REGULAR BOARD MEETING of
Also present were Richard Betz,
Bill
Coward, Selwyn Chalker, Bill Harrell, Larry Gantenbein, Kim Lewicki,
Bill &
June Hogue, Ginger Slaughter, Buck Trott, Zeke Sossomon, Joanna
Baumrucker,
Bucky Meredith, Paul Chmar, Bill Kingsmill, Debbie Grossman, Wanda
Drake, Stan
Cochran, Dwight Bryant, Don Chandler, and others.
A. Public
Hearing.
The Mayor called the Public
Hearing to
order at
Sabrina Hawkins was present and
said that
she opposed the amendment. She felt it
was created for her, and said that she merely rented a house.
There were no further comments
and the
Mayor closed the hearing at
B. Regular
Board Meeting
I. Call
to Order.
The Mayor called the Regular
Board Meeting
to order at
II.
Approval
of Agenda.
Copies of the agenda had been
distributed
by mail. The Town Administrator said
that Bill Nellis, Item No. 3 under Old Business, had requested that his
application for Condition Use Zoning be withdrawn and re-scheduled
August 16;
he also said that the Board would be consulting with the Town Attorney
on legal
matters during the Closed Session already scheduled.
Comm. James noted the large crowd present and
suggested moving up Item No. 3 of New Business on the agenda,
application by
Bucky Meredith for R-3 Conditional Use Zoning.
MOVED BY COMM. MARSH, SECONDED
BY COMM.
JAMES, AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED TO APPROVE THE AGENDA AS AMENDED.
III. Approval of Minutes.
Copies of the minutes of the
July 26
Regular Board Meeting had been distributed by mail.
MOVED BY COMM. PATTERSON,
SECONDED BY COMM.
MARSH, AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES AS DISTRIBUTED.
IV.
Public
Comment Period.
The Mayor stated that this was
the time for
public comments as required by law.
Buck Trott was present and said
that he had
attended the recent Planning Board meeting to voice concerns about soil
erosion
and siltation from Riverwalk Subdivision.
He commended them for work done to date to correct the problems. He also reported that he understood Tom
Turrentine, who had appeared before the Mirror Lake Improvement
Association,
was no longer an owner of the property.
Don Chandler was present and confirmed that he and Bill
Turrentine were
the owners.
Special Order.
Bucky Meredith was present with
Bill
Kingsmill to present an application for Conditional Use Zoning, from
B-3 to B-3
Conditional Use, for a piece of property in Wright Square owned by
Lawson Lard
III. He said that he had identified a
need for an upscale indoor-access-only climatized storage facility, and
he
presented a north elevation and footprint-plan for a building
containing 15,080
SF on two basement levels, main, and second floors, plus a 7940 SF
owners
apartment, for a total floorspace of 68,260 SF.
He said the topography included a 20-foot deep hole, and
warehouses were
the lowest impact uses in commercial zoning in terms of traffic,
parking, and
utilities. He also said that a storage
warehouse was a permitted use in the B-3 district.
Comm. James asked why he was
applying for
Conditional Use Zoning if it was a permitted use; Comm. Patterson asked
the
same question. Town Planner Larry
Gantenbein confirmed that this was a use permitted with Special Use
Permit in
the B-3 district; however, only two habitable levels were permitted by
the
Ordinance, and a variance would be needed for both the "attic"
apartment and the "double" basement; because the test was reasonable
use, he would not qualify for a variance.
However, if the Board decided this was a worthwhile project, if
could
approve it as a Conditional Use. Mr.
Meredith said that this was a problem property, and pointed out that
the
proposed use was better than others that might go in there. Height, setbacks, and parking would also
conform to the Ordinance.
Comm. James said that he had
chosen not to
meet with Mr. Meredith before the meeting.
He thought that the plan was deficient and that it should
include the
east and south elevations; on the Spring Street side, the building
would appear
to be 55 feet in height. Mr. Meredith
replied that any building on the site would have two levels beneath it. Comm. James asked if the property adjoined
the Master Sidewalk Plan; it did. Debbie
Grossman asked how many units there would be and how much they would
cost to
rent, and was told that there would be two levels to begin with and the
units
would be expensive; she did not think it would serve businesses in
Comm. Ross said that he had
discussed the
plan with Mr. Meredith but had not indicated either approval or
disapproval. He thought that low impact
storage was not necessarily good because it created a "dead zone" for
commercial activity. Also, since under
the Ordinance a basement was not for public use, the building would be
four-and-one-half stories. He said that
Conditional Use Zoning was new and scary because it sounded like the
Board was
allowing things that were not allowed.
He felt that it should be used to add requirements to make
improvements
for the general public and advantage of the Town, not used as an avenue
for
development to obtain variances for the sole advantage of the developer. Comm. Patterson pointed out that eventually a
two-story building would be constructed on
MOVED BY COMM. ROSS, SECONDED BY
COMM.
JAMES, AND CARRIED TO DENY THE APPLICATION.
Comms. Ross, James, and Marsh voted "aye," and Comm. Patterson
voted "nay."
V. Reports.
1. The
Mayor stated that, as a surgeon, he wanted to urge public support for
Dr.
Leslie Pearlstein, the new surgeon at
He also said that he had
received a letter
from the Governor on Youth Councils, and that he would be looking into
this and
getting ideas.
2. Comm.
Marsh reported that he had attended a program on illegal immigration in
3. Town
Attorney Bill Coward was present but had nothing to report.
4. Town
Engineer Lamar Nix was on vacation.
5. The
Police Chief was present but his report had been omitted from the
agenda
package; he said there was nothing unusual to report.
6. Each
Board member had received a copy of the Recreation Director's written
report
for the month; Selwyn Chalker was present to review the report. He asked for permission to advertize for a
Maintenance Worker to replace David Kennemore.
He also said that he had received another request for use of the
7. Each
Board member had received a copy of the Town Planner/ Zoning
Administrator's
report for the month; Larry Gantenbein was present to review the report. He added that the Macon County Watershed
Council had recently heard a presentation from the State Division of
Geology on
slide maps; there was no slide potential in
8. Each
member had received a copy of the Treasurer's Report for the month; he
reported
that the audit field work was underway and was going well.
MOVED BY COMM. PATTERSON,
SECONDED BY COMM.
MARSH, AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED TO ACCEPT THE TREASURER'S REPORT.
9. The
Town Administrator distributed copies of the amendments to the noise
regulations adopted at the previous meeting.
Comm. Ross said that he had had some other thoughts on the
amendments
and wanted to discuss this at the August 16 meeting.
Comm. James said that he wanted to discuss
the closing of
The Town Administrator also
updated the
Board on the Harris Lake Sewer Project.
He said that McGill Associates had been contacted about
surveying for
the project, and had also submitted a proposal to apply for Clean Water
Management Trust Fund grant for the $2 million project; the cost would
be $9500
and they thought they had a good chance to obtain grant money since the
project
would be providing sewer service in an area where there had been septic
tank
failures and water quality problems.
Funds had been budgeted for preliminary surveying and similar
expenditures, and he recommended approving the proposal and proceeding.
MOVED BY COMM. MARSH, SECONDED
BY COMM.
PATTERSON, AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED TO APPROVE THE PROPOSAL FOR SEEKING
GRANT
FUNDS FROM THE CLEAN WATER MANAGEMENT TRUST FUND FOR THIS PROJECT.
He also said that the ABC Store
had
requested that the planter be removed in front of its building to make
it
easier for delivery trucks to access the building.
The Mayor asked Comm. Ross to make a
recommendation on this request.
Draft copies of a proposed map
showing
parking regulations and areas in the downtown area were also
distributed for
information.
He reported that he had
contacted Macon
County Director of Solid Waste Management Chris Stahl concerning the
letter
discussed at the previous meeting; Comms. James and Marsh agreed to
meet with
him at
VI.
Old
Business.
1. The
Board discussed permits issued at previous meetings for use of Town
right-of-way for construction activities by
MOVED BY COMM. PATTERSON,
SECONDED BY COMM.
MARSH, AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED TO EXTEND THE PERMIT UNTIL SEPTEMBER 6.
2. Each
Board member had received a letter from the Highlands Chamber of
Commerce
indicating that it no longer wished to extend its lease of
VII. New
Business.
1. The
Mayor read the proposed amendment regulating commercial activities in
the R-1
district, subject of the public hearing preceding the meeting, and the
Board
discussed it in some detail. Comm. Ross
pointed out that weddings were more and more popular and there would be
a lot
of pressure in the future. The Mayor
felt that the issue boiled down to noise on
MOVED BY COMM. JAMES, SECONDED
BY COMM.
ROSS, AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED TO TAKE THIS ITEM UNDER ADVISEMENT UNTIL
SEPTEMBER 20.
2. Woody
Crosby was present representing R. L. Jordan of Jordan Properties,
owner of
Highlands Suite Hotel, requesting an application for Conditional Use
Zoning,
from B-3 to R-3 Multi-family Conditional Use for the Hotel; he said Mr.
Zeke Sossomon then presented the
application. He said that the
application represented an "up-zoning" from business to residential,
changing hotel rooms to condominium units.
The reason the applicant was not requesting R-3 zoning, the only
district where multi-family was permitted, was due to the minimum
acreage,
density, and parking requirement, which this 0.34-acre piece of
property would
not meet. However, they felt that the
project itself was worthwhile to the Town with the certain conditions
specified. The proposal was to
re-combine the 28 hotel rooms to 22 condominium units, which he said
would
result in reduced traffic flow, water, and police, and an increase in
ad
valorem tax value. Because of a variance
granted several years ago, there were only 22 parking spaces, not the
28
required; however, the additional spaces could be added, which would
provide
nearly 1-1/3 spaces per unit; the R-3 requirement was
1-2/3 spaces.
No exterior modifications would be required.
The Mayor asked if the number of
units
could be reduced to comply with the parking.
Comm. Patterson said she was not sure if it was a good plan,
using the
criteria Comm. Ross had identified earlier in the meeting; she also
pointed out
that the R-3 density was four per acre.
Mr. Sossomon said that the tax value would increase from its
current
listing as $2 million; each unit would sell for $190,000 to $200,000.
MOVED BY COMM. PATTERSON,
SECONDED BY COMM.
MARSH, AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED TO DENY THE APPLICATION.
3. Each
Board member had received a letter from Stan Cochran, owner of Mirror
Lake
Antiques, concerning the antique show approved for the
Joanna Baumrucker was present
and
distributed copies of a breakdown of revenues received at the 2005
antique
show, which had been held at
Comm. Marsh said that he
believed the Board
had acted too quickly at the July 5 meeting, and the request had also
not been
an agenda item. He thought the question
was, how do you control the use of the
4. Don
Chandler, one of the owners of Riverwalk Subdivision, were present to
update
the Board. He said that this was the
biggest project he had been involved in, and he had done everything in
his
power to give what was promised. He said
he had hired Bronce Pesterfield as engineer for the project, had
protected
trees larger than 18" in diameter, and had hired planners, geotech
consultants,
and most recently McGill Associates as a quality control consultant. He said that he had had no control over
events resulting in soil erosion citations issued by the Zoning
Administrator;
that had been caused by five 18-inch pipes under US-64 that the
engineer had
not known about. The Mayor asked why he
had not known about them; Comm. Ross said that it was the
responsibility of the
engineer to know where stormwater was coming from and where it was
going. Comm. James said he thought too
much land had
been opened up and they had failed to stabilize it.
Mr. Chandler said that a limitation had been
placed on access to the property, and also said that there had been a
large
amount of rainfall; he had attempted to get as much grading done as
possible. He also said that at least one
soil erosion
citation had resulted from a broken water pipe; the locations of water
and
sewer pipes was not known, although the Town Engineer had been very
cooperative
in working with the developers. The
Mayor said that he hated to see what would have happened if
5. MOVED
BY COMM. MARSH, SECONDED BY COMM. PATTERSON, AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED TO
GO INTO
CLOSED SESSION PURSUANT TO G. S. §143-318.11(A)(6) TO DISCUSS A
PERSONNEL
MATTER, AND PURSUANT TO G. S. §143-318.11(A)(3) TO CONSULT WITH
THE TOWN
ATTORNEY ON LEGAL MATTERS. All present
left the room except the Clerk and the Police Chief.
A. The
Board discussed with the Police Chief a request from Police Officer C.
D.
Jenkins for an unpaid leave of absence August 15 through the first week
in
November in order for him to campaign for Sheriff; the Chief
recommended
approving the request, then left the room.
B. The
Board consulted with the Town Attorney on legal aspects of proportional
representation
in the ETJ and the
C. The
Board discussed Larry Gantenbein.
MOVED BY COMM. PATTERSON AND
UNANIMOUSLY
CARRIED TO GO INTO OPEN SESSION.
6. MOVED
BY COMM. PATTERSON, SECONDED BY COMM. ROSS, AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED TO
APPROVE
A REQUEST FROM POLICE OFFICER
C. D. JENKINS FOR AN UNPAID
LEAVE OF
ABSENCE IN ORDER TO CAMPAIGN FOR ELECTIVE OFFICE.
7. MOVED
BY COMM. MARSH, SECONDED BY COMM. ROSS, AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED FOR
LARRY
GANTENBEIN TO RESUME ADMINISTRATION OF ZONING MATTERS INVOLVING OLD
EDWARDS
INN, RATHER THAN THE AD-HOC COMMITTEE CONSISTING OF RICHARD BETZ, HANK
ROSS,
AND DENNIS DEWOLF APPOINTED ON DECEMBER 15, 2003.
The Board agreed by consensus to
go back
into closed session to further discuss Larry Gantenbein, and they did
so.
VIII. MOVED BY COMM. PATTERSON
AND
UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED TO GO INTO OPEN SESSION AND TO ADJOURN.
There being no further business
to come
before the Board, the meeting was declared adjourned by the Mayor at
________________________________
Richard
Betz, Town Clerk