Colonial Beach Board of Zoning Appeals Approves Shipping Container as Accessory Dwelling
- lig582
- Oct 16, 2024
- 2 min read
Updated: Oct 20, 2024
Tuesday October 15th the Colonial Beach BZA Board of Zoning Appeals voted unanimously to approve an application to allow the use of a shipping container as an accessory apartment. I would have liked to notify the public of this meeting since I’m their liaison but I was inadvertently left off the meeting invites and agenda notices. After a lengthy discussion the BZA decided to approve the request for a variance to allow what currently is not allowed per zoning.
I asked the town Clerk what the public notice requirements were since I saw nothing on the town’s website or Facebook page and she said it was advertised 2 times in the Free Lance-Star. I’m not sure if the public would have supported this or not but unfortunately unless you get the Freelance Star you most likely would not have known about what I consider an important decision that could open a can of worms for Colonial Beach neighborhoods.
After I watched the meeting on YouTube I feel there was very little push-back and the main concerns seemed to surround setbacks and not allowing someone outside the owners daughter to live there. I didn’t hear any concerns about how this may be setting a precedence and how we could see these pop-up all-over town. Below is a link to the meeting so you can watch and decide for yourself, not that there is anything you can do now but this shows how much power the BZA has.
** I did not put this in my original post but it should be noted that the Zoning Office did not recommend this for approval. Link to full write up below.
UPDATE #1 - Conditions for the Shipping Container Apartment
Condition 1: Setbacks (8' rear and front) and must meet all other accessory apartment requirements.
Condition 2: Recorded deed restriction, the property owner or daughter must either reside in the principal structure or accessory structure.
Condition 3: Variance permits shipping container as an accessory apartment. Should the property be sold the shipping container can no longer be used as an accessory apartment.
UPDATE #2 - Updated Summary of Fence Variance
*BZA also approved a variance for fence height to block the damage to the applicant’s property that their neighbor’s camper had caused. The neighbor’s camper reportedly had someone living in it and the exhaust fumes killed 4 of their shrubs. Final vote was again unanimous 5-0
LINK to VIDEO - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWqvAp4yShk
Councilman David Williams
Please email or call with questions or comments:
540-604-4335
With regard to the Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU); Impermeable lot coverage of pad within limit for lot? Need for hookup and metering water, sewer, electric; and parking requirements? Heating, AC? What if owner or daughter moves away and owner wants to rent or sell? I find no record of discussion or consideration of these issues. Has Town Council approved? Long-term implications for Town?