Board of Zoning Appeals

1 REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS 2 Community Center Teen Center 3 223 Little Falls Street 4 Falls Church, Virginia 22046 5 December 13, 2018 6 7:30 p.m. 7 8 1. CALL TO ORDER 9 MR. JONES: I'd like to call to order the December 13th 10 regular meeting of the Board of Zoning Appeals. 11 If you would like to call us to order. 12 13 2. ROLL CALL 14 RECORDING SECRETARY: Mr. Williamson. 15 Mr. Williamson is absent. 16 Mr. Calabrese. 17 Mr. Calabrese is absent. 18 Mr. Jones. 19 MR. JONES: Here. 20 RECORDING SECRETARY: Mr. Misleh. 21 MR. MISLEH: Here. 22 RECORDING SECRETARY: Mr. Bartlett. 23 MR. BARTLETT: Here. 24 RECORDING SECRETARY: Thank you. 25 26 3. PETITIONS 27 MR. JONES: Okay. Before we start with the Old 28 Business and New Business and Petitions, if there's anybody 29 who's going to speak here tonight, I'd like to swear you in. I 30 think you all have already signed in. 31 (Witnesses sworn.) 32 33 4. OLD BUSINESS 34 MR. JONES: I don't think we have any Old Business. 35 MR. BOYLE: No, sir. 36 37 5. NEW BUSINESS 38 A. Variance application V1606-18 by City of Falls 39 Church, applicant and owner, for variances to Section 48-1101 to 40 allow (1) a front yard setback of 7.5 feet instead of 25 feet on 41 North Virginia Avenue, (2) a front yard setback of 10.5 feet 42 instead of 25 feet on Park Avenue, (3) a maximum lot coverage of 43 57% instead of 35%, for the purpose of renovating the existing 44 public library and constructing a 2-story addition on premises 45 known as 120 North Virginia, RPC #51-113-005 of the Falls Church 46 Real Property Records, zoned OD, Official Design. 47 48 MR. JONES: So we'll move right to the New Business. 49 If we can start with a report from staff. 50 MR. BOYLE: Yes, sir. This item is Variance 51 Application V1606-18 by the City of Falls Church, applicant and 52 owner for variances to Section 48-1101 to allow (1) a front yard 53 setback of 7.5 feet instead of 25 feet on North Virginia Avenue, 54 (2) a front yard setback of 10.5 feet instead of 25 feet on Park 55 Avenue, (3) a maximum lot coverage of 57 percent instead of 35 56 percent, for the purpose of renovating the existing public 57 library and constructing a 2-story addition on premises known as 58 120 North Virginia, RPC #51-113-005 of the Falls Church Real 59 Property Records, zoned OD, Official Design. 60 The Board should have a packet submitted by the 61 applicants and their consultants and a cover letter summarizing 62 a recommendation from the Planning Commission. 63 Items such as this require a hearing before the 64 Planning Commission who makes a recommendation, sets conditions 65 to this Board; and the Planning Commission did recommend 66 approval with conditions. 67 And the thing I would point out in particular about 68 this variance application is staff was discussing amongst itself 69 that when you look at the threshold for being eligible for a 70 variance for a structure like a library versus a house or a 71 commercial business with a sign, it's pretty clear that our Code 72 didn't anticipate one of the most popular components of the 73 municipal facilities this City has for its residents. 74 This is a residential zoning code applied to a 75 building that just doesn't fit into a residential code. 76 The OD, Official Design, Zoning District is 77 interesting in that it wants something compatible with the City 78 Hall Municipal Center. And the building clearly is but without 79 these variances, it probably would render the site unusable 80 based on the popularity and growth of the building. 81 And what is unique that would really tee this up for a 82 variance in the same threshold that residential properties do, 83 what's unique is that the family that sold that land on which 84 the library sits to the City conditioned it that it can only be 85 used for a library. 86 So the owner, the City, is looking at either leaving it 87 as is, building a second library somewhere else and having two 88 libraries. It's very constrained. There are very few 89 properties in town that have such a severe restriction on their 90 use. 91 So I think we'd recommend the Board consider when 92 pondering whether the threshold for a variance is met or not, in 93 this case consider the uniqueness of that condition on the 94 property but also the application of essentially single family 95 residential setbacks and lot coverages to a municipal structure 96 such as a library.  97 When you try to build a library within those 98 constraints and have a parking lot and sidewalks and egress and 99 what have you, it's a very difficult task. 100 So with that, I think I'll defer to the applicants and 101 City staff to introduce themselves and we'll defer to their 102 application. 103 MR. JONES: Anybody have any initial comments? 104 MR. BARTLETT: Could you just clarify for me the 105 specifics: You said it's zoned OD. But it's similar to the 106 same required setbacks as single family. 107 MR. BOYLE: Yes, there's two OD, Official Design, 108 Districts. One is the Historic, which is around the Historic 109 Church, and the other is the greater area around City Hall here. 110 When that Code was adopted, it comes with a preamble 111 of intent that says the designs will be sympathetic and viewed 112 in concert with the City Hall or the Historic Church. But when 113 it got to the point of assigning setbacks, for whatever reason 114 the Code directors at that time selected basically the R-1B 115 setbacks and lot coverages. 116 So again, if you consider not just the building 117 setback, it's a corner so it has our famous two front yards, but 118 houses don't have parking lots and handicap access ramps 119 necessarily at a public facility level. 120 So there's an intent in the OD to be complimentary to 121 City Hall in architecture and function and then there's this 122 constraint of the setbacks that they chose. 123 MR. BARTLETT: This is probably one of the only 124 facilities that has such a unique location relative to this 125 campus right here which is probably still subject to those same 126 standards. 127 MR. BOYLE: That's correct. 128 MR. BARTLETT: Not much leeway. 129 MR. BOYLE: That's correct. 130 MR. JONES: With that, we'll defer to the applicants. 131 If you could state your name and your title and relation to the 132 application. 133 MR. GERNAND: Thank you, sir. My name is Bradley 134 Gernand and I chair the Library Board of Trustees. I've been 135 chair for 18 years. And with me is Mark Manetti, our architect; 136 Jenny Carroll, the library director, Kim Callahan, our City 137 staff project manager, and our vice chair, Chet DeLong. 138 So what I'd like to do is just for a quick moment, 139 harp, if you don't mind, a bit on what the City staff has told 140 you about the restrictions on our property. 141 It's been a bit of a nightmare for us. A nice 142 nightmare to have, I mean kind of like an embarrassment of 143 riches. 144 Although you have us listed as New Business, for us 145 this is Old Business because this process began for us 10 years 146 ago. We outgrew the building in about 2008 and we started the 147 process of trying to figure out what to do next. 148 The constrictions to which he referred, Mrs. Styles, 149 when she donated the quarter acre or whatever it is to the City, 150 she specified two things: It had to always be a library 151 otherwise it would revert to the family; and the other 152 constriction was it always has to echo colonial-style 153 architecture. And so everything we're trying to do in this 154 current phase is try to make it as close as we can to what Mrs. 155 Styles had asked for. 156 So in essence, the current building opened in 1958 and 157 then we have added on to it since then. The next time came in 158 1968 and then again in 1991. And now here we are. 159 What the Board is trying very hard to do in this case 160 is try to figure out how we can grow into the future on the 161 quarter acre. 162 The quarter acre contains seven parking slots which 163 the Board is very covetous of keeping. It's the only assigned 164 parking to the building aside from some that's on the street, 165 just a few spaces. 166 So what the Board wanted to make sure you understood 167 is we feel like we have to maintain as close as possible to the 168 deeded gift, otherwise we fear losing it to the family. 169 Do you have any questions about that aspect of what 170 we're working toward before I turn it over to the details 171 people? 172 MR. JONES: Have you spoken with the representatives 173 of the family about the plans? 174 MR. GERNAND: We have. I had a conversation with the 175 son of Mrs. Styles, the last time he came to visit which I think 176 was in 1999. It was the City's tri-centennial and we were 177 having a tri-centennial event and the library hosted it. And he 178 was here from Los Angeles where he and that branch of the family 179 now live. And he talked about how his mother was very proud of 180 the fact that it had turned into such a nice facility. 181 And I remember him pointing to the padded window seats 182 and the wooden ceiling and that of thing and he was saying she 183 would be very pleased by what has happened. 184 I'm personally aware that the family was clear that 185 her intent was that it should look and feel as it does. 186 To my knowledge we haven't been in touch with the 187 family since that time. 188 Over to the details people. 189 MS. CARROLL: So I came on board about a year and a 190 half ago but I've been with the library for almost 12 years. 191 So when we started talking about what the library 192 needed, there were several reasons that came to the forefront. 193 So the first is the physical needs of the building. We have an 194 aging HVAC system, we have an aging elevator. The whole 195 building is now almost 30 years old in terms of the interiors as 196 well. So we're dealing with that. 197 We're also dealing with that it's not currently ADA 198 compliant. So ADA, that -- I think it's a law -- the ADA law 199 came into effect about the time that this building was actually 200 built so it's currently not ADA compliant. So we wanted to 201 bring the building into ADA compliance as well. 202 Also having a public space that has a right- sized 203 collection and space for the programming that we do in the 204 library. And that has been a big push from both the Library 205 Board and from the public. They would like to see more space 206 available and I think we're doing that with our current plans. 207 MS. CALLAHAN: What I have up here is the site plan 208 that's currently in your packet, but it's a scale version. I 209 thought I'd walk you through the changes and walk you through 210 the elevations and then answer any questions you might have. 211 So we have North Virginia Avenue down at the bottom, 212 Park Avenue to your left, and then Cherry Hill Park would be 213 over here. 214 The shaded-out portion back here is the parking space, 215 so if you pull off Park Avenue, you turn into the parking lot 216 and go down the alleyway. We're saying that this will not 217 change, we're going to keep this as is. 218 The existing building is outlined in this lighter 219 gray square and the curb lines are shown around the property. 220 This darker gray square is the addition. 221 So in 2013-2014 a Master Plan was completed that made 222 recommendations as far as how the library should expand and 223 renovate to meet the needs of the community. And the final 224 Master Plan recommended a 6600 square foot, two story addition 225 and then renovation of the existing facility. 226 When we looked at the renovation and where we could 227 fit that on this site, because we're constrained, the thought 228 was to push it towards North Virginia Avenue so we could 229 maintain the parking and the vehicular access and the access to 230 the trash and recycling in the back, to maintain that 231 circulation. So we're pushing the building out towards North 232 Virginia Avenue. It's approximately 28 and a half feet wide. 233 We didn't really want to go any narrower than that 234 because then you wouldn't have enough space for the book shelves 235 and then to have ADA circulation around that shelving. 236 The existing entrance to the library is approximately 237 right here. What we're proposing is most of the expansion area 238 will be along North Virginia Avenue and then we'll have an 239 entrance at the corner. 240 And then I'll show you what that would look like. 241 This is kind of the perspective of you looking at it kind of 242 from Cherry Hill Park. Towards the corner. This is North 243 Virginia Avenue and Park Avenue. And then you can see it 244 looking up from North Virginia Avenue, here's the entrance. 245 The new part of the building is in red in all of these 246 images and the grayed-out portion of the building is the 247 existing facility. 248 So if you look towards North Virginia Avenue, showing 249 the property line, we're only 7 and a half feet from the 250 property line but we're still about 14 feet back from the back 251 of the curb. So that gives us enough space to have a nice 252 streetscape, to have plantings and to have a pedestrian way 253 along North Virginia Avenue. We're going to bump the curb out 254 at the corner to give more pedestrian space and to make the 255 crosswalks along North Virginia and Park Avenue shorter. 256 It's not the ideal situation right now. It's kind of 257 a long distance to get to the library to one of the adjacent 258 corners. So if we bump that out, we thought that would help the 259 situation. 260 And then along Park Avenue we have our communicating 261 stairway and our elevator shaft. On our renderings if you look, 262 this is the Park Avenue perspective; this area with the three 263 windows would be where that new communicating stairway would be 264 to connect the upper and the lower floor. 265 Right now the stairway is kind of small and dark and 266 you can't have very many people on it passing, so we're going to 267 close that off and create a larger stairway with light kind of 268 flooding in to hopefully to bring light into the bottom level of 269 the building and then our elevator will be kind of where this 270 blank brick wall is with the library name. 271 And if we move along to Park Avenue where we're 272 looking at a 10 and a half foot setback to the property line, 273 but that still gives us about 17 feet from the back of the curb, 274 so that gives us plenty of space for pedestrian access and 275 landscaping. 276 So as I think several people mentioned, the original 277 facility was built in 1958, was just this rectangular piece. As 278 the demands of the community grew, the City chose to add on at 279 its current site rather than move to a different location 280 because of the deed restriction, we would lose the property if 281 it's not going to be a library anymore. 282 So in 1968 they added a corner to the back by the 283 parking lot, and in 1991 they had one more addition to the back 284 corner. In both of those cases they were granted variances for 285 lot coverage. 286 So we're requesting for three different variances. 287 The first is for a 57 percent lot coverage rather than a 35 288 percent lot coverage, 7 and a half feet setback on North 289 Virginia Avenue and 10 and a half feet setback from Park Avenue. 290 If I could answer any questions. 291 MR. DE LONG: May I add a comment? For those of you 292 not familiar with the building, you might wonder why we wouldn't 293 294 think of a third floor. The problem is when the building was 295 built, it was engineered in such a way that we could not add a 296 third floor. We'd have to destroy the building and start over. 297 MS. CALLAHAN: Yes, that was part of the Master Plan, 298 thank you, Chet, the study done in 2013/2014. Structurally it 299 can't handle a third floor. We'd have to put a bunch of columns 300 in the middle of the library. And that was not feasible. 301 MR. BOYLE: If I could add something to staff's 302 comments. It's interesting that it was pointed out a 14 foot 303 setback along Virginia and a 17 foot setback, what they would 304 build to now or what they're asking to build to, a 17 foot 305 setback along Park; that actually conforms with our B-1 306 commercial setbacks, 14 feet from face of curb. So they'd 307 comply with it on one side if this were business zoning and 308 they'd be three feet to the good on the other side and then the 309 lot coverage, there is no maximum lot coverage in commercial. 310 So again, it kind of points out the severe 311 restrictions of this particular zone and use. 312 MR. MISLEH: John, could you repeat that? That was 313 one of my questions. 314 MR. BOYLE: With the exception of Broad Street and 315 Washington, the commercial setbacks are 14 feet from face of 316 curb. They're proposing 14 and 17 and then the lot coverage of 317 57 percent they're asking for. There is no commercial maximum 318 lot coverage. So it's kind of a use in pursuit of a more 319 suitable zone. 320 MR. BARTLETT: Can I ask a couple of questions about 321 the current status and flow into and out of the existing 322 library? Do you know what the current width of the sidewalk on 323 North Virginia Avenue is? 324 MS. CALLAHAN: Yes, it's 6 feet. So we'll actually 325 have a larger sidewalk. 326 MS. CARROLL: And at some points it's smaller because 327 I went out with a tape measure and I think it does get a little 328 bit smaller the closer to the corner that you get. 329 MR. BARTLETT: So I recognize immensely the importance 330 of retaining this location and additions that have occurred over 331 the last 70 years almost. It seems like this might be the last 332 one. Have you guys contemplated what might come next? 333 MR. GERNAND: Well, there are members of City Council 334 who would tell you that libraries are on the way out and there 335 isn't particularly a future for them. We disagree. Both the 336 staff and the Board disagree. 337 And I manage a library myself for the President's 338 science adviser. And none of what we see in our day-to-day 339 existence supports that at all. Libraries are changing but in a 340 place like Falls Church they're not going out of business. 341 What we're hoping is that when we move back into the 342 renovated building, should you approve the variances, we'll have 343 344 a smaller print collection than we do today, but as she 345 mentioned in her intro, we're calling it right-sizing. It's not 346 down-sizing. 347 We have a few more books than we probably need in the 348 collection and Jenny and her staff are comfortable going down in 349 size of it. So we're actually thinking that the size of the 350 building that we end up with will probably carry us well into 351 the future, perhaps decades, and we may not need to have to deal 352 with this again. 353 MS. CALLAHAN: We're trying to design the space to be 354 as flexible as possible so that as the use of the library 355 changes, we have more flexibility to change. We're including 356 programming spaces for things other than just sitting and 357 reading, to have programs I guess. And ways to change up those 358 spaces, make them smaller or larger so that we can hopefully 359 accommodate the need for the next 20, 30 years. 360 MR. MANETTI: 25 years from now you may be looking at 361 tearing down the existing one and building a new one that's 362 three stories. 363 MR. BARTLETT: Yes, that's a good option. 364 MR. GERNAND: Our consultants tell us after they 365 interviewed the EDA and so on and so forth, a lot of people 366 throughout the City government, they believe that Falls Church's 367 population will plateau at about 19,000. And currently we're at 368 what, almost 15. 369 When the existing library opened in '92, the City's 370 population was 9400. And I clearly remember Deane Dierksen, the 371 library director, giving me a tour of the new facility and we 372 stopped in front of the restroom, and she said, "These restrooms 373 are built to accommodate a population of 9400 but I'm hoping 374 that Falls Church doesn't grow any bigger than that." And we 375 have. 376 So the Board and the staff believe that if truly we 377 plateau at 19,000, what we're proposing to do now should carry 378 us indefinitely into the future. 379 MR. MISLEH: Was the cost analysis done on the full 380 tear down and rebuild versus this expansion? 381 MR. MANETTI: As part of the Master Plan. 382 MS. CALLAHAN: Yes, I don't recall what that was. 383 MR. MANETTI: I can tell you that a 30,000 square foot 384 library is going to be about 15 million. 385 MR. GERNAND: I think it came in at 18. But that 386 included 39 parking spaces. 387 MR. MANETTI: With a tiered parking area, right. 388 MR. GERNAND: Yes. 389 MR. MISLEH: Considering the fact that the fund was 390 approved last year and we're at least one year ahead, how soon 391 would you start the construction if it's approved? 392 MS. CALLAHAN: We're looking to start construction 393 late summer, early fall 2019 and it will take 12 to 14 months to 394 build. 395 MR. MISLEH: Will you still be able to do it within 396 the amount of funds that have been approved? 397 MS. CALLAHAN: With our design process we have a 398 construction manager at risk on board so they're our general 399 contractor. With the architect and the City, they're part of 400 our design team. 401 And in each phase, at the schematic design phase, 402 we've got a cost check submitted. At 30 percent which is called 403 design development, we get another cost check-in and these are 404 from the people that are actually going to be building it. 405 So we'll have opportunities, if we see that we're 406 running high, to figure out ways to bring it in and to cut 407 costs. That's the advantage to bringing on the general 408 contractor early on. 409 So we know what our budget is and we're moving 410 forward with that in mind. 411 MR. MISLEH: Can you point out on the plan where the 412 dimension from the building face to the curb is. 413 MS. CALLAHAN: It's not actually labeled on here, I 414 scaled it off. But if you look at the 17 feet, it's the point 415 closest, the jut-out from and then the back of curb is kind of 416 this lighter line right here. 417 MR. MISLEH: Scaled 17 feet on that side and roughly 418 14? 419 MS. CALLAHAN: 14 feet, yeah. There's 8 feet from the 420 building to that line and then another 4 feet and then you've 421 got a little bit more because you're accounting for around the 422 planter. But it's 14 feet from the back of this curb to the 423 edge of the building. 424 MR. BARTLETT: I see these, are these landscape 425 planter typical, is that what's it labeled as? 426 MS. CALLAHAN: That's still a work in progress. 427 MR. BARTLETT: Are those necessary? 428 MR. MANETTI: Well, they're part of the City 429 streetscape that was developed. 430 MS. CALLAHAN: There's a City streetscape standard 431 that calls for a 6 foot planting zone, a 6 foot pedestrian zone, 432 and then a 4 foot amenity zone next to the building. So those 433 are the standards that were adopted. So we're 2 feet short of 434 the standard for that. It's not a Code thing, but it's a City 435 recommendation. New development that comes into the City, 436 they'll have those planters along the curb line. 437 MR. BARTLETT: Similar to the ones that you see all 438 down Broad Street that are unfortunately raised above the 439 sidewalk. 440 MS. CALLAHAN: Well, they can be raised or flat. 441 MR. BARTLETT: Or sunk down to catch storm water? 442 MS. CALLAHAN: Well, you're talking flat, the brick 443 that's around it can be either flushed or raised. There was a 444 big debate when they were developing the streetscape standards. 445 MR. BARTLETT: I'm just curious if they interfere with 446 the flow here. I know you said that the current sidewalk is 447 actually narrower than what you're proposing. Are they required 448 also to have parking in front? I'm just curious, bringing this 449 large facade right to the street, how does that flow? 450 MS. CALLAHAN: In this design, we're maintaining the 451 parking along North Virginia Avenue and Park Avenue. 452 MR. BARTLETT: It's about 5, 6 spots, right, total? 453 MS. CALLAHAN: Well, it's about 4, 5 spots. If we 454 were to get rid of the parking, then we would have to extend the 455 curb line out if we wanted that wider streetscape. The thought 456 is to keep the parking. It adds also a nice buffer from the 457 traffic. So you have 8 feet of cars and then you have another 6 458 foot of landscaping and then you have the pedestrian way. So 459 that gives you a nice buffer from the traffic. 460 MR. MANETTI: Ironically, on North Virginia Avenue we 461 have a planter that's alongside of the street, so actually you 462 have a wall that's about 4 feet high and 3 feet high that really 463 gives you only a 6 foot pedestrian allee down the street. So 464 now you will have a 14 foot pedestrian allee. 465 MR. MISLEH: Thank you. That was one of my questions. 466 Where is the existing retaining wall or planter wall? I 467 468 understand that it's being removed. But in relation to where 469 the new building facade is, where is that wall? 470 MS. CALLAHAN: So that wall is, so if the sidewalk is 471 5 feet wide, it's 5 feet behind the curb and gutter. So it 472 would be approximately almost where the property line is. 473 MR. MISLEH: So it's prominent to where the proposed 474 facade is now. 475 MR. MANETTI: Well, the proposed facade is actually 476 pushed back. 477 MS. CALLAHAN: From where that wall is, you're another 478 8 feet back. 479 MR. MISLEH: So for all intents and purposes, you're 480 actually pushing the front of that structure back. 481 MR. MANETTI: The leading edge of the mass we're 482 pushing back. 483 MR. JONES: I have a few questions. In my excitement to 484 hear your presentation, I forgot to advise you that we are not a 485 full Board tonight. There are three of us. So in order for 486 your application to be approved, you would need a unanimous vote 487 from all three. 488 You do have the option, next month I believe we have a 489 meeting, you do have an option to push your case until then so 490 you can get a fourth or fifth member of the Board. So you do 491 have that option to continue it or you can elect to have a three 492 panel Board hear your application. 493 MR. GERNAND: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We're aware. 494 We appreciate it. 495 MR. JONES: A couple of questions from me. Could you 496 speak a little bit about the congestion that you're currently 497 experiencing in the existing space. Potentially, how many 498 people visit the library. With this addition you expect 499 certainly less congestion but I got the feeling that you're sort 500 of at max capacity right now. 501 MS. CARROLL: So I believe in the parking study that 502 was done I think it was in 2016, they had surveyed how many 503 people came to City Hall, how many people came to the Community 504 Center and the library, and the library was at 900 people a day. 505 I would say probably the average is between 5 to 700. 506 900 might have been, they might have hit a day when we had lots 507 of stuff going on. I think it can be as high as that depending 508 on what's happening in the library. 509 MR. GERNAND: Share with them another statistic that 510 helps buttress that. 511 MS. CARROLL: Story Time? 512 MR. GERNAND: That too but I was thinking, I 513 personally find the number of circulations of books per year to 514 be phenomenal. 515 MS. CARROLL: And it was 476,000. 516 MR. GERNAND: That's a single site library, one 517 building with a little circulation desk with two people or maybe 518 three people on it. That's 500,000. 519 MS. CARROLL: All of our statistics for both the size 520 of our physical space and the size of our collection, our 521 consultants have told us compared to other libraries, we're like 522 within the one percent of the one percent. We just have a high 523 circulation per capita, we have a high number of people who 524 attend programs, we have a high number of people who come into 525 the library. So all of those statistics are high. 526 I think maybe we've plateaued a little bit. I've been 527 hoping for a plateau. Because every year we go up and up and 528 up. Last year we were at half a million for circulation, this 529 year we're at 476. 530 Our E-Resources only account for about 7 percent of 531 that. We're still heavily physical materials going out of the 532 library. 533 In terms of people coming for programs, both last year 534 and this year it's been around 36,000 people coming in just for 535 programming. 536 You heard me say Story Time. We thought when I joined 537 the services room about 5 or 6 years ago, I had thought 50 or 60 538 kids and nannies and parents and grandparents was huge. We're 539 pushing 200 now that come to Story Times three times a week. So 540 we're maxing out. 541 MR. GERNAND: And then let's also throw in my favorite 542 statistic. It's a little weird. Do you remember that we have a 543 book drop along our driveway in the back of the building? That 544 book drop holds I think roughly 800-900 books at a time before 545 it fills and the staff have to empty it three to four times per 546 day. 547 MR. BARTLETT: Actually recognize why you'd try to 548 retain it. 549 MR. JONES: I'm sorry, two more questions. This, on 550 the Park Avenue side, there's this yard inlet. Is that an 551 outdoor space? 552 MS. CALLAHAN: So that is the existing planter area. 553 That yard inlet is a storm structure. So it collects the storm 554 water. Some of the roof drains are tied into that and then it 555 runs on to connect to a manhole and then another storm sewer, 556 another storm sewer. 557 It's the start of the storm sewer network that goes 558 around the building. And we will keep that. And the thought 559 right now, again we're still in the earlier design stages, is to 560 keep the landscaping area in this location. We don't really 561 want to get rid of that yard inlet. 562 MR. JONES: I think the landscaping would be sort of 563 beneficial especially in regard to future-proofing a library. 564 If people didn't want to necessarily come into the library, it 565 would be a good place for people to hang out, people to read, 566 and just sort of be a meeting place for people that didn't go 567 inside the library, just a good sort of community gathering 568 place. So that would be something I would consider. 569 During your planning phase, did you hear or did you 570 have any feedback from the community in a negative way? Any 571 concerns that were expressed to you that this was too big, too 572 close to the street, any other concerns that members of the 573 community expressed to you? 574 MR. GERNAND: One of the things we've heard at least a 575 couple of times is a couple of citizens at least were wishing it 576 could be more of a green wall along North Virginia Avenue. VPIS 577 has talked with us about that. 578 I think to some degree we've ameliorated their 579 concerns by trying so hard to have the tree wells and to make 580 sure there is going to be green along that side. 581 And I think one of the reasons that they have ended up 582 being fairly satisfied with what we're doing is because there 583 aren't tree wells now. It's a brick wall. 584 MR. JONES: I think I hinted at this earlier, speaking 585 of the family, there's no risk to the City for us to approve 586 this variance, it starts getting built and the family not 587 appreciating the design or any sort of future legal problems you 588 can anticipate with the family. 589 MR. GERNAND: We're sure there's not. 590 MR. JONES: There's not. 591 MR. GERNAND: We're trying very hard to maintain the 592 colonial look and the feel. 593 MS. CALLAHAN: And the attorney has looked at the deed 594 and given her recommendation that we're not at risk for any sort 595 of legal complications. 596 MR. JONES: And for the Planning Commission's 597 conditions that they put on your application, do you have any 598 concerns with meeting those conditions? 599 MS. CALLAHAN: I think the main condition that we'll 600 need to work out is the on-street parking. But we will work 601 with Planning so that we can both come to a satisfactory 602 agreement. I think there's work to be done but nothing that we 603 can't find a solution to. 604 MR. MISLEH: John, has anybody from the community 605 submitted either letters in support or against? 606 MR. BOYLE: No, sir. 607 MR. JONES: So is that it for the presentation? We 608 can move to deliberate. 609 Any other comments? 610 (No response.) 611 MR. JONES: With that, we'll close the presentation. 612 Thank you very much for that. 613 And then we'll allow a few minutes for us to discuss 614 amongst ourselves. Thank you for your presentation. 615 Do you have any comments? 616 MR. BARTLETT: No. 617 MR. MISLEH: I think considering the location of the 618 retaining wall and where the planter begins now and how that 619 almost serves as a barrier to the entry of the existing facility 620 and how we're going to relocate the entrance to the corner and 621 make it more inviting to the community, I actually think it's 622 going to serve the community better than the existing building. 623 It would be more inviting and hopefully be even more used than 624 the 1 percent that it's currently used. 625 For that reason I think -- in addition to that, as 626 John described it, the setbacks are consistent with what's the 627 current B-1 Commercial Zoning, I don't see any reason not to 628 move forward with the project. 629 MR. JONES: I would echo that. I think for me 630 personally two of the things that I find favorable towards this 631 application is that retaining wall being pushed back. I agree 632 with you, I think it does serve as a barrier and it looks like 633 it's very nicely addressed in the plans. So that I certainly 634 appreciate being pushed back a little bit. 635 And I am comforted by John's comment about the B-1 636 Zoning compatibility, that if this were a commercially zoned 637 property, there would be conformance with that. 638 So I would support this application. I think it's 639 very well done. I think it keeps with the original owner's 640 vision of the property and it serves as sort of the beacon and 641 centerpiece of the City. 642 With that, I don't have any other comments or 643 concerns. 644 If there's no other comments, do we have a motion on 645 the application? 646 I would like to state that I do think any motion 647 should incorporate the Planning Commission's conditions which 648 the applicants indicated that they either accept or would be 649 willing to work with City staff on a mutually agreeable 650 solution. So that would be my only recommendation, is that we 651 take into account the Planning Commission's conditions. 652 So, do I have a motion? 653 MR. BARTLETT: I'll move to approve Variance 654 Application V1606-18 by the City of Falls Church, applicant and 655 owner for variances to Section 48-1101 to allow a front yard 656 setback of 7.5 feet instead of 25 feet on North Virginia Avenue, 657 (2) a front yard setback of 10.5 feet instead of 25 feet on Park 658 Avenue, and a maximum lot coverage of 57 percent instead of 35 659 percent, for the purpose of the renovations to this lot to the 660 library, with the condition that Mr. Jones stated. 661 MR. MISLEH: I second that motion. And I just want to 662 clarify that the condition is that the applicant meet the 663 conditions set forth by the Planning Commission on the public 664 meeting on December 3, 2018. 665 MR. JONES: Can I have a roll call please? 666 RECORDING SECRETARY: Mr. Jones. 667 MR. JONES: Yes. 668 RECORDING SECRETARY: Mr. Misleh. 669 MR. MISLEH: Yes. 670 RECORDING SECRETARY: Mr. Bartlett. 671 MR. BARTLETT: Yes. 672 RECORDING SECRETARY: Thank you. 673 MR. JONES: Congratulations. Good luck on the 674 project. 675 MR. BOYLE: If I could impose, for the benefit of our 676 recording secretary, could everyone that spoke please say your 677 name again and what your relationship to the project is. 678 MR. MANETTI: Mark Manetti, Architect, BKV Group. 679 MR. GERNAND: Bradley Gernand, Chair of the Library 680 Board. 681 MS. CARROLL: Jenny Carroll, Library Director. 682 MS. CALLAHAN: Kim Callahan, Project Manager. 683 MR. DE LONG: Chet DeLong, Deputy Chair. 684 MR. JONES: Thank you. 685 686 MR. JONES: So the last couple of items on the Agenda 687 of the December 13th meeting, I just want to push the Approval 688 of Minutes to the last. 689 690 7. OTHER BUSINESS: 691 MR. JONES: John, do we have any Other Business? 692 MR. BOYLE: No. 693 MR. JONES: Before we look at the Agenda Items for 694 next month. 695 MR. BOYLE: It's up to the Board. The first meeting 696 in the New Year, typically January, there's election of 697 officers, approval of the Rules of Procedures, the annual 698 calendar. We'll send you all fresh copies of that and provide a 699 copy of the -- there's been revisions to the Code since the copy 700 we provided you. 701 Maybe have an email discussion about what the quorum 702 is going to look like for January. 703 Another piece of business, did you all receive the 704 invitation to the school property redevelopment presentation? 705 There was a Boards and Commissions invite, the developers who 706 are going to redevelop the high school site, you're invited to 707 see that presentation. If you don't have it, we'll resend it to 708 you. 709 They presented that to a large group of City Hall 710 staff yesterday and it's pretty remarkable. They're willing to 711 do that again for all members of Boards and Commissions. You 712 may have seen it in the paper; you may have seen Council 713 snippets on it. 714 But to see this design team present what they're 715 looking at for the high school property is pretty remarkable. 716 They've already got letters of intent. And there's tremendous 717 interest. 718 They're going to put a new boulevard through that 719 property that takes Route 7 all the way to the Metro Station. 720 Metro is excited, they want to redevelop, the Virginia Tech 721 campus wants to coordinate. That whole section of town is 722 really going to become an interesting piece to look at. 723 The development team who did The Wharf in D.C., 724 they're the ones that are doing this, and they're making 725 themselves available to Boards and Commissions. 726 So we'll resend that to you, but if you have time to 727 see it, it's worth seeing the presentation they have. 728 MR. MISLEH: Do you know what day it is? 729 MS. ROUZI: This Sunday. I'll try to send out that 730 email again. 731 MR. BOYLE: So let's chat e-mail-wise in the next week 732 or so. We don't have applications so it's up to the Board if 733 you wanted to meet. 734 MR. BARTLETT: Do we have an official resignation? 735 MR. BOYLE: We do. Darcy Williamson is resigning. 736 His children are at the age where he needs to attend their 737 events. He's been a great member of the Board. 738 As I mentioned at the start, probably the number one 739 recruiting piece for this Board has been members asking 740 acquaintances who express an interest. So feel free. The ads 741 run all the time. City clerk's doing what they can. But we're 742 nervous that we'd be looking at a bare quorum for all of these 743 meetings. 744 MR. BARTLETT: Has the clerk ever considered like an 745 Open House of some sort, like a recruiting fair? 746 MR. BOYLE: That's a very good suggestion. 747 MR. BARTLETT: A couple members of each Board, stop by 748 for two hours and people walk around and chat. 749 MS. ROUZI: We'll throw that in. 750 MR. BARTLETT: A recruiting fair. Because I saw it in 751 the paper for years before I even put my name in. 752 MR. JONES: They've done a City like Department Open 753 House here in the Teen Center, where each department presents. 754 You guys were there. That's how I got to know a lot of the 755 people in the different departments. 756 MR. BOYLE: Maybe they can do one just for Boards and 757 Commissions, ride along with another event. 758 MS. ROUZI: Because we have a couple of Boards and 759 Commissions who have not met for a few months because they don't 760 have a quorum. So, yeah, that's a good idea. 761 MR. BOYLE: The issue with this Board, it's critical 762 because it takes three affirmatives to carry a motion, so 2 to 1 763 tonight would have failed. And we've had that in the past. 764 So feel free to recruit and we'll facilitate that 765 process for them. 766 So the only potential item for January would be if the 767 Board wants to meet for Rules of Procedure and electing 768 officers. Why don't we just see what the quorum is going to 769 look like. I doubt we'll have a replacement for Darcy by then. 770 MS. ROUZI: John, do we not want to do a Certificate 771 of Appreciation and a Resolution for Darcy? 772 MR. BOYLE: Yes. That would be another potential item 773 if we wanted to meet in January. 774 I think if we only had three again, if Dave's got a 775 conflict, it may not be worth meeting. But let's play it by ear 776 and see. Right now we don't have any applications. 777 MR. JONES: We'll play it by ear. 778 779 6. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 780 A. Approval of the October 11, 2018 781 MR. JONES: So I think the last remaining item is to 782 approve the Minutes from the October 11, 2018, meeting. 783 (Minutes reviewed.) 784 MR. JONES: Do I have a motion to approve the Minutes 785 from the October 11, 2018, Board of Zoning Appeals? 786 MR. MISLEH: I move to approve the Minutes from the 787 October 11, 2018, meeting of the Board of Zoning Appeals. 788 MR. JONES: Is there a second? 789 MR. BARTLETT: I will second that motion. 790 MR. JONES: Can we have a roll call please? 791 RECORDING SECRETARY: Mr. Jones. 792 MR. JONES: Yes. 793 RECORDING SECRETARY: Mr. Misleh. 794 MR. MISLEH: Yes. 795 RECORDING SECRETARY: Mr. Bartlett. 796 MR. BARTLETT: Yes. 797 RECORDING SECRETARY: Thank you. 798 799 8. ADJOURNMENT 800 MR. JONES: I think that is all the items we have on 801 our Agenda, so unless there's any other objections, then we'll 802 adjourn the meeting. 803 804 805 806 807 808 809 810