5 June 12, 2013 Public Hearing APPLICANT: BARTON HERITAGE, LLC T/A SANDBRIDGE BEACH BUGGIES PROPERTY OWNER: LOWER 40, LLC

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1 REQUEST: Conditional Use Permit (motor vehicle rentals low speed vehicles) ADDRESS / DESCRIPTION: 3713 Sandpiper Road 5 June 12, 2013 Public Hearing APPLICANT: BARTON HERITAGE, LLC T/A SANDBRIDGE BEACH BUGGIES PROPERTY OWNER: LOWER 40, LLC STAFF PLANNER: Carolyn A.K. Smith GPIN: ELECTION DISTRICT: PRINCESS ANNE SITE SIZE: 3.70 acres AICUZ: Less than 65 db DNL BACKGROUND / DETAILS OF PROPOSAL The applicant requests a Conditional Use Permit for motor vehicle rental, consisting specifically of the rental of up 30 low-speed electric vehicles (LSV). The rentals will occur primarily on a seasonal/weekly basis at Sandbridge Beach. These vehicles are battery-powered with a top speed of 25 miles per hour and are legal on roads with a speed limit of 35 miles per hour or less. The LSV is equipped with seat belts and can only be operated by a licensed driver. No off-road use will be permitted. This business would cater to the weekly vacationers at Sandbridge, primarily during the summer, but also during winter as demand requires. The applicant will be marketing the vehicles as an environmentally sensitive means of traveling to parks, beaches, restaurants, and shops in Sandbridge. It should be noted that these vehicles are not permitted off-road and are subject to all laws that any motor vehicle must follow. Page 1

2 Currently, the applicant brings these vehicles to Sandbridge on trailers from 665 Sandbridge Road, where a Conditional Use Permit was granted by City Council in 2008 for that use. Relocating to this site would reduce the travel distance to transport the LSVs to cottages in Sandbridge. Most rentals are secured in advance over the Internet or via the telephone; therefore, no office space is proposed at this site. At the end of the rental period, the LSV is left at the rental cottage, and the applicant s staff will move it to the next cottage. The LSVs will be parked on the subject site adjacent to the southern property line when not in use and will be stored within the rear of the property during the winter months. Four LSVs are proposed to be displayed along Sandpiper Road. According to the applicant, the 2-story office building has less than 900 square feet dedicated for office use, thereby necessitating only 2 parking spaces. EXISTING LAND USE: office building and indoor storage LAND USE AND COMPREHENSIVE PLAN SURROUNDING LAND USE AND ZONING: North: Vacant / B-4 Business District Restaurant / B-4 Business District South: Vacant / B-4 Business District East: Multifamily dwellings / B-4 Business District West: Back Bay NATURAL RESOURCE AND CULTURAL FEATURES: The site is within the Southern Watersheds Management Area (SWMA) and is heavily impacted by the 100-year floodplain. No new land disturbance is proposed within the 50-foot SWMA buffer or within the 100-year floodplain. COMPREHENSIVE PLAN: The Comprehensive Plan designates this site to be within the Rural Area. The area is characterized as low, flat land with wide floodplains and altered drainage. The Comprehensive Plan depicts this area as agricultural and rural with uses related to farming, forestry, rural residential, and other compatible uses. Commercial development in the Rural Area should be locally oriented retail, service, and community uses scaled to be compatible with the character of the rural landscape. IMPACT ON CITY SERVICES MASTER TRANSPORTATION PLAN (MTP) / CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM (CIP): Sandpiper Road is a two-lane minor collector in the vicinity of this site. This section of Sandpiper road has a variable right-of-way width. It is not included in the Master Transportation Plan. There is currently no capital improvement project scheduled for this segment of Sandpiper Road. Page 2

3 TRAFFIC: Street Name Present Volume Present Capacity Sandpiper Road 2,500 ADT 1 6,200 ADT 1 (Level of Service C ) - 9,900 ADT 1 (Level of Service E ) Generated Traffic Existing Land Use 2 11 ADT Proposed Land Use 3 Saturday: 71 ADT 1 Average Daily Trips 2 as defined by 1,000 square feet of office space 3 as defined by 3 employees, 30 vehicles for rental, and 1,000 square feet of office space NOTE: The ITE Trip Generation Manual does not have trip generation data for the rental of Low Speed Vehicles (LSVs) based on specific studies of such use. The trip generation provided above, therefore, is based on trip generation for a standard motor vehicle rental business. The actual ADT is likely to be less than the number provided above. An additional factor contributing to a lower number of trips is that the primary activity that will occur on the subject site is parking / short-term storage of the LSVs rather than customers coming to the subject site to arrange rentals. WATER & SEWER: This site is currently connected to both City water and sanitary sewer. EVALUATION AND RECOMMENDATION No improvements to the site, other than adding additional gravel where the existing gravel surface treatment has deteriorated and planting some landscaping (both recommended conditions below), are proposed with this request. This is important, as the site is heavily impacted by the 100-year floodplain. As no additional development is proposed with the proposal, a variance to the Floodplain Ordinance is not required. A waiver to keep the gravel surface treatment for the parking area must be submitted to the Building Official s Office and is conditioned as such below. There is an existing office building on the site with less than 1,000 square feet dedicated to office use; however, no office space for the LSV operation is proposed as the majority of rental transactions are handled via the Internet or telephone and required paperwork is completed at the rental cottage. These vehicles are considered motor vehicles, and thus, they should be screened just as if they were automobiles. Four LSVs are proposed to be displayed along Sandpiper Road behind a concrete planter, which the applicant has proposed as a means of enhancing the fully impervious parking lot. As the parking lot is void of any plant material, the request to install the planter to meet screening requirements is acceptable to staff. Potted plants are acceptable for screening the parking/storage area behind the building. A condition is recommended that requires plant materials be installed to screen the LSVs from the restaurant to the north. As the Zoning Ordinance requires any motor vehicle on display for sale or rental to be at least five feet from the property line, a condition to reinforce this requirement is recommended below. As with the previous Conditional Use Permit for LSV rental on Sandbridge Road, staff is recommending a condition requiring a renter sign a Disclosure Statement acknowledging that all applicable laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia and the City of Virginia Beach for motor vehicles apply to these low speed vehicles including, but not limited to, parking, seat belt use, licensure, permitted use areas (on roads less than 35 m.p.h., no off road), etc. The Police Department has requested that a copy of the renter s valid, current driver s license be kept on file in the business office of the applicant as a means of validating that the operator(s) of the LSV does indeed have a driver s license. Page 3

4 With the rigorous conditions listed below that address screening and landscaping, signage, notification of rules of use, and other safety mandates, the LSV rental operation is recommended for approval. CONDITIONS 1. Except as modified by any conditions below, the LSVs shall be parked only in areas designated as depicted on the plan entitled, Physical Survey, Part of Tract E, Sandbridge Beach, MB. 37 P.31, Virginia Beach, Virginia, Made for: Barton Heritage, LLC, prepared by Bonifant Land Surveys, dated April 27, Said plan has been exhibited to the Virginia Beach City Council and is on file in the Planning Department. 2. Landscaping to screen the vehicles from the property to the north shall be installed along the length of the low speed vehicles (LSV) vehicle holding area. Said landscaping shall be approved by the DSC landscape architect prior to installation and shall be depicted on the plan. 3. The motor vehicle rental operation on this site shall be limited to no more than 30 LSVs. Rental of any other motor vehicles shall be prohibited. 4. A planter containing plant material shall be installed along Sandpiper Road as depicted on the plan referenced in Condition 1 above. 5. Consistent with the requirements of the Zoning Ordinance, no LSV for rent shall be parked any closer than five feet from the Sandpiper Road property line. 6. No display or parking of any vehicles shall be permitted within the right-of-way. 7. Vehicles shall not be displayed on raised platforms anywhere on the site, nor shall any portion of the ground level of the site be raised for the purpose of increasing the height of a vehicle for display purposes. 8. There shall be no outside storage of parts or equipment. 9. The minimum number of parking spaces, as required by the Zoning Ordinance for the existing office building, shall remain available for use by employees and customers of the office building and free of LSVs. LSVs shall not be parked or stored in any space labeled on the site layout as customer parking. 10. A waiver for the gravel parking lot shall be submitted to the Building Official s Office prior to issuance of business license. In the event the waiver is not granted, the applicant shall comply with all typical requirements associated with site improvements for this use. Upon receipt of waiver, the area depicted as gravel on the survey shall be upgraded with new gravel to accommodate the storage and display of the LSVs. 11. Due to the existence of the 100-year floodplain on the site, the parking or placement of LSVs Page 4

5 outside the existing limits of gravel, depicted on the plan referenced in Condition 1 above as Edge of Gravel, shall be prohibited. 12. No repair of the LSVs shall be performed on site other than washing which can only be done behind the existing building, on the gravel area. 13. All renters of the LSV shall sign a disclosure statement that includes an acknowledgement that all applicable laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia and the City of Virginia Beach for motor vehicles apply to these low speed vehicles including, but not limited to, parking, seat belt use, licensure, and permitted use areas (on roads less than 35 mph, no off road). Said disclosure shall also state that, just as with any other motor vehicle, failure to obey these laws and regulations will result in enforcement by the Police Department. 14. A copy of the renter s valid, current driver s license shall be kept on file in the business office of the applicant as a means of validating that the operator(s) of the LSV does indeed have a driver s license. 15. No off-road use shall be permitted on beaches or dunes or other environmentally sensitive areas or other areas restricted from motor vehicle use. 16. All signage on the site shall conform to all applicable Zoning Ordinance requirements. 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 SITE LAYOUT Page 7

8 2 3 1 ZONING HISTORY # DATE REQUEST ACTION 1 11/13/12 Floodplain Variance Granted 2 05/11/04 11/28/00 07/09/96 05/07/66 MOD CUP (community boat dock) CUP (community boat dock) CUP (motel, restaurant, camp, marina, boat facility) Granted Granted Granted Granted 3 04/08/85 CUP (recreational boating facility) Granted Page 8

9 DISCLOSURE STATEMENT Page 9

10 DISCLOSURE STATEMENT Page 10