2001-09-17 Work Session
NEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERSBOOK 28
WORK SESSION, SEPTEMBER 17, 2001 PAGE 794
ASSEMBLY
The New Hanover County Board of Commissioners held a Work Session on Monday,
September 17, 2001, at 5:00 P.M. in the Assembly Room of the New Hanover County Courthouse,
24 North Third Street, Wilmington, North Carolina.
Members present were Chairman Ted Davis, Jr.; Vice-Chairman Robert G. Greer;
Commissioner Julia Boseman; Commissioner William A. Caster; Commissioner Nancy H. Pritchett;
County Manager, Allen O’Neal; County Attorney, Wanda M. Copley; and Clerk to the Board, Lucie
F. Harrell.
Chairman Davis announced that the purpose of the Work Session was to hear a presentation
from Sythesis Architects, Inc. on a draft plan for the development of Airlie Gardens. He requested
Mr. Kent Harmon, Architect and Planner with Synthesis, Inc., to begin the presentation.
Mr. Kent Harmon presented background information on preparing a Master Plan for Airlie
Gardens and noted that due to budget constraints, the firm was directed to cease master planning and
drop back to the highest priority needs. To comply to this request, a Phase One Improvement Plan
has been developed, and Dr. Dan Weeks, a Landscape Architect and Planner of Haden/Stanziale, Inc.,
will present the plan.
Mr. Weeks expressed appreciation for having an opportunity to present the plan and provide
a general overview of garden fence, signage, ticket booth, parking facilities, restrooms, and the
maintenance facility.
Fence:
The purpose of the fence is to protect and secure the property, control access to the site,
maintain Garden identification along Airlie Road, and define the property boundary. The fence that
was previously removed will be reused with the curved top turned inward toward the site rather than
outward toward Airlie Road.
Slides were presented showing the location of the fence. It will be placed 15-20 feet from the edge
of Airlie Road, and at the secondary entrance point, the vegetation will be preserved with the fence
placed further back on the site. Because the grade is uneven along the proposed path, the fence will
be stepped down to accommodate the steeper grades and follow the existing grade when possible.
A majority of the vegetation and existing specimen trees will remain to provide a vegetative buffer
to the fence and the maintenance facility located in the general area. Additional plantings will be
placed along the fence line to create a secondary element instead of a primary focus along Airlie
Road.
Signage:
After evaluating the new existing signs, it was decided to create uniformity and use similar
signage materials and color throughout the Gardens. The existing logo and direction of the signage
is in tune with Airlie Gardens, but there needs to be a sense of hierarchy by establishing heights and
size for signs to comply to local and state standards as well as ADA regulations.
Four types of signs will be used in Airlie Gardens: identification, warning, directional and
informational. Location and placement of the signs is of major importance, and no signs should
interrupt views to features of the garden. Non-conforming signage should be replaced with signs that
follow the approved signage design.
Ticket Booth:
The booth will be placed along the north side of the entry road. This will provide for
a future opportunity to create a turn around to improve circulation and staging.
Parking Facilities:
No paving or layout improvements are provided at this time. All existing or new
parking will have to comply to City design requirements. Every effort will be made to maintain
specimen trees and minimize impacts of parking on existing vegetation. This will also provide an
opportunity to utilize Best Management Practices (BMPs) for stormwater management.
In order to comply with City parking requirements, the main parking area of 250-300 parking spaces
will require planting 14 trees and 80 shrubs. Seven paved accessible spaces will have to be provided
NEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERSBOOK 28
WORK SESSION, SEPTEMBER 17, 2001 PAGE 795
for this area to meet ADA requirements, and the edges of parking spaces would be delineated with
timbers or some other approved material. This plan will accommodate circulation for future growth.
The long-term parking goals under this plan will allow for implementation of innovative storm water
management and demonstration. In some areas, bio-retention areas will be provided such as the one
being permitted by the City along Park Avenue.
Restrooms:
The size of the restroom building will be 17 x 28 feet, and it will be located adjacent to
the current trailer now being used. The area must be ADA accessible, and all fixtures must meet
minimum requirements according to the City and County plumbing officials.
Overlook at Bradley Creek:
With many different habitats in the marsh and creek, it was felt that
an overlook at Bradley Creek would give visitors an opportunity to engage and experience nature.
There is potential to develop a future access to the lake by going north toward the main parking
facility, and in the future, the pier could be extended to Bradley Creek. The environmental education
opportunities are vast in this area.
Maintenance Facility
: A slide of the preferred site for location of the maintenance building was
presented. After reviewing numerous sites, this site was chosen because it is the highest area in the
garden and will be less susceptible to flooding during heavy rains or hurricane events.
The maintenance building will be a 4,000 square foot prefabricated structure with 20 parking spaces
to accommodate garden staff and equipment storage. No large trucks will use the existing exit gate,
and extensive plantings will be used to screen persons visiting the Camellia Garden. Since the
exterior of the building will be visible from the road, focus will be placed on selecting an attractive
exterior building material.
Mr. Harmon spoke on the need to decide where to proceed from this point and presented the
following recommendations:
?
Solicit and consider incorporating input from the public regarding the Phase One
Improvement Plan.
?
New Hanover County officials and Wilmington City officials must reach an agreement
to resolve City regulations that conflict with Airlie Garden improvements.
?
Establish a Project Budget and Schedule.
?
Develop the Phase One Improvement Plan in detail to proceed with bidding and
construction.
?
Obtain City building permits and North Carolina State environmental permits.
Discussion followed on whether a special use permit would have to be obtained from the City.
Mr. Harmon explained that either a special use permit would have to be granted by the City or a text
amendment created to specifically address uses in a garden of this size. He noted that if a text
amendment is developed many of the conflict areas would be resolved.
Further discussion was held on why there should be a change in uses when Airlie Gardens was
purchased before it was annexed by the City of Wilmington. Mr. Harmon explained that a change
in use was a misnomer and stated that the City is more interested in being sure that development and
improvements to Airlie Gardens comply to City regulations.
After further discussion of how to reach an agreement with the City, the Board requested
County Attorney Copley to contact City Attorney Tom Pollard to find out the best way to approach
this issue.
NEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERSBOOK 28
WORK SESSION, SEPTEMBER 17, 2001 PAGE 796
County Attorney Copley noted that she would be glad to meet with City Attorney Pollard and
Planning Director Hayes to discuss developing a text amendment.
After noting that the City should be informed, Chairman Davis stated that he would contact
Mayor Jones about the need to prepare a text amendment for further development and improvements
to Airlie Gardens.
Vice-Chairman Greer requested an explanation of why a stormwater management plan was
needed for Airlie Gardens.
Mr. Weeks explained that when the project began, the idea was for Airlie Gardens to become
a world class garden; therefore, the approach was to demonstrate to developers as well as other
municipalities how swales and catch basins could be used for stormwater management. A constructed
wetlands project has already been started by the gate, and regulatory officials from CAMA, Corps
of Engineers and DENR are excited about a plan to go back to what was originally in the garden,
especially wetlands that provide a means of stormwater control.
Vice-Chairman Greer expressed concern for an insufficient number of restrooms.
Kent Harmon commented on there being no clear definition in the building code to calculate
the number of restrooms for this type of use and stated the City/County plumbing official, Ken
Fowler, had calculated the number.
County Manager O’Neal noted that Synthesis Architects has been placed in a difficult position
without specific zoning and building regulations in place to draw a plan for Airlie Gardens. He
stressed the importance of working with the City to create a text amendment that will allow Synthesis
to develop a design from an environmental, educational, and historical perspective.
Mr. Thomas Herrera-Mishler, Director of Airlie Gardens, stressed the importance of carefully
exploring how to utilize and restore the site for education and demonstration purposes so the text
amendment can be written to support the missions of Airlie Gardens without having to make changes
at a later date. The County has already laid a strong foundation to build an extraordinary landscape
that will not only be a draw for tourism but also an important educational resource for the County
and the region. From a planning point of view, the plan presented today has the land uses in the right
place, which is what should be included in a master plan document. The County is in a good position
to begin a more detailed definition of each component of the plan. Once this process is completed,
the County can proceed with the plan and move into the next phase to define exactly what is going
to go where and learn more about the historic landscape. Then the plan can be refined into detailed
designs to be reviewed by the Board.
Discussion followed on how the improvements to Airlie Gardens would be funded. Assistant
County Manager Weaver advised that $1.5 million was budgeted in the multi-year capital project to
move forward with Phase One.
Director Herrera-Mishler noted that New Hanover County has made a significant commitment
to implement the improvements needed at Airlie Gardens; therefore, it should be possible to approach
the funding community in a matching grant mode saying that New Hanover County will match every
dollar raised up to $1.5 million. This technique was used by Toledo Botanical Gardens and the city
had to match $1 million.
ADJOURNMENT
In closing the meeting, Chairman Davis expressed appreciation to Synthesis Architects for the
presentation and he thanked Assistant County Manager Weaver and Director Herrera-Mishler for the
effort given to make this project a reality.
He called for a motion to adjourn the meeting.
NEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERSBOOK 28
WORK SESSION, SEPTEMBER 17, 2001 PAGE 797
Motion:
Commissioner Boseman MOVED, SECONDED by Commissioner Pritchett, to adjourn.
Upon vote, the MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
Chairman Davis adjourned the meeting at 6:45 P.M.
Respectfully submitted,
Lucie F. Harrell
Clerk to the Board