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AGENDA
PLANNING BOARD
Tuesday, June 6, 2000
6:30 p.m. Town Barn
ITEM #l: Consideration of additions to the agenda.
ITEM #2: Comments from the Chair
• Committee Reports
ITEM #3: Approval of minutes from May 2 meeting.
ITEM #4: Consideration of Preliminary Subdivision Plan for The Summit, 72 lot cluster residential
subdivision between Wildwood and Beckett's Ridge.
ITEM #5: Discussion of open space .definition and related topics
ITEM #6: Recess regular meeting to convene special public hearing
ITEM #7: Recommendation to Town Board regarding ordinance to establish a 6 -month
development moratorium at the I-85/NC 86 interchange.
ITEM #8: Adjourn.
Please call the Planning Department if you cannot attend.
732-2104 extension 228 (this line is connected to voice mail)
101 East Orange Street • P.O. Box 429 • Hillsborough, North Carolina 27278
010 090 010,4 . 5,.... 010 RAA 0900
MINUTES
PLANNING BOARD
June 6, 2000
PRESENT: Ed Gill (Chair), Pam Blue -Thompson, Jim Boericke, Richard Bradford, Joel Brinkley, Cathy
Carroll, David Daniel, Chris Quinn, Bryant Warren
PUBLIC: Roger Stephens, Margaret Hauth
Gill called the meeting to order at 6:35 PM.
ITEM #2: Hauth asked the members how they would like to reschedule the July meeting, which would fall
on the &h. She suggested moving the meeting to June 27 so the members could still place items
on the July hearing if they wanted to. Blue -Thompson noted she would not be able to attend that
meeting, the other members agreed.
ITEM #3: Warren moved to approve the minutes with the correction of Gill adjourning the meeting. Daniel
seconded.
VOTE: Unanimous.
ITEM #4: Hauth introduced the continued discussion of Summit subdivision. Stephens described his contact
with Centex as unsuccessful. He noted that the price being asked was unreasonable and Centex's
desire is to purchase the whole development from him and build it. He added that he did provide
the right-of-way area the members wanted to allow a connection to John Breckenridge Drive in
the future and set aside lot 68 as a playground for which he would also provide the equipment.
The members thanked Stephens for addressing' their concerns. They discussed the
road/connection issue. Hauth said the options are to continue working with Centex, requiring the
connection through Wildwood, or granting a variance on the narrow right-of-way width. Hauth
suggested the members direct her to notify the affected Wildwood homeowners about the
possibility to connecting to John Breckenridge. The members agreed.
ITEM #5: The members continued discussing the proposed open space changes. Brinkley suggested that
further pursue the relationship between slope and area dedicated. He suggested a cap the to
percent slope of property that could be counted as open space. Hauth suggested that she could
take the subdivision plans for Cornwallis Hills and Beckett's Ridge and see what impact the
proposal would have. The members agreed to hold further discussion until next meeting.
ITEM #6: Gill recessed the meeting at 7:23 and passed the gavel to Mayor Johnson to convene a special
public hearing. The Planning Board members all remained present. Town Board members
present were Ken Chavious, Evelyn Lloyd, Brian Lowen, and Mark Sheridan.
PUBLIC HEARING
Mayor Johnson called to order the hearing on an ordinance to establish a 6 -month moratorium on
the review and approval of non-residential development plans within 2500 feet of the intersection
of the rights-of-way for Interstate 85 and NC 86. Hauth introduced the concept of the ordinance,
passed around copies of the written comments received, and said that enough comments were
submitted in the form of a protest petition to trigger a 4/5 majority vote if the Board decides to
adopt the ordinance. Hauth asked the County Planning Director Craig Benedict be allowed to
speak next, since his presence is required at another meeting.
Benedict described the focuses of the workgroup as transportation, entranceways, and
landscaping and open space requirements. He said that the County is planning a parallel
moratoria process at this interchange and at Old NC 86/1-40. Benedict said that the County is
PB
6/6/2000, page 2
also considering expanding the Old 86 district to facilitate access to NC 86. He said they are
considering two time lines; one that has a hearing in November, and one that moves the hearing to
August.
Jerry Dickens of North Pointe Development spoke against the ordinance. He said that his firm is
the one that built the North Pointe center in Durham and the Sam's shopping center on Harrison
Ave in Cary. He said they intend to do a similar project on the Hampton Point site in
Hillsborough. He noted that national chains are focusing on site they can build and open during
2001 and a 6 -month moratorium would take Hillsborough out of contention. Bill Anderson, also
of North Point, spoke against the ordinance. He said they are prepared to work with the Town
and negotiate out whatever conditions or issues the board feels are critical. He noted that the
word is deadly in their business. Bud Dalton spoke on behalf of DCA General Partners, owners
of Cornerstone Park. He said they have concerns about the ordinance and that the development
has a strong track record of working well with the Town. He added that the current zoning is in
the town's best economic interest. Mark O'Neal, commercial realtor, spoke against the
ordinance. He said it send. a negative message to the development community. He said the
Chamber of Commerce and town have worked hard to create a positive business image and that
should be protected. He said the current EDD manual is very difficult to implement and the
town's HIC zoning is flexible and reasonable. He added that the work being discussed couldn't
get done in 6 months. He is opposed to the moratorium and the creation of additional EDDs.
Scott Lanier spoke on behalf of the Chamber of Commerce. He said the Chamber opposes the
ordinance because it sends a bad message and he encouraged the Town to work with the North
Pointe developers. Jim Tullai of Greystone Enterprises spoke against the ordinance. He said they
are ready to submit site plans for new buildings and the delay will be costly. He asked to be
excluded from the ordinance since his sites are not visible from 86 if the ordinance must be
enacted. Jim Cates of Cates Propane spoke against the ordinance. He noted that they are also
getting ready to submit a site plan to expand. The moratorium will cost them to lose a potential
tenant for the new building. George Horton spoke on behalf of the Meadowlands. He said he has
been working successfully with the Town for 15 years to complete his development. He asked to
be excused from the ordinance because his restrictive covenants exceed the ordinance
requirements and his development does not affect the NC 86 corridor. He suggested the parties
seek a compromise. Jim Hopper spoke on behalf of the Hampton Point property. He said that
they are trying to capture this moment to provide the town with commercial and industrial tax
base. He added that the EDD does not appear to encourage development because its not being
used. He urged the board to work with the developers to come up with a plan for his site.
Mark Trustin spoke as the owner of Owl's Wood development. He said he also has another
Orange County project. He urged the town to avoid the ordinance and work with the developers
to come up with a development scheme for the area. Mayor Johnson expressed his concern that
implementing a moratorium when there is a new player (North Pointe) doesn't look good. Dale
Swiggett spoke on behalf of Paliourous Enterprises. He said that the family is also entertaining
proposals to re -develop their site and they are opposed to the ordinance. Dickens spoke again
and offered to voluntarily not submit a site plan in return for avoiding the "m" word. Horton
indicated that this is a unique situation. The parties need to work together; they will come to the
same result and the Town will get the needed tax base.
6/6/2000, page 3
Sheridan spoke on behalf of the workgroup. He said the moratorium is needed to get the vision
in place, to give us the time. He agreed with the comments that the EDD manual clearly needs
work. He said the board has a luxury at I-40 because those developers are seeking annexation
and the town has no obligation to annex them. He said that the I85 interchange is not the same.
He said the board has responsibilities for both tax base and quality of life. He said the workgroup
has been a very positive and healthy collaboration with Orange County. Lloyd spoke as the other
workgroup member. She mirrored some of Sheridan's comments and said the committee is
working to not repeat mistakes made on South Churton Street. She added that whatever gets
built the town will have to live with for a long time.
Mayor Johnson closed the public hearing and returned the gavel to Gill who called a brief recess.
ITEM #7: Gill called the Planning Board back to order. He polled the members as a way to start discussing
a recommendation. Carroll said she felt the targeting of the small area was unfair. She added that
she supports protecting the entranceways, because they are critical, but the moratorium method is
not appropriate. Bradford said that he supports amending the EDD manual because it is difficult
to understand and not successful. He added that the Entranceway Overlay district was adopted to
protect the entranceways, but it has not been applied even though the Planning Board has
requested it. Bradford said that the target is unfair and the use of a moratorium is overkill in this
instance. He said the committee's work will likely not be completed in 6 months and the real
impact to owners will be more on the order of 24-36 months. Warren said he couldn't support
the use of the moratorium. Daniel said he thinks it includes too many parcels; the circle
encompasses those that won't impact the entranceway. Blue -Thomson said she agrees with the
others that it is unfair to the owners, especially since the property is not newly annexed. Daniel
said he does support the planning process to make changes to improve he entranceways and the
EDD. He said he would be willing to support a smaller area and asked whether the others would.
The members agreed that they couldn't support any moratorium.
MOTION: Warren moved to recommend denial of the ordinance to the Town Board. Bradford seconded.
VOTE: Unanimous
Gill adjourned the meeting at 9:30 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
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MargAect A. Hauth, Secretary