MARTINSBURG – Martinsburg’s Board of Zoning Appeals will consider at its regularly scheduled March meeting requests for exceptions to the current zoning of the historic Boydville estate.
Jonathon T. Mann is the applicant, while the Berkeley County Farmland Protection Board is listed as the owner on the application. Mann and his wife, Meagan, are described as the “prospective owners” in the application’s narrative.
Members of the BCFPB voted Dec. 7 to sell the 200-year-old mansion and surrounding land to the Manns, lifelong Martinsburg residents, for $500,000 after putting a conservation easement on the land to protect it from development and a historic preservation easement on the buildings to preserve them.
Located at 601 S. Queen St., BCFPB bought the historical home and property in 2005 for about $2.25 million when a developer proposed to build a residential subdivision on the expansive front lawn of the estate.
Mann wants a special exception from the city’s zoning ordinance so he can operate a bed and breakfast at Boydville as well as use it as his and his wife’s home; expand its use to include a special events facility; and rent a small office building on the property.
He lists a wide variety of special events that could be hosted on the property, including public events such as the Wine and Arts Festival and Martinsburg Heritage Day, which have been held at Boydville for the past few years.
One of BCFPB’s requirements to sell Boydville was the owner had to open the site to the public at least twice a year.
Other special events listed include “weddings, graduations, receptions, baby showers, bridal showers, etc.; movie filming; tours; old car shows; holiday events; and meetings/conferences.”
Mann also is asking for a variance to the off-street parking requirements to accommodate the change in use of the property.
Public hearings are scheduled for both requests.
Included in the application is a long list of safety and building code changes that would have to be made to the mansion to meet requirements for a bed and breakfast and special events facility.
City building code officials and Martinsburg Fire Department officers inspected the site in January and provided Mann with a lengthy list of requirements that would have to be met before it could be used as a bed and breakfast and special events facility.
Also on Tuesday’s agenda is a public hearing for an application for a variance by Robert Owens to construct a carport at 128 Woodbury Ave. that would extend into the minimum required side-yard setbacks.
Public hearings also are scheduled for applications by 732 West King Street LLC for a special exception to operate a building at 732 W. King St. as a four-unit apartment building and for a variance from the off-street parking requirements to use the building as a four-unit apartment building.
The BZA meets at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in the J. Oakley Seibert Council Chambers, city hall, 232 N. Queen St. For more information, call 304-264-2131, ext. 266.
– Staff writer John McVey can be reached at 304-263-3381, ext. 128, or jmcvey@journal-news.net.