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HomeMy Public PortalAbout12-17-2015 Minutes PB Regular meetingPlanning Board Minutes December 17, 2015 Page 1 of 3 MINUTES PLANNING BOARD Thursday, December 17, 2015 7:00 PM, Town Barn PRESENT: Rick Brewer, Christy Raulli, Janie Morris, Chris Wehrman, Erin Eckert STAFF: Planning Director Margaret Hauth, Town Attorney Bob Hornik ITEM #1: Call to order and confirmation of a quorum Chair Eckert called the meeting to order. Ms. Hauth confirmed the presence of a quorum, given current vacancies. ITEM #2: Consideration of additions or changes to the agenda Ms. Hauth noted that she had sent the board an additional item 6 the day after board members received their packets. ITEM #3: Approval of minutes from November hearing/meeting. MOTION: Mr. Brewer moved to approve the minutes as submitted. Ms. Morris seconded. VOTE: Unanimous ITEM #4: Interview of 3 volunteers for current vacancies – one in town and one out of town. Ms. Hauth noted there will be two in-town vacancies and one ETJ vacancy. There are three volunteers. She noted that out of town member John Bemis has come to the end of his second term and cannot be reappointed. She noted the in-town vacancies are due to Keith Jordan passing away and Christy Raulli indicating her schedule will not allow her to seek reappointment. Jennifer Sykes said she previously lived in Becketts Ridge, moved away for a few years, and now lives in West Hillsborough. She is interested in economic development, how can we establish residential areas and incorporate more businesses. She is also interested in keeping Hillsborough vibrant for younger adults. Dan Barker, a former member of this board, said he has lived in Hillsborough 14 years and has served on several boards. He worked on the Unified Development Ordinance and desires to serve again. Lisa Frazier lives in the ETJ. She has lived here since 1992 and she is interested in being a part of something that benefits many people. MOTION: Chair Eckert moved to recommend to the Town Board (Sykes for Jordan, Barker for Raulli) and County Board (Frazier) that the three candidates be appointed to the Planning Board. Ms. Morris seconded. VOTE: Unanimous ITEM #5: Draft text amendments for consideration for the January Public Hearing: a) Definition of self-storage – include exterior unit doors to allow for internally accessed storage to go under generic storage Ms. Hauth reviewed that there are a number of commercial buildings around town that Planning Board Minutes December 17, 2015 Page 2 of 3 have been rented for storage for business goods. An owner of a warehouse came in and wanted to divide up his fairly large warehouse space. It would not have individual outside accesses. She asked if the members would be interested in working on the definition of self-storage. Ms. Hauth is not recommending that self-storage be a permitted use in the General Commercial district, but perhaps general purpose storage could be acceptable. There was discussion about this item. There was the general idea that self-storage generates more traffic and acknowledgement that there’s a trend toward self-storage being accessed internally. The attempt is to get at the visual impact and traffic impact of exterior doors. There was agreement to clarify the language on what constitutes self verses indoor storage, but the bigger change would be allowing the internal storage use in the General Commercial District where it is not currently allowed. There was interest in attaching acreage to the definitions. The self-storage would still not be allowed in the GC District but the indoor storage warehousing would be. The existing stock of GC properties is probably not attractive to someone looking to create a self-storage business because of lack of acreage, Ms. Hauth said. There’s only one site already developed that is 2 acres or bigger. MOTION: Ms. Raulli moved to send the text amendments to public hearing. Mr. Brewer seconded. VOTE: Unanimous b) Definition – government maintenance yard – new use; reduce setback LI next to EDD Ms. Hauth reviewed that the prison camp and DOT yard were placed in this Economic Development District. This was done in case the state one day sold those properties. But in the meantime, it is difficult to allow the state to expand on those properties while they are zoned in the EDD. She has encouraged the DOT yard to request rezoning to Light Industrial Use. She suggested putting in the ordinance a government maintenance yard as a defined use. There are four in town: DOT yard, Town Operations Center on Dimmocks Mill Road, Town Fleet Facility on NC 86N, County Public Works Facility on NC 86N. Ms. Hauth added that the other part of the discussion is deciding on the setback between Light Industrial and EDD because the prison camp will likely remain in the EDD. It was acknowledged that the County is moving forward with moving the jail out of downtown and co-locating on the prison property. There was agreement that a 20-foot setback for LI adjoining EDD suffices. There were a couple of small wording suggestions noted by Ms. Hauth. MOTION: Mr. Brewer moved to send this to public hearing with the modified language. Ms. Raulli seconded. VOTE: Unanimous ITEM #6: Preliminary discussion about development code amendments to facilitate additional residential density in existing neighborhoods. Ms. Hauth reviewed that the Town Board is interested in loosening the reigns on density throughout town, making it easier for accessory units to be constructed, under the assumption that accessory units would be for rent and would add to the affordability of all neighborhoods throughout town. Right now, Hillsborough allows the creation of efficiency apartments within houses. There are fewer than two dozen throughout town. If the lot is twice the minimum size, it’s permissible to have a second freestanding dwelling unit. A few people have taken advantage of that. A few more have created a guest house without a kitchen. Recently, Chapel Hill voted to permit freestanding structures and units over Planning Board Minutes December 17, 2015 Page 3 of 3 garages provided there is parking (and a few other regulations). She cautioned this, in its extreme, could double the intensity of a town. Ms. Hauth asked what information the planning board wants from her to help understand or craft some language that would permit efficiency units. There was discussion about possible setbacks and how topography affects the feel of building a residential unit behind a house. There was acknowledgement that HOAs would prohibit such additional development within an HOA-governed neighborhood. It was acknowledged that setbacks and parking would be issues that would need to be addressed. Ms. Hauth said she’d advise keeping secondary dwellings to where there is access to public water and sewer. ITEM #7: Adjourn MOTION: Mr. Brewer moved to adjourn at 8:25 p.m. Ms. Morris seconded. VOTE: Unanimous Respectfully submitted, Margaret A. Hauth Secretary