Board of Zoning Appeals - Regular Meeting

Good evening and welcome to the regular meeting of the city of Morgantown Board of Zoning Appeals. Please turn off all cell phones or other devices that may disrupt these proceedings. It is the duty of this board to consider requests for relief from the requirements of the city zoning regulations to consider conditional use permit requests and to hear administrative appeals. The board conducts business in the following order. Review, amend, and approve minutes of a previous meeting. We will then move to unfinished business, take up new business, and then close with announcements from staff. Each request is heard in the order that it appears on the agenda. For each conditional use and variance request, the following is done. We will introduce the agenda item in the planning division. We'll present a staff report which may or may not offer a recommendation. The applicant agent will be asked to present their justification for their request which may include questions by members of the board. We will then open a public hearing to hear testimony in support of or in opposition to the request. Rules regarding public testimony are as follows. Anyone wishing to testify during the public hearing may do so once recognized by me or may, in lieu of oral testimony, submit written testimony to the chair. All recognized speakers must approach the podium, state their name and address for the record, and speak clearly into the microphone. All comments must be addressed to the board, should be relevant to the application and may not be of a personal nature or personal attacks. All speakers will be limited to five minutes. If members of the board have any questions of the speaker, that time will not be counted toward his or her overall five minutes. If there's a large number of speakers, including many who are part of groups or organizations, we may, to avoid repetitive comments, elect to ask for a representative to speak on behalf of the group or organization. Speakers are notified that irrelevant comments or comments of a personal nature or personal attacks may result in the speaker forfeiting his or her opportunity to participate in the public hearing. We may elect to recognize the applicant agent at the end of the public hearing to provide rebuttal or additional comments, which will be limited to an additional five minutes. If members of the board have any questions of the applicant agent, that time will not be counted toward that five minutes. After all testimony is heard, we will declare the public hearing closed. We will not reopen the public hearing. And no further public comment will be permitted. Uncivil, unruly, and or disruptive behavior at any time during this meeting is prohibited and will result in removal from this public meeting. State law requires the board to consider findings of fact for each conditional use and variance request. The request cannot be granted unless the majority of the quorum present finds in the positive of all of the findings of fact for each case. The board may elect to continue the hearing to another date if it needs additional information. Applicants and requesting parties will be notified in writing by the planning division of the board's findings and conclusions. Regardless of whether a request is approved or denied, decisions of the board can be appealed to the Circuit Court of Montegalia County within 30 days upon receipt of the written notification. Any work done relating to decisions rendered by this board during this 30-day period is at the sole financial risk of the applicant. Thank you for your consideration and respect for these proceedings and the opinions of all meeting participants. All right. We're going to call to order and conduct a roll call. Ms. Cook?

Here.

Mr. Martin? Here. Mr. Benson is present. Mr. Misfelt and Mr. DeWitt are absent, but we do have a quorum so we can proceed. We have meeting minutes to consider from our previous regular meeting. Any comments, changes, amendations? No. No? I move to accept the meeting minutes from that previous meeting dated Wednesday, July 15, 2026 in City Hall's Council Chambers. I second. So we have a motion to accept, a motion to accept meeting minutes from that last regular meeting. How do we vote? Aye. We have accepted those meeting minutes into the official record. Okay, we're gonna move to the agenda items. The first, we don't have any old business. The first case to consider is CON 26-064, Tony Groves. At 645 East Brockway Avenue, request by Tony Groves for conditional use and compliance with section 1331.05 of the city's planning and zoning code regarding a home occupation class two use. City Tax District 10-6 Ward, tax map 35 parcel 97 in the B1, neighborhood business district.

As Chris said, for column 26064, found on the screen as well as in the packets provided, is a view using our mapping software to show the location and reference as well as that 200 foot mail buffer. Here's a bit more of a clear, easier to view, aerial view showing the house. Another thing to reference and to potentially be aware of is that the surrounding properties above it and around it are commercial. Those are commercial properties. The applicant is seeking a conditional use regarding a home occupation class two in a B1 district. The structure itself is pre-existing and is a residential property. The applicant's business involves ordering clothes to sell on a digital marketplace where they are then sold and then shipped out. This would result in a limited quantity of orders coming in and out about two times per month by mail and delivery. Refer to the sections of code below in the packet as well as the submitted signs above. An important distinction to note from that list of the code is Home Occupation Class 2 is defined as a use intended to allow businesses that generate limited quantities of customer visitations and or merchandise deliveries, which is what makes this a Class 2 instead of a Class 1, which would not need a conditional use. Any home occupation that is not clearly of type 1 is then deemed type 2. In summary, the applicant wishes to get a conditional use regarding a home occupation class 1 at the property addressed at 645 East Brockway Ave. See the attached application to review the findings of fact listed. Staff have had no comments or modifications to these. It can be found below the conditions. Planning have no objections to this request for conditional use. And if the BCA grants the applicant conditional use approval in According to the city's planning and zoning code, there will be only two conditions, one being the standard condition that if any modifications or changes to the plan or their business would make it uncompliant or an issue with the code, then they'd either have to come back to the BZA or correct it. The second condition is that the conditional use is personal to the applicant. It is not transferable to any other person, and it does not apply to any other business or applicant per our home occupation standards in the planning and zoning ordinance. And that'll conclude staff report. Thank you very much.

Any questions? Do we have a representative for this case?

Yes. Hello, how are you?

Good, how are you?

Good.

Just state your name and a reference address.

I'm Tony Groves and my address is 645 East Brockway Avenue.

And then would you like to just give a summary of what you're proposing?

Yes. So as he stated, it would all be on an online marketplace. I would have a few deliveries a month for inventory, but everything else will be online and then just shipped out at the post office. So that's really the extent of the business.

Right. So it's bi-monthly delivery, and then you process the digital orders and prepare for shipment.

Yes, yes.

And then in terms of the shipment, how is that going to work? Are you filling, for example, like 10 orders and then taking...

How big is it?

Yeah, like packing things up and personally taking the packages to?

The post office, yes.

Okay, rather than having potential customers come?

No, no customers will be coming.

So no foot traffic, no, besides the bimonthly deliveries?

Correct.

There aren't going to be vehicles just because it is pretty dense there.

Correct. No, there will be no foot traffic other than just simply the deliveries. No customers will be coming to the address or anything. Everything will be fulfilled online, and then I'll take the packages to the post office. To the post office. Yes. And I can't really clarify how big it will be because I haven't – I've been waiting on this to actually open. So I wish I could give you a better answer on that, but I can't really. Mm-hmm.

Will you be running this by yourself? You won't have any employees?

No. As of now, I don't have any, and I don't really foresee that for a while.

Okay. Thank you. Can you speak to the volume of the bimonthly?

I mean, I have already ordered inventory because I had to have that set up in advance, but I've had maybe, like,

four packages but that's simply because i'm just starting so i've had more right now than i will in the future right it would probably be one to two packages a month i would say that would be coming in okay i think it's also worth pointing out that the the code allows for up to four a day so i don't think two even if it's more than two a month technically it shouldn't that's well below the four day yep so it shouldn't be an issue at least for the code

Right. And even if your volume were to, or if the nature of your business were to change, to go from a bimonthly or twice per month up to in excess of four per day, that's... You'd be doing well. Yeah. But I don't see that happening anytime soon.

Yeah, I don't foresee that right now. I mean, even if I did get bigger, I don't think that I'd have maximum of four coming a day or anything like that. It would still probably be like... For a month, maybe. Mostly online? Yes, ma'am. Yeah. So all my inventory is ordered online and shipped to me. Okay. So.

All right. Thank you. Yep. Well, any other questions?

Mm-hmm.

That's all I got. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. We may have other questions for you, but I think we're all set.

Okay. Thank you.

Thank you. Mr. Thompson, did you have anything to add?

No. There was no correspondence for this item. conditional use that I received by mail or call. I think to note that I MENT TO NOTE IN THE PACKET IS A SINGLE FAMILY DWELLING IN A B1. IT'S PREEXISTING NONCONFORMING AS A SINGLE FAMILY BECAUSE B1 IS MEANT TO BE MORE BUSINESS-ORIENTED, THINGS LIKE THAT, COMMERCIAL, BUT PREEXISTING NONCONFORMING. SO THAT'S NOT LIKE THAT WOULD BE AN ISSUE BECAUSE IT'S KIND OF GRANDFATHERED IN, BUT THAT'S SOMETHING TO NOTE THAT SINGLE FAMILY DWELLINGS GENERALLY AREN'T ALLOWED IN THIS DISTRICT. THEY'RE MORE FOR COMMERCIAL, HIGHER TRAFFIC, THINGS LIKE THAT, JUST AS AN ADDITIONAL NOTE.

So, I mean, even, it's in a B1. She's proposing a business operation, so that's consistent with the B1 zoning. But even if it weren't B1, I would say that the nature of what's being proposed wouldn't be... inconsistent with a more residentially oriented.

No, not at all. It would fit right in.

I mean, the only my issue is the the density and just being able to accommodate.

But I mean, it's, I would be concerned if about that, if she was having clients come to her home and having to schedule those, there's none of that. So that's not a concern for me.

And she's, she's preparing the shipments and taking and allowing them to, you know, all right, I've got 10 shipments here. I'm going to the post office.

Yep.

It's time to go. All right. I don't think, have no issues. Does anyone have, I mean, I don't see any, I mean. Yeah.

There'll be a check if anyone wants to speak.

Yeah. Yeah, so let's go ahead and open the public hearing. Thank you. So we're going to open the public hearing for this case, CON 26-064. Anyone wishing to speak in support of or in opposition to?

Kelly Palmer 667 East Brockway Avenue. I just met my new neighbor. And I can assure you that after speaking with her, those UPS trucks and Federal Express trucks are on that street quite often between myself and my neighbor. So as long as what she's saying is what will happen, I mean, I don't see a problem with it. Now, if she's bringing in freight trains, big truck loads, that might be a problem. However, just to note, there's a machine shop behind those properties, so we're used to the big trucks. So I don't have any opposition to it.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. Anyone else wishing to speak in support of or in opposition to this case? And there's no correspondence. Okay. We're going to close the public hearing. I'll make a motion to accept the findings of fact. Unless you have questions. No. Okay, so we have a motion to accept the findings of fact for case CON 26-064. Do we have a second? We have a second. So we're making a motion to accept the findings of fact for this case. We have a second. How do we vote?

Aye.

Aye. I'm just going to go ahead and make a motion to grant the requested conditional use for this, subject to the two conditions. The first one is the standard condition. The second one, I do want to just reference that, if I can find it. That second condition is this conditional use is personal to the applicant, does not go with the property. It's with the applicant. Is not transferable to any other person and does not apply to any other business at this or other addresses. It's for the applicant. Okay, so we have a motion to grant the conditional use for. Second. And we have a second. How do we vote? Aye.

Aye.

Aye. We've granted your conditional use request for your case. You will receive written notification from planning, typically seven to 10 business days. Keep in mind, once you receive that written notification, there is an appeals window. So any work that you undertake on your project, you do at your sole financial risk. But thank you for coming down and good luck with your endeavor. You're welcome. Okay. Next case, we have VAR 26-059 for Grant Dovey at 464 West Virginia Ave. Request by Grant Dovey for variance relief from Section 1335.04 of the City's Planning and Zoning Code regarding property setbacks. City tax district nine in the first ward tax map 40 parcel 171 in the R1A single family residential district.

So for VAR 26059, in the packet as well as on the screen, is much like the last one, an aerial view of the property, as well as the buffer, and then again, kind of a clearer view, and then just a little measurement in there, just kind of approximately show the kind of range between the side of the house and the property line. as well as again in the packet and on the screen as well as supplied by the applicant showing existing conditions with the concrete patio as well as their intended development of the property. So the new deck is on the left and then the existing house concrete patio kind of as is today can be found on the right similarly in the packet. The applicant is seeking a variance regarding setback standards for a deck in the R1A district. This deck will approach approximately one foot into the setback for uncovered decks patios. This was determined using Mon County parcel viewer information. A submitted site plan can be found above showing existing and proposed conditions as well as additionally there was one letter of correspondence for this case which can be found in the packet. It was in support for those who don't have the packet. But if any extra details, the board may go into that if they choose. In summary, the applicant wishes to get a variance regarding one foot of setback allowance at the property addressed at 464 West Richard Avenue. Please see the attached application to review the findings of fact. Staff have had no comments or modifications to these, as well as planning staff do not object to the applicant's request for this variance. If the BZA does grant the applicant variance relief in accordance with the city's planning and zoning code, the only condition that will apply is our standard condition that if something was to be modified or changed, they would have to either be compliant or come back to the Board of Zoning Appeals. And then that will conclude staff report.

Okay. Thank you very much, Mr. Thompson. Do we have a representative for this case? Welcome.

How are you? Good. How are you?

Good.

Grant Dovey. I am representing 464 West Virginia Avenue. I'm the contractor, owner of Appalachian Deck Company. So as Saylor said, there is the existing concrete patio, which he said eight foot. I believe it's nine or 10, but it's right there. And the concrete pad currently, there's a fence that runs there between the neighbors and Stephanie. And the concrete pad runs literally right up to it. It has a little knee-high wall on it that we'll be removing. We'll be taking out the whole concrete pad.

To make it easier to put the new footings in? No, it's because on... Oh, that's right, the door.

Yeah, there's a door right here that's three foot wide. And if we did a five foot deck, you'd literally, the railings kind of sit in about eight inches. Right. So you'd be like right up against it with no room. That's why we're trying to go to the six foot because the 36 inch door would literally be about six inches away from the rail. Right.

Yep.

And the pad's pretty beat up, the existing concrete pad. I think it's been there for quite a long time. Right. So we'll take it out and put in a new nice deck for it.

Any questions? Thank you, Mr. Tovey. Or Dovey. Thanks.

I've been getting Dovey my whole life.

You're good. This might be a question for you, Saylor. The letter in support.

Oh, did you? I'm sorry, you stated your name, but did you state your address too? It is representing the... Okay. Did you state an address though, just for the record? Yeah. Okay. Thanks. Sorry about that. No, you're good.

The letter in support is from 464 West Regent Avenue. Do we know, or do you know, is that... 468. 468, sorry. Is that right beside... This applicant's property?

So it's to the right on the... Yeah, I believe it's like one or two up.

It's closed. It's not immediately adjacent. But it's not the one right beside. I don't believe so. Okay. I don't think so. I think it's like the next one over here. Okay. Got it.

Yeah, it's on the other side.

Okay. And since you're referencing, we'll just go ahead and we haven't opened the public hearing, but let's just read the course. Do you want to read it? Oh, sure. All right. So we can reference it for the public hearing, but let's just read the correspondence at this point, since you're asking.

So the correspondence I'm referencing is included in the packet. It reads, Dear Sailor, hello. My name is Benjamin Tilley at 468 West Virginia Avenue. I would like to voice my endorsement for the above-mentioned variance request for 464 West Virginia Avenue. I understand that Stephanie is constructing a deck on the side of her house, which will intrude on the property line setback code. I believe that allowing this variance will continue to improve the neighborhood, and she has my full support. Thank you, Benjamin.

Okay, thanks. And we want to just mention again that this Mr. Benjamin Tilly is not necessarily the immediate neighbor. Right. On the other side of the... We don't have correspondence necessarily from the neighbor immediately adjacent, just about that. All right. So... I guess we'll go ahead. Any questions at this? Okay, let's go ahead and open the public hearing for this case. This is for VAR 26-059, Grant Dovey, on behalf of the applicant, 464 West Virginia Avenue. Anyone wishing to speak in support of or in opposition to this case, now's your opportunity to do so. Seeing no one, we're going to close the public hearing. It seems pretty straightforward. Yep. Let's have a look at the findings of fact, though. Kudo. I want to compliment whoever drafted the findings of fact. They're very detailed. Thank you very much. With regard to the third finding of fact, the variance arises from special conditions or attributes which pertain to the property for which a variance is sought and which were not created. And the applicant or whoever drafted the findings of fact does emphasize that the conditions prompting the need for the variance were not created by the applicant. which is true. The concrete slab which is gonna be removed also predates the current homeowners ownership which is kind of a, it's being removed so it's not really a salient point. So basically it comes down to the variance is needed to make that side porch point of egress in terms of the door usable. And it's a reasonable request to make the property usable serviceable.

It's also moving the structure farther away from the property line to begin with.

The other one gives them more of a buffer, so to speak.

I have no issues. The slab is being removed. Can you speak to that? It's a deck. Is that right?

In terms of...

So the space under that will just be... Footers. It'll be footers and a grassed area. Yeah. Which is actually, I think, is an improvement over a concrete slab. Sure. Are you having to do anything in terms of drainage to direct...

TBD. We're not positive yet. We're kind of going to see. We don't know. Because that may change.

I mean, you're taking out the slab.

We tear up concrete all the time, and sometimes you'll come to an old craftsman home that has like a 10-foot drop underneath. You don't know sometimes what they did underneath. So once we kind of take it off, this seems to be just a normal 4-inch pad. It's nothing. It's not bulky at all. So it'll get filled in with gravel anyway. That's usually what we put underneath the decks, especially that particular, the yard slopes down. It goes from like two foot of elevation to about 10 foot of elevation.

And the gradient is primarily to? To the backside. Oh, this way down to the bottom of the frame? Yep.

No, I'm sorry, to the top. To the top. Yeah, away from West Virginia Avenue. So West Virginia Avenue sits higher than the backyard.

Right.

And so we always put, because that front area is so low to the ground, we always put gravel under there anyway to help with drainage. Absolutely.

All right. Thank you. Yep. All right. I make a motion to accept the fines as asked.

I second.

Okay, so we have a motion to accept the findings of fact for VAR 26-059. Seconded by Ms. Cook. How do we vote? Aye. Aye. We've accepted the findings of fact. I move to grant the variance request.

I second.

Yeah, so subject to the condition. And that's after all of the, well, where is it?

Yeah, on page 37.

There it is. Yep, it's just the standard condition prepared by planning. So we have a motion to grant the variance request for VAR 26-059, seconded by Ms. Cook. How do we vote? Aye. We've granted your variance request, which you are here to represent on behalf of your client. You will receive or your client will receive written notification from Planning 710 Business Days. Keep in mind or advise your client that it is subject to or can be appealed to the Circuit Court of Montegary County. And any work you or your client undertakes in the 30-day appeals window, you do at your sole financial risk. Thank you for coming down this evening. We're going to move to the next case. This is VAR 26-067, Dennis. 1043 Ridgeway Avenue, request by Dennis for variance relief from Section 1335.04 of the City's Planning and Zoning Code regarding property setbacks, City Tax District 13 Fifth Ward Tax Map 25, Parcel 267 in the R1A Single Family Residential District.

For VAR 26067, there is, much like to the last one, an area of use of the property. Something to note that is important, the Mon County parcel viewer software shown here and in the packet, shows the parcels in a way that isn't accurate to the actual makeup of them. So it's kind of shown in the blue there, but it is properly reflected in like the site plan and the attached plat that shows that distinction there. So just as a note, that it looks like it crosses over property lines. It doesn't. It's just a mismatch between the county's information and the applicant's parcel, deed, plats, and things like that. So just wanted to reference that while we're on. The second part of the slide, and again in the packet, is just an easier view showing the property closer in to get the range of what it looks like currently. And then the third slide here shows the proposed work to be done. So there's the one story frame house, the addition, and then that part on the left there is the existing deck that they wish to kind of turn into a garage, the under part of the deck being enclosed for this. The applicant is seeking a variance regarding setback standards for an attached garage in a R1A district. The structure will encroach approximately 15 feet into the setback for attached structures. This was determined using Mon County parcel viewer information and plat information supplied by the applicant. A submitted site plan indeed tracked can be found above showing proposed and existing conditions. Additionally, this proposed addition is where an already existing deck is located. It can be seen a little bit easier here.

Which is already in the setback?

Uncovered decks can go up to three feet. Oh, right, right, right. Yes. Where an already existing deck is located since it is being covered by a roof attached to the main building it is now considered a part of the main structure being utilized for like garage parking under the existing deck that is already there. Refer to the sections of code below as well as the submitted designs above. In summary the applicant wishes to get a variance of running 15 feet of setback allowance at the proposed address 1043 Ridgeway Avenue. Please see the attached application review findings of fact listed. Staff have it modified. These findings of fact, they can be found below the conditions. Planning staff also have no objections to the applicant's request for this variance relief. If the Board of Zoning Appeals grants the applicant variance relief in accordance with the city's planning zoning code, the only condition that will apply to this is the standard condition that if any modifications or changes to the site plan or work are made, they have to be compliant or get additional variances. But that will conclude staff report.

Thank you. So the structure detail on page 45, the orientation, there's a 180 degree difference there between the plot, the structure map, and The overhead, right? Just based on the configuration of the lot.

Right, yeah. If you're looking at it this way, you flip it. It's turned around. It's turned around. OK, correct.

Just flip it.

OK. Yep. This will be for the rear property line.

And this is the rear setback, just to be absolutely clear. Correct. Right? Yep. Which is the 20 foot allowed. Correct. Yep. Required. Any questions from anyone?

Not at this point, no.

Okay, so thank you, Mr. Thompson. Do we have a representative for this case?

My name is Jerry Back. How are you guys doing?

Good.

You're here on behalf of the... I'm Denny Vak. Oh, I'm sorry. Dennis, my last name's Vak. I didn't have it on there. I apologize. That's fine.

Go ahead. Anyway, this kind of all started, I had to put a roof on the addition that I built on that house last century. Right. And when I was looking at doing the roof... My buddy that helps me do the roof said, Danny, we could enclose this deck. And because you've got a cement pad down here, because there's a 10-foot retaining wall here that's been there for 30 years, and because the garage wall's here, he said, you've got a wall and a half and the floor done. He said, pretty inexpensive to turn this into a garage. And years ago, I'd put a house. an addition on the house and I was told back then that a detached garage couldn't have a door between the house and the garage. That's what made it a detached garage. So I went to the building inspectors when I applied for my permit to put the roof on the house and said, hey, can I build this addition on the back of the house and turn this deck into a garage? And they said, I don't see any reason why you can't. And I said, great. I'll put in the application. I'll get the paperwork together. I'll pull that . Now, as confusing as all get out, because last century, I bought a little sliver of property off Bobby Nicholas, who owned the property behind me. And the reason I did that was to take a piece of no man's land that was surveyed in there and I acquired that. That's why the plats don't line up and that's why you've got the amended, I think there's a plat there that shows where I bought the property and I think the deed's in there that shows, and that allowed me to build the addition on the house and to build the deck on the house.

So that additional The property is at the top, or would it be this one?

It's on the back, actually.

It actually, I own everything in green right here. I own.

Oh, yeah.

And see the part behind this property line right here? Mm-hmm. That's where I bought off of Bobby and then I acquired the alley in between there. And that's what gave me the ability to build the deck that I built and have it go back as far as it did. So that happened last century.

That anticipates the question that I had. Is there, there is an alleyway there.

No, it actually, it ends, it ends, like it doesn't exist anymore.

Right.

And it ends, it ends right here.

Okay.

And it's kind of screwy. And to be honest with you, no one knew about it until I started surveying the property. And then we found it. And of course, I went to the city back then, and I had to go through a whole bunch of stuff. I had to buy the property from Bobby. I had to have it all surveyed. And I've given all that stuff to... sailor here so that we have the property lines. So it's just going to change that deck into a garage, and it was just because it was inexpensive. And, you know, my first question on there, Mary, can I do this? If they'd have said no, I'd have said, okay, let's not bother. And then one sailor said, well, you know, it's not attached because it's attached, but it's... Anyway, I said well should I go for a very to be civil you might as well now You've got all this put into it.

So I thought why not so So the long and short of it is Yes, of course right here There's no abandoned alleyway

No, it's my property now. It's been acquired by me. And as a matter of fact, I own the property on Louise behind it. And that alley exists just behind the property on Louise, and then it dead ends again at Royce's property. So it's really, when they divided that up, they left an alley in this part and an alley in this part, but didn't put it on one lot.

I was concerned about... Well, okay, I was concerned just looking at the overhead here that there might be like structures that would be immediately adjacent to what you've enclosed.

I own a house here, here, here, here.

I don't have a problem with this.

This is what I bought off Bobby, and this is the alley that we annulled. And it ends right here, and there's a lot that was cleared back. And then another one, and it's really screwy because the lots I own down further, there's an alley that kind of does this and that ends. And then there's a lot there that I don't know who owns it. I think it's county property, lot 15, I think.

Something like that.

But I don't like almost the whole block over there.

I will say to also add about the concern with the alley, it's not represented on any of the parcels shown there except all the way at the bottom end. That is accurate. So that is accurate. The only inaccuracy that we found based on this is that light blue is really what it should reflect on the viewer, but that alley doesn't have any play in it.

This is Royce's property right here.

Right. Right.

And see it stop the alley. And then the alley started here and went up like that.

But it's... Yeah, it's not...

But it's... The lines on that platter are really off where they are. And to be honest with you, I'm trying to get the bottom half of it surveyed, and I just called a guy this week, and I'm afraid of how much he's going to ask to do that. So... Well... Go ahead.

No, go ahead.

Point of order.

So I just... the side of the property that the variance is being requested for butts up against Your own property. That he owns. That you already own.

Well, no, it was actually, there's property behind me that belongs to a neighbor of mine, and I talked to him the other day, and he said he got a letter from you guys, but he didn't come down, he wasn't worried about it, so.

Yeah, even if that was true, it wouldn't really be relevant. If it's not a combined parcel, he could potentially sell that to somebody else, like if that was the example, right? So generally that's, internal property lines aren't considered if it's joint, if it's owned. Jointly and then if they add something to their deed to like combine it in that way but but yeah, no, that's okay, I guess a potential future concern is if mr. Dennis Back my last name is back.

I'm sorry. Can you spell that VAC visa?

Okay, and it's on the it's actually If you were to sell this You know if we were to grant the setback request right here, and then Mr. Vax sold this, that might be a concern in terms of the saleability of this parcel. But that's his problem.

Yeah, it's not our problem.

I was just concerned about another property owner having this with potential structures right on that property line. But since that's not the case... That takes care of it. That was my main concern.

So you said the back property is basically there's nothing there.

Well, there's, you know, there's, you can see there's, I'm trying to, it's, his house unfolds right here. And this, the property line actually runs kind of down like this.

Right, and that matches up to that.

Right here I think is kind of where the corner would be. And I've got a cement pad that's poured almost up to the property line that we put in at the turn of the century when we built the addition on the house. And there's actually like a 10-foot high retaining wall that holds my yard up, and it's kind of a... And that's one of the reasons that I wanted to do the garage is because the footer's in the cement pad, the cement pad's there for the floor of the garage, the back wall's a block wall, 12 inches thick, poured full of concrete with rebar, so I have one wall's done, this is the wall of the house, so I put a roof and two and a half walls and I've got a garage. Right.

Right, okay.

So that retaining wall is, from the standpoint of the other property owners, even though they're not immediately on that property line, that's a visual... buffer to the single story. I was just concerned if we were to grant the variance if there's another property owner here with structures, that would be cause for concern for me. But since that's not the case, and he owns that, even though it's an irregularly shaped parcel, that's less of a concern. And then if he decides to sell, that's his problem.

And he's saying he spoke with the neighbor that owns that house.

And there's no correspondence on this. Any other questions for Mr. Back? Thank you, Mr. Back. Appreciate it. Okay, let's open the public hearing. We're going to go ahead and open the public hearing for this case. This is VAR 26-067 for Dennis Back at 1043 Ridgeway Avenue. Anyone wishing to speak in support of or in opposition to this case, now is your chance to do so. Seeing no one, we're going to close the public hearing. Okay, so this is a variance request for 15 feet on that rear. Because the requirement is for a 20-foot setback, the enhanced structure off the addition is... 15 feet into that required 20 foot rear setback.

Um, well, well, I was going to say the, the first finding of facts is replacing an existing deck. Are you not just, it's still going to stay there, and you're adding... You're enhancing the... You're enhancing.

It's an enhancement.

I'm going to tear the deck down and put the garage roof over it, so there won't be a deck there when I'm done.

Right, that's right. He does have to level the deck down to the ground surface. And then... Are you pouring... The cement's already there. The cement's already there. Oh.

That's why I'm doing it, because it's so cheap. I think like five grand is what I'm going to have in it.

Right.

That's why I'm doing it, because it's just inexpensive. It wasn't so inexpensive... I wouldn't be doing it. And that's why I asked for the variance, because I can do it cheap, you know?

So it actually is a replacement and enhancement.

Yeah, and enhancement, yeah.

And it is going to be an attached. It's not technically right. It's attached to the addition. Technically it is. Okay. I move to accept the findings of fact for VAR 26-067. I'll second. All right, so we have a motion to accept the findings of fact for this case. We have a second by Ms. Cook. How do we vote? Aye. Aye. And then I make a motion to grant the requested setback variance. It's a 15 foot on the rear property line. Do we have a second? With the standard condition, which is referenced on the very last page of reference for this case. So we have a motion to grant the requested variance for the rear setback. It's 15 feet that we're granting on the rear, along or adjacent to the rear property line. We have a second by Ms. Cook. How do we vote? Aye. Aye. So Mr. Vac, we've granted your variance request. You will receive written notification from planning. It's typically seven to 10 business days. The determination that we just rendered can be appealed to the Circuit Court of Montegalia County. It's a 30-day window, appeals window, which starts when you receive written notification from planning. Any work that you undertake in that 30-day window, you do at your sole financial risk. So don't risk that $5,000 investment. All right, thank you for coming down this evening. Take care. Have a good evening. Okay, next case we have is VAR 26-069, Alan Zhang at 344 High Street, request by Alan Zhang for variance relief from section 1369.08. Eight of the city's planning and zoning code regarding sign illumination standards. City Tax District 11 in the Second Reward Tax Map 26A Parcel 107 in the B4 General Business District.

For VAR 26069, much like previous cases, here's an aerial view showing the downtown area highlighted where the building is located. And a bit of a closer zoom in just to kind of give context of where it's located without the overlay on it. in the packet as well as on the screen. Here's it as it exists kind of today. You'll notice the old, the bank sign that's there. The applicant is going to be replacing that basically with their branded sign, which an example can be found in the packet of what that would look like in there, but it will be mostly covering pretty much the same footprint as what is there currently. The applicant is seeking a variance regarding internal illumination standards for signs in the B4 district. The signs' size and dimensions are permitted. The only issue is its illumination. Refer to the section of code below, as well as submitted designs found in the packet. In summary, the applicant wishes to get a variance regarding illumination standards, illuminating a sign at the property address 344 High Street. Please see the attached application to review the findings of fact listed. Staff have no modifications or comments upon these. The attachments can be found below the conditions in the packet. Planning staff also don't object to the applicant's request for variance relief. If the Board of Zoning Appeals grants the applicant variance relief in accordance with the City's Planning and Zoning Code, the only condition that will apply is the standard condition that if any modifications or changes happen to the site plan, and design shown they have to be compliant or get additional variance relief. But that'll conclude staff report. Thank you very much.

So the size is permitted. Don't need the request for that. This is just solely because it's illuminated and not neon. Yes, that is correct.

Thank you. Thank you. Do we have a representative for this case?

Yes. Hey, guys. My name is Alan Zhang, 344 High Street. Yeah, basically the sign, it's going to say yellow banana on it. It's going to be a yellow LED sign. As you can see, too, in the picture, that already has a light there, too. It's just facing. It's not like the sign is self-illuminating. It's already light-pointed at it. My sign would just be lights pointing at the sign. The sign would just be lit. So you're going to have illumination directed... No, no, the sign is self-closed.

It does glow.

The sign is self-closed. All right, thank you. And then, you know, it's high street, so it's businesses. I don't think I'm really bothering anyone with the sign. Across from me is bars and other establishments. I don't think there's any residents, even on the second floor. So I don't think I'm really disturbing anyone with the sign.

Can you speak to, I mean... Industry standards in terms of the output, the lumens, or whatever the unit is, have those increased in terms of the output in the overnight hours? Because it is, I mean, it's some, it's...

I'd assume it'd be brighter than that light. It's also LED, so I can dim it, technically. You can dim it. And I will turn it off after, like if, I mean, after hours, after close, I'll turn it off so it's not up all night. Right, or it'll be on a timer. At night, it would be, depending on the day, like on Fridays, we'll open at 5 and close at 1, 1.30, 2, but weekdays, most of the time, barns don't, you know, restaurant bars kind of close earlier as it dies out. So probably around, I'd say, 12 o'clock. So instead of, I might not put on a timer, or I might, so I either have it turned off every day at 2, for example, that's the latest I'll close, or I can turn it off manually every day, sometimes to make it earlier if that's necessary. So, you know.

And you're not changing the orientation of the sign. It's flush with the facade, right?

You're not... No, it doesn't. It faces front. It's not like where Joe Malmas has it where it's like you can see it from the side of the street. It's facing the... The size is approximately the same. It's just different. All right.

Thank you very much. Thank you. Any questions? No? We're going to go ahead and open the public hearing. We are opening the public hearing for BAR 26-069. Anyone wishing to speak in support of or in opposition of this case, please do so now. Seeing no one, close the public hearing. And no correspondence, right? Nope. Okay. Any questions about the... Thank you very much for the findings of fact. They're very detailed. That's pretty straightforward. I make a motion to accept the findings of fact. We have a motion to accept the findings of fact, seconded by Ms. Cook. How do we vote? Aye. I move to grant the, and this is just for illumination, it's subject to the one standard condition. So I move to grant the requested variance. And we have a second by Ms. Cook. How do we vote? Aye. Aye. So we've granted your requested sign illumination variance. Again, you will receive written notification for planning seven to ten business days. But again, keep in mind the determination we just rendered can be appealed to the Circuit Court of Montague County. It's a 30-day appeals window which begins after you receive written notification. and any work that you undertake in that 30 day appeals window, you do add your sole financial risk. But thank you very much. Coming down, good luck. Have a good evening. Okay, we're moving to our last case of the evening, VAR 26-072, City Neon, USA, referenced at 150 Clay Street, request by City Neon USA for variance relief from section 1369.08 of the City's Planning and Zoning Code regarding sign illumination standards. City Tax District 9 in the first ward, tax map 28 parcel 19 in the B4 General Business District.

For VAR 26072, in the packet as well as on the screen, is an aerial view showing the located property. And then again, just a closer zoom in to kind of get the context of what the building looks like, the surrounding looks like, where it's located. Again, in the packet as well as on the screen is a proposed kind of rendering of what that would look like, you know, day on the left, night on the right, with the dimensions of the sign on the top. The applicant is seeking a variance regarding internal illumination standards in the B4 district. The sign size and dimensions are permitted by right other than its illumination. Refer to the sections of code below as well as submitted designs. In summary, the applicant wishes to get a variance regarding illuminating a sign at the property address 150 Clay. Please see the attached application to review the findings of fact as listed. Staff have no modifications or comments to these. This attachment can be found below the conditions. Planning staff also have no objections to the applicant's request for a variance. If the Board of Zoning Appeals grants the applicant variance relief in accordance to the city's planning and zoning code, the only condition that will apply is the standard condition that if any changes or modifications to the plan are done, they will have to be compliant or seek additional variances. That will conclude staff report.

Thank you very much. Before we ‑‑ well, any questions? Well, actually, do we have a representative for this case?

Yeah, they're online today.

Okay. Before we invite the representative to speak, I like the day and the night views. That should be standard, if possible. It would be nice. I like that. We could look into it, potentially. Was that ‑‑ provided by the applicant or you said?

No, they can maybe speak more to this, but City of Neon usually provides some pretty decent renderings or plans. But I like this.

Sometimes, in fact most of the time, they provide a picture with the expected new sign on the building, so to speak, so that you can... To scale. Yeah, to scale so you can see... Or simulated scale. Yeah, simulated. It makes it much easier to... To visualize the impact.

Yeah. It is helpful that they do that. A potential concern would be they're fortunate to have the ability to do that, and maybe a smaller sign company might not, or an applicant. That would be an additional fee that a owner would have to pay to get that done. But City of Neon usually consistently provides renderings similar to these that are quite helpful.

All right, so if we do have a representative for this case, Would you like to provide a summary of what you're proposing or speak to your case?

Yeah, hello. My name is Christian Wilson. I am representing City of Neon for this variance. The sign that we are asking for a variance on is the Dinsmore as you see on the screens. signs built in industry standards with our Quick Mod 2 LEDs with a 60 watt LED power supplies. Measurements, as you can see, that are on screen. The reason we've asked for the variants, we've seen some of the other signs on the neighboring buildings. There's at least three of them that are illuminated as well. I know you had also talked about the trying to figure out when this sign would be illuminated. The sign itself will have a time clock installed with it. So whenever we need to switch it on, switch it off, we can do that whenever the city has asked us to do it on certain times. So no reason to worry about that aspect of it. Other than that, that's all we have. And we thank you for your acceptance.

Thank you.

Any questions? Would you say, I mean, is the plan for it to be like a dusk to dawn timer? Yeah. Okay.

But it is like whenever we, it's a timer as well. We put a photo cell on it so whenever it goes to dusk and then back on after the light hits it.

Right. Yeah, I'm surprised. So you referenced 60. Is that a single bulb? Just one? You referenced 60 watt.

So yes, we actually have two 60 watt LED power supplies going to this.

I'm surprised it's only 60 watt. LED's pretty low power.

So I'm saying that there are two of them, two 60 watt principal LED power supplies.

Right. Yeah. Okay.

Yeah.

I've got no questions, concerns.

Yeah, that's pretty straightforward. Thank you, Mr. Wilson. Okay. Anything further, Mr. Thompson? Nope. No correspondence for this case as well. Okay. Well, we're going to open the public hearing for this case. VAR 26-072, anyone wishing to speak in support of or in opposition to this case, please do so now. Seeing no one, closing the hearing. Any questions about the findings of fact? I mean, again.

I move that we accept the findings of facts as stated in the packet.

I'll second that. Okay, so we have a motion to accept the findings of fact for VAR 26-072. seconded by mr. Martin how do we vote I mean that we grant the variance with the condition the standard condition Second. So we have a motion to grant the variance request for VAR 26-072. Seconded by Mr. Martin. How do we vote? Aye. Aye. So Mr. Wilson, we've granted your requested variance for your illumination variants, you will receive written notification from planning, seven to 10 business days. The determination we just rendered can be appealed to the Circuit Court of Montegalia County. So any work that you or your client undertakes in that 30-day appeals window, you do at your sole financial risk. But thank you for being available to comment on your

application have a good evening understood thank you thank you very much okay um do we have announcements staff have no major uh announcements other than we will most likely have our regularly scheduled uh or well there are there are cases uh for the agenda on the regularly scheduled uh meeting next month so something to keep in mind um but otherwise no major uh announcements from staff at this time

All right, great.

Anything further? Okay, we have a motion to adjourn, seconded by me. How do we vote? Aye. We are so adjourned.