military aviation museum - vbgov.com

6May 11, 2011 Public Hearing

APPLICANT / PROPERTY OWNER:

MILITARY AVIATION MUSEUM

STAFF PLANNER: Karen ProchiloREQUEST: Modification of a Conditional Use Permit for a museum – approved by the City Council on January 9, 2007 ADDRESS / DESCRIPTION: 1341 Princess Anne Road GPIN: 24017621760000

ELECTION DISTRICT: PRINCESS ANNE

SITE SIZE: Approximately 22 acres

AICUZ: Less than 65 dB DNL

SUMMARY OF REQUEST A Conditional Use Permit for the Military Aviation Museum was approved by the City Council on January 9, 2007. The museum is inside an existing approximately 45,000 square foot airplane hanger and displays artifacts and memorabilia related to World War II and vintage aircraft. The museum also includes a gift shop, a snack bar, a volunteer lounge, restrooms, a lecture hall, and a library. The museum is a 501 (c) (3), nonprofit organization. On December 9, 2008, a Modification to the Conditional Use Permit was approved by City Council. This request allowed an expansion to the museum for five additional structures, with parking on the western portion of the site, at least 800 feet beyond the initial hanger/exhibition area structure and an expansion to the existing parking lot to the east of the hanger/ exhibition area. Of the five new buildings approved for the site, currently four have been constructed: a restored British control tower; a replica World War I hanger; a 15,000 square foot maintenance building (Fighter Factory); and, a 10,000 square foot storage building for equipment, parts, and supplies. A restored “Cottbus” German hanger originally built in 1939 is yet to be constructed.

Military Aviation Museum Agenda Item 6


The applicant is requesting approval to expand the museum by adding a new 45,000 square foot hanger/exhibition area with associated parking to the west of the existing hanger/museum. This hanger/exhibition area will house and display a B-17G in addition to other vintage aircraft and aviation memorabilia. In addition, the applicant requests approval for two additional 10,000 square foot structures to store parts and equipment for the museum’s collection which will be located on the western portion of the site adjacent to the five other previously approved structures. These buildings shall only be used for museum related purposes. These buildings will be located approximately ½ mile off Princess Anne Road and out of view of the right-of-way. There is an existing stormwater management pond on the site that will collect and treat stormwater runoff from these proposed buildings and parking areas. The Conditional Use Permit with the initial Modification of Conditions has nine (9) conditions:

1. The operating hours for the museum shall be 9:00 am through 5:00 pm, seven days a week, except during the summer months when the museum will cease operating at dusk.

2. Museum employees and Training Services, Inc employees who maintain vintage aircraft displayed at the Museum shall number no more than eighteen (18) persons on duty at any given time. There shall be no limit on the number of volunteers.

3. There shall be no outdoor amplified sound or music audible at the property line associated with the Museum or special events.

4. Health Department review and approval for a Sewage Disposal System Construction Permit or any other permit as deemed necessary by the Health Department shall be obtained prior to approval of the final site plan.

5. Streetscape landscaping, as described in the Landscaping Guide, City of Virginia Beach, December 2002, shall be installed along the eastern boundary line of the future parking lot expansion and shall be installed along the entire length in an effort to screen any vehicles from view of the right-of-way.

6. There shall be no direct vehicular ingress/egress from this property onto Vaughan Road.

7. The existing runway shall remain in a grassed condition and shall not be paved.

8. The additional buildings shown on the submitted plan shall be only used for museum-related purposes.

9. A landscaped buffer shall be installed along the northern boundary of this property. The Director of Planning shall review the proposed plan species and size to be installed along the boundary. No plants shall be installed until approval has been obtained from the Director of Planning.

In addition to a providing a revised site plan, the applicant has requested elimination of Condition 2 which limits the number of museum employees and Training Services, Inc employees who maintain the museum’s aircraft. If Condition 2 is not recommended for removal, an alternative is requested to increase the number of employees permitted to 22 employees.

LAND USE AND PLAN INFORMATION EXISTING LAND USE: The majority of the site is grass field with a grass runway with a 41,000 square foot airplane hanger and museum with a paved parking lot, out buildings and water tower. SURROUNDING LAND USE AND ZONING:

North: • Field, single-family dwellings / AG-1 Agricultural District South: • Wooded area, single-family dwellings / AG-1 Agricultural

District East: • Princess Anne Road

• single-family dwelling / AG-2 Agricultural District West: • Vaughn Road

• field, single-family dwellings / AG-1 Agricultural District t NATURAL RESOURCE AND CULTURAL FEATURES:

The site is located in the Southern Watersheds Management Area. The site is primarily a grass field with a grass runway. There is an existing airport hanger, support buildings with paved parking lot and water tower. There do not appear to be any significant environmental or local cultural features on the site. However, the museum is indicative of the role this area of the city during World War II. Several airfields in rural Princess Anne County served as satellite fields to Norfolk Naval Air Station. These airfields served as support to operations, training and maintenance of WWII aircraft.

COMPREHENSIVE PLAN: The Comprehensive Plan designates this site as being within the Rural Area. The Rural Area is located in the southern half of the City south of Indian River and Sandbridge Roads. It is characterized as low, flat land with wide floodplains and altered drainage with a presence of agricultural and rural related activities including traditional and specialty crop cultivation, tree farms, equestrian facilities, wetland banks, fish farms and other similar uses. It is an important objective to protect and sustain all of our valuable environmental, scenic and agricultural resources against inappropriate activities and intense growth pressures (p. 5-1 to 5-4).

CITY SERVICES

MASTER TRANSPORTATION PLAN (MTP) / CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM (CIP): This site is located off of Princess Anne Road south of West Neck Road. In the vicinity of this application, Princess Anne Road is a two-lane rural highway with an eighty-ft (80’) right-of-way width. The City’s Master Transportation Plan indicates an ultimate right-of-way width of one hundred feet (100’). There are currently no CIP projects planned for this portion of Princess Anne Road.


TRAFFIC: Street Name Present

Volume Present Capacity Generated Traffic

Princess Anne Road

20,500 ADT 1 14,800 ADT 1 (Level of Service “C”)

22,800 ADT 1 (Level of Service “D”) / Capacity 27,400 ADT 1 (Level of

Service “E”)

Existing Land Use 2 – 616 ADT

Proposed Land Use 3 – No significant change

anticipated.

1 Average Daily Trips 2 as defined by 4-employee general aviation airport and 18-employee national monument 3 as defined by 4-employee general aviation airport and 18-employee national monument

PUBLIC WORKS/TRAFFIC ENGINEERING: Trip generation calculations for the existing use are an estimate based on the number of employees indicated in the application and from previous records; however, a more precise approximation for the existing site’s trip generation could be a function of attendance records at the museum along with the number of daily flights in/out of the airport. The proposed use is expected to add a minimal number of trips to the site, and the surrounding street network appears to be capable of handling these additional trips without a significant impact to traffic safety or traffic flow. Additional detailed comments from Traffic Engineering may be necessary. STORMWATER: The issue of stormwater management is to be addressed for the proposed additional buildings. New facilities must be tied in to the existing storm drainage system on site. WATER and SEWER : There is no City water or City sewer service provided to this site. Heath Department approval is required for private wells and septic systems. PARKS and RECREATION: Parks and Recreation does not have any objection to the expansion of the museum. However, if the expansion necessitates additional road widening on Princess Anne Road, the widening should include a wide shoulder for bike travel. EVALUATION AND RECOMMENDATION The existing Military Aviation Museum has been a positive attraction and landmark for residents and visitors. The recommended conditions are designed to limit the impact of the museum to a level that is compatible with the surrounding community. The airport operates under an existing modified Use Permit and a subsequent court order. Much of the activity on the site is covered under these past actions. The current evaluation applies only to the proposed expansion of the museum. The expansion of an additional hanger/exhibition area and two museum-related storage buildings is in keeping with the policies of the Comprehensive Plan. The proposed exhibition area/hanger will be positioned adjacent to the existing art-deco styled exhibition area/hanger along the grass runway where



occasional operating airplanes can be viewed. The storage/maintenance buildings shall be grouped with the historically significant salvaged structures in an attractive assemblage to the west of the exhibition area/hangers. All buildings will be located far off Princess Anne Road (approximately ½ mile) and out of view of the right-of-way. Design, materials, and colors of proposed buildings should be complementary with existing buildings on the site. Along the north and west property lines exists two mature stands of trees. The proposed Cottbus German building lies adjacent to those existing stands and is exposed to adjacent residences. Staff has recommended a condition that additional canopy trees be added to this area. The purpose of this landscaping is to provide a distant screen for the neighboring residential sites. In addition to providing supplemental screening, the placement of the canopy trees should provide a connection between the two existing stands of trees. By connecting the existing stands, a habitat corridor would be created and eliminate woodland fragmentation between the two mature stands of trees. Conditions require streetscape landscaping along the eastern side and a landscape buffer along the northern boundary. This landscaping and buffering are not shown on the revised plan. To ensure proper screening and buffering, a landscape plan should be provided at site plan review. In addition, outdoor lighting should be designed to provide safe, attractive and appropriate illumination for the proposed land use. It is important to avoid over-illumination in certain places including residential and rural areas. The applicant should mitigate light pollution by directing lighting downward and reducing glare onto adjacent properties or into the sky. Health Department review and approval will be required for the museum expansion and this Use Permit is conditioned as such. A Sewage Disposal System Construction Permit will likely be required by the Health Department prior to commencement of construction. A condition that all Health Department approvals shall be obtained prior to approval of the final site plan remains. Lastly the request to eliminate Condition 2 limiting the number of employees is not recommended. Staff does support the alternative request to increase the number of employees to 22 and has revised the condition to reflect this. Staff recommends approval of this requested modification, as conditioned below.

CONDITIONS

1. The operating hours for the museum shall be 9:00 am through 5:00 pm, seven days a week, except during the summer months when the museum will cease operating at dusk.

2. Museum employees and Training Services, Inc employees who maintain vintage aircraft displayed at the Museum shall number no more than twenty-two (22) persons on duty at any given time. There shall be no limit on the number of volunteers.

3. There shall be no outdoor amplified sound or music audible at the property line associated with the museum or special events.


4. Health Department review and approval for a Sewage Disposal System Construction Permit or any other permit as deemed necessary by the Health Department shall be obtained prior to approval of the final site plan.

5. Streetscape landscaping, as described in the Landscaping Guide, City of Virginia Beach, December 2002, shall be installed along the eastern boundary line of the future parking lot expansion and shall be installed along the entire length in an effort to screen any vehicles from view of the right-of-way.

6. There shall be no direct vehicular ingress/egress from this property onto Vaughan Road.

7. The existing runway shall remain in a grassed condition and shall not be paved.

8. The site shall be developed and designed substantially in accordance with the submitted “ULTIMATE SITE BUILD-OUT” by Martin Engineering and dated 03/03/11. Said plan has been exhibited to the Virginia Beach City Council and is on file in the Planning Department. The All buildings other than the initial hanger / exhibition area shown on the submitted plan shall be only used for museum-related purposes.

9. A landscaped buffer shall be installed along the northern boundary of this property. The Director of Planning or his designee shall review the proposed plant species and size to be installed along the boundary. No plants shall be installed until approval has been obtained from the Director of Planning or his designee.

10. Canopy trees shall be planted starting at the north of the proposed cul-de-sac and continuing west to the west property line adjacent to the proposed Cottbus German building. Mixes of canopy trees are to be utilized consisting of large canopy trees, ranging in height from sixty feet and greater at maturity and medium canopy trees, ranging in height from thirty-feet to sixty five feet at maturity. Planting is encouraged to be innovative in terms of spacing and arrangement to allow the widest possible variation for visual enhancement.

11. A landscape plan shall be submitted at the time of site plan review depicting the existing and proposed landscaped buffers, streetscape landscaping, foundation planting and parking lot landscaping.

NOTE: Further conditions may be required during the administration of applicable City Ordinances and Standards. Any site plan submitted with this application may require revision during detailed site plan review to meet all applicable City Codes and Standards. All applicable permits required by the City Code, including those administered by the Department of Planning / Development Services Center and Department of Planning / Permits and Inspections Division, and the issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy, are required before any uses allowed by this Use Permit are valid. The applicant is encouraged to contact and work with the Crime Prevention Office within the Police Department for crime prevention techniques and Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) concepts and strategies as they pertain to this site.


AERIAL OF SITE LOCATION


PROPOSED OVERALL SITE LAYOUT


PHOTOGRAPH OF EXISTING HANGER/EXHIBITION AREA WHICH WILL

BE SIMLIAR TO THE PROPOSED HANGER/EXHIBITION AREA


PHOTOGRAPH TAKEN FROM THE END OF HANGER/EXHIBTION AREA LOOKING TOWARDS VICINITY OF WHERE THE

PROPOSED STORAGE BUILDINGS WILL BE BUILT


# DATE REQUEST ACTION 1 12/09/2008 Modification of Use Permit Granted 01/09/2007 Use Permit (Museum) Granted 2 05/14/2002 Use Permit (outdoor recreational facility) Granted 3 05/08/01 Subdivision Variance Granted

2 3

1

ZONING HISTORY


DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

military aviation museum - vbgov.com

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