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Bath approves Burns Auto permit
BY CHARLES GARRATT • STAFF WRITER
 | | Roy Burns is back under the hood working on vehicles on Tuesday after a long night at the BZA meeting Monday night. The board struggled with approving a new permit for the growing business. Burns reacted to the first motion proposed by board member Terry Kershner saying it would "shut him down." The board compromised and passed a two-year permit allowing 25 vehicles pending repair or service. (Recorder photo by Charles Garratt) |
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WARM SPRINGS - The Bath County Board of Zoning appeals struggled for two hours Monday night to reconcile the needs of a growing small business and the view sheds of nearby residential neighbors.
Roy and Thomas Burns applied for a new conditional use permit to operate an automotive repair garage on six acres zoned A-2 (agricultural general) off Kenwood Drive near Bacova Junction. The business has been operating under a conditional use permit allowing only a dozen vehicles parked on the property.
Zoning administrator and planner Sherry Ryder received an anonymous complaint about the number of vehicles parked at the business. After investigating and finding more than three dozen vehicles, Ryder recommended the Burns brothers apply for a new permit asking a maximum of 45 customer vehicles be allowed.
Warm Springs district board member Terry Kershner expressed the sentiment of the board in trying to balance the needs of the business and the problems the "booming business" creates for the residential neighbors. She said the business is now outside the permit and, "When I sit here to balance what a conditional use permit is for, as apposed to business zoning that is where I struggle."
Kershner made a motion to issue a one-year permit allowing 15 vehicles waiting for service. Roy Burns said that restriction would severely hamper the business. After substitute motions by board member Raymond Holloway and much discussion, Kershner withdrew her original motion and proposed a two-year permit allowing 25 vehicles awaiting repair or service. The motion passed 3-0 after more than two hours of public hearing and discussion.
Holloway and Kershner live near the Burns Auto Repair site and both were familiar with the number of vehicles often parked there. Holloway asked specifically about a Land Rover and another vehicle he had seen parked there for months.
"How many cars with invalid plates or inspections do you have parked there now?" Holloway asked. Burns responded an old pickup had been there 15 years and the Land Rover had been there four or five months. A couple of other vehicles "still in progress" had been there for a couple of months.
Burns admitted the property is "not perfect yet," but he outlined plans to move a van and other vehicles sitting for long periods. Holding a vehicle until payment is received is the only way the business has to assure collection of the cost already incurred in parts and labor, he added, explaining one reason vehicles remain on the property.
In other cases, vehicles are abandoned after the owner finds out how much repairs will cost, Burns said. The Burns' business also suffers from a problem common to other Bath mechanics- long delays waiting to receive parts.
Jay Ford, owner of Bath County Collision Center, spoke in support of the Burns' business. Ford said the Burns' shop offers services his business does not and "they've gone out of their way" to keep the business attractive, he said.
Steve Schneider also spoke in support of the application. He noted Burns Auto Repair provides services that aren't available anywhere else in the county. "For a handful of people, there is never an ideal place to have a service location," Schneider said. But, he added, the site off Route 687 is "as good a location as I can imagine for that type of business."
Ryder distributed copies of an anonymous letter she received in objection to the permit request. All three board members objected to the anonymous nature of the comments and said they would ignore them.
Later in the meeting the board voted to amend its bylaws to state all materials to be presented at public hearings must be provided to the county planner at least 10 days before the meeting and no anonymous letters would be considered.
The area along Route 687 below Hot Springs consists of a mixture of residential and small business uses. The road, the old railroad grade, and a creek share the narrow strip of land. Much of the land, including part of the Burns' property, is also a flood hazard zone.
Ryder said on Wednesday the land along Route 687 near Bacova Junction is zoned agricultural but she doubted any of it could be used for agriculture. Much of the residential growth in the county has been on land still zoned for agriculture, she said. That includes most of the Homestead Preserve development.
Hise rehearing rejected
In other action, the board rejected a request by Burley and Darlene Hise for a rehearing on their appeal of the decision of the zoning administrator. The Hises received a building permit to locate a singlewide trailer on a lot along Route 687 in November 2006.
On July 18, 2007 zoning administrator Ryder sent a letter issuing a stop work order on installation of the trailer and revoking the permit. The previous zoning administrator, who did not realize the property was in a flood plain, had approved the permit.
Ryder cited the section of the Bath County land use regulations specifically prohibiting trailers in flood plains. The property is zoned A-2 with a FH-1 flood plain overlay.
In October the board heard an appeal of Ryder's decision revoking the permit. The board voted to uphold the decision. At that hearing, attorney Betty Cauley argued the Hises had a vested right to continue the installation even though the county had acted in error. The board rejected that argument.
Cauley returned Monday to ask for a rehearing on the issue based on a section of Virginia Code she did not locate prior to the October meeting, which gives the county only 60 days to correct errors in issued permits unless the permit was issued with "malfeasance," she told the board.
County attorney Michael Collins reviewed his search of state code and State Supreme Court decisions with the board, concentrating on whether the board had a right to conduct a rehearing. "I could not find anything that says you can or can't rehear," he told the board.
Cauley told the board she would "like the county to recognize that the action of the zoning administrator (to revoke the building permit) was null and void." She said when a county employee makes a mistake, "we might fire the county person who made the mistake, but the citizen isn't going to bare the brunt of the mistake."
Holloway made the motion to not rehear the case and the board voted 3-0 to let the October decision stand without rehearing. Board members noted the land use regulations allow any decision of the board of zoning appeals to be appealed to the circuit court and they felt the complicated legal issues presented in this case belonged in the court.
The Bath BZA holds its regular meeting on the third Monday of each month in room 115 of the courthouse. No meeting is held if there are no applications before the board.
Members Patricia Clark and Richard Barnes were not able to attend the January meeting. Only three members are required to form a quorum.
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