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HomeMy Public PortalAbout10.4.1990 Agenda & Minutes Planning BoardITEM #1: ITEM #2: ITEM #3: ITEM #4: ITEM #4A: ITEM #4B: 4G: ITEM #5: ,/ITEM #5A: VITEM #5B: ITEM #5C: ITEM #6: 41. to d 101 E. Orange Street 0 own of .J�tllahvroug4 P.O. Box 429 (919) 732-2104 HILLSBOROUGH, NORTH CAROLINA AGENDA PLANNING BOARD ,. October 4, 1990 6:30 PM Consideration of additions to the agenda. *Approval of the minutes of the September 6, 1990 meeting. Comments from the Chair. Decisions to bring following items to Public Hearing: p Rezoning of the William France property at the northeast and northwest corners of Hwy 70A and E. Brady Rd. To rezone the property from OI to GI - approx. 25 acres. ` (attachemnts) (part of 37.C.11) o Revision of the planting details. (attachments) a 6aVes- `t Q i41crs ;4 sC'{ b&ck Information on items on the Public Hearing agenda: Definition of outside storage. Treatment (and possible removal of) existing outside storage. Removal of the Davis Rd. from the Thoroughfare Plan. Prioritization and evaluation of future planning studies. Z"n4.or passible retov+:Hf 4;%- Members avMembers will be called on Wed. or Thurs. to ensure there is a quorum. If you prefer,,you may call Janet or Joff at 732-2104. i a11 Vvw MINUTES PLANNING BOARD OCTOBER 4, 1990 MEMBERS William Crowther (Chair), Sam Jones (Vice -Chair), Richard Simpson, PRESENT: Wayne Tilley, Margaret Moore, Leif Deetjen, Wendy Olson (Alternate) MEMBERS Cheshire Cole, Ida Louise Evans, Kenneth Cravious, Stephen Jones, ABSENT: Jim Culbreth (Alternate) OTHERS Wesley Hyatt, Michael Vaughn, Janet Rigsbee, Joff Coe PRESENT: Crowther called the meeting to order at 6:45 PM. ITEM #1: Rigsbee asked to add Item #4C, Eaves and Gutters in Setbacks, and Deetjen asked to add Item #7, Information on Building Codes for Owner/Builders to the agenda and the members agreed. ITEM #3: Crowther had no comments. As a quorum was not yet present, the members agreed to delay items requiring a vote until later in the meeting. ITEM #5: Rigsbee reminded the members of the October 23rd, 1990 Public Hearing. ITEM #5A Rigsbee presented background information on the outside storage problem and said the Town Board wanted to clean up tires and other outside storage that is visually unattractive. She reviewed a letter (file) from the Town Attorney which defined three types of outside storage and suggested possible Ordinance Amendments. Deetjen asked if people would have to then build buildings to be in compliance. Rigsbee said according to the letter only certain types of outside storage would be permitted and noted the Town Board was sponsoring this item in concept. Simpson asked if this would only apply in the downtown area and Rigsbee said no, it would apply to the entire town. Deetjen suggested the Board could make a recommendation for a stockade or other enclosure to screen outside storage. Jones arrives. Rigsbee said one problem is the storage may not be safe giving examples of standing water breeding mosquitos and causing problems with vermin. Simpson said he didn't think all outside storage was the same and some things were OK but others were not safe. Rigsbee said another consideration was what kind of building to storage ratio would be acceptable. Simpson suggested that scrap storage could be defined separately. Deetjen said the proposed Amendments could put a heavy strain on a small business. He noted there was often a constant turnover of items stored outside. Rigsbee said one possiblity was to establish a quota based on square footage or amount of storage. Olson pointed out mosquitos can generate in only two weeks so a PLANNING BOARD OCTOBER 4, 1990 PAGE 2 turnover requirement would not help. She said if its a health issue, outside storage that could hold water should have a cover and if its an aesthetic issue, then some type of screening should be required. She said if both issues were a concern then the storage should be inside. She also expressed concern as to how the ordinance would be enforced. Crowther suggested the Amendment could be added to the junk car Ordinance addressing such items as auto parts. Rigsbee said the Ordinance now coverd scrap automotive materials but noted tires were not the same. ITEM #5B: Crowther suggested sending the proposed Amendments to Public Hearing and then decide on a recommendation after public input had been received. Deetjen asked if the tire companies would be notified and Rigsbee said everyone with outside storage should be notified. Jones pointed out air conditioning sales businesses stockpiled old units in order to have parts available. Rigsbee read section 3 from the letter concerning definitions. Moore arrives. ITEM #2: Jones moved to approved the minutes of the September 6, 1990 meeting as written. Moore seconded the motion. VOTE: Unanimous. ITEM #4: Crowther said a decision was needed on Items #4A, #4B and #4C to bring them to Public Hearing. ITEM #4A The Rezoning of approximately 25 acres of the William France property at the northeast and northwest corners of HWY 70A and Elizabeth Brady Road from OI (Office Institutional) to GI (General Industrial) was presented by Rigsbee. She indicated the area on the map and reviewed the history of the parcel. Crowther asked if the adjoining property owners to the east would be notified and Rigsbee said yes, noting notifications would be made according to the ordinance. She pointed out an easement had been granted for a pump station and a sewer line to the New Hope Elementary School. Olson said the Rezoning should go to Public Hearing so the residents could have their say. Tilley moved to recommend the Rezoning be sent to Public Hearing. Deetjen seconded the motion. VOTE: Unanimous. ITEM #4B: The Revision of Planting Details was presented by Rigsbee. She pointed out the current Ordinance details were not exactly clear and the revisions had been suggested by a landscaper. Simpson said landscapers were supporting items like this so they PLANNING BOARD OCTOBER 4, 1990 PAGE 3 could make more money. Olson said planting were now being made in a jack leg fashion and they were dying as a result. Simpson said the Ordinance should avoid telling people how they had to plant trees. Simpson also said it would be difficult to enforce. Deetjen asked if the issue was just to substitute the new drawing and Crowther said yes. Jones said he felt the drawing was very technical and specific and could raise the cost of plantings. Rigsbee pointed out the drawing was only for non-residential construction. Olson added the standards had to be established so contractors could bid consisitently on projects. Deetjen said he favored the new drawing, saying the requirements were made clearer. Deetjen moved to recommend to send the new Planting Details to Public Hearing. Moore seconded the motion. VOTE: 6 - 1 with Simpson voting no. ITEM #4C Rigsbee asked if the Board would be interested in sponsoring a Text Amendment excluding eaves and gutters from the setback requirements. She reviewed the existing Ordinance requirements and said the exclusion of eaves and gutters was especially applicable if the house was already in the setback. Vaughn said the exclusion would allow more leeway for builders and homeowners. Crowther asked how many homes were in the setback now and Rigsbee said about 30 percent. Olson said one intent of the Ordinance was that light not be excluded from adjoining properties. She said she didn't see anything wrong with it if it did not increase the shading of neighboring lots and Crowther agreed. Tilley asked if eaves were defined in the Ordinance and Rigsbee said they were not. Olson said it was possible someone could make some very large eaves. Tilley agreed, saying there shouldn't be a loophole to allow this and he said would agree with the Amendment if limitations were put on the size of the eaves. Crowther suggested the eaves not exceed 24". Deetjen said the Amendment should prevent two houses from having adjoining gutters. Olson said it would be better to establish a performance standard and not to make design decisions. Simpson moved to to recommend sending the exclusion of eaves and gutters from setback requirements to Public Hearing. Deetjen seconded the motion. VOTE: Unanimous. ITEM #5C: Rigsbee said the Town Board had asked to remove Davis Road from the Thoroughfare Plan and the item would need to be brought to Public Hearing. She indicated the area on the Thoroughfare map. PLANNING BOARD OCTOBER 4, 1990 PAGE 4 Olson said one reason the Transportation Advisory Subcommittee voted against the Thoroughfare Plan was because of Davis Road. She said the problem was it was so far out of town and the Oakdale Drive connector was more important. She said the Board should be thinking about the future, but Davis Road may be too far out for consideration at this time. ITEM #6: Rigsbee began the discussion by reviewing the list of items compiled at the September 6, 1990 meeting (agenda). Olson said she had received a lot of letters concerning the issue of Multi -Family zoning. Tilley asked if this was a Board of Adjustment problem and Olson said no because the Planning Board handled rezonings. She said she would like to know if there are legal guidelines that needed to be followed in such cases. Simpson said when people invested in property they shouldn't be hindered or controlled, citing an example in Durham where the city had to pay for not allowing a property to develop. He added that the maintenance of a property should be controlled. Olson said if that was the case, then the Board should be involved with the policy issues of the Town. Crowther then suggested including Multi -Family Zoning on the list and the members agreed. Olson suggested water management issues should be included and Crowther said the various transporatation issues could be grouped together. Deetjen said several items could be grouped under simplification of procedures. Crowther asked if there was a concensus that the #1 priority was the water issue, #2 was transportation issues including improvements to the Tulip Tree Drive, McAdams Road and Turner Heights area, and #3 was the Zoning Ordinance, Permitted Uses and other considerations including Stormwater runoff and the members agreed. Olson suggested creating special districts for General Industrial and General Commercial Zones such as a combined usage district so everything was not lumped into the General Commercial category. She said the Board could also make recommendations concerning Town policy and public safety and the members agreed these should be separate priority items. Crowther said now that the priority list had been established he hoped the Town Board would look into the recommendations. Deetjen asked if subcommittees should be formed. Crowther said the Board had not had much luck with subcommittees in the past but could look into it if the Public Hearings showed a lot of interest. Simpson added that politics should not be involved in the priority list or the Board would just be treading water. ITEM #7: Deetjen distributed a handout (file) concerning reduced building code requirements for owner/builders. He said many code requirements not necessary for safety increased the cost of home o PLANNING BOARD OCTOBER 4, 1990 PAGE 5 construction and caused added burden for property owners trying to build their own houses. Rigsbee pointed out the Building Code was a state requirement and Deetjen said the handout was mostly just for information. Tilley moved to adjourn the meeting. Deetjen seconded the motion. VOTE: Unanimous. Crowther adjourned the meeting at 8:00 PM. Joff Coe, Secretary