MINUTES
STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
COUNTY OF HENDERSON JULY 10, 2001
The Henderson County
Board of Commissioners met for a special called meeting at 4:00 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 Bill Moyer, Vice-Chair Marilyn Gordon, Commissioner Grady Hawkins,
Commissioner Don Ward, Commissioner Charlie Messer, County Manager David E.
Nicholson, County Attorney Angela S. Beeker, and Clerk to the Board Elizabeth
W. Corn.
Also present were:
Assistant County Attorney Jennifer O. Jackson, Public Information Officer Chris
S. Coulson, Planning Director Karen C. Smith, Planners Josh Freeman and Nippy
Page.
CALL TO
ORDER/WELCOME
Chairman Moyer
called the meeting to order and welcomed those in attendance, stating that the
purpose of the meeting was to get various land use issues on the table, take a
look at the time schedule for each, and to talk about priorities.
DISCUSSION OF
LAND USE PLANNING PRIORITIES
David Nicholson
reviewed priorities and timelines for open land use issues and projects. Staff had prepared a chart to provide the
Board with a starting point for discussion and Mr. Nicholson reviewed that
chart.
The chart divides
ongoing and future land use projects identified by the Planning Department into
projects that are before the Board of Commissioners, projects that are (or will
be) before the Planning Board and other projects that Staff anticipates will
need attention in the near future or that have been tabled.
Board of
Commissioner Projects
Open Use Zoning
(Test Amendment)
Mr. Nicholson stated
that there are some things here that staff needs to go back and correct and he
asked the Board to omit that item from the chart at this time.
Industrial Zones
The Commissioners
had asked the Committee of 100/Chamber of Commerce to identify industrial sites
and to review definitions in the Zoning Ordinance.
The Chamber is
working on this and expects to deliver their report it to the Board of
Commissioners in September 2001.
Planning Board recommendations on Zoning Map and Text Amendments if open
use is revised will be due to the Board in December 2001 and a public hearing
would need to be set sometime in January or February of 2002.
Comprehensive
County Plan (CCP)
The Commissioners
have approved the Goals & Objectives in principle. A joint meeting with the Steering Committee
will need to be scheduled.
Still looking for a
consulting firm who will be compatible with County Staff and the Board. Chairman Moyer stated that he hopes they
will be ready with a recommendation on the consulting firm at the next
Commissioners= meeting.
The draft CCP will
be delivered to the Board in February 2002.
Mills
River/Fletcher Land Use Study
The Board has had
presentations on the study and the future land use map. The study will be considered as part of the
CCP.
New Zoning
Ordinance
The Board held the
first work session on January 9, 2001 to be introduced to draft and start
identifying major issues. The second
work session is scheduled for July 11, 2001.
Approval of draft in
principle by Board due by November 2001.
Planning Board
Projects
Minor Amendments
to Subdivision Ordinance (Driveways & Nonstandard Subdivisions)
Planning Board
subcommittee working on this with Staff and hope to have it completed by August
2001.
US Hwy. #25 South
Corridor Study
This project is
headed toward the Planning Board, not quite there yet. The Commissioners will communicate with Flat
Rock and Hendersonville regarding a joint study and then will give the Planning
Board direction. The idea is that the
governing boards will come up with some type of procedure and then ask the
planning boards to work together.
Zoning Map
Amendments
These are a couple
of big items but the Planning Board is awaiting direction from the Board
regarding priorities on Phase I and Phase II.
Phase I
Based on New Zoning
Ordinance & Industrial Zones.
Phase I to Planning
Board in November 2001 for proposal to Board in February 2002.
Phase II
Based on
Comprehensive County Plan (CCP).
Phase II to Planning
Board after CCP for proposal to Board in July 2002.
Other Projects
Assistance with
NC DOT Thoroughfare Plan
NC DOT needs assistance
with projecting future land use patterns.
Delivery expected by NC DOT to Board in January 2002.
Hebron Rd/David
Mountain Road Zoning Study
On March 7, 2001,
Board delayed further action until Open Use Zoning adopted.
Study of Areas
Adjacent to Village of Flat Rock (requested by Flat Rock)
On March 7, 2001,
Board delayed further action until Open Use Zoning adopted.
Studies of Other
Areas Adjacent to Municipal/ETJ Boundaries and growth areas
Roll into
Comprehensive County Plan.
Floodplain Management
& Stormwater Management
Changes in programs
and possible state regulations warrant study. Mr. Nicholson stated that actions
by the General Assembly within the last week may change how we approach the
floodway issue.
Stormwater
collection is not a function of county government. A federal list through EPA came out of cities and counties in the
State of North Carolina that would be required to do floodplain management and
we were not on that list. Somehow we
got added to that list. The State has
chosen to write its own rules and regulations associated with stormwater
management.
Chairman Moyer spoke
regarding how the pieces will fit together and the overall strategy. The County Wide Land Use Regulation Guide
was adopted in September of 1999.
In the Plan, the key
strategies were:
1.
(a) Apply open use to all unzoned areas of
the county
(2)
Rewrite the
Zoning Ordinance
2.
Study municipal boundaries and ETJ area
3.
Study of growth areas and major corridors
Mr. Moyer stated
that we need a comprehensive plan and the Board will move forward aggressively
with the plan.
Comprehensive County
Plan (CCP)
$
The Mills
River/Fletcher study will be a part of what goes into the CCP.
$
The work that=s being done by the municipalities to plan
for their area will be part of the CCP
$
The work that=s being done on the thoroughfare plan has to
be a key part of the CCP
$
The water and
sewer planning that is being done in Mud Creek and in Cane Creek will tie into
the effective CCP
$
The schools are
looking at the growth they are getting, planning where additional schools and
other schools should be located also has to be part of the CCP
$
All the work
that the group ADesigning Our Future@ has done will be another meaningful part of
the CCP
All these pieces,
which are so critical to having an effective county-wide comprehensive plan
will all be coming together towards the end of the year and the beginning of
next year. There will obviously have to
be a number of hearings to get the public=s input. There continue to be
pieces that will require a lot of work: economic development, what to do with
the tourism industry and the agriculture industry. These are important pieces that will be critical to a good
comprehensive plan.
PROPOSED
AMENDMENTS TO THE ZONING ORDINANCE
RELATED TO
OPEN USE ZONING
Angela Beeker
informed the Board for the need to clean-up two issues associated with the Open
Use District:
Issue I Whether
the temporary use amendments which were inadvertently omitted should be added
back to the Zoning Ordinance? Does the
Board want to provide for temporary use permits for isolated racing events?
Following discussion
it was the consensus of the Board to add:
4.
ANo
temporary use permit may be granted in the OU district for any regulated use
except for the following uses: (1) asphalt plants, (2) concrete plants, and (3)
chip mills. In such instances the
Zoning Board of Adjustment may impose as a condition of the temporary use
permit any specific site standards listed for the regulated use necessary to
make the temporary use comply with the general site standards listed for
special use permits.@
The Board also
wanted there to be a possibility for someone to hold an isolated racing event.
It was the Board=s decision to add the two of these together,
advertise, and hold a public hearing on both changes at one time.
Ms. Beeker mentioned
one other amendment, besides the two temporary use amendments as follows:
Issue II Whether
uses built after the effective date of the Open Use District, that are of the
same type as the regulated uses but which do not trigger the definition, and
that later expand, are entirely subject to the Open Use regulations, or is just
the expansion subject to the regulations?
Do after occurring events affect their ability to expand?
1.
ASubsequent
Events. Events occurring subsequent to
the date of an application for a special use permit for those uses in the OU
District requiring such permit, including but not limited to the location of a
healthcare facility or school within the state separation or a change in the residential
density, shall not operate to invalidate the permit or affect the ability of
the use to alter or expand its facilities or operations. In addition, development occurring around a
preexisting use will not affect the ability of such use to alter or expand its
facilities or operations.@
Following discussion
of AI@ above, the Board felt that this was what they wanted included. Ms. Beeker explained that there is no
language in AI@ relating to preexisting uses and she asked if the Board wanted there
to be language added. Staff had
inadvertently omitted that particular provision and the Board wished it to be
added back.
Staff asked also to
bring forth typographical errors at the same time the public hearings are held.
OPTIONS FOR
FUTURE BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT APPOINTMENTS
Ms. Beeker stated
that currently the Zoning Ordinance requires that a member of each zoning area
be appointed to the Zoning Board of Adjustment. Before open use zoning we did not have county-wide zoning, having
more than one zoning area. With the
adoption of open use, that has become a moot point. Staff had proposed some language to give the Board more options
in these appointments. Staff included a
new Section 200-65 that would allow the Board to appoint Zoning Board of
Adjustment members and alternates from any area of the county but allows the
Board the discretion, if at some point in the future they wished to establish
some sort of representative district, they could do so.
It was the consensus
of the Board to use the generic plan now, as we go through this
transition. Staff will add this to the
list of amendments.
REVISED MILLS
RIVER/FLETCHER LAND USE STUDY MAP
Karen Smith
explained that the map in the packet is an update to the one the Board had
received previously. The Planning Board
did take action at their last meeting on the three little white areas discussed
previously. The map is now complete and
can take the place of the earlier distributed map.
CANCELLATION
OF PUBLIC HEARING ON REZONING APPLICATION #R-01-02
by Robert
Bayless
David Nicholson
reminded the Board that Robert Bayless, who submitted Rezoning Application
R-01-02, withdrew his application on Thursday, July 5, 2001. At its July 2, 2001 meeting, the Board of
Commissioners scheduled a public hearing on Application R-01-02 for August 6,
2001. As a public hearing is no longer
necessary, Staff recommended that the Board of Commissioners cancel the August
6, 2001 public hearing.
Commissioner Hawkins
made the motion to cancel the public hearing as recommended by staff. All voted in favor and the motion carried.
ADJOURNMENT
Commissioner Hawkins
made the motion for the Board to adjourn at 5:16 p.m. All voted in favor and
the motion carried.
Attest:
Elizabeth W. Corn,
Clerk to the Board William
L. Moyer, Chairman