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HomeMy Public PortalAbout03-17-2022 Minutes PB Regular Meeting 101 E. Orange St., PO Box 429, Hillsborough, NC 27278 919-732-1270 | www.hillsboroughnc.gov | @HillsboroughGov PLANNING BOARD MINUTES | 1 of 6 Minutes PLANNING BOARD Remote regular meeting 6:30 p.m. March 17, 2022 Virtual meeting via YouTubeLive Town of Hillsborough YouTube channel Present: Chair Chris Johnston, Vice Chair Frank Casadonte, Cassandra Chandler, Alyse Polly, Saru Salvi, Jeff Scott and Scott Taylor Absent: Christopher Austin and Hooper Schultz Staff: Planning and Economic Development Manager Shannan Campbell and Town Attorney Bob Hornik 1. Call to order and confirmation of quorum Chair Chris Johnston called the meeting to order at 6:32 p.m. Planning and Economic Development Manager Shannan Campbell confirmed the presence of a quorum. Members Christopher Austin, Alyse Polly, Saru Salvi and Hooper Schultz were absent. Polly and Salvi arrived later in the meeting. 2. Agenda changes and approval Campbell added one agenda item, a presentation on the Hillsborough Comprehensive Sustainability Plan by the town’s consultant. Campbell proposed adding the new item as Item 4A, moving the item on planned development districts to Item 4B and the item on code enforcement to Item 4C. Motion: Member Cassandra Chandler moved to approve the agenda as proposed. Member Scott Taylor seconded. Campbell called the roll for voting. Vote: 5-0. Ayes: Members Frank Casadonte, Chandler, Johnston, Jeff Scott and Taylor. Nays: None. 3. Minutes review and approval Minutes from regular meeting on Feb. 17, 2022. Motion: Casadonte moved to approve the Feb. 17, 2022, minutes as presented. Scott seconded. Campbell called the roll for voting. Chandler and Johnston abstained from voting because they were absent from the Feb. 17, 2022, meeting. Vote: 3-0. Ayes: Casadonte, Scott and Taylor. Nays: None. Abstentions: Chandler and Johnston. 4. Discussion A. Presentation and Discussion – Hillsborough Comprehensive Sustainability Plan Johnston introduced Item 4A. PLANNING BOARD MINUTES | 2 of 6 Polly arrived at 6:37 p.m. Candice Andre of VHB Inc. introduced herself. Andre said she is leading the VHB Inc. consultant team for the Hillsborough Comprehensive Sustainability Plan. Andre displayed a slide show presentation. She gave a presentation on the Hillsborough Comprehensive Sustainability Plan and updated the board members on progress to date. Salvi arrived at 6:42 p.m. After the presentation, Andre and the board members discussed what the town does well regarding land use and housing; challenges regarding land use and housing; how the town could plan for a sustainable future through land use; and how the town could better serve underrepresented communities and involve them in the decision-making process. The board expressed concerns over growth and building height increases. B. Unified Development Ordinance: Text amendments – Planned Development Districts Johnston introduced Item 4B. Campbell summarized the staff report. She noted that at the Feb. 17, 2022, meeting the board members discussed creating three different conditional zoning districts, one each for infill development, mixed residential development and mixed-use development. Campbell said staff discussed the idea further and now recommend creating one conditional zoning district with three size-based tiers and requirements. She said infill development would always involve smaller projects requiring more details, while mixed residential and mixed-use developments likely would be larger projects. Campbell displayed her screen and outlined the conditional zoning district’s proposed tiers. She clarified a conditional zoning district would be set up as a planned development district. Campbell said staff proposes requiring a site plan with more detail for smaller projects between 1 and 5 acres in size; requiring a concept- level plan for medium projects between 6 and 25 acres; and requiring a bubble map plan with fewer details for large projects of 26 acres or more. She explained more detail would be required for smaller projects because site plans cost less for smaller projects and smaller projects are more likely to be infill with neighbors on all sides. Less detail would be required for large projects to mitigate the costs of planning and engineering a large project involving rezoning applications that the town ultimately might reject and/or where market conditions may change throughout the life of the project. Waterstone was given as a large development example. Campbell briefly described how the planned development district could work. She said developers would submit a plan and a development agreement. The development agreement would act as a miniature Unified Development Ordinance for the project. Developers for all sizes of projects could request design flexibility regarding density, lot dimensional requirements, maximum building height, setbacks, tree protection, lighting, signage, parking, loading and circulation. She said the requests would be negotiated with the Town Board and Planning Board at a joint public hearing as part of the rezoning process. Campbell described the negotiation process as a give-and-take interaction, with commissioners and board members able to request plan changes. She said each development agreement would be project-specific. Campbell said other ordinance sections would not be negotiable, including stormwater management requirements; street, sidewalk and walkway requirements; and recreational area requirements. She said those sections represent basic standards needed for developments to function. Similarly, buffers and PLANNING BOARD MINUTES | 3 of 6 landscaping requirements would not be flexible. She said the town has identified these as ‘non-negotiable’ development features on many occasions. When asked, Campbell confirmed the flexibility given to developers would not be variances but would be conditions of the rezoning approval. Salvi expressed concern about allowing flexibility for zoning, density restrictions and height restrictions. She worried about the town bowing to developer pressure and approving 6- or 7-story buildings. Campbell said any rezoning would have to be approved for the developer to receive any flexibility through the proposed process. She said the town board members could tell a developer to scale back a project’s density and height as a condition of approval. Chandler agreed with Salvi and expressed dismay that the town recently has approved changes allowing more density and less tree preservation. Chandler asked what the Planning Board’s purpose is and said it felt like changes happen regardless of the board members’ opinions. Campbell said the Planning Board is an advisory board and the members’ roles are to let the town board know their thoughts and opinions. Campbell said the Planning Board is part of the town’s democratic process, with each member having a vote. She said if the majority of decision makers agree with a developer’s proposal, the project is approved and if a majority of the Planning board’s members agree then a proposed amendment moves forward. Scott noted he has been on the Planning Board for four years and feels that the board’s work is very important. He said there are many projects and changes around town that the Planning Board has positively impacted. Scott said the board members have asked developers challenging questions and negotiated with them instead of simply giving developers what they wanted. Johnston agreed with Scott. He sympathized with Chandler’s frustration and added that the board members must balance conflicting values and ideas, such as developing affordable housing versus maintaining the feeling of a small town. Campbell said that the Planning Board members might not want to allow developers to ask for flexibility regarding building height. Alternately, she said the board members might allow height flexibility in one location but not another based on the location or might allow for more height in exchange for more landscaping. Campbell said each project would include negotiation. Polly noted conditional zoning would be a new process for the town board and Planning Board. She asked if any nearby town has a similar process the board members could observe. Campbell said the Town of Apex has a similar process. She agreed to reach out to Apex town staff regarding upcoming projects and meetings. Campbell said the process would be similar to Hillsborough’s current rezoning process. She noted the Planning Board will hear at least one rezoning request at the April 21, 2022, joint public hearing. Campbell described the process, saying first there would be a joint public hearing, then the Planning Board would make a recommendation to the town board and finally the town board would vote on the rezoning. She said the conditional rezoning process may require more meetings in order to work out all of the conditions. PLANNING BOARD MINUTES | 4 of 6 When asked, Campbell clarified the conditional zoning process is different from the general use zoning process to which the Planning Board members are accustomed. While general use rezoning allows any use that the ordinance allows by right, Campbell said the conditional zoning process would be more involved and would restrict the allowed uses. Polly noted there would be many factors to consider and points to negotiate. She said she would like to see an example to get an idea of the level of conversation the board members might have with a developer. She noted larger projects could extend into multiple public hearings depending on the number of developer requests and amount of public feedback. Johnston asked if other board members had comments or concerns. None was raised. Johnston asked if the board members would like to see more information or examples before sending this item to the public hearing. Chandler and Salvi said they would like to see more examples and have more discussion before sending this item to a public hearing. Polly agreed more discussion would be helpful and noted the public hearing could bring more feedback and discussion. Johnston agreed and clarified that voting to send this item to public hearing would not be a vote in favor of approving the new process. Johnston agreed more information and examples would be helpful. Casadonte said he thinks the proposed conditional zoning process is a good approach. He said he is comfortable discussing this item further if some board members are uncertain. Campbell agreed she would reach out to the Town of Apex to gather some examples. She said Apex has what seems like a straightforward approach that developers and their board members understand. Campbell said the process should be easy to understand and collaborative. She said she would email examples and information to the board members before the next regular meeting in May. When asked, the board members indicated their agreement. C. Unified Development Ordinance: Text amendments – Section 8: Code Enforcement Chris introduced Item 4C. Campbell summarized the staff report. She said the town is having some code enforcement issues and the current ordinance needs stronger language that is legally defensible in court. Campbell said staff identified strengths and weaknesses in the current language and have recommended the updates included in the agenda packet. She said the town generally wants to work with people to correct violations but having stronger language is still important. Campbell said staff added a tiered system of civil penalties for repeat violations and removed criminal penalties. When asked, Campbell said fines for penalties increase the longer they remain unpaid. She clarified those in violation have 30 days to tell staff they are working to fix the problem. When asked, Campbell said staff sees both individual violations and businesses violations. Casadonte agreed with the proposed changes and said they have been needed for a long time. When asked, Campbell said the Planning Division is fully staffed and ready to enforce the unified development ordinance. She indicated that as the town grows there may be a need for a part-time or full-time code PLANNING BOARD MINUTES | 5 of 6 enforcement officer. She said the town attorney is ready to litigate on-going code enforcement issues where property owners do not correct violations, if needed. When asked, Campbell listed the most common violations, including properties in disrepair; trash and debris in yards; Historic District property owners making changes without a Certificate of Appropriateness; businesses with full or deteriorating trash enclosures; businesses conducting uses not permitted in their zoning districts; and people or businesses generally not wanting to correct violations. There were no other questions or concerns about this item. Motion: Casadonte moved to send the proposed text amendment to the April 21, 2022, joint public hearing for discussion. Polly seconded. Campbell called the roll for voting. Vote: 6-0. Ayes: Members Casadonte, Chandler, Johnston, Salvi, Scott and Taylor. Nays: None. 5. Elect Board Chair Johnston introduced Item 5. When asked, Campbell clarified the nomination process. Johnston invited nominations for Planning Board chair. He said he would be happy to continue serving as chair or for another board member to be chair. Motion: Casadonte moved to nominate Johnston as Planning Board chair. Chandler seconded. Johnston accepted the nomination. He asked for any additional nominations. Polly suggested Schultz but noted he was absent and not able to consent to being put in that role. Chandler left the meeting at 8:21 p.m., noting she supported Johnston continuing as board chair. The board members discussed delaying electing a board chair until a later meeting to include Schultz. Salvi suggested moving forward to reelect Johnston tonight. Campbell called the roll for voting. Vote: 7-0. Ayes: Casadonte, Chandler, Johnston, Polly, Salvi, Scott and Taylor. Nays: None. 6. Reappointment – Scott Taylor Johnston introduced Item 6. When asked, Taylor confirmed he would like to be reappointed for another term on the Planning Board. Motion: Polly moved to reappoint Taylor to the Planning Board. Casadonte seconded. Campbell called the roll for voting. Vote: 7-0. Ayes: Casadonte, Chandler, Johnston, Polly, Salvi, Scott and Taylor. Nays: None. 7. Updates A. Board of Adjustment – Hooper Schultz PLANNING BOARD MINUTES | 6 of 6 Johnston introduced Item 7A and noted Schultz was absent. Campbell confirmed the Board of Adjustment did not meet in March and there were no updates that she knew of. B. Park and Recreation Board – Alyse Polly Johnston introduced Item 7B. Polly gave a brief update on the Parks and Recreation Board’s discussions about the Hillsborough Comprehensive Sustainability Plan. Polly noted the Park and Recreation Board’s conversation included the challenge of balancing sustainable parks with the town’s risk and liability. After Item 7C, Polly updated the board members on efforts to extend Eno River State Park into Hillsborough near the Riverwalk. She added that artist Jonathan Brilliant would be building an arch in River Park during upcoming weeks and said the next Occaneechi Village build day is March 26 at 9 a.m. C. Staff Johnston introduced Item 7C. Campbell gave several updates. She said the Town of Hillsborough, Orange County, Mebane and the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization are planning a multi-modal study of how to improve the U.S. 70 corridor. Campbell updated the board members on two potential annexation interest requests, the Terry Parcel off N.C. 86 adjacent to the townhomes at Waterstone and the Moren Tract on Cates Creek Parkway. When asked, Campbell said she anticipates town boards resuming in-person meetings in April or May. She said she would inform the board members as she learned more information. 8. Adjournment Casadonte adjourned the meeting at 8:36 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Shannan Campbell Planning and Economic Development Manager Staff support to the Planning Board Approved: April 21, 2022