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HomeMy Public PortalAboutMarch 4th Agenda & MinutesITEM #1 ITEM #2: ITEM #3: AGENDA PLANNING BOARD Tuesday, March 4, 2003 7:00 PM, Town Barn Consideration of additions to agenda and comments from the Chair. Special Joint Public Hearing with Town Board on the annexation and zoning of Old Mill Phase 3, 34.3 acres Close public hearing and excuse Town Board members. ITEM #4: Committee reports • Certificate of Appreciation to Chris Quinn for his years of service on the Planning Board • Report of Town Board actions on public hearing items ITEM #5: Approval of February meeting minutes ITEM #6: Consideration of amendment to the Board's Rules of Procedure to change the regular meeting time from 6:30 PM to 7:00 PM. ITEM #7: Recommendation to the Town Board regarding the zoning of Old Mill Phase 3. ITEM #8: Consideration of text amendment to add provisions for requiring complete applications for items requiring advertisement and notification. ITEM #9: Adjourn Please call the Planning Department if you cannot attend. 732-1270 extension 73 (this line is connected to voice mail) 101 East Orange Street • P.O. Box 429 • Hillsborough, North Carolina 27278 919-732-1270 • Fax .91.9-644-2.3.90 MINUTES PLANNING BOARD March 4, 2003 PRESENT: David Daniel (Chair), Jim Boericke, Cathy Carroll, Matthew Farrelly, Kelly Hopper, Cannie Lloyd, Paul Newton, Bryant Warren, Mayor Joe Phelps, Commissioners Ken Chavious, Frances Dancy, Mike Gering, Evelyn Lloyd, and Mark Sheridan PUBLIC: Margaret Hauth Mayor Phelps called the meeting to order and opened the public hearing at 7:02 PM. He passed the gavel to Planning Board Chair Daniel for the joint public hearing. ITEM #2: Hauth introduced the annexation and zoning request for Old Mill Phase three. She said the portion of the property west of Cates Creek is currently in the Town's ETJ and is zoned EDD - Primary. She said the owner would like to retain that zoning. She said for the portion between Cates Creek and Beckett's Ridge, which is currently Limited Office and in Orange County's jurisdiction, the applicant is asking for R-10 zoning. She said the simple fiscal analysis based on information submitted by the applicant is in the agenda packets. Tony Whitaker appeared for the applicant. He passed around a revised subdivision concept map for reference. He said the first decision was to balance the need to develop the property east of the creek with the needs of the Beckett's Ridge neighborhood. He said the first choice made was to not pursue non-residential zoning on that portion. He said the second choice was to match the residential zoning request with that of the Beckett's Ridge subdivision, which is R-10. Daniel asked which lot sizes have been changed on the concept map and Whitaker said all have been increased in size. Commissioner Chavious asked where the driveways are for the lots, since most of double frontage lots. Whitaker said the driveways would come from the new cul-de-sac, except for lots g and h, which will access Beckett's Ridge Drive extension. Commissioner Sheridan asked what the change in lost size is. Whitaker said the previous concept showed lots in the 8,000 to 10,000 square foot range and the new concept shows 10,000 to 16,000 square foot lots. Newton read the lot size numbers from the previous concept plan. Commissioner Sheridan asked what the average lot size is in Beckett's Ridge. Whitaker said it is 15,000 square feet on average in the whole development, but 12,000 square feet in the immediate vicinity. Commissioner Chavious asked whether the lots could be re -arranged so the larger ones are nearer Beckett's Ridge. Whitaker said it was considered but could not be accommodated because the road connection to the potential Waterston development is a fixed location due to topography. Newton read adjacent lot sizes in Beckett's Ridge from the subdivision plans. He noted that there are two general styles of homes in Beckett's Ridge — the up -scale Homestead generally larger than 2000 square feet and the more modest Savannah. He said three adjacent lots are Homestead series and two are Savannah. Commissioner Sheridan asked about the mill and dam site. Mark O'Neal said they are located on lot 15 of the existing Old Mill development. Daniel noted that while the subdivision is not up for review as part of the hearing, the Planning Board would expect to see a sidewalk on both side of the proposed cul-de-sac. Margaret Cloud, adjacent homeowner spoke. She said she has been following this issue for about a year with the various attempts to annex and zone this parcel. She said her family assumed some development on the tract, but expected it to happen in a sensitive way. She said that the new lot PB 3/4/03, page 2 sizes are still considerably smaller than her lot. She expressed concern about the steepness of the land and how development could be done there without erosion and stormwater concerns. She expressed concern about damage to property values in Beckett's Ridge. She said that she had understood the previous zoning requirements would allow non-residential development with a significant buffer and had purchased with that understanding. Keith Norwood, adjacent homeowner spoke. He thanked the board for providing the public hearing opportunity. He said he is adamantly opposed to the R-10 zoning and concept plan. His decision to purchase was based on the EDD zoning and buffer requirements. He said the new concept plan still shows much smaller lots and it will have a negative impact on Beckett's Ridge. He said he supports the EDD zoning in the area. Don Charland, adjacent owner spoke. He expressed concern about the loss of the 100 buffer required under EDD zoning, the difference in the lot size, and the traffic generated not only from this development, but also from the connection to the proposed Waterstone development. Sergio Rabinovich spoke on behalf of the Beckett's Ridge Home Owners Association. He said the board is concerned about the impact to the entire subdivision, in addition to the impact to the immediate neighbors. He expressed concern about adding traffic in close proximity to the existing tot lot on Woodberry Drive. He also expressed concern about the creation of double frontage lots with the connecting road to Waterstone. Mary Ann Brown, adjacent owner spoke. She said she concurs with the comments from her neighbors. She added the uncertainty of what might be built is negatively impacting the sale of her house. She said she has had feedback from many potential buyers who have indicated that uncertainty as a major reason for them not purchasing the house. Commissioner Sheridan asked the Beckett's Ridge residents whether their comments about impact to value is based on appraisals or intuition. Brown said hers was based on buyer feedback. Rabinovich said his is based in intuition and Charland said his is based on Brown's experience. Sheridan asked the residents whether the lot size was a bigger concern or the road connecting to Waterstone. Norwood said the connection to Waterstone makes the proposal worse, but removing it would not be sufficient. Commissioner Chavious asked about a scenario in which the two smallest lots were merged and the access road removed. Norwood said that would be better, but he still would not be happy. Daniel asked the applicant about larger lot zoning or relocating the connection to Waterstone. Whitaker said the applicant could not commit to larger lot zoning without more complete consideration. He added that topography dictates the connecting road to Waterstone. O'Neal said that in his professional opinion the uncertainty of how adjacent land will be developed poses a greater risk to the property value than how the property is actually developed. He disagreed with the owners who indicated a preference for non-residential zoning. He said he understood the preference to not have the road connection, but that is an important planning issue PB 3/4/03, page 3 the board will have to discuss. The current thinking is that connectivity is very important. He added that the applicant intends to add a restrictive covenant on the residential lots to require a minimum house size of 1800 square feet. O'Neal added that Beckett's Ridge is not a state of the art subdivision. If it were currently under review by the Town it would be different than it is. Daniel passed the gavel back to Mayor Phelps. Phelps closed the public hearing and excused the Town Board members. ITEM #4: Lloyd reported that the Board of Adjustment did not complete its review of the proposed asphalt plant, but did approve a site plan for Eurosport to build a new parking lot and a conditional use permit for an office in a historic house. She said that two other projects were carried over to receive additional information. Warren said that the Park and Recreation Board continued its work on 4 park projects. Newton asked that the members receive the revised water capacity report in April. ITEM #7: The members discussed the annexation and zoning. Hauth noted that a recommendation is not required on the annexation, only the zoning. Warren suggested R-15, which would ensure lot sizes closer to the neighboring ones. Daniel noted that making the entire parcel EDD would likely require more grading near Cates Creek, which would not be desirable. He suggested that many of the issues would be resolved at the subdivision review level. Newton suggested recommending the R-15 zoning and relocation of the connection road. Boericke asked about the details of the fiscal report and whether the residential values were comparable to Beckett's Ridge. Hauth said she had added the provided lot and house values together to get the $285,000 house value. She said she thought that was higher than average in Beckett's Ridge. O'Neal said those figures were not mean to be additive. The $250,000 figure was for house and lot together. Hauth said she did not understand that and would re -do the calculations. She added that $250,000 is closer to the average. Farrelly asked what the financial impact to the town and Beckett's Ridge might be if the property were non-residential. Hauth noted that would change both the revenue projections and the costs to the town. Carroll suggested that O'Neal could address that from a real estate point of view. O'Neal said that buyers prefer to be near uses like themselves — residential prefers to be near residential and business near business. O'Neal noted that the applicant will not be building the houses, just marketing the lots. Daniel asked whether 5,000 square feet of lot size would make a significant difference in the value of a property. O'Neal said that it would depend on the quality of the land. He noted that Beckett's Ridge is not built to the zoning limit. Carroll said that the proposed restrictive covenant would provide a benefit to the residents of Beckett's Ridge. MOTION: Warren moved to recommend annexation and zoning to R-15. Newton seconded the motion. VOTE: Unanimous. Newton suggested that the Town Board also be asked to designate Beckett's Ridge Drive as a "no through trucks" street. ITEM #5: Warren moved to approve the minutes as written. Lloyd seconded. VOTE: Unanimous. PB 3/4/03, page 4 ITEM #6: Hauth introduced a change in the Rules of Procedure to change the meeting start time to 7:00 PM as suggested at the February meeting. She noted that Joel Brinkley was not in favor of the change, partly due to a desire to adjourn by 8:30. The members agreed to try to limit meetings to 1 %z hours and adjourn by 8:30, even with the 7:00 start. MOTION: Hopper moved to adopt the change to the Rules of Procedure to set the meeting start time to 7:00 PM. Newton seconded. VOTE: Unanimous. ITEM #8: Hauth introduced a text amendment to allow her to not schedule incomplete items for public hearing. She said projects like Village at Meadowview promise to submit application information after the ad and notification deadline. When that information is not submitted, its then too late to reschedule or delay the hearing. She added that this provision is common in other ordinances. Hauth said that while the ordinance authorizes her to establish office procedures, she was more comfortable having a specific ordinance provision allowing her to delay a public hearing item. The members agreed that it is difficult for them to review incomplete applications and a waste of everyone's to have multiple hearings on projects simply because they are incomplete. MOTION: Newton moved to send the proposed text amendment to public hearing. Warren seconded. VOTE: Unanimous. Daniel adjourned the meeting at 8:55 PM. Respectfully submitted, L, A, ,�- I, �0� Mar Trct A. Hauth, Secretary