Orange County — Board of Zoning Adjustment

SE-20-01-151 — Amateur Athletic Union Sports Facility (John Frith)

Request: "Special Exception and Variance in the R-CE zoning district as follows: 1) Special Exception to establish an indoor recreation facility. 2) Variance to allow a building height of 39 ft. in lieu of 35 ft.

Decision: Approved

Hearing: Staff gave a presentation on the case covering the location of the property, the site plan, and photos of the site. The applicant described the function and history of the Amateur Athletic Union, and stated that they want to be a good neighbor. They confirmed that major tournaments would be held elsewhere, and that this facility would be for offices, training and mentoring. A member of the public spoke in favor of the case stating that it was approved before, and they would like to see it built. A member of the public spoke in against the case, stating that they wanted to preserve the Rural Country Estates lifestyle. They were concerned about traffic, the look of the building and signage, which they wanted scaled down. They were pleased with the 8 pm closing restriction, but wanted Fenton Street to be constructed in front of the property. The BZA discussed allowing an extra hour in the evening. The applicant stated that it would be confusing to the public if they built a roadway parallel to the driveway on their property, and it would increase traffic. They stated that the signage will be behind existing foliage, and that the original design was for a plain metal building, which was redesigned to be more pleasing. They also stated that an extra hour in the evening would be good. Staff received no commentaries in favor of the application, and two (2) in opposition to the application. The BZA unanimously recommended approval of the Special Exception and the variance, subject to the eleven (11) conditions found in the staff report, and the amending of condition # 8 to state "Hours of operation shall be limited to 8 am to 9 pm."