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Planners review new construction
BY JAMES JACENICH • STAFF WRITER
MONTEREY - Highland county planners last Thursday reviewed a proposed zoning change and several conditional use permits. The main issues were all sent onto one potentially long night of public hearings beginning at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 27. On the agenda will be a proposed rezoning from residential R-2 to medium density residential R-3, a conditional use for a tire service business in an R-3 zone, a conditional use for a residential wind turbine in an agricultural zone A-2, and a proposal to add livestock markets to agricultural A-2 and light industrial zones M-1.
Botkin proposes tire business
David Botkin of Monterey asked planners to rezone 1.67 acres of land he owns off Airport Terrace Road from residential zone R-2 to R-3, in conjunction with a request to operate a tire business there. R-2 does not allow car repair services, even with a conditional permit, but R-3 does, county zoning administrator Jim Whitelaw explained.
Botkin has a four-bay garage on his property, which he built in 1998. It has a concrete floor and electric service. He recently sold his house nearby to Marianne Harman, but retained the garage for his own use.
He stores lawn care equipment in two of the bins, and has converted the two remaining bins to a tire repair facility, now for personal use. He has invested in commercial equipment to maintain his personal fleet of vehicles and trailers, and wishes to provide the service as a sideline business to his other enterprises.
He also proposes relocating his landscape supply business, already approved for Myrtle Holland's lot on Mill Alley, to his Airport Terrace property, thus consolidating his operations to one area.
Several neighbors filed letters in opposition to his request for rezoning, saying the tire business would not be in keeping with the character of the residential area. Harman said when she bought the house from Botkin, it was her understanding he would not use his garage as a business.
Residents opposed to the project assert the business would increase traffic and noise in the neighborhood and is not in keeping with the R-2 designation most of the other properties have in the residential zone.The entrance to his garage is through his nine-acre property from Airport Terrace Road.
The commission toured the Botkin garage site on Monday. Highland County supervisor David Blanchard also visited the site. Planners asked about community concerns over the project. Botkin said if his proposal were unsatisfactory to the community, he would withdraw his application.
Resident wants wind-turbine
Keith Carson of Blue Grass wants to put a 100-foot residential wind turbine near the house he is building on Snowy Mountain. He asked Highland planners for the permit last Thursday in order to build a structure over 35 feet, the height limit set on construction in the county. The wind turbine would be placed on private property a quarter mile off Route 644. It would be 60 feet from a property line. It would be placed on a concrete footer and would have a 15-foot diameter rotor. The property and surrounding properties are zoned A-2 for general agriculture.
The closest neighbor is in the next hollow over from Carson.
The tower would be placed on top of an already cleared ridge. A small dirt road leads up to the site.
The tower would generate electricity that would be the sole source of power for the Carson house, which is under construction 320 feet away.
Livestock markets might be
added to A-2 and M-1
Planner Doug Gutshall read a proposal he said he received in the mail asking that livestock markets, sales pavilions and telephone exchanges be added as conditional uses to general agriculture (A-2) and light industrial zones (M-1). The proposal, written as a resolution, also asked that telephone exchanges remain as a conditional use in B- 1 districts. When asked, Gutshall told The Recorder he did not have to divulge who submitted the request. The letter appears to have been generated by Jim Whitelaw, building official, with the assistance of planning commission members, in an effort to get the request back on the planners' agenda despite supervisors' initial response that the request should wait until later before being reviewed. The agriculture center committee had asked officials to add this request for consideration, in conjunction with the rezoning request being considered for the facility.
Planners review permits
Planners reviewed and continued Barry Marshall's conditional use permit for an auto repair shop on Route 614 near Williamsville, initially approved in 1991. Whitelaw said he had received no complaints or heard of any problems with the business.
Planners did not recommend approving George Henderson's request for a variance from the five-foot sideyard setback required in residential (R-1) districts, and forwarded the request to the board of zoning appeals for action. Henderson wants to add an addition to his vacation house on Spruce Street, Monterey. Gutshall said, "The county attorney told me this conditional use permit has a non-conforming lot. The variance does not conform to zon-
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