BOA 1-15-20

CITY OF DOVER BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT MINUTES January 15, 2020 A Regular Meeting of the City of Dover Board of Adjustment was held on Wednesday, January 15, 2020 at 9:00 A.M. with Vice Chairman Colonel Ericson presiding. Members present were Vice Chairman Colonel Ericson, Mr. Keller, Mr. Senato and Mr. Hufnal. Mr. Sheth was absent. Staff members present were Mr. Swierczek, Mr. Hugg, Mrs. Bulkilvish, City Solicitor Mr. Rodriguez, and Mrs. Savage-Purnell. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Mr. Hufnal moved to approve the agenda as submitted. The motion was seconded by Mr. Senato and unanimously carried 4-0. Mr. Sheth was absent. APPROVAL OF THE REGULAR BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT MEETING MINUTES OF SEPTEMBER 18, 2019 Mr. Keller moved to approve the meeting minutes of September 18, 2019 with the necessary corrections. The motion was seconded by Mr. Hufnal and unanimously carried 4-0. Mr. Sheth was absent. OPENING REMARKS CONCERNING APPLICATIONS Mr. Dave Hugg, Planning Director stated that the meeting today will be conducted in accordance with the Agenda. There is one new (1) application on the agenda under New Business. Each Application file will be read, and the floor will be opened for questions of the applicant by the Board and for public testimony. If the Board needs to consult the City Solicitor, they will recess to discuss legal matters. If the applicant must leave, they can contact the Planning Office at 736- 7196 to learn of the Board’s decision. A formal notice of the decision will be mailed to the applicants. Approved variances expire after one year if the approved project has not commenced. All public notice for the new application on this agenda was completed in accordance with Code requirements. The meeting agenda was posted in accordance with Freedom of Information Act requirements. COMMUNICATIONS & REPORTS The next Board of Adjustment regular meeting is scheduled for February 19, 2020 at 9:00am in the City Council Chambers. NEW BUSINESS Applicant #V-20-01 414 and 422 North New Street. Church of the Holy Cross has requested a variance from the requirements of the Zoning Ordinance, Article 5 §4.7 pertaining to permitted sign types and maximum permitted sign height, to allow construction of a 12-foot 9-inch tall archway sign on the grounds of Holy Cross Cemetery. Subject properties are zoned ROS (Recreation and Open Space Zone). The Tax Parcels are ED-05-067.20-03-02.00-000 and ED-05-067.20-03-01.00-000.

CITY OF DOVER BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT JANUARY 15, 2020 The owner of record is Church of the Holy Cross. Exhibits for the Record: Staff Report, Zoning Exhibit, and statement and plans submitted by the applicant. Legal Notice was published in the Delaware State News on January 5, 2020. The public was notified in accordance with regulations. Vice Chairman Ericson questioned if there was any member present who had a conflict of interest and there was none. Mr. Swierczek gave a summary presentation of the Variance Application Request for a variance from the requirements of the Zoning Ordinance, Article 5 §4.7 pertaining to permitted sign types and maximum permitted sign height, to allow construction of a 12-foot 9-inch tall archway sign on the grounds of Holy Cross Cemetery. They are requesting these variances because they would like to permit a sign type (an archway sign) not allowed by Zoning Ordinance and to permit a sign height of 12 feet 9 inches, above the 7-foot maximum allowed on an Urban Collector street. Mr. Swierczek noted that there was a similar application for an archway sign over the entrance to the Lakeside Cemetery that came before the Board of Adjustment in 2017. The application was presented by Kent Signs and an image of that sign is presented as Exhibit F in your packet. Representative: Mr. Len Dornberger, Holy Cross Cemetery Administration. Mr. Len Dornberger was sworn in by City Solicitor Mr. Rodriguez. Mr. Dornberger mentioned that although Mr. Swierczek has represented them very well, they are requesting an archway sign be erected at the entrance of the cemetery. The sign will be facing the Armory Reserve Center on Clara Street. There has been discussion, and this is something that they have been wanting to do for many years. Here we are today asking for approval to move this project forward. We really believe the sign enhances as opposed to the distraction from the neighborhood. It enhances the nature and beauty of the cemetery. It also identifies the cemetery as being a Holy Cross Christian cemetery. We have had many people as you are probably aware migrate from New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania states into the Dover area. Many of those people have become parishioners of Holy Cross Church. Upon talking to many of these people, they have no idea that Holy Cross Church has a cemetery or its location. Now they realize that there is a Catholic Cemetery in Kent County; it’s the only Catholic Cemetery and has been for 150 years this year. Another issue they face is they have one entrance into the cemetery that is off Clara Street and two exits. One exits off William Street and the other New Street. They are not clearly marked, and people are driving into the cemetery through the exits. This could create a problem because the driveways are very narrow, basically allowing only one vehicle to pass. If you have people coming in from different directions, you end up creating roadblocks or driving over graves. The sign would do a lot of things for us and would help to protect from traffic jams inside the cemetery. Vice Chairman Colonel Ericson asked Mr. Dornberger if he was familiar with the Lakeside sign and entrance. Mr. Dornberger replied yes. 2

CITY OF DOVER BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT JANUARY 15, 2020 Vice Chairman Colonel Ericson asked if their proposal was the same size. Mr. Dornberger replied he would defer that question to Mrs. Diehl from Kent Signs. Mr. Swierczek replied that the Lakeside sign is 13-feet in height and Holy Cross proposed sign is 12.9-feet which is 3-inches shorter. As to the area, he thinks Lakeside is slightly wider than this one. Mr. Keller asked if the exits were clearly marked with regards to the entrance/exit scheme. If he was to drive along William Street is there some signage that would prevent or suggest that I not enter the exit area. Mr. Dornberger replied there is a small sign on the pillar. Obviously, people are not seeing the sign. Mr. Keller asked if there was a similar exit sign on North New Street. Mr. Dornberger replied yes. Mr. Keller asked if anyone was present from Kent Signs, the designer of the sign. Mr. Dornberger replied yes, Mrs. Diehl was present. Mr. Keller mentioned that with the Board of Adjustment history, although it was pretty recent, he had no further questions with regards to this sign. Recalling the initiative taken by the Lakeside Cemetery personnel and their very similar sign that was installed. He thinks the sign would be a definite plus to the Holy Cross Cemetery location. Mr. Hufnal mentioned that he agreed with Mr. Keller because Lakeside raised a lot of the same concerns that you have, and that sign was approved two years ago. It looks great and he thinks that it would be a big improvement for the Holy Cross Cemetery area. Vice Chairman Ericson opened the public hearing. Mr. Keller asked Mr. Swierczek if the requested variance was 13-feet and 9 inches or 12-feet and 9 inches as reflected in the recommendations section of the report. Mr. Swierczek replied 12-feet and 9 inches and apologized for the typo. Vice Chairman Ericson closed the public hearing. Vice Chairman Ericson questioned if there was any additional correspondence for the record. There was none. Mr. Hufnal moved to approve variance application V-20-01 based upon the testimony given and the Staff’s excellent Report. He also suggested that in the future, there would be changes to the sign regulations that would specifically address archway signs and give appropriate contact for the same. He hopes that it does not take another two years to address the wording for signs in the future. The motion was seconded by Mr. Keller. The motion unanimously carried 4-0. The meeting was adjourned by Mr. Senato and seconded by Mr. Keller at 9:21 A.M. 3

CITY OF DOVER BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT JANUARY 15, 2020 Sincerely, Maretta Savage-Purnell Secretary 4