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Board approves ice-cream shop and parking variance at 324 Leonard Street, with ADA parking condition
Summary
The Board of Zoning Appeals approved a conditional use for a neighborhood ice-cream shop at 324 Leonard Street and granted a related parking variance; the board required the applicant to apply for a compliant ADA on‑street parking space adjacent to the property.
The Morgantown Board of Zoning Appeals voted May 21 to grant a conditional-use permit for a neighborhood ice-cream shop at 324 Leonard Street and to grant a variance relieving the site from full off-street parking requirements, subject to a condition that the applicant apply for a compliant on-street ADA space adjacent to the property.
Adelheid Schaup, the applicant, described a small, primarily outdoor-focused shop serving ice cream seasonally from a roughly 500-square-foot building. “The structure itself is actually quite small. It's only 500 square feet and probably only by the time we put serving area in and then the required bathroom, probably only have space for maybe 2 tables inside. And then outside is really where I feel like the value is,” she told the board.
Staff said the parcel sits inside a B-1 neighborhood-business district but is too small to meet the city's off-street parking calculation that would otherwise require nine parking spaces (including one accessible space). The applicant submitted a site plan showing no on-site parking and proposed to rely on nearby on-street parking and park lots. The variance petition requested relief from section 13 65.04, the city's off-street parking requirement, allowing the shop to operate without providing the nine required on-site spaces.
Neighbors and residents largely supported the project during public comment. Jessica McDonald, a nearby resident, said the property has been “dilapidated and underused” and that Jack Roberts Park draws families: “I think this could be a really great addition to the neighborhood.” Several other commenters, including Ben Chilly and Alfredo Cruz, urged approval and noted ample nearby on-street and park parking.
Members of the board discussed options including narrowing the required number of on-site spaces, using park parking, and whether a small amount of parking could be sited without removing the lot’s green space. Planning staff and the applicant said that engineering and property constraints limited on-site parking options; the applicant also said the purchase agreement for the parcel was contingent on not removing the green space.
To address neighborhood accessibility concerns, the board added one condition: the applicant must apply to the city for a compliant ADA on-street parking space adjacent to the property. The board accepted findings of fact for the variance and the conditional use, then voted to grant the variance and to grant the conditional-use permit. The chair told the applicant that she will receive written notification of the decisions in seven to 10 business days and reminded her that decisions are appealable to the Circuit Court of Montague County within 30 days and that work during the appeal period is at her financial risk.
Board members emphasized the proposal's fit with the city's neighborhood-business goals and noted that the business is seasonal and low-impact; the approval authorizes the use and the variance but does not waive other permitting, building, or engineering reviews.
