MINUTES

 

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA                                          BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

COUNTY OF HENDERSON                                                                                 JULY 24, 2000

 

The Henderson County Board of Commissioners met for a special called meeting at 3:00 p.m. in the Commissioners= Conference Room of the Henderson County Office Building at 100 North King Street, Hendersonville, North Carolina.

 

Those present were: Chairman Grady Hawkins, Vice-Chair Bill Moyer, Commissioner Renee Kumor, Commissioner Don Ward, Commissioner Marilyn Gordon,  County Attorney Angela S. Beeker, and Clerk to the Board Elizabeth W. Corn.

 

Also present were: Assistant County Attorney Jennifer O. Jackson, Planning Director Karen C. Smith, Environmental Planner Nippy Page, and Acting County Manager J. Carey McLelland.

 

Absent was: County Manager David E. Nicholson.

 

CALL TO ORDER/WELCOME

Chairman Hawkins called the meeting to order and welcomed those in attendance. The purpose of this meeting was a Safety Net Zoning Workshop.  He stated that Karen Smith will begin with an update on the Zoning Ordinance Rewrite.

 

UPDATE on ZONING ORDINANCE REWRITE

Karen Smith reminded the Board that in October 1999 the Commissioners had a joint meeting with the Planning Board when the Commissioners turned the project over to the Planning Board.  The Planning Board has had five special meetings since that time to review text presented to them by Benchmark.  Julia Cogburn, of Benchmark, has been supplying the Planning Board members with sections of the rewrite for review. 

 

On July 18, 2000, the Planning Board reviewed the entire draft rewrite of the Zoning Ordinance. The Planning Board had received the draft about a month prior to July 18 and had been reviewing it individually during that month.   Each time Julia Cogburn gave the Planning Board a section she gave them a summary of significant changes, which helped in the review of the rewrite.

 

At their last meeting, the Planning Board asked Julia Cogburn to look at drafting text for conditional and special use districts.  They also asked her to look at writing the text for allowing some small commercial uses in residential developments.

 

The Planning Board had hoped to have the rewrite to the Board of Commissioners by Labor Day but it will take a little longer. 

 

There was some discussion regarding conditional uses and a conditional special use district.   The Board wants some flexibility allowed. 

 

SAFETY NET ZONING/OPEN USE ZONING

Chairman Hawkins asked if the Board would be ready to apply open use zoning to all the unzoned areas of the County concurrently with the adoption of the new Zoning Ordinance or would the Board want it applied as an overlay, for instance.

 

In reading old minutes, Commissioner Gordon felt that the Board of Commissioners had given staff the direction to enact it county-wide.

 

Commissioner Moyer does not wish to impose safety net zoning county-wide.  He thought it should be offered as a zoning district as the least restrictive district.  He opposed extending it county-wide.

 

Commissioner Ward was not interested in putting it in county-wide.  He stated that many of the people in the rural communities do not want to be zoned.

 

Commissioner Kumor stated that what the Board started out with was a good idea but she felt that it had been all left behind. The Board originally was trying to be proactive. She felt that the Board=s intentions had changed regarding open use zoning.

 

Angela Beeker stated that the decision of whether to enact it county-wide or not impacts other issues besides just zoning. 

 

There was some discussion that the Board go ahead and develop definitions and then following the hearings and public discussions, if it becomes evident to the community that this is the way to go, then the Board could enact it county-wide.  But if it becomes evident to the Commissioners that there are folks who will not buy into it then it may be a district for use but not be enacted county-wide.

 

It was the consensus of the Board to continue to shape Open Use Zoning as the least restrictive district in the new Zoning Ordinance and look at it as a tool to possibly enact county-wide, if public input so indicates.

 

Two public hearings will be required, one on the text and one on the map.  It was the consensus of the Board to continue with this (safety net zoning) as a zoning district option.

 

Direction to Staff

Following much discussion, direction was given to staff to include safety net zoning/open use zoning as a zoning classification option, remembering that it may or may not be applied county-wide.

 

RECOMMENDATIONS SENT TO BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS FROM

THE PLANNING BOARD

The Board reviewed the recommendations in detail.

 

Some of the more significant additions and modifications proposed by the Planning Board were:

$                Chip Mills - The Planning Board added chip mills as a regulated use in the OU district and proposed a set of specific site standards for the use.

 

$                Regulation of Adult Establishments - The Planning Board decided to prohibit adult establishments in the Open Use District and to allow them in the C-4 (Highway Commercial) and I-2 (General Industrial) districts as Special Uses with standards.

 

$                Amusement Parks - The Planning Board decided to regulate amusement parks that are greater than five acres in size in the OU district.

 

$                Slaughtering and Processing Plants - The Planning Board decided to regulate in the OU district plants that slaughter or process 100 or more animals per month.

 

$                Treatment of Uses Regulated in OU District in Other Districts - In some instances the Planning Board had recommended standards for uses in other districts in accordance with the standards proposed for the same uses in the OU districts.

 

$                Protected Mountain Ridges - The Planning Board had recommended that the Special Uses and the AUses Permitted with Standards@ in the OU district be prohibited on protected mountain ridges.  A definition for Aprotected mountain ridge@ had also been added to the draft amendments.

 

$                Definition and Regulation of Vehicle and Mobile/Manufactured Home Graveyards - The Planning Board changed the threshold for mobile/manufactured home graveyards from 5 homes to 3 and clarified the difference between cemeteries and Agraveyards@ through definitions.  Vehicle and Mobile/Manufactured Home Graveyards require a permit from the Zoning Administrator.

 

$                Disposal Sites for Hazardous or Radioactive Materials - The Planning Board established definitions for Hazardous Waste Disposal Facility and Radioactive Waste Disposal Facility and added to prohibition language in the OU district and the I-2 district.

 

The Planning Board also recommended that the Board of Commissioners consider amending the AJurisdiction@ sections of the Manufactured Home Park Ordinance and the Communications Tower Ordinance to indicate that these ordinances will apply in the Open Use District.

 

There was much discussion of the recommendations from the Planning Board and direction was given to staff if the majority of the Board was not in agreement with the Planning Board recommendation. 

 

The Board offered changes including but not limited to:

 

Slaughter vs. Processing Plants/Houses

Cement vs. Asphalt Plants

Amusement Parks - added 200 acres and removed residential density

Added chip mills to list (#15)

 

 There were many areas where the Board wished to have further discussion when they see the changes in the Zoning Ordinance Text Rewrite, specific items that they will want to have discussion on and possibly change at that time.  Angela Beeker reminded the Board that this is in draft form and the Board can easily make changes as they see fit.  The Planning Board had held detailed discussion and on some items the vote was very close.

 

Chairman Hawkins stated that each Commissioner will have to scrutinize the Ordinance Rewrite when they receive a copy as it is like a new Ordinance in some respects. It will take much study.

 

The Board will be interested to see what kind of public input they will receive on the Zoning Ordinance Rewrite document. Staff was asked to incorporate the changes from today and get a draft document back to the Commissioners for their review.

 

There being no further business to come before the Board, the meeting was adjourned.

 

Attest:

 

 

Elizabeth W. Corn, Clerk to the Board                       

 

Grady Hawkins, Chairman