HomeMy Public PortalAbout7.27.2004 Joint Public Hearing'.down
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Hills
AGENDA
JOINT PUBLIC HEARING
HILLSBOROUGH TOWN BOARD and PLANNING BOARD
Tuesday, July 27, 2004
7:00 PM, Town Barn
ITEM #1: Call public hearing to order.
ITEM #2: Zoning Ordinance Text Amendment to define "low impact school" and allow
the use in the Economic Development District, Primary.
ITEM #3: Adjourn.
Please call the Clerk or Planning Department if you cannot attend
732-1270 ext. 71 or73
Both lines are connected to voice mail
101 East Orange Street • P.O. Box 429 • Hillsborough, North Carolina 27278
919-732-1270 • Fax 919-644-2390
MINUTES
JOINT PUBLIC HEARING
July 27, 2004
PRESENT: Mayor Joe Phelps, Frances Dancy, Mike Gering, Evelyn Lloyd, Paul Newton, Jim Boericke,
Cathy Carroll, Dave Remington, Barrie Wallace, Bryant Warren
PUBLIC: Christine Lowry, Kelly Monroe-Porco, John Salmeron, and Donna Gilleskie
STAFF: Eric Peterson, Demetric Potts, and Margaret Hauth
ITEM #1: Mayor Phelps called the hearing to order and passed the gavel to Paul Newton, Planning Board
chair.
ITEM #2: Hauth introduced the zoning ordinance text amendment to create "low intensity school" as a
permitted use and allow the use within the EDD primary district. She noted the request is similar
to the recent Orange County action to permit public schools in the Efland EDD to allow for the
construction of the new middle school. She said the Planning Board received this request from
Pinewoods Montessori, which is interested in located in Old Mill Business Park. She noted that
the Planning Board opted for creating a low intensity school option rather than simply allow all
school types. She said the school owner and some parents were present to speak. Hauth added
that the proposed size limit is based solely on enrollment, since that relates to the traffic impact.
She said the Charter School and Abundant Life Academy were used as reference points in
drafting the definition.
Christine Lowry, owner of Pinewoods Montessori, spoke in favor of the text. She said the school
has been in operation for 12 years and currently has 60 students. She said they are looking for
additional space so they can add grades 4, 5, and 6. She said Pinewoods is the only non -church
based private school in northern Orange County.
Boericke asked what the expansion plans include. Lowry said she planned for an enrollment of
between 80 and 85 students with classes not to extend beyond 6' grade. Mayor Phelps asked if
they would be owning or leasing the school. Lowry said that a parent is looking to build the
building and lease it to the school. Commissioner Gering asked if Pinewoods was a non-profit
entity. Lowry said the school is for-profit, pays taxes, and will have a staff of 10. Mayor Phelps
asked the hours of operation and Lowry said from 8:30 to 2:40 on a regular school year calendar
year. Lowry read a letter from Zechariah White a 9 -year-old student who could not attend the
hearing. White said he was the elementary class president and wished to remain at Pinewoods for
3 more years of school.
John Salmeron spoke in favor of the amendment. He said he is the parent of two Pinewoods
students. He said one of the best things about Hillsborough is its great diversity in opportunities
for its size. He said the Montessori system has been proven as a successful education system.
Donna Gilleskie spoke in favor of the amendment. She said she is a professor at UNC and she
and her husband were products of the public schools and great believers in the public school
system. She said she visited Pinewoods at a friend's urging and was convinced by the strong
academic and social growth components. She said she is the parent of two very different students
who have both succeeded at Pinewoods over the passed 5 years. She said the demand exists in
the community to fill the additional class space.
JPH
7/27/2004, page 2
Kelly Monroe-Porco spoke in favor of the amendment. She said she and her husband are
interested in building the building and leasing it to the school. She said the project would have
economic benefit to the town. She said the proximity to Waterstone would make it a convenient
choice for many families. She said Pinewoods provides an alternative to church -based private
schools.
Commissioner Gering asked if the definition is specific enough. Hauth said her primary concern
with writing had been the student enrollment, since it was so closely linked to traffic generation.
She said the definition would allow a school similar to the Charter School, but not as large as
Abundant Life Academy. Gering asked about compatibility with uses in Old Mill. Hauth said
the permitted use table allowed a wide vareity of manufacutring uses, but they have yet appeared
as tenants or owners. She said the uses are internal operations almost exclusively and truck traffic
would likely be the greatest conflict.
ITEM #3: Newton closed the public hearing and returned the gavel to Mayor Phelps. Mayor Phelps
adjourned the Planning Board members and convened a Town Board meeting.
Mayor Phelps adjourned the meeting at 7:24 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
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