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2022-11-03 PB MINUTES 1 | P a g e Minutes of the New Hanover County Planning Board November 3, 2022 A regular meeting of the New Hanover County Planning Board was held on November 3, 2022, at 5:00 p.m. in the New Hanover County Historic Courthouse, 24 North Third Street, Room 301 in Wilmington, North Carolina. Members Present Staff Present Donna Girardot, Chair Rebekah Roth, Director of Planning Jeff Petroff, Vice Chair Robert Farrell, Senior Current Planner Hansen Matthews Kenneth Vafier, Planning Manager Clark Hipp Dylan McDonnell, Long Range Planner Pete Avery Julian Griffee, Current Planner Colin Tarrant Sharon Huffman, Deputy County Attorney Chair Donna Girardot called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. Chair Girardot announced that the agenda item for a Special Use Permit Preliminary Forum for a cell phone tower had been removed from the agenda and will be rescheduled for a future date. Director of Planning, Rebekah Roth led the Pledge of Allegiance. Approval of Minutes Minutes from the October 6, 2022, Planning Board meeting were presented to the members. No changes or amendments were identified. Board Member Pete Avery made a MOTION, SECONDED by Board Member Clark Hipp, to approve the minutes as drafted. Motion to approve minutes carried 6-0. NEW BUSINESS Rezoning request (Z22-20) - Request by Cindee Wolf with Design Solutions, applicant, on behalf of Lora Gabrio, property owner, to rezone approximately 0.36 acres of land located at 7100 Carolina Beach Road from R-15, Residential to (CZD) O&I, Office and Institutional to convert an existing single-family home to an office Current Planner Julian Griffee provided information pertaining to location, land classification, access, transportation, and zoning. He showed maps, aerials and photographs of the property and surrounding area and gave an overview of the proposed application as referred to in the staff report. Mr. Griffee stated that the proposal was to rezone 0.36 acres from R-10 to CZD O&I to renovate an existing single- family dwelling and add approximately 200 square feet of additional floor area for business offices. He stated that the applicant intended to abandon the existing driveway access to Carolina Beach Road and provide a new access from Lehigh Road. He stated that the applicant proposed to limit future uses to Offices for Private Business and Professional Services, Instructional Services and Studios, Personal Services (General), and Single-Family Residential. Mr. Griffee provided information indicating that the existing development generated 1 AM and PM peak hour trip. He stated that the proposed development was estimated to generate approximately 2 AM and 2 PM peak hour trips. This would result in an increase of 1 AM peak hour trip and 1 PM peak hour trip. Mr. Griffee stated that the subject site was located along Carolina Beach Road, a heavily traveled arterial road. He stated that there was residential and commercial zoning within the general vicinity and the development could serve as a transition between Carolina Beach Road and the existing residential neighborhood to the west. He stated the proposal provided flexibility between residential and commercial uses and preserved the ability for the site to be used as a single-family residence in the future. He stated that a Type-A opaque buffer was required to be placed between the commercial development and the adjacent single-family residence in the future. 2 | P a g e He stated that the Comprehensive Plan classified this area as Community Mixed Use and that this project was generally consistent with the 2016 Comprehensive Plan which recommended a mixture of uses that included low to moderate intensity retail and services that could support nearby neighborhoods. He stated that if the rezoning were approved it would be subject to Technical Review Committee and Zoning Compliance review processes to ensure full compliance with all ordinance requirements. In response to questions of the Board about a Type-A opaque buffer, Mr. Griffee stated that applicants had options during development on how to meet the Type-A opacity requirements which allow a mix of vegetation and a fence, vegetation only, or a berm, and that there were distance requirements stated within the Unified Development Ordinance. In response to questions of the Board, regarding the residential use being allowed in O&I, Mr. Griffee stated that the residential use was currently allowed in the O&I zoning district within the Unified Development Ordinance. Chair Girardot opened the public hearing and recognized the applicant. Ms. Cindee Wolf, applicant, provided a summary description of the proposed project. She stated the requested zoning was consistent with the Office and Institutional mix along Carolina Beach Road. She stated that as part of the applicant’s proposal, the trees located behind the subject property would be preserved and that there would be no problem with the driveway going between the two trees. She stated that the driveway would require an NCDOT permit because Lehigh was a state-maintained road. She stated that although this was a conceptual site plan, that for TRC, an actual site plan would be required that indicated where the trees would be specifically located, and their specific species and diameter. She stated that this was a great opportunity for adaptive reuse of an existing building, removal of the driveway from Carolina Beach Road eliminated a conflict point, and the applicant would follow streetyard requirements for both Carolina Beach Road and Lehigh Road. She stated the property was on a septic system but would have to be substantiated by the Health Department. She stated that the rezoning was consistent with the 2016 Comprehensive Plan which designated the parcel as the Community Mixed-Use place type, which promoted fostering sustainable growth through sensible infill and location efficiency. She stated that adaptive reuse and rehabilitation of existing buildings facilitated re-development options that would enhance the area’s character with required building code and ordinance upgrades, while approval as a Conditional District ensured compatibility and minimization of impacts on the adjacent residences. She stated that the proposal provided an orderly transition between the busy Carolina Beach Road highway corridor and the existing residential neighborhood along Lehigh Road. In response to questions from the Board about the protection of the trees, Ms. Wolf stated that the Unified Development Ordinance provisions regarding Tree Preservation protect the trees. She stated once the proposal was approved for the O&I district and commercial development, the Unified Development Ordinance would protect any regulated and significant tree. She stated that after review of the site that it was clear that there was no reason to remove the existing trees along Lehigh Road. Chair Girardot opened the hearing to those with questions or in opposition. With no one signed up to speak in opposition or with questions, Chair Girardot closed the public hearing and opened to Board discussion. After discussion from the Board regarding adding a requirement to maintain all significant trees, Vice Chair Jeff Petroff made a MOTION, SECONDED by Board Member Pete Avery, to RECOMMEND APPROVAL of the proposed (CZD) O&I rezoning. The Board found it to be CONSISTENT with the purposes and intent of the Comprehensive Plan because the project provided for the types of uses recommended in the Community Mixed Use place type. The Board found RECOMMENDING APPROVAL of the rezoning request was reasonable and in the public interest because the proposal would allow for service-oriented uses that could serve as an appropriate transition between the existing neighborhood and the heavily traveled roadway, the proposed use types allow for services that are relatively low traffic generators, and the possibility of the parcel returning to a residential use is retained, with the following conditions: 1. Restricting the uses allowed within the district to allow for Offices for Private Business and Professional Activities, Instructional Services and Studios, Personal Services, General, and Dwelling, Single-Family Detached. 3 | P a g e 2. The existing access to Carolina Beach Road will be removed and abandoned and a new driveway will be permitted to Lehigh Road, contingent on NCDOT approval. 3. Streetyard landscaping will be installed along Carolina Beach Road to meet current landscape requirements. 4. Any free-standing sign(s) on the site shall be monument style with landscaping around the base of the sign. No pole signs shall be permitted. 5. Exterior lighting, including luminaries and security lights, shall be arranged, or shielded so as not to cast illumination in an upward direction above an imaginary line extended from the light sources parallel to the ground. Fixtures shall be numbered in such that adequate levels of lighting are maintained, but that light spillage and glare are not directed at adjacent property, neighboring areas, or motorists. Light posts shall be no taller than twelve feet. 6. The existing significant trees on the subject site shall be preserved. The motion to recommend approval of the proposed O&I rezoning request carried 6-0 OTHER ITEMS 2023 Planning Board Meeting and Agenda Review Schedule was presented to the members. No changes or amendments were identified. Board Member Pete Avery made a MOTION, SECONDED by Vice Chair Jeff Petroff, to adopt the 2023 Planning Board Meeting and Agenda Review Schedule as presented. Motion to approve minutes carried 6-0. Chair Girardot asked Ms. Roth to provide a brief summary of the status of the Hwy 421 Tree Mitigation Amendment. Ms. Roth stated that staff had met twice with a focus group of stakeholders made up of both the development community and tree advocacy community and had come up with a series of common understandings about the trees in the Hwy 421 area and what was possible specifically along the corridor along with some amendment concepts that would be presented to the Board of Commissioners at their meeting on November 14. She stated that staff was currently waiting on some final technical language from some of the stakeholders in order to finalize the amendment draft. She stated once that was done it would be included in the Commissioners’ packet and posted to the county website. Ms. Roth stated that it looked like there would be a relatively large number of items on the agenda for the December Planning Board meeting and that the meeting was estimated to last about 4 ½ hours. She asked the board if they would be interested in exploring if the meeting could be held a little earlier. The Board concurred that they would be interested in an earlier start time. Ms. Roth stated as soon all logistics were in place, the board members would be notified. Chair Donna Girardot adjourned the meeting at 6:34 PM. Please note that the above minutes are not a verbatim record of the New Hanover County Planning Board Meeting.