Council approves use permit for Margaret LeFranc Art museum despite traffic concerns; one No and one abstention

Hampton — The council approved a use permit for the Margaret LeFranc Art Foundation to convert 1609 and 1611 Aberdeen into a private museum with galleries, a cafe, a classroom and a gift shop. Planning staff described the project as approximately 3,750 square feet with free admission, about six employees and conditions covering landscaping, parking, circulation and hours of operation.

Applicant Sandra McKenzie, who identified herself as CEO and president of the Margaret LeFranc Art Foundation, said the project would generate minimal peak-hour traffic citing Institute of Transportation Engineers figures: "this 3,900 square foot museum generates 6 peak traffic hour trips, 3 cars in, 3 cars out." She said the museum’s regular hours would be 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with occasional evening exhibits, and emphasized site drainage improvements and safety benefits for the neighborhood.

Council discussion focused on driveway maneuvering, the dead‑end nature of the adjoining residential street and a discrepancy between packet hours (10 a.m.–8 p.m.) and the applicant’s usual hours (10 a.m.–4 p.m.). The city manager offered to have Public Works Traffic Engineering revisit the traffic study if council requested. A motion to approve the use permit with 15 conditions (and modified wording requiring "substantial conformance" with the conceptual plan) carried on a roll call in which Councilman Bowman voted No and Vice Mayor Brown abstained; the remaining members voted Aye.