8 May 11, 2011 Public Hearing APPLICANT:

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1 8 May 11, 2011 Public Hearing APPLICANT: EASY DOES IT RIDING ACADEMY, INC. PROPERTY OWNER: MALINDA SCOTT REQUEST: Conditional Use Permit (Riding Academy & Horse Boarding) STAFF PLANNER: Leslie Bonilla ADDRESS / DESCRIPTION: 3581 Muddy Creek Road GPIN: ELECTION DISTRICT: PRINCESS ANNE SITE SIZE: 10.8 acres AICUZ: Less than 65 db DNL SUMMARY OF REQUEST The applicant requests a Conditional Use Permit to allow private horse riding lessons. The applicant has five horses and has been providing horseback riding lessons and tours of the site for the past eleven years to both groups and individuals participating in one-on-one sessions. In addition to providing lessons and tours, this facility has horses available for on-site hourly riding rental and the applicant would like to be able to provide small guided trail rides within the wooded area along the northern property line. No more than 20 people and 12 horses will be on the site at any one time. Lessons, tours, and other riding activities are scheduled anywhere between sunrise and sunset and there are no employees at this facility. Riding lessons have previously been conducted on this site as the applicant was unaware of the requirement of a Use Permit. Due to the downturn in the economy, the owner was going to foreclose on the property and let her business license lapse but has since decided to continue her horseback riding business. When applying for a new business license, she found out that the previous license only allowed instructors to go to customers for training. No training was ever permitted at 3581 Muddy Creek Road. The owner indicates that she was previously unaware of this provision of her business license and now would like to obtain approval so she could continue training as she has done in previous years. Page 1

2 The site is currently developed with a single-family dwelling centered on-site, a 10-stall horse barn approximately 35 feet from the northern property line, and a two story existing pole barn currently used as a classroom and office with two stalls attached to the rear of the facility. The office and classrooms are located approximately 35 feet from the northern property line. A four-stall summer shed is approximately 45 feet from the northern property line, a two-stall hospital is approximately 20 feet from the southern property line, a tack house is approximately 75 feet west of the dwelling, and up to five defined horse riding areas are dispersed throughout the site. Parking is on the north side of the house just north of the existing driveway. There is an existing wood line that screens the majority of the parking area from the adjacent property. LAND USE AND PLAN INFORMATION EXISTING LAND USE: Rural residential with riding academy and office SURROUNDING LAND USE AND ZONING: North: Rural residential / AG-1 & AG-2 Agricultural Districts South: Rural residential / AG-1 & AG-2 Agricultural Districts East: Farm land / AG-1 & AG-2 Agricultural Districts West: Rural residential / AG-1 & AG-2 Agricultural Districts NATURAL RESOURCE AND CULTURAL FEATURES: The majority of the site is uncultivated land used for the care and keeping of horses. There is a wooded area along the western half of the northern property line. This site is also in an AE floodplain and has a 0.2 percent annual chance of flood hazard. COMPREHENSIVE PLAN: The Comprehensive Plan designates this site as being within the Rural Area. The Rural Area is located in the southern half of the City south of Indian River and Sandbridge Roads. It is characterized as low, flat land with wide floodplains and altered drainage with a presence of agricultural and rural related activities including traditional and specialty crop cultivation, tree farms, equestrian facilities, wetland banks, fish farms and other similar uses. It is an important objective to protect and sustain all our valuable environmental, scenic and agricultural resources against inappropriate activities and intense growth pressures (p. 5-1 to 5-4). CITY SERVICES MASTER TRANSPORTATION PLAN (MTP) / CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM (CIP): Muddy Creek Road is a two-lane rural highway with a variable (thirty to fifty foot) right-of-way width. There are currently no CIP projects planned for this portion of Muddy Creek Road. Page 2

3 TRAFFIC: Street Name Present Volume Present Capacity Generated Traffic Muddy Creek Road 273 ADT 1 12,000 ADT 1 (Level of Service D ) Existing Land Use ADT Proposed Land Use 3 No data available 1 Average Daily Trips 2 as defined by acres of AG-1 zoned land 3 as defined by a riding school and horse boarding facility TRAFFIC ENGINEERING: Muddy Creek Road is currently well below capacity, and Traffic Engineering does not expect that the proposed use will generate a significant number of additional vehicular trips on the adjacent roadways. WATER: City water is not available. Health Department approval is required for private wells. SEWER: City sanitary sewer is not available. Health Department approval is required for septic systems. EVALUATION AND RECOMMENDATION The proposal for a horse riding academy (horse riding lessons) is in conformance with the planning objectives outlined in Chapter 6 of the Comprehensive Plan as the proposed facility is in keeping with the equestrian character of the existing area. The applicant s submitted plan also meets the requirement of the City Zoning Ordinance, which limits the number of horses to no more than three (3) riding animals for each acre of land within the site. The proposal, however, does not satisfy Section 241 of the Zoning Ordinance that requires all buildings housing animals and all corrals in which animals are kept or assembled in concentrated groups, be at least 100 feet from any property lines. Staff has investigated ways to redesign the site so that all regulations in the Zoning Ordinance are satisfied. Staff s investigation revealed that redesigning the site is not the best alternative. All structures on this site appear to be constructed with appropriate approvals. Within the Agriculture District a property owner can construct horse stalls, sheds, houses, and other accessories as close as 20 feet to the property line. The Use Permit for a riding academy, however, requires that the stalls be at least 100 feet away from the property line. Following is a list of structures that do not satisfy the 100-foot minimum setback for all buildings housing animals and all corrals with which animals are kept or assembled in concentrated groups. STRUCTURE DESCRIPTION CURRENT SETBACK REQUIRED SETBACK Four-stall horse summer shed 45 feet 100 feet Ten-stall horse barn 35 feet 100 feet Two-stall animal hospital 20 feet 100 feet Two-stall barn attached to the office & classrooms 35 feet 100 feet Page 3

4 Given the scale of this operation, staff does not find it necessary to have the applicant relocate structures that do not satisfy the 100-foot minimum setback requirement. Staff also finds that the approximately 20- foot by 140-foot unpaved parking area is acceptable. City Ordinances require that all parking surfaces be paved; however staff has no objection to waiving this requirement given that the unpaved area fits in with the character of the surrounding community. Section 221(i) of the Zoning Ordinance gives City Council the ability to allow deficiencies of area or dimension, as is proposed, as long as those deficiencies are satisfactorily offset by attached conditions and that the proposed conditional use, together with the conditions attached, is compatible with the neighborhood in which it is to be located, both in terms of existing land uses and conditions and in terms of proposed land uses and uses permitted by right in the area. Overall, staff finds that allowing the proposed horse academy and boarding facility, as currently designed, does not negatively affect the adjacent properties because the horses are kept in areas, for the most part, that have a wooded buffer between the horse stalls or corrals and the adjacent property line. Most portions of the parking area are also screened by a wood line. This existing buffer satisfactorily offsets the proposed deficiencies and the conditions provided below limit the scale and intensity of the equestrian operation so that it does not have a negative impact on neighboring properties. As of the date that this report was written, the City of Virginia Beach Planning Department has not received any complaints regarding this site. Staff, therefore, recommends approval with the conditions provided below. CONDITIONS 1. The site shall be in substantial conformance with the submitted marked-up survey entitled, Physical Survey of: Lot C-A-2, Subdivision of Property of Noil II. Nicholson Et UX, by Harold C. Warren and dated signed on April 28, Existing buildings housing animals and corrals in which animals are kept or assembled in concentrated groups are not required to meet the 100-foot setback. 2. No more than 12 horses and 20 individuals shall be on the premises at any one given time. 3. Hours of operation shall be from Monday through Sunday, 8:00 a.m. until dark, but not later than 8:00 p.m. 4. All lighting on the site shall be directed inward and shall not spillover onto adjoining properties. 5. No outside speakers or sound systems shall be permitted. 6. The site is limited to horse boarding, riding lessons, and tours of the site. There shall be no horse shows, polo matches, or similar types of events. 7. These conditions shall remain in effect as long as the horse boarding facility is in operation. 8. The majority of the parking area may remain unpaved; however, the parking area shall satisfy all requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Page 4

5 NOTE: Further conditions may be required during the administration of applicable City Ordinances and Standards. Any site plan submitted with this application may require revision during detailed site plan review to meet all applicable City Codes and Standards. All applicable permits required by the City Code, including those administered by the Department of Planning / Development Services Center and Department of Planning / Permits and Inspections Division, and the issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy, are required before any uses allowed by this Use Permit are valid. The applicant is encouraged to contact and work with the Crime Prevention Office within the Police Department for crime prevention techniques and Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) concepts and strategies as they pertain to this site. Page 5

6 AERIAL OF SITE LOCATION Page 6

7 PROPOSED SITE PLAN Page 7

8 PHOTOGRAPH OF HORSE BARN AND OFFICE (Looking northeast) Page 8

9 1 # DATE REQUEST APPLICANT ACTION 1 02/24/2009 Floodplain and Subdivision John Rodger Burns Approved Variances ZONING HISTORY Page 9

10 DISCLOSURE STATEMENT Page 10

11 DISCLOSURE STATEMENT Page 11