MINUTES

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

COUNTY OF HENDERSON NOVEMBER 12, 1999

The Henderson County Board of Commissioners met for a special called meeting at 11:00 a.m. in the Conference Room of the Land Development Building at 101 East Allen Street, Hendersonville, North Carolina.

Those present were: Chairman Grady Hawkins, Vice-Chair Bill Moyer, Commissioner Renee Kumor, Commissioner Don Ward, Commissioner Marilyn Gordon, County Manager David E. Nicholson, and Clerk to the Board Elizabeth W. Corn.

Also present were: Interim Planning Director Karen C. Smith, Staff Attorney Jennifer O. Jackson, and Assistant County Manager/Interim County Attorney Angela S. Beeker.

CALL TO ORDER/WELCOME

Chairman Hawkins called the meeting to order and welcomed all in attendance. He explained that the purpose of the meeting was to discuss the following:

Zoning Ordinance Rewrite

Safety Net Zoning

Jury Commission

Chairman Hawkins stated that there was the need to add one item to the agenda, appointment of a Jury Commission alternate. He made the motion to approve that adjustment to the agenda. All voted in favor and the motion carried.

APPOINTMENT OF JURY COMMISSION ALTERNATE

Tommy Thompson, Clerk of Superior Court, has sent a letter to the Board asking them to appoint a replacement for Ottilie Koehler as an alternate to the Jury Commission. Ms. Koehler will be traveling in Europe during the time that the Jury Commission will be meeting to prepare the Master Jury List for the new term. Mr. Thompson stated that time was of the essence in preparing the Master Jury List.

Chairman Hawkins had spoken to Dutch Burdette who indicated that he was willing to serve as an alternate member. Chairman Hawkins made the motion to appoint Dutch Burdette as an alternate to the Jury Commission. All voted in favor and the motion carried.

Ms. Corn was asked to contact Tommy Thompson and notify him of the appointment.

ZONING ORDINANCE REWRITE

Chairman Hawkins turned this part of the meeting over to Karen Smith.

Karen Smith had provided the Board with a list of suggested objectives for the Zoning Ordinance rewrite. The objectives were based upon the discussions which occurred between the Board of Commissioners and the Planning Board at the recent joint meeting. These objectives would be used to provide direction to the Planning Board, Staff, and the Consultant in preparing a draft of the Zoning Ordinance rewrite. Additionally, the objectives would be useful in educating the public on what the rewrite might accomplish. She stated that Board action to approve or modify the objectives would be appropriate in order to expedite their use.

At the recent joint meeting, Staff reviewed Phase I of the Implementation Plan for the Countywide Land Use Regulation Guide with the Board. At that time, the Board suggested that Staff bring it back to the Board for discussion, modification and adoption. She stated that it would be appropriate for the Board to consider Phase I of the Implementation Plan at this meeting.

Suggested List of Objectives for the Zoning Ordinance Rewrite

$ Make the Ordinance more flexible for the developer while considering the interest of neighboring property owners

$ Increase permitted uses within each district - allow for mixed uses

Consider allowing certain commercial uses in certain residential districts as permitted

uses

$ Consider amending PUD section

Allow mixed-use PUDs and commercial PUDs

Consider changes to procedure

Add flexibility to allow developer to incorporate development trends

$ Allow development incentives to relax certain standards

$ Consider conditional use zoning as a tool to incorporate different uses into certain districts on a case-by-case basis. This tool should be used very selectively and carefully.

Provide for neighborhood compatibility meetings for those uses requiring conditional use zoning. [Note: This is a staff suggestion based upon focus group comments.]

$ Maximize staff review to minimize processing time for developer

Make more uses permitted by right

State more standards up front for selected permitted uses considering:

Public health and safety

The potential impact on neighboring properties

$ Simplify the Ordinance - Make It More User-Friendly

$ Combine existing districts which are not used, or are rarely used, to determine if necessary (RM-1, RM-2, RC, WR, SW, R-T)

$ Consider combining lower-numbered residential districts (R-10, R-15, R-20, T-15, T-20) recognizing that use of additional site standards may be necessary to minimize the impacts of the combination

Allow manufactured homes in residential districts on single lots with aesthetic standards

Allow manufactured home parks in multi-family residential districts

Examine non-conforming use provisions in the Ordinance to ease impact of zoning map changes made necessary by the recombination.

$ Consider options for reorganizing the Ordinance

Consider placing all site standards in one portion of the Ordinance

Consider listing all uses and districts in a table for ease of reference

$ Clarify definitions to simplify interpretation, eliminate redundancy, address inconsistencies, differentiate between use intensities (commercial, industrial, etc.)

$ Eliminate redundancies and inconsistencies between Ordinance sections

Review list of uses within non-residential districts more clearly

$ Incorporate illustrations, sketches, etc. [Note: This is a staff suggestion. Use of such in other ordinances has proven helpful to the public in understanding ordinance requirements.]

$ Incorporate other ordinances into the Zoning Ordinance

Vested Rights Ordinance

Other stand-alone Aland-use@ ordinances, e.g. Manufactured Home Park Ordinance, Watersupply Watershed Ordinance, Communications Tower Ordinance, etc.

$ Be mindful of affordable housing as other issues are addressed.

$ Allow developer incentives for dedicating a portion of the same or another development for affordable housing

Consider HUD standards as a guide for determining what is affordable

$ Allow manufactured homes in residential zoning districts on single lots with aesthetic standards

$ Encourage multifamily housing, e.g. apartments, town homes, etc. where utilities (public water and sewer) are available

$ Consider environmental factors

$ Encourage the preservation of open space

Provide incentives for cluster development

Provide incentives for dedication of greenways which fit in greenways master plan. [Note: This is a staff suggestion based upon recent Board action to approve Apple Country Greenways Commission.]

$ Encourage connections to public water and sewer

Provide developer incentives

Require where appropriate, e.g. multi-family housing, etc.

$ Do/Don=t consider topography as a limiting factor on development as districts are created and site standards are developed [Note: Staff is requesting direction on this issue so that the Planning Board, Staff, and the Consultant will know whether or not this should be taken into consideration in developing site standards.]

$ Use overlay districts to provide special standards for certain areas

Consider corridor overlays

Consider overlays for manufactured home parks

Others?

$ Do/Don=t address aesthetics and community impacts when developing site standards [Note: Staff is requesting direction on this issue so that the Planning Board, Staff, and the Consultant will know whether or not this should be taken into consideration in developing site standards.]

$ Consider landscaping requirements

$ Incorporate standards for off premise signs

$ Consider buffers

$ Consider curb cuts

$ Consider separation and setback requirements

$ Consider hours of operation limitation as appropriate

$ Use developer incentives to encourage the above.

$ Consider impact on infrastructure [Note: Staff is requesting direction on this issue so that the Planning Board, Staff, and the Consultant will know whether or not this should be taken into consideration in developing site standards.] The Board agreed with this.

$ Consider transportation issues

Develop standards based on thoroughfare plans.

Solicit input from NCDOT on proposed site standards, e.g. commercial, industrial, multifamily residential, etc.

Send copies of applications to NCDOT for commercial, industrial, and multifamily residential developments

$ Consider water and sewer master plans when developing site standards

$ Bear in mind potential impacts on school system associated with zoning districts as they are created/combined.

The objectives were reviewed. Discussion followed.

Conditional Use Permits. These are not normal but for use in unusual circumstances.

Conditional Use Zoning. This tool should be used very selectively. Planning Board will work on this. The Board wants lots of options and flexibility so that conditional zoning would be selective.

There was much discussion regarding affordable housing which is a moving target. Density to allow affordable housing. Low income housing and affordable housing are two different issues. There was some discussion concerning allowing a manufactured home on a housing lot.

There was discussion regarding subdivisions and the following: grade of roads, radius of curves, access road, and site standards.

Karen suggested that the Board might consider overlay districts for: corridors, entrance roads, airports. The Board was not sure about overlays but said to keep it as an option.

Julia Cogburn, Benchmark, had prepared a couple of issue papers and they were discussed briefly:

Affordable Housing

Rezoning of Numerous and/or Large Areas

There was some brief discussions regarding Mountain Ridge Protection and a hand-out was distributed.

IMPLEMENTATION PLAN

Phase I - Open Use Zoning and the Zoning Ordinance Rewrite

Phase I of the Implementation Plan, Open Use Zoning and the Zoning Ordinance Rewrite, will consist of three components:

Component I - Completion of the Open Use District Text

Component II - Application of the Open Use Zoning District Text to the Henderson County Zoning Map.

Component III - The Zoning Ordinance Rewrite.

Each component will require the performance of a series of action steps, each of which was briefly discussed. The implementation of Phase I will further the General Plan Goal, Objectives, and Other Desired Outcomes as discussed in Section 2 of the General Plan, pp. 20 - 22.

Commissioner Kumor made the motion to approve the Implementation Plan, Phase I with extension of time plans x 30 days. All voted in favor and the motion carried.

ADJOURN

Chairman Hawkins adjourned the meeting at 12:23 p.m.

Attest:

Elizabeth W. Corn, Clerk to the Board Grady Hawkins, Chairman