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BZA okays
duplex plan
By Jan LaValley v Rappahannock News Staff Writer
A small group of concerned citizens from the Spenyville area attended last week’s Board of Zoning Appeals meeting to voice opposition to a request before the board.
The request is one for the Dorothy T. Taylor property in Sperryville. The family wishes to convert the home into a duplex for low-income housing.
The Planning Commission approved the request at their June meeting and sent it on to the board for final approval. The only condition they placed upon it was that the dwelling should provide four parking spaces along with it.
The family was looking at fixing the house but wants to do it an economically feasible way. They advised the Planning Commission that they would probably use aluminum siding on the exterior.
The group of citizens who spoke to the board were opposed to this because in 1982 Sperryville was designated as a historic district and they 1 feel the improvements to the home should be done in a manner that would not ruin the historic character of the home.
However, the old wood clapboard which is what is on the house, is very labor intensive to restore and maintain.
Some members of the group spoke up about possible grants available for 11181000 properties but acquiring those would entail an effort on the part of citizens of the county and Spenyville to put in place restrictions on what can be done with historic properties.
Such a proposal would also have to come before the Board of Supervisors and a public hearing would be held. A committee or board, like the Town of Washington’s Architectural Review Board, would have to be formed to review cases as they arose.
County Administrator John McCarthy informed the members of the group present at the meeting of this. He said that although Spenyville had been designated a historic district there were no restrictions of any kind in place and in fact it would require a historic district ordinance to do it. “You need committed people to work on the issue. Elected officials respond to numbers and act accordingly depending on how many people are behind the issue.”
He said, as did the board members present, that the matter was not one for the Board of
See ZONING, Page A6
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