The development and execution of this Ordinance is based upon the division of the county into districts within which districts the use of land and buildings, and the bulk and location of structures in relation to the land, are substantially uniform. It is recognized, however, that there are certain uses which, because of their unique characteristics, cannot be properly classified in any particular district or districts, without consideration, in each case, of the impact of those uses upon neighboring land and of the public need for the particular use in the particular location. Such conditional uses fall into two categories:

A.

Use publicly operated or traditionally affected with a public interest.

B.

Uses entirely private in character, but of such an unusual nature that their operation may give rise to unique problems with respect to their impact upon neighboring property or public facilities.

2.1.

Initiation of Conditional Uses. Any person having freehold interest in land, or a possessory interest entitled to exclusive possession, or a contractual interest which may become a freehold interest or an exclusive possessory interest, and which is specifically enforceable, may file an application to use such land for one or more of the conditional uses provided for in this Ordinance in the zoning district in which the land is located.

2.2.

Application for Conditional Uses. An application for a conditional use shall be filed with the Zoning Administrator on a form prescribed by the Zoning Administrator. The application shall be accompanied by such plans and/or data prescribed by the Planning Board and shall include a statement in writing by the applicant and adequate evidence showing that the proposed conditional use will conform to the standards set forth in Section 4. Such application shall be forwarded from the Zoning Administrator to the Planning Board with a request for review of said application and accompanying data and submission of a written recommendation thereon to the County Commissioners.

3.1.

Notice of Hearing. The applicant shall provide to the Zoning Administrator a list of names and addresses of all adjacent property owners along with one (1) set of envelopes stamped and with typed addresses to each person on the list. These addressed envelopes and the list shall be submitted at least fourteen (14) work days prior to the public hearing. The Zoning Administrator shall then mail a copy of the legal notice to each adjacent property owner.

3.2.

Hearing on Application. Upon receipt in proper form of the written recommendations referred to in Section 2.2 above, the Board of County Commissioners shall hold at least one public hearing on the proposed conditional use.

3.3.

Authorization. For each application for a conditional use, the Planning Board shall report to the County Commissioners its findings and recommendations, including the stipulations of additional conditions and guarantees that such conditions will be complied with when they are deemed necessary for the protection of the public interest. If an application for a proposed conditional use in not approved by the County Commissioners within 90 days of the date upon which application is received by the County Commissioners, it shall be deemed to have been denied.

No conditional use shall be recommended by the Planning Board unless such Board shall find:

A.

That the establishment, maintenance, or operation of the conditional use will not be detrimental to or endanger the public health, safety, moral, comfort, or general welfare;

B.

That the conditional use will not be injurious to the use and enjoyment of other property in the immediate vicinity for the purpose already permitted, nor substantially diminish and impair property values within the neighborhood;

C.

That the establishment of the conditional use will not impede the normal and orderly development and improvement of the surrounding property for uses permitted in the district;

D.

That the exterior architectural appeal and functional plan of any proposed structure will not be so at variance with either the exterior architectural appeal and functional plan of the structures already constructed or in the course of construction in the immediate neighborhood or the character of the applicable district, as to cause a substantial depreciation in the property values with the neighborhood;

E.

That adequate utilities, access roads, drainage and/or necessary facilities have been or are being provided;

F.

That adequate measures have been or will be taken to provide ingress and egress so designed as to minimize traffic congestion in the public streets; and

G.

That the conditional use shall, in all other respects, conform to the applicable regulations of the district in which it is located, except as such regulations may in each instance, be modified by the County Commissioners pursuant to the recommendations of the Planning Board.

Some conditional use permits have specific standards for site design, location, maintenance and operation in addition to basic standards of the underlying zoning district. These uses and conditions are shown here.

A.

Arena.

Conditional Use Districts:

C, I

Approved by:

Board of Commissioners

Minimum Lot Size:

Ten (10) acres

Submittals:

1.

Site plan showing the boundaries of the property, proposed buildings and parking areas and designation of particular uses within the site plan and the topography and terrain as designated on the plans shall be suitable for such specifically designated use.

Standards:

A.

No Structure or area (including seating devices or bleachers) shall be located less than forty (40) feet from contiguous property lines, unless there are existing structures on the adjoining property within 40 feet of the said contiguous lines, in which case the setback for the structure, area or bleachers shall be one hundred (100) feet.

B.

No parking areas shall be located less than ten (10) feet from contiguous property lines, unless there are existing structures on the adjoining property within 40 feet of said contiguous property lines in which case no parking will be permitted within 40 feet of said contiguous property line.

C.

Lighting shall be so shielded as to cast no direct light upon adjacent properties or public roads.

D.

Driveways, roads and parking areas shall be treated with dust inhibitors to be specified in the application, which will reduce to a minimum the generation of dust from road and parking surfaces as a result of wind or vehicular action.

E.

Public address system shall be designed so as not to constitute an unreasonable disturbance to the adjoining property owners.

F.

There shall be at least one (1) parking space for each four (4) seats in the arena. There shall be at least 25 enlarged spaces (truck and trailer) at the facility. The parking area must be shown on the proposed site plan to ensure effective ingress and egress. For every 100 seats above 300 in the arena, an additional 8 enlarged spaces (truck and trailer) shall be provided.

G.

Fencing shall be of industrial quality around the arena area perimeter to insure containment of any out of control animals, machinery or vehicles that could pose danger to any spectators in particular and neighborhood residents in general.

H.

Events shall cease operation by 11 p.m. and follow any noise or nuisance ordinance.

I.

A fire hydrant shall be located within 500 feet of the public entrance to the arena that has a roof and side walls, if public water is available. If the area does not have a roof and side walls, a fire hydrant shall be located within 2,500 feet of the public entrance to the arena if public water is available.

J.

If no public water is available water capacity and flow rates will need to be accommodated on site and available in case of an emergency. These capacities and flow rates will be determined by fire code.

K.

Roadside parking shall be prohibited in the general arena area to ensure accessibility of large emergency vehicles such as fire trucks.

L.

A 25 foot wide natural foliage greenbelt shall be planted along the street side(s) of the property and along interior lot lines adjacent to a residential district. The plantings shall be of sufficient opacity to screen the use from view along interior lot lines.

M.

If boarding of animals is provided, applicable state requirements for the boarding of animals will be enforced by the appropriate State or County agency to ensure the health, safety and welfare of the animals, spectators and employees.

N.

A disposal plan for animal waste, trash and rubbish removal shall be approved as part of the site planning process.

B.

RV Park.

Conditional Use Districts:

C

Approved by:

Board of Commissioners

Minimum Area:

Five (5) acres with a front yard depth of fifty (50) feet.

Submittals:

1.

Location and approximate size of all existing and proposed buildings and structures within the site and existing buildings and structures within five hundred (500) feet adjacent thereto.

2.

Proposed points of ingress and egress together with the proposed pattern of internal circulation.

3.

Proposed provision for storm and sanitary sewerage, including both natural and man-made features, and the proposed treatment of ground cover, slopes, banks and ditches.

Standards:

A.

RVs shall be separated from each other and from other structures by at least twenty (20) feet. No accessory structures including but not limited to carports, storage facilities, attached wings and decks.

B.

Farm animals shall not be allowed.

C.

Minimum size of RV pad shall be at least 10 × 50 feet and requires 500 sq. feet of concrete padding 4" deep supporting at least 3500 psi.

D.

One RV unit per site, with one additional motorized vehicle or boat allowed. Up to one other guest motorized vehicle is allowed on each site.

E.

There shall be at least one (1) recreation area which shall be accessible from all trailer spaces or campsites. The size of such recreation area shall not be less than eight percent (8%) of the gross site area.

F.

Roadways shall be 4" stabilized gravel, crushed rock, asphalt or concrete and of adequate width to accommodate anticipated traffic and in any case, shall meet the following minimum requirements:

1)

Two-way, no parking-twenty (20) feet in width with a 4 foot shoulder on each side.

G.

The water supply, the sewerage system, service buildings, sanitation requirements and solid waste disposal shall be reasonably accommodated and shall meet the requirements of the appropriate State and County regulatory agency.

H.

At least fifty-percent of electric hookups will accommodate 50 amps, the balance of electric hookups will accommodate 30 amps.

I.

Quiet hours are 11 p.m.-7:30 a.m. and follow any noise or nuisance ordinance.

J.

A 25 foot wide natural foliage greenbelt shall be planted along the street side(s) of the property and along interior lot lines adjacent to a residential district. The plantings shall be of sufficient opacity to screen the use from view along interior lot lines.

K.

Off-street parking and loading space shall be provided in sufficient quantity to accommodate all parking and loading on the site. For this purpose, there shall be 2 parking spaces per RV space consisting of gravel or other stable surface. No roadway parking shall be permitted.

L.

RV spaces shall be rented with a maximum of 90 days concurrent rental.

M.

At least one site supervisor shall be on duty at all times.

N.

Signs on premises shall be regulated as follows:

1)

Type of sign: Identification, non-illuminated.

2)

Permitted number of signs: One (1) sign per entrance to park.

Prior to the granting of any conditional use, the Planning Board may recommend, and the County Commissioners may stipulate, such conditions and restrictions upon the establishment, location, reconstruction, maintenance, and operation of the conditional use as is deemed necessary for the protection of the public interest and to secure compliance with the standards and requirements specified in Section 4 above. In all cases in which conditional uses are granted, the County Commissioners shall require such evidence and guarantees as it may deem necessary as proof that the conditions stipulated in connection therewith are being and will be complied with.

A nonrefundable fee for such application shall be paid at the time of application according to Article II, Section 7.

Editor's note— This article contained two sections numbered 6. At the editor's discretion, to distinguish the two sections, the letter "[a]" in brackets has been appended to this section's designation.

In a case where a Conditional Use Permit has not been exercised within the time limit set by the Board of County Commissioners or within six (6) months if no specific time limit has been set, then without further action, the permit shall be null and void. "Exercised" as set forth in this section shall mean that binding contracts for the construction of the main building have been let, or in the absence of contracts that the main building is under construction to a substantial degree, or that prerequisite conditions involving substantial investment are contracted for, in substantial development, or complete (sewerage, drainage, etc). When construction is not a part of the use, "exercised" shall mean that the use is in operation in compliance with the conditions set forth in the permit.

Any conditions imposed on a conditional use authorized and exercised shall be perpetually binding upon the property unless expressly limited by the Conditional Use Permit or subsequently changed or amended by the County Commissioners after a public hearing.