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HomeMy Public PortalAbout1984_04_23SPEC MINUTES OF SPECIAL MEETING OF LEESBURG TOWN COUNCIL RE STREET RENUMBERING PLAN, 86 APRIL 23, 1984. A special meeting of the Leesburg Town Council was held in the Council Chambers, 10 West Loudoun Street, Leesburg, Virginia on April 23, 1984 at 7:30 p.m. , pursuant to notice of said meeting having been sent to all Council mem- bers. Present were: Mayor Robert E. Sevila, Councilmembers Charles A. Bos, Edgar L. Coffey, Jr. , Reginald K. Gheen, John W. Tolbert, Jr. and Howard M. Willis, Jr. ; also Town Manager John Niccolls and Town Attorney George M. Martin. Absent from the meeting was Councilmember Marylou Hill. Mayor Sevila explained that the purpose of this meeting is to consider com- ments made by many residents concerning the street renumbering plan at the council workshop session on April 18. This matter was referred to the May 2nd workshop, but that would be after elections and it was felt these people should be advised of councilmembers ' positions prior to that time. Many people felt Council in- tends to take this entire matter under reconsideration, however, the renumbering plan, as adopted on May 25, 1983 is in effect unless this council sees fit to change it, rescind it, revoke it or anything it wants to do. It is felt that the citizens should know now what is going to be done. Therefore, Mr. Pelkey, a resi- dent of the annexation area, and the radio station and newspaper were notified, as well as those who spoke at the workshop (those he could reach in some manner) . This meeting is being held as a courtesy to those interested persons and to the entire town. All members of council present indicated that they have received a copy of the staff report and have had ample time to review it. It is noted here that council chambers was full to capacity, with standing room only. Mr. Bos said this ordinance is in effect now. One of the questions was Is there or was there a need? There was and is a need and will continue to be in the future for a uniform renumbering plan, not only from the standpoint of rescue services, but because of the general consistency of old and new develop- ment. As the town grows, this will be a bigger reason. Another question con- cerned the publicity and notification of Country Club residents - he felt they ` "goofed" on this. There were a number of minor issues, but he did not elaborate . on those at this time. We have a new plan - it is not perfect, but it is a lot better than the one we had and he feels it really will help save lives. Mem- bers of the Town Plan Task Force have been working for over a year on the Com- prehensive Plan and a lot of time has been spent on trying to be sympathetic to the Country Club area. Hundreds of developers want to build thousands of homes out there and they (the Task Force) want this area developed so that the residents of Country Club will want to continue to live there. He suggested that Council not repeal this plan. He appreciated the comments, phone calls and. their patience. Mr. Gheen agreed with Mr. Bos - they let this matter "fall through the crack." He regretted this and that they didn't hold a public information meeting. The present system was put in place in 1961 - blocks were not considered in the plan and the system was voluntary. He lived at the same address in downtown Leesburg for over 12 years and his address was changed three''times during those years, so this is not new. A uniform plan was prepared and a public hearing held in January of 1981 - the Council voted against that plan by 4 to 3, so it failed. The revised plan was presented in March of 1983, was presented for public hearing and unanimously adopted by the Council on May 25, 1983. Its requirements are ef- fective July 1, 1984. The need for such a plan was evident, with the event of an- nexation and increasing growth and new development, that a rational system. for uniformly numbering properties must be addressed. Under this plan, infill proj- ects can be anticipated and numbers reserved in a sensible order. The quadrant assignments are an added factor for identifying property locations. The need for this plan exists today and it will be very important as development occurs. This decision was in the best interest of Leesburg in the long run. Council must do what it believes is necessary for the continued welfare of the commu- nity as a whole, even though some of these decisions might not be popular at the moment. This is a responsibility that cannot be shirked or evaded. Mr. Willis echoed a lot of the comments already made and added that it is not the present members of the Fire Company that have a problem - it is those who will be new members who are not from and do not know Leesburg. There has already been one loss of lice due to the system as it is now. If they save one life or one house from burning, or one robbery or rape by putting this plan in effect, it justifies all the inconvenience and expense that goes into it. 1 ' MINUTES OF SPECIAL MEETING OF APRIL 23, 1984. o Mr. Coffey said he has looked over his notes on this subject to see if O there is something he missed and, although there is indication that this was not the most popular thing to do, the problem existed and something needed to be done about it. He cited his own personal experience when he had a lawn ' mower accident in 1981 - he could hear the sirens blow and the Rescue Squad coming toward him - that was a good feeling. Prior to last Wednesday night, he had many phone calls urging him not to do this but, since that time, he has had calls to go along with it. He feels it is the thing to do - the situ- ation will get worse rather than better as the town grows. had Mr. Tolbert said he has/three different house numbers over the years. This matter came up in 1980 and he voted against it - the vote was 4 to 3. It resur- faced in 1981 and he voted for it - he felt it was needed. Sink or swim, he is not going to change his vote. He was threatened once before for not voting for Storer Cable and he is not going to back up now for re-election. Mr. Sevila advised that Mrs. Hill has signed the notice of this meeting, indicating that she has received reasonable notice of the same. She has asked that everyone be informed that she is willing to stand by the decision she made in May of 1983 in support of the renumbering plan. 1 Mayor Sevila said he received petitions today from residents of Brandon I and Carrvale - they are similar in wording and these homeowners are going on N record as opposed to this renumbering. N He went on to say that this has been very difficult for him to cope with W during the last several days - he wants to look objectively at everything that CO was said last week and weigh it along with everything that was said at the pub- o lic hearing and by those he has talked with on the street during this election campaign. He is interested in everybody's views on it, as well as what the op- position candidates have said about it - he is disappointed that it could become a political issue. He has lived through a house renumbering before when he was a councilmember in Herndon and knew the consequences, but they did it in good faith there and it is being done in that spirit here. It is causing the same inconvenience to councilmembers as well, but they undertook it voluntarily be- cause they felt it is in the town's best interest - they were convinced that .0 it will promote the health, safety and welfare of the entire community. It will take no more than 15 to 20 minutes longer to do their bills next month and a few minutes to tack up new numbers on their houses. It is an inconvenience that we will all mutually suffer, but Council voted a year ago to do this with their eyes open and knowing that there will be an election on May 1st. He hoped these peo- ple will not take an adverse attitude when Fire and Rescue people come knocking on their doors for contributions soon - these people have been fighting to get these numbers changed so they can better serve the residents of Leesburg - remem- ber, they are all volunteers . Council is announcing its action tonight and that action is that it does not intend to change. There were some complaints last week that Country Club was not a part of the town when this was passed a year ago. He was concerned as to whether this created a legal problem, so he has conferred with Mr. Martin and Mr. Jolly (who represented the town in annexation proceedings) and he is convinced there is no legal impediment. He apologized that notification was not given in his letter in January. Each and every member of this council has demonstrated their courage and their ability to address a tough issue - one which may have political consequences, but he hopes each and every one who votes next week will realize the real work that is done by this council. They deal with matters every week that threaten to change the way of life in this com- munity - transportation, density, development and subdivision - matters which have lifetime consequences. He hoped they will all bear in mind some of the major decisions this council has dealt with in a diligent and affirmative way. On motion of Mr. Coffey, duly seconded, the meeting was adjourned at 9:10 p.m. z z- : -7// / Mayor /1 Clerk of l Council