Most say the third time is the charm and for a Brown County couple that rang true last month when the Brown County Board of Zoning Appeals approved their request to have a wedding barn on Bellsville Pike after hearing it three times.
Troy and April Williams had been seeking permission from the BZA for a private recreational development since the beginning of the year. They live next door to the property on Bellsville Pike where they were planning to turn an unused historic tobacco barn into a wedding barn.
The couple had first gone before the BZA in February with this request and explained their aim. Two sets of neighbors spoke up at the February meeting and at the March meeting of the BZA. Their main concerns were about the impact that the noise from the event barn could have on their comfort and peace at their properties.
The BZA denied their request, but the Williamses petitioned the board again with new days and hours of operations. The wedding barn would only operate on the weekends from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays then 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sundays.
Amplified music would play until 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and acoustic music until 11 p.m. Music would go until 8 p.m. on Sundays.
During their presentation at the Sept. 29 meeting the Williamses spoke about traffic concerns and said the additional 50 or less cars from the weddings would come in at the same time then leave later in the day when traffic is not as busy on Bellsville Pike.
April Williams said the venue would only host upscale weddings and would not be a “party barn.” The couple also noted that the area is 10 miles or less from other public destinations, like Stone Head Pizzeria and Bar or eXplore Brown County.
After nearly two hours of public comments and questions from BZA board members the special exception for a private recreational development in the 8200 block of Bellsville Pike was approved 4-1 with President John Dillberger voting against it.
Dillberger said his vote was not against the Williamses and their business, but that he was against allowing a private recreational development on a piece of land in a residential area that is not guaranteed to always be owned or operated by the Williamses.
The Williamses said their plan is to keep the property in their name for years to come with plans to pass it down to their children. The couple will continue to live on the property near the barn and plan to be on-site supervising all events.
“We love where we live too. We’re excited to live there for a long time. We’re not looking to build this up in five years and sell it. Our plan is to live there and retire there,” Troy Williams said.
Two neighbors to the property — Mike Voland and Bill Freeman — attended the September meeting to speak against the wedding barn.
Freeman owns property that is directly to the south and west of the wedding barn. He currently uses the land as a conservation area where he planted 100 acres of prairie grasses and around 30,000 trees.
Freeman shared similar concerns to Dillberger about the special exception being given to the land and not the couple.
“It is permanent unless the people that buy the property want to get rid of it (the special exception) and that probably would not happen,” he said.
Attorney Zach Miller represents Voland and also attended the meeting. Mike Voland and his wife Linda bought the property from Linda’s mother whose family had lived on the land for over 100 years.
“When they slam the door and my client Linda is on the porch with her dog, her dog jumps,” Miller said.
“When my clients bought the property 20 years ago they knew it was a residential place and it was part of the reason they bought it in beautiful Brown County as well as all of their other neighbors.”
Miller argued having a wedding barn operating on the Williamses property on the weekend changes the residential neighborhood and the way the Volands will enjoy their home.
“My clients have no ability to move. They reside there. They plan on retiring there. They are there with their 10 grandchildren,” he said.
“If you grant this they are powerless. They are stuck there and their property value will go down for doing nothing other than what the area is designed for in the first place, which is to live in, not create a business there.”
The Williamses also included in their petition they would soundproof the barn and plant trees to act as sound barriers for neighbors. The couple also had decibel tests done to gauge the volume level of music coming from the barn with doors open and closed. Those tests showed the sound continued to decrease farther away from the barn with the doors open and music playing.
The decibel reading at the back of the Williamses property was lower than the traffic noise from Bellsville Pike, according to the couple.
Mike Voland said his home, which is 1,576 feet from the barn, is on a hill near the wedding barn and that the noise from the weddings would carry.
“Our valley is a particular echo vacuum. We have lived there for 26 years. … We have a better understanding of this valley and the noises in it than anyone else who spoke here tonight,” he said.
Brown County Redevelopment Commission President Justin Schwenk spoke in favor of the Williamses request.
Schwenk said the Williamses wedding barn project took a blighted property and redeveloped it into something beneficial for the area, which is something the RDC has been working on. The Williamses spoke about how they cleaned up the property, including barns filled with trash.
The RDC recently established the Brown County Community Investment Corporation, also known as the Brown County Landbank.
RDC members and other volunteers have been gathering data on land use in Brown County through a survey tool called Landgrid to identify vacant homes where new homes could go instead to draw younger families here as the county sees an increase in an aging population.
“The promotion of Brown County as a destination for tourism, promoting the county’s natural environment and the attraction of young families as a home are precisely the positive outcomes for Brown County that the Williamses proposed business may result in,” Schwenk said, adding that young couples could come to Brown County for a wedding and decide to move here.
Resident Dave Redding also spoke in favor. He said he would be willing to help the BZA develop ordinances to provide a remedy to situations where a special exception like this is approved and neighbors continue to report issues with traffic or noise. Redding serves as the president of the Brown County Council, but was speaking as a resident.
“In my county role I hear more and more people complaining about this venue, existing things with music, motorcycle rallies,” he said.
“We have to create a public discussion.”
Remaining BZA members supported the request.
“I feel like with these guys doing this on the weekend with them happening to be there to supervise it that makes me feel a lot better. It’s not going to be every weekend. It’s not going to be all year long,” Donna Lutes said.
April Williams said the couple would operate the venue during summer and fall since the building does not have heating and air.
Darla Brown, who voted for the request previously, said she understood the concerns about the venue being in a neighborhood, but that the BZA had approved wedding venues and private recreational developments recently in neighborhoods “where the houses and the properties are even closer together than these properties are.”
The special exception was approved with multiple conditions: Music and days of operation to be limited to days and times specified; venue events will be under on-site supervision; the parking lot development will be done in accordance with the requirements for floodplains; the barn and sanitation system will meet local and state specifications for commercial use; mature trees will be planted on the north side of barn as offered by the applicant; and sound deafening equipment installed inside building.
The discussion and vote in September also spurred comments from Dillberger about how the county’s comprehensive plan and zoning ordinances need updated so that members are not tasked with granting multiple special exceptions, like this one, that have been more common recently.
“I am always conflicted with special exceptions when I am asked to approve a business use on a residential property, adjacent to other residential properties particularly if they are actually being used for residences because there will be an impact on the neighbors from the business use. That’s why these exceptions are called special,” he said.
“We would be able to get input from all of the residents of the county on what they think development should look like in this county rather than the five of us deciding whether or not we think this looks like a good place for business,” he continued about revising the zoning ordinance.
BZA approves small campground on Whippoorwill Lane
The Brown County Board of Zoning Appeals approved a small campground on Whippoorwill Lane at their meeting in September over objections from neighbors worried about trespassing from guests, lack of parking and access for emergency vehicles on the narrow road.
Christopher Dick petitioned the BZA on Sept. 29 for a special exception to allow a public camp on his five acre property, which is a certified monarch butterfly, wildlife and bird habitat. Each guest that wants to camp on the property will have to send a letter to Dick stating why they want to stay and then the request will either be granted or denied.
Once campers arrive Dick will greet them and escort them to their campsite. He will show campers boundaries and review the rules, which includes leaving no trace camping where campers will pack in and out whatever they bring, similar to state or federal public land rules. This includes human waste.
“They can set up a tent, but when you leave we should not know about it,” he said.
Dick lives on the property 24 hours a day. He said he expects to have two or three tents set up at the campground at one time, meaning there would be two or three vehicles parked on Whippoorwill Lane.
“It is mostly focused towards people passionate about nature, about it being more of a conservancy for nature and those seeking more of a quiet solitude location versus a public campground,” Dick said of the campground.
The income from the campground would be used to continue restoring the property. Dick said property markers are “clearly indicated” and a fence will also be installed to ensure those boundaries are known.
Quiet times for the campground will be 10 p.m. to 10 a.m. Guests will be encouraged to stay on the marked trails. Rules also include no cutting trees or disturbing wildlife, according to the staff report from Planning and Zoning.
One neighbor spoke in favor of the campground and three others spoke against it.
For those against the campground concerns centered on an emergency plan for the campground since the road is narrow for emergency vehicles to use. The road is also maintained by residents. Concerns about traffic and trespassing were also raised since there are two tourist rentals already on that road. One neighbor said she had five incidents of trespassing this year involving guests from the rentals.
Where campers will park was another issue brought up by neighbors. Noise was another concern. One of the neighbors showed the BZA a photo of a shower house Dick had built and raised concerns about where the grey water from that was going.
A neighbor on Covered Bridge Road said she is already having property boundary issues with Dick. She said she worries about her personal safety, damage to her property and liability with campers roaming near her property or getting lost in the woods.
Another neighbor at the end of Whippoorwill Lane said the 80 acres there have been in his family for almost 90 years now and they use it as a private recreational area. He had concerns about trespassing and campers having fires in the woods with the road being narrow for emergency vehicles to get through. Campfires are allowed within designated fire pits only, but would not be allowed during burn bans in the county, according to the staff report.
“I think you obviously look at this property as your personal work of art and creation, your personal project, you’re not going to be mindless on who you invite on it and you will be real picky so they don’t damage what you put a lot of time in maintaining and creating,” BZA President John Dillberger said to Dick.
Dillberger added that five acres is a small piece of property and that a fence should be built to ensure campers stay on the property.
The special exception was approved 4-1, but with four conditions: The property will be fenced and marked along the north, east and west property lines; no water, sewer or sanitation will be available unless all three are made available; the campground will be limited to five camp sites; and the rules presented in the staff report will be enforced, including quiet times.
BZA member Randy Jones voted against the campground. He initially motioned to deny the request based on some concerns the board had, but did not receive a second to take it to a vote.
Jones said he was concerned about the wastewater issue from Dick’s outdoor shower.
“Grey water is considered sewage by definition, meaning any time this facility is used then that water has to be captured, treated, contained or transported to a licensed treatment facility,” he said.
Dick said the shower is for his own personal use to rinse off outside, but that it can be taken down.
Other members expressed concern about the size of the property, the narrow road and emergency vehicles being able to access the woods in case there is a fire or injury along with the possibility of trespassing.
Dillberger said the issue about the grey water from the outdoor shower should be addressed with the health department.
