high levels of primary and secondary production. SAV is considered to be of extremely high habitat value to commercially and recreationally important species of fish and shellfish. It is possible that conducting horse tours in the waterway could adversely impact the existing SAV; this side effect of the proposed use conflicts with the objectives of the Southern Watersheds Management Ordinance. Further, the Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) determined during their Comprehensive Conservation Planning process, which resulted in the production of the Refuge Master Plan, that horseback riding was not an appropriate use on the refuge. While the bottom of the bay is not owned by the Back Bay NWR, they have submitted a statement of opposition to allowing the commercial use of horses in the bay and claim that this use will increase sediment suspension and contribute to erosion in the bay where the horses are active in the water, This suspension of sediment in the water column impedes plant growth and could impact emergent and submerged aquatic vegetation which are important components of the bay ecosystem. Further, Back Bay NWR provided the concern that the horses may contribute to the dispersal of invasive species through the hay that they eat and distribute through their feces. Horse manure in the water can disperse seeds of unwanted plants in the bay, adding to the proliferation of non-native vegetation which competes with valuable native plant species that wildlife use or food and shelter. Staff has received numerous complaints from adjacent and nearby residents and property owners in Page 3

4 regards to the subject use and the request for a Conditional Use Permit. The main subject of said letters, phone calls, and s of complaint are listed below and are graphically represented by photos at the end of this report. - The use disturbs the peace and privacy of property owners/residents on properties which front on Horn Point Road - The difficulty and unsafe nature of walking or manouvering vehicles around groups of horses led by inexperienced riders on Horn Point Road - The difficulty and unsafe nature of walking or manouvering vehicles around the parked horse trailer and customer vehicles on Horn Point Road - The unsafe situation presented by establishing a business and attracting unknowing tourists/customers to an area and road that floods quickly and unexpectedly - The unsafe situation presented by the possibility of horses straying loose from inexperienced riders - The unpleasant smell and insects caused by the innappropriate disposal of animal waste in the public right-of-way, Back Bay, and private property or the delay of appropriate collection/disposal of animal waste - The negative environmental impact the horses make on the bay Located on the site is an existing 9-foot wide gravel driveway which angles outward to an 18-foot wide concrete apron which connects to Horn Point Road. The width of the improved portion of the public right-of-way of Horn Point Road is 15 feet wide. For commercial uses, the current Public Works Standards require a minimum of a 30 foot wide entrance with 15 foot wide turning radii. The existing entrance and improved right-of-way are greatly deficient of the Public Works Standards which typically accomodate this type of commercial use. This deficency supports the concerns of residents regarding the congestion, danger, and difficulty of using Horn Point Road due to the horses and the trailers and vehicles parked on the road. Due to the conflicting nature of the proposed use with the objectives of the Southern Watersheds Management Ordinance and the numerous concerns submitted by affected residents, it is Staff s determination that the proposed use is not appropriate to this site, the surrounding land uses, the surrounding environmentally sensitive areas, or this portion of Horn Point Road. Respectively, Staff recommends denial of this application. Page 4

5 AERIAL OF SITE LOCATION Page 5

6 SITE ENTRANCE Page 6

7 PHOTOS OF SITE Page 7

8 CORRALING METHOD/MATERIALS, TYPICAL Page 8

9 SWIMMING WITH HORSES ONLINE ADVERTISEMENT Page 9

10 AERIAL OF THE PROPOSED ACCESS POINT INTO BACK BAY AERIAL OF A PORTION OF THE PROPOSED ROUTE TO BACK BAY Page 10

11 HORN POINT ROAD LOOKING NORTH 200 METERS NORTH OF THE SUBJECT SITE PROPOSED ROUTE TO BACK BAY HORN POINT ROAD LOOKING EAST SITE ENTRANCE CONNECTING FROM THE SOUTH Page 11

12 FLOODING AND CONGESTION ON HORN POINT ROAD Page 12

13 3 2 1 ZONING HISTORY # DATE REQUEST ACTION 1 02/24/2009 Floodplain Variance Subdivision Variance Granted Granted 2 01/25/1994 Nonconforming Granted 3 08/10/1993 Subdivision Variance Granted Page 13

14 DISCLOSURE STATEMENT Page 14

15 DISCLOSURE STATEMENT Page 15