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Commission
denies
request
5 to 1 vote rejects
The Inn expansion
By SHARON KILPATRICK
Rappahannock Neva Staff Writer
The Washington Town Planning Commission voted five to one to recommend denial of the application by the owners of The Inn to rezone two parcels in town to allow expansion of their restaurant and overnight lodgings.
At Monday night’s meeting only member Louise van Dort opposed the motion made by chairman William Wickens to deny the rezoning, but two members, Susan Parrish and Arthur Neufeld, appeared ready to approve the rezoning if it could apply only to property on Main Street but not to the portion of the property on Gay Street.
The motion to recommend denial cited specifically three goals of the town’s comprehensive plan which the five members found to be in conflict with the rezoning request. The first of these states that a goal is “to maintain as residential those areas which have been identified as now being predominantly residential.”
Another goal cited is “to control the rate, magnitude, type and location of development within the town, recognizing that massive or rapid development, congestion, litter or noise will irreversibly alter the character of the community.” The final goal cited states the intention “to ensure that any increase in intensity of uses or new land uses do not compound the sometimes severe parking situation in the town...”
The motion also recommended denial “because of the impact on vehicular safety and the residential character of Gay Street.”
Member Mark Bailey said, “In my view, it’s impossible to get on or off Gay Street safely. ”
Before the vote, Mr. Wickens asked the members if they had any opening statements. Mr. Bailey asked the applicants if they had any plans to “alleviate the congestion problems on Gay Street and Main Street.”
Attorney David Dickey, representing the applicants, said that because of the earlier decision to deny the application to allow parking by special use permit on residentially zoned land owned by the applicants “parking will have to remain in the main business area of the town. We had planned to have valet parking and move the center of The Inn around to Main Street.
Mr. Bailey asked what benefit the expanded facilities would have for the residents of the town.
Mr. Dickey said that the rezoning would only allow
See COMMISSION, p. 18
92.1%