HomeMy Public PortalAbout09-20-2018 Minutes PB Regular MeetingMinutes
Hillsborough Planning Board
7 p.m. Sept. 20, 2018
Board Meeting Room, 105 E. Corbin St.
Present: Chair Dan Barker, James Czar, Lisa Frazier, Chris Johnston, Doug Peterson, Alyse Polly, Jeff
Scott and Jenn Sykes
Absent: Chris Wehrman
Staff: Planning Director Margaret Hauth and Town Attorney Bob Hornik
Item 1: Call to order and confirmation of a quorum
Chair Dan Barker called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. Planning Director Margaret Hauth
confirmed the presence of a quorum.
Item 2: Agenda changes and approval
The agenda stood as presented.
Item 3: Minutes review and approval
Minutes from the regular meeting on Aug. 16 were considered for approval.
Motion: Member Jenn Sykes moved to approve the minutes as presented. Member James Czar
seconded.
Vote: Unanimous
Item 4: Discussion:
A. Amend residential project review steps to remove Parks and Recreation Board recommendation
on proposed recreation unless the facilities are to be public
The planning director reviewed that this is a request from staff to streamline the review process. She
added that the Parks and Recreation Board is focused on the parks that the town owns and maintains.
The town has a robust point system, and it is not necessary for the advisory board to spend time
reviewing those points.
Barker asked whether the Parks and Recreation board is aware of this proposed amendment. Hauth
answered yes.
Sykes suggested amending the list to include points for an arboretum.
Motion: Member Doug Peterson moved to send the item to public hearing. Member Alyse Polly
seconded.
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Vote: Unanimous
B. Modify or remove steep slope provisions
Hauth said that many waivers are sought for these provisions because there are accessibility problems
with having steep slopes.
Czar said such waivers have come before the Board of Adjustment many times and the Board of
Adjustment tends to grant the waivers because it makes the project better or makes the site
buildable.
Sykes raised concern that flattening the slopes makes new construction too uniform in design. She
wondered whether it was possible to modify the percentages of grading to keep some hills for variety.
Czar said percentages are difficult when looking at a small piece of property. He said some of the infill
parcels are small.
Barker suggested applying the steep slope provisions to parcels that are 2 acres and larger. Czar
advocated for removing the provisions altogether.
Barker asked Hauth whether she can find examples of mass grading options in other jurisdictions.
Hauth said she would need to know what the board considers mass grading.
Motion: Czar moved to send this item to public hearing. Member Lisa Frazier seconded.
Vote: Unanimous
C. Modify the tree preservation/tree retention standards
Hauth said the sections in the ordinance regarding these standards are vague, making it difficult to
determine when a waiver is needed. She asked for the Planning Board's opinion on what is the right
percentage of trees to require for preservation on a site.
Hauth suggested the board name 10 developed sites and she would research and report back on what
the percentage of tree preservation was on each site.
Czar suggested that 25 or 30 percent preservation is a good amount. The board was interested in how
many trees were preserved in the Churton Grove shopping center. Sykes added that if all the
preserved trees are in the buffer, then there would be no mature trees providing shade in the
developed portion of the site.
Hauth said she would research ordinances of neighboring jurisdictions and report back.
Polly recommended the board look at the Shops at Erwin Mill as an example because it has mature
canopy trees on site.
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D. Discuss dark sky provisions for site lighting
Barker said he raised this as a discussion item because an attorney speaking on behalf of the Orange
County Sportsplex at a Board of Adjustment meeting said the town's ordinance regarding lighting is
unenforceable.
Czar said that during another meeting, a person who lives in the county spoke to the Board of
Adjustment about experiencing light trespass from Eno River Academy. The only criteria in the
ordinance is foot-candle coverage on a horizontal plane. Czar added there was lengthy discussion
about potential glare from the outdoor lighting proposed at the Orange County Sportsplex's new
sports field. He thinks the ordinance needs additional language to address light trespass not based
solely on a horizontal projection plane and to address glare.
Hauth said the North Hills Shopping Center and Food Lion in Daniel Boone have changed their light
fixtures. She encouraged Planning Board members to visit both places at night and to observe the
difference the LED lights make. She is satisfied that the new fixtures reduce spillover light and provide
adequate lighting for safety.
E. Modify buffers and screening provisions
Hauth said if all of these requirements were applied, the Music Maker Relief Foundation building
could not exist on its property.
She noted it worked better for residential parcels' required buffers to be in open space instead of in
the back yards of individual parcels. Homeowners sometimes reduce those buffers, and there is no
way to oversee that the buffers remain permanent.
Sykes advocated for buffers as a way to reduce the impacts of flooding because trees help absorb
water.
Hauth noted she was not hearing support for modifications at this time. She said she would give some
thought to bringing language before the board that would affect sites being redeveloped rather than
address buffers as a whole.
Czar said the Board of Adjustment had seen some cases in the Meadowlands Office and Industrial
Park where the change in buffer requirements affected the ability to develop an undeveloped lot. He
would like to figure out a way to match the buffers for infill lots to those of adjacent lots.
F. Modifications to uses permitted in non-residential districts
Hauth noted that daycare would not be an allowed use in an industrial district under the proposed
changes. She reviewed other changes that were highlighted.
Hauth noted a change to not require a Conditional Use Permit for a pharmacy convenience in a High
Intensity Commercial district.
Motion: Czar moved to send the item to public hearing as amended. Peterson seconded.
Vote: Unanimous
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Czar expressed interest in adding a loading zone as a requirement for a restaurant.
Motion: Czar moved to send that item to public hearing. Sykes seconded.
Member Jeff Scott said it makes sense to have a plan for unloading trucks. Barker asked whether this
requirement should include all businesses that receive deliveries, including schools. Hauth said
schools are generally situated on larger parcels of land.
Vote: Unanimous
Item 5: Updates
A. Public hearing recommendations approved by Board of Commissioners as recommended
Hauth reviewed the voting decisions from the Sept. 10 meeting of the Board of Commissioners
regarding items for which the Planning Board had made recommendations.
B. Sandwich board alternative to be included in sidewalk dining discussion by Board of
Commissioners Sept. 27
Hauth noted that the Board of Commissioners would be discussing alternatives to sandwich board
signs as part of a discussion about amendments to the sidewalk seating ordinance.
Item 7: Adjournment
Motion: Board Member Chris Johnston moved to adjourn at 8:40 p.m. There was no second.
Vote: Unanimous
Approved:
Tom King, AICP,
Senior Planner
Acting Secretary
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