Loading...
HomeMy Public PortalAbout02-21-2019 Minutes PB regular meetingPage 1 of 6 Minutes Hillsborough Planning Board 7 p.m. Feb. 21, 2019 Town Hall Annex Board Meeting Room, 105 E. Corbin St. Present: Chair Dan Barker, James Czar, Chris Johnston, Doug Peterson, Alyse Polly, Jeff Scott, and Chris Wehrman Absent: Lisa Frazier, Jenn Sykes and Toby Vandemark Staff: Planning Director Margaret Hauth and Public Information Specialist Cheryl Sadgrove 1. Call to order and confirmation of a quorum Chair Dan Barker called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. Planning Director Margaret Hauth confirmed the presence of a quorum. 2. Agenda changes and approval The agenda stood as presented. 3. Minutes review and approval Minutes from the regular meeting on Nov. 15 and joint public hearing on Jan. 17 were considered for approval. Motion: Member Doug Peterson moved to approve both sets of minutes as submitted. Member Jeff Scott seconded. Vote: 6-0 4. Recommendations to Board of Commissioners for January public hearing items: A. Rezoning request from Mark Holt impacting 1.278 acres located at 611 N.C. 86 N. (OC PIN 9865-93-0741). The request is to rezone the property from Residential-10 to Neighborhood Business. Hauth said that Holt was not able to attend the public hearing and was present this evening. This is a general purpose rezoning request, which is not a quasi-judicial process, and the board could decide whether to hear from Holt at this meeting. Hauth also reviewed that there was a request at the public hearing to determine the buffer distance between the neighborhood and this property. She said the buffer is 10 feet because there is not a mandatory width for open space. Several comments were submitted via email and are included in the packet. Unlike in a quasi-judicial process, the Planning Board can hear from the applicant and receive emails about this item. Holt came forward to answer questions from the board. Member Chris Johnston said the biggest problem seems to be between the proposed business and homes that are there. He invited Holt to speak to this. Holt said he doesn’t think his business will affect traffic. He just wants to improve his driveway to make parking available to customers. Member Chris Wehrman joined the board at 7:10 p.m. Page 2 of 6 Holt said eventually he would like to improve the fence along the property line. He noted trees will soon have leaves on them again, providing more privacy. He added that this was his parents’ house and he doesn’t plan to sell it. Member James Czar asked Holt whether he planned to cut hair alone or hire other stylists. Holt said he would start the business at this location with just him and hire two or three other barbers over time. He has an established barber business at another location and wants this location for the better visibility. Barker reminded the board that a barber shop wouldn’t be the only permitted use for this parcel if the rezoning was approved. Hauth confirmed that. Czar said the joint boards heard at the public hearing that a lot of people are concerned about traffic on N.C. 86 North, specifically that customers waiting on the road to turn into the barber shop would create an unsafe condition because there’s a hill in that section of road. Holt said he didn’t think cars turning into his barber shop would be a problem. He noted there is a barber shop on N.C. 57 and he doesn’t think the road conditions are very different. Peterson asked Holt if he has a plan for how the land would change with the business. Where would people park? Holt said he plans to remove a few trees but keep the two trees in the middle. He plans to landscape and improve the driveway so that people can turn around and park. The board looked at the potential parking area on a map of the area. Barker reminded the board that this is a general rezoning request, so all the uses permitted in Neighborhood Business would apply here. Hauth said NCDOT would not require a turn lane for this business. Holt indicated on a map that the parking would not be close to the Willowbend Drive neighborhood. He added that he doesn’t plan to be open very late at night but that he does sometimes work late. He will want to hold an event sometimes, and events may get a little noisy. He wants to bring some excitement to this part of town. It would be the first shop entering Hillsborough and the last exiting it, Holt said. Holt said he may bring a tattoo artist into the business. When asked by the Planning Board, Hauth noted the Orange County noise ordinance would apply to this property. Czar checked on the type of buffer required. Hauth answered that at this point Holt is not proposing any site development, so the existing vegetation suffices unless he puts in more than a few parking spaces. When asked about the option of Holt applying for Neighborhood Business Special Use, Hauth answered she had presented that option to Holt. However, because he has a range of long-term plans and he doesn’t plan to change the house much, it didn’t make sense for him to spend about $10,000 on professional drawings to apply for Neighborhood Business Special Use. When asked about a fence between this property and the Willowbend neighborhood, Holt answered that he hasn’t looked at it in a long time but believes it is a chain-link fence. Barker asked Holt to take a seat. Page 3 of 6 Member Alyse Polly said it sounds like the buffer is a chain-link fence and trees. She asked what options there are to mitigate noise. Hauth answered that you rely on the noise ordinance to address any concerns of the neighbors. Wehrman said N.C. 86 is a state highway. It’s fairly busy for Hillsborough. How frequently does someone request a residential property to become commercial? Hauth said there are only about two dozen houses along this stretch. This is the first property to be requested to change to commercial in about 20 years. This request complements what those who created the Future Land Use Map thought would be appropriate. Johnston said it feels like an island in a residential area. Hauth said Neighborhood Business is often a single business in a neighborhood. Czar said that’s the idea behind it. Hauth said it is meant to cover these small businesses that tend to occur in residential neighborhoods. Czar said this property is a stone’s throw from Vertical Church at N.C. 86 and N.C. 57, which is a short walk away. Thalle Construction is just a little farther north on N.C. 86. He thinks the request is probably consistent with the Future Land Use Map, and he doesn’t think it will generate a high volume of traffic. A barbershop is almost a classic use of the zoning Neighborhood Business Special Use, so he would be inclined to recommend the rezoning. Johnston agreed. Member Jeff Scott said it seems consistent with the Future Land Use Map. A barbershop in a house in that area seems innocuous. Barker reminded the board the question before them is not just a barbershop but any business permitted in Neighborhood Business. Johnston asked if there are any extreme business uses permitted with that zoning. Hauth said restaurant is the most intensive use and is unlikely. Polly said the request seems consistent with the future plans for that area. In terms of types of business uses, she hopes Holt’s business won’t be too loud or open too late at night. She is thinking of headlights shining in neighboring residential windows. Peterson pointed out that although this property borders residential property, the Willowbend Drive neighborhood is accessed from N.C. 57 and this property’s driveway is on N.C. 86. Wehrman agreed with other board members, noting that the requested rezoning aligns with the Future Land Use Map and such a business would generate a fairly low volume of traffic. Motion: Czar moved to recommend to the Board of Commissioners the rezoning of this parcel from Residential-10 to Neighborhood Business. Johnston seconded. A member of the public asked if public comments could be given. Barker answered no, the time to do that was at the public hearing. Vote: 7-0 B. Rezoning request from Dwight M. Riley impacting approximately 0.55 acres at the northeast corner of Eno Street and Barracks Road (OC PIN 9864-34-5247). The request is to rezone the property from Residential- 20 to Residential-10. Page 4 of 6 Hauth reviewed that she had included a map in the agenda packet with property owners’ last names marked on the map, as requested at the public hearing. She said there was a question about traffic counts at the public hearing. A traffic count was conducted on nearby local streets in 2017. That traffic count counted 507 total vehicles between Jones and Collins avenues. Two percent were heavy vehicles. The average house is assumed to generate 10 trips a day. A two-lane road handles significantly more than 500 vehicles a day. She also noted that neighbors may notice the additional traffic even one house creates. Barker asked what other concerns the board has. Scott said the request is in keeping with the Future Land Use Plan. It didn’t seem to him that voiced stormwater concerns had been substantiated. Hauth said she had checked with stormwater staff; no one had contacted them. Johnston said supporting the request made sense. Wehrman agreed. Peterson said he would like to abstain from this vote. It was acknowledged that Peterson needed to be excused from voting on this item with a formal vote. Motion: Czar moved to excuse Peterson. Johnston seconded. Vote: 6-0 Scott and Polly said they think the rezoning request is reasonable. Motion: Czar moved to recommend to the Board of Commissioners the rezoning of this lot from Residential-20 to Residential-10. Scott seconded. Vote: 6-0 C. Special Use Permit request from DVM Sisters Realty LLC to construct a veterinary animal hospital (Healing Paws Veterinary Hospital) at 540 Hampton Pointe Blvd., a vacant lot located in the northwest corner of the roundabout on Hampton Pointe Boulevard (OC PIN 9873-59-4688). Hauth noted the applicant had withdrawn Waiver 8, regarding the placement of the sign. She invited the applicant to update the board on modifications to the plan. Graham Smith, the site designer, addressed the board. He said there were two modifications. The first was the removal of Waiver 8 because the applicant has agreed the sign can be placed where the ordinance specifies it needs to be placed. The second modification is a reduction in some landscaping. The proposal had included some double screening with street trees and shrubs and additional shrubs off the parking lot. Some of the shrubs at the street and from around the fence enclosure have been removed from the plan. The plan still includes screening the dumpster enclosure with a masonry wall and plants. None of the plantings being removed was required by the ordinance. The board expressed no concerns with the modifications or the application. Motion: Johnston moved to recommend that the Board of Commissioners approve the Special Use Permit request and requested waivers 1-7 and 9 (noting Waiver 8 had been removed). Peterson seconded. Vote: 7-0 Page 5 of 6 D. Section 5.1.6 to modify how attached dwellings and mobile home parks are permitted in certain residential districts Hauth said this text amendment is to correct an inconsistency in that “mobile home park” is listed in the permitted use table but is not allowed anywhere. It seems reasonable that “mobile home park” should be allowed in the Mobile Home Park District. Also, attached dwellings should be allowed on land designated for multi-family use without the extra requirement of a Conditional Use Permit or Special Use Permit. The board had no questions or concerns. Motion: Wehrman moved to recommend approval by the Board of Commissioners. Polly seconded. Vote: 7-0 E. Section 6.13.10 to modify the requirements for off-street loading Hauth said she did a little more research. She pulled ordinances from Durham, Raleigh and Morrisville. Raleigh leaves it up to staff to determine whether there should be an off-street loading space. Morrisville has a much more elaborate ordinance with numbers of spaces and separates truck sizes. Durham addresses loading for small trucks and not tractor trailers. Hauth said this is not ready for a vote. She would like to better identify the problem an ordinance would be solving. She thinks the original question was generated by whether the Colonial Inn was required to provide a loading zone. Hauth said she doesn’t think the town can require parcels to have off-street loading in the Central Commercial District. A shopping center would have a shared arrangement. Hauth would like to leave this section as written for now because it has sizes and basic requirements. Czar has a problem with the large dock required in 6.13.10.3. 5. Discussion A. Range of text amendments staff intends to bring forward for discussion in March: 1. Criteria for using bonds to allow sites to occupy before full completion There was no discussion. 2. Sign issues — check-in on changeable message signs and sandwich board signs Hauth asked for feedback on whether the board wanted to slightly change the language for sandwich board signs or say the signs are no longer allowed. Polly said she feels like this board has talked about sandwich boards plenty. Hauth noted she wasn’t hearing strong feelings from the board. Hauth said restaurants have been prohibited from having changeable message boards and it came to staff’s attention that the signs are not prohibited at car washes. The board wants to talk more about this at a future meeting. 3. Lighting Hauth said she is close to drafting a model lighting ordinance. 4. Housekeeping There are five applications for the April public hearing. This is Czar’s last meeting, but he is welcome to attend in March because his seat has not been filled. Page 6 of 6 6. Updates There were no updates. 7. Adjournment Motion: Polly moved to adjourn at 8:34 p.m. There was no second. Vote: Unanimous Respectfully submitted, Margaret A. Hauth Secretary