Board of Zoning Appeals

1 REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS 2 City Council Chambers 3 300 Park Avenue 4 Falls Church, Virginia 22046 5 Thursday, March 13, 2014 6 7 1. CALL TO ORDER 8 9 CHAIR STOODLEY: Okay. I'll call the meeting to order, March 13th, 10 2014, call to order. 11 12 2. ROLL CALL 13 14 CHAIR STOODLEY: Have a roll call please. 15 MR. WADE: Mr. Stoodley. 16 MR. STOODLEY: Here. 17 MR. WADE: Mr. Williamson. 18 MR. WILLIAMSON: Here. 19 MR. WADE: Mr. Calabrese. 20 MR. CALABRESE: Here. 21 MR. WADE: Mr. Krasner. 22 MR. KRASNER: Here. 23 THE COURT: And, Mr. Howell. 24 MR. HOWELL: Here. 25 26 3. PETITIONS 27 28 CHAIR STOODLEY: Okay. We have no petitions. Do we have any 29 petitions? 30 MR. BOYLE: No, sir. 31 32 4. NEW BUSINESS: 33 34 CHAIR STOODLEY: New Business. 35 36 a. Variance application V1557-14 by Fred Richards to allow a side 37 yard setback of 8.4 feet instead of 15 feet on the south side of the 38 property to allow the construction of a minor 39 second story addition over an existing structure on premises known as 1301 40 Seaton Lane, RPC #52-505-018 of the Falls Church Real Property Records, 41 zoned R1-A, low-density residential, said property owned by Fred Richards 42 and Annette Matheny. 43 44 CHAIR STOODLEY: Variance application V1557-14, by Frederick 45 Richards to allow a side yard -- to allow a side yard setback of 8.4 feet 46 instead of 15 feet on the south side of the property to allow the 47 construction of a minor second story addition over an existing structure on 48 the premises known as 1301 Seaton Lane. RPC number 52-505-018 of the Falls 49 Church Real Property Records, zoned R1-A, low-density residential, said 50 property owned by Fred Richards and Annette Matheny. 51 CHAIR STOODLEY: Thank you. 52 MR. RICAHRDS: I'm Fred Richards. 53 CHAIR STOODLEY: Fred, will you stand up please. 54 (Witness sworn.) 55 CHAIR STOODLEY: Did you sign in? 56 MR. RICHARDS: Yes. MINUTES OF THE 13 MARCH 2014 MEETING OF THE BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS APPROVED 12 JUNE 2014  57 CHAIR STOODLEY: Okay, good. 58 Okay, sir. Would you explain your case. 59 MR. BOYLE: Yes, Mr. Chair. 60 This is an application for an addition to a residential structure 61 and it falls outside of the area that staff has administrative authority to 62 approve. There are some particular circumstances where staff can approve 63 where the house is already in a setback and the owners wish to extend. 64 This one because, of the location of the property, does not fall 65 within staff's administrative authority. And we met with the property 66 owners and discussed their options and felt that this was worth having them 67 make their case before the Board for their extension. 68 And I have to say this packet of information that we've received 69 probably explains this better than any other case we've had, and so with 70 that I think it's prudent to just defer to the applicant's presentation for 71 this case. 72 CHAIR STOODLEY: Thank you, sir. 73 MR. RICHARDS: My wife and I -- I'm Fred Richards. My wife and I 74 own the property at Seaton Lane. 75 We purchased this from the original owner's estate which 76 architectural drawings indicate it was probably built in 1941. So it was 77 the first house I think in the Virginia Forest development, and that person 78 owned it until we do. 79 It does need a little work, so rather than tear it down and replace 80 it, we wanted to update it for the next century. 81 The change that is before you today is a relatively minor alteration 82 of the roof structure which is primarily for us to ease the maintenance 83 issues. We would like to insulate with rigid foam on the exterior and by 84 flattening the roof all the way across we hope to simplify the flashing and 85 gutters and those kind of things. 86 We end up -- by doing so, we're going to do it on both ends of the 87 house, we end up adding approximately 12 to -- approximately 12 square feet 88 and we would just like to be able to use that footage under the roof that 89 we're hoping to bump up. 90 CHAIR STOODLEY: Which corner? 91 MR. RICHARDS: It's going to be the right side, if you're looking at 92 the front of the house. So the southwest. That part of the house does 93 extend into the setback by about 6 feet so it's -- but that's part of the 94 original structure. 95 And you can see from the plat that it's -- the house is skewed quite 96 a bit relative to the rectangular shape of the lot itself. It's a 97 substandard lot. And, of course, the house is nonconforming as it is. So 98 it does present certain constraints for what we can do with it. 99 I've given you the set of plans for all of what we hope to do with 100 it but what's at issue here is simply that tiny little corner sticking out. 101 We're not extending the footprint of any of the house. The upstairs on the 102 back of the house has already been bumped out years ago. We just want to 103 add that two foot section on the end to remove the gable. 104 MR. CALABRESE: Can I just ask, the two story addition, you're 105 saying that is within the setback? 106 MR. RICHARDS: That's all within -- yeah, we had our designer work 107 pretty hard to keep that within the by-right zone. 108 MR. CALABRESE: That's also an addition that is not subject to this? 109 MR. RICHARDS: Right. But the variance application is simply for 110 the hatched area. 111 And I think I provided a couple of sketches of the change. So it's 112 not even the entire change. It's a small part of the change. The change MINUTES OF THE 13 MARCH 2014 MEETING OF THE BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS APPROVED 12 JUNE 2014 113 wouldn't even be visible from the front of the house. 114 I've shown the neighbor behind us who would be most directly 115 affected in that he can see it. He's been through the house with me and we 116 finally met and I've shown him all of our plans, not just that plan. And 117 he was kind enough to write and sign a letter for me to say that he has no 118 objection, him and his wife so -- 119 CHAIR SOTODLEY: What is his name? 120 MR. RICHARDS: Won. Mr. Won. Kenneth Won and his wife, Emily Xan. 121 CHAIR STOODLEY: We have a letter. 122 Anything else? 123 MR. RICHARDS: That's really it. 124 CHAIR STOODLEY: Would you like, Mr. Calabrese? 125 MR. CALABRESE: Sure. As you may know in the ordinance there's 126 several requirements for us to grant the variance. One of which is for you 127 to demonstrate that other neighbors aren't harmed by this. And it appears 128 that, first of all, this neighbor is the one that would be directly 129 affected. Is he the one on that side? 130 MR. RICHARDS: He's the one, yeah, just to the rear on the side 131 line. 132 MR. CALABRESE: The other, I guess, important criteria is that you 133 demonstrate undue hardship if this was not to be done. So maybe if you can 134 just explain the hardship. 135 MR. RICHARDS: Well, the ability to maintain the roof structure is 136 our primary goal here and I'm not sure from my discussions with John if 137 that was -- we're allowed to alter the roof by rights and just not use the 138 two feet under it. That would give us sort of a ghost territory in our own 139 home which seems a little unreasonable. 140 If I'm not able to alter the roof, but we do intend on doing that to 141 the rest of the house, that kind of makes it an awkward situation. We'd 142 like to have a coherent structure. And there's really not much we can do 143 with the house existing where it does. 144 MR. CALABRESE: You're saying this was to help with maintenance 145 issues or water coming off the roof and without it, it would create a 146 difficult area I suppose? 147 MR. RICHARDS: Right, right. The drain right now is not good. 148 There is leaking in the basement right now and I believe it's mostly for 149 the gutters that are overflowing, so. 150 MR. CALABRESE: Thank you. 151 MR. KRASNER: Just a couple quick questions just for the record. If 152 you don't know the answer to this, staff can probably chime in. 153 You did testify that the lot is undersized with respect to the area, 154 correct? 155 MR. RICHARDS: I believe it's supposed to be 11250 for -- 156 MR. BOYLE: Yes, sir. 157 MR. KRASNER: Right. And you're at? 158 MR. RICHARDS: 11098. 159 MR. KRASNER: Right. And as far as the use of the -- you're 160 encroaching technically into the side yard and so the required width in 161 this zone, R1-A, is, Mr. Boyle? 162 MR. BOYLE: 75 feet. 163 MR. KRASNER: And this lot measures, it's irregular but its frontage 164 on Seaton Circle looks to be less than that. 165 MR. BOYLE: Correct. Because of the arc. 166 MR. KRASNER: So essentially the lot is undersized with respect to 167 width and you're encroaching into the side yard. 168 And so in total, how much additional new square footage would be MINUTES OF THE 13 MARCH 2014 MEETING OF THE BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS APPROVED 12 JUNE 2014 169 underneath that area that's the subject of the variance? 170 MR. RICHARDS: Approximately 12 square feet. 171 MR. KRASNER: About 12 square feet. 172 Okay. That does it for me. 173 MR. WILLIAMSON: Nothing from me, thanks. 174 CHAIR STOODLEY: Sir? 175 MR. HOWELL: No questions. 176 CHAIR STOODLEY: I have no questions either. 177 Do we have a motion? 178 MR. CALABRESE: I have a motion to approve the variance. 179 CHAIR STOODLEY: Second? Do we have a second? 180 MR. WILLIAMSON: Second. 181 CHAIR STOODLEY: Roll call vote. 182 MR. WADE: Mr. Howell. 183 MR. HOWELL: Yes. 184 MR. WADE: Mr. Calabrese. 185 MR. CALABRESE: Yes. 186 MR. WADE: Mr. Williamson. 187 MR. WILLIAMSON: Yes. 188 MR. WADE: Mr. Stoodley. 189 MR. STOODLEY: Yes. 190 MR. WADE: And, Mr. Krasner. 191 MR. KRASNER: Yes. 192 MR. WADE: Congatulations. 193 MR. RICHARDS: Thank you. 194 CHAIR STOODLEY: Piece of cake. 195 196 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 197 198 Discussion of minutes from the December 12, 2013 BZA. 199 200 CHAIR STOODLEY: Okay. We move to approve the minutes of December 201 12th. I wasn't here so all the four people can vote as far as the minutes. 202 MR. WILLIAMSON: I was here that night. I will go through it. 203 204 (Minutes reviewed.) 205 206 CHAIR STOODLEY: Do I have to motion to approve? 207 MR. WILLIAMSON: Motion to approve the minutes from December 12, 208 2013. 209 CHAIR STOODLEY: Second? 210 MR. KRASNER: Second. 211 CHAIR STOODLEY: All in favor? 212 (A chorus of "ayes.") 213 CHAIR STOODLEY: Opposed? None. 214 Minutes are passed. 215 216 6. OTHER BUSINESS 217 218 A. Annual adoption of Rules of Procedure 219 220 CHAIR STOODLEY: Annual adoption of Rules of Procedures. 221 Do we have any changes to the Rules of Procedures? 222 MR. KRASNER: Were those e-mailed today? Is that what you e-mailed 223 us to today, the Rules of Procedure? 224 MR. WADE: Was it today? I thought it was last week. MINUTES OF THE 13 MARCH 2014 MEETING OF THE BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS APPROVED 12 JUNE 2014 225 MR. KRASNER: I'm sorry. It's the same that was e-mailed today? 226 MR. WADE: Yes. 227 MR. KRASNER: I have no comments on it. 228 CHAIR STOODLEY: Move to approve it? 229 MR. KRASNER: I move we approve the Rules of Procedure. 230 MR. CALABRESE: Second. 231 CHAIR STOODLEY: All in favor? 232 (A chorus of "ayes.") 233 CHAIR STOODLEY: Opposed? 234 Passed unanimously. 235 236 B. Election of Chairman and Vice-Chairman 237 238 CHAIR STOODLEY: The question of chairman and vice chairman, I have 239 passed my two years as your chairman. I would like to nominate our vice 240 chair who has served so well in my absence, Mr. Williamson. 241 Do I have a second? 242 MR. CALABRESE: Second. 243 CHAIR STOODLEY: Okay. All in favor? 244 (A chorus of "ayes.") 245 CHAIR STOODLEY: Okay. Darcy is the chairman. He has accepted the 246 appointment. 247 MR. WILLIAMSON: Thank you. 248 CHAIR STOODLEY: Vice chair. 249 MR. CALABRESE: I'd like to nominate Brent as vice chair. 250 CHAIR STOODLEY: Thank you, sir. 251 Second? 252 MR. HOWELL: Second. 253 CHAIR STOODLEY: All in favor. 254 (A chorus of "ayes."). 255 CHAIR STOODLEY: Brent is the vice chair. 256 257 C. Election of Recording Secretary 258 259 CHAIR STOODLEY: Recording secretary, I nominate Brandon Wade. 260 Do I have a second? 261 MR. WILLIAMSON: Second. 262 CHAIR STOODLEY: All in favor. 263 (A chorus of "ayes.") 264 CHAIR STOODLEY: Opposed. You can't vote opposed, okay? 265 Brandon is the secretary. 266 267 7. OLD BUSINESS 268 269 CHAIR STOODLEY: We don't have any old matters, do we? 270 MR. WILLIAMSON: No, but I would just like to thank Chairman Stoodey 271 for his outstanding service as chairman of this Board for the past several 272 years and more generally his service on the Board since he first became a 273 member. It's a real pleasure to work with you. 274 CHAIR STOODLEY: 20 years. Thank you. 275 MR. CALABRESE: How long? 276 CHAIR STOODLEY: 20 years. 277 MR. WILLIAMSON: Congratulations. 278 CHAIR STOODLEY: Thank you, sir. 279 Move to adjourn? 280 MR. BOYLE: I would like to thank and commend Mr. Howell and MINUTES OF THE 13 MARCH 2014 MEETING OF THE BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS APPROVED 12 JUNE 2014 281 congratulate him on his appointment as a full member. 282 CHAIR STOODLEY: Absolutely. 283 MR. BOYLE: The rules of this Board are that when you're an 284 alternate you have the option to move up but you serve in the term of the 285 party that your -- whose seat you're taking. So he's going to assume the 286 term of Mr. Sze who went and got himself elected to City Council. 287 And so Mr. Howell will serve out the balance of that term and then 288 will be on his own schedule after that. 289 So thank him for his interest and congratulations. Now we need to 290 find another alternate. 291 MR. CALABRESE: Exciting job, alternate. 292 MR. BOYLE: Usually on this Board the alternate is very busy. 293 MR. WILLIAMSON: It's in quotes. 294 CHAIR STOODLEY: Move to adjourn. 295 MR. WADE: One quick administrative. I'm in process of collecting 296 the data for 2013 for the annual report. I got halfway into it and so I 297 will have it by the end of next week. I'll just distribute it 298 electronically. 299 MR. WILLIAMSON: What is the protocol for, I guess, is that a 300 written report? 301 MR. WADE: Yes. I'll send the last example that we have from -- 302 there is a good example from 2010. It's pretty simple. 303 MR. WILLIAMSON: It's a written report that goes to the Council. 304 MR. WADE: A little summary of the actions taken. 305 MR. WILLIAMSON: Will we approve that here formally or am I able to 306 do that based on advisement? 307 CHAIR STOODLEY: So -- sorry. I can't speak today. Anyway, once 308 the report is approved, then you present the report to the City Council. 309 MR. WILLIAMSON: I go before Council. 310 MR. BOYLE: Yes. I think you just enter it into their record. 311 CHAIR STOODLEY: That's right. 312 MR. BOYLE: Identify yourself. 313 CHAIR STOODLEY: They need to ask questions, if they want to. 314 MR. WILLIAMSON: Okay. 315 MR. BOYLE: I don't think typically it involves a presentation. 316 It's more of an opportunity -- they'll coordinate with us. We'll get it in 317 their packet in advance of their meeting so they have it to review and then 318 you're there for any questions they might have. It's usually just a 319 formality like presenting your ambassador papers to the prime minister. 320 MR. WILLIAMSON: Do I get my picture taken? 321 CHAIR STOODLEY: My problem is tomorrow I give up all my flight gear 322 because I can't fly anymore. I can't pass the physical after 62 years 323 teaching. It's difficult but I pass the era to a 27 year old blonde. 324 MR. BOYLE: What plane did you train on? What aircraft did you 325 train on originally? 326 CHAIR STOODLEY: S and J first. It's an old airplane. 327 MR. BOYLE: I'll look it up. 328 CHAIR STOODLEY: Seaplanes first. P5s. Went from seaplanes to -- 329 funny story. I was in the Bay of Pigs invasion. I was air cover. I was 330 supposed to control the fighters. Anyway, I was in the restroom at the 331 Navy KUS. My commanding officer was in a stall. I saw a burst of flame. 332 He said what was that. I said it's A 4 brake fire. It turned out it was 333 our airplane. The only safety officer -- we had all came from seaplanes to 334 these planes. We were worried about pulling up the gear. The only one in 335 the squadron that had experience and land planes was the safety officer. 336 He landed gear up. MINUTES OF THE 13 MARCH 2014 MEETING OF THE BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS APPROVED 12 JUNE 2014 337 MR. BOYLE: Ground is a little harder than the water. 338 CHAIR STOODLEY: Hard for me. I told him the broad story. 339 340 8. ADJOURNMENT 341 342 CHAIR STOODLEY: Okay. Move to adjourn? 343 MR. HOWELL: I move. 344 CHAIR STOODLEY: And second? 345 MR. KRASNER: Second. 346 CHAIR STOODLEY: All in favor. 347 (A chorus of "ayes.") 348 CHAIR STOODLEY: Unanimous. 349 Okay. We're adjourned. 350 Thanks. 351 352 MINUTES OF THE 13 MARCH 2014 MEETING OF THE BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS APPROVED 12 JUNE 2014