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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMarch_14_2006_Briefing_MinutesIREDELL COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS BRIEFING MINUTES MARCH 14, 2006 The Iredell County Board of Commissioners met in Briefing Session on Tuesday, March 14, 2006 at 5:00 p.m., in the Iredell County Government Center (South Wing Conference Room), 200 South Center Street, Statesville, NC. Present were: Chairman Sara Haire Tice Vice Chairman Godfrey Williams Steve D. Johnson Marvin Norman Ken Robertson Staff present: County Manager Joel Mashburn, Deputy County Manager Susan Blumenstein, Assistant County Manager Tracy Jackson, Parks & Recreation Director Robert Woody, Planning & Code Enforcement Director Lynn Niblock, Planning Supervisor Steve Warren, Planner Richard McHargue, Lieutenant Rick Eades, Tax Administrator Bill Doolittle, Health Director Donna Campbell, and Acting Clerk to the Board Stephanie Whitlock. CALL TO ORDER by Chairman Tice. REQUEST FROM THE MITCHELL COMMUNITY COLLEGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES FOR A SUPPLEMENTAL ALLOCATION OF $55,000 FOR OPERATING EXPENSES ASSOCIATED WITH THE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT TECHNOLOGY BUILDING: Dr. William Findt, representing Mitchell Community College, requested supplemental funds to cover additional operating expenses for the new Workforce Developmental Technology Building. Chairman Tice reminded everyone that the Mitchell officials had mentioned the probability of needing additional operating funds at a past meeting. Williams said he understood the total expenses were $65,092. He asked why only $55,000 was being requested. Findt said the total cost would actually be approximately $130,000 but the requested amount of $55,000 would greatly assist. REQUEST FROM THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM (CJPP) COMMITTEE FOR APPROVAL OF THE FY 2006-07 BUDGET: Appropriate Punishment Options Director Pam Navey said that at a recent CJPP meeting, a budget was unanimously approved. She said the baseline budgetary amount was the same, but a few line item adjustments had been made. Navey said the Partnership desired to apply for a Program of Excellency Award, and a letter of support from the commissioners was needed. REQUEST FROM THE IREDELL COUNTY RECREATION DEPARTMENT FOR APPROVAL OF THE NORTH IREDELL PARK MASTER PLAN: Parks & Recreation Director Robert Woody presented a master plan from Site Solutions for the North Iredell Park. He said there were a few monetary changes from past discussions, but they mainly pertained to donations. He requested approval of the plan due to the need to move forward on the project. Chairman Tice asked how much had been received in donations. Woody said $2,550. He said the fundraising campaign would now begin due to having a master plan that could be shown to groups and interested citizens. PRESENTATION ON PLANNING DEPARTMENT ITEMS: Planning Supervisor Steve Warren provided a brief description of the Thomas & Sandra McCurdy rezoning request, Case No. 0601-3. Lake Norman Volunteer Fire Department Request, Case No. 0602-1: Mr. Warren said he knew of at least one person (Ross Adams) who was in opposition to the Lake Norman VFD rezoning request. He said the property being considered for rezoning was used by the VFD for parking, and it was purchased from the Adams family in the 1980s. Warren said the fire department wanted to sell the property as commercial. He said the staff had talked with the applicants, and they were unwilling to impose any additional restrictions. Mr. Warren said the planning board voted in favor of the request by a split vote of 6-4. He said that with it being placed in the RPO, it would have certain conditions such as landscaping, buffering, and architectural review. He said the individual in opposition was fine with the conditions, but objected to many of the uses included in a neighborhood -zoned district. Warren said that when the setbacks were in place, there wasn't much that could be situated on the site. He said it wasn't really suitable as a residential lot, but it could be commercially used. Chairman Tice said the applicants could get approval now to put in a convenience store, but if placed in the RPO, it would give the adjoining owners more protection. Commissioner Johnson stated there were also lighting, curb, and parking requirements, but these conditions were only possible if placed in the RPO. He said NB zoning was designed to be more compatible with RA, and typically NB businesses drew from the neighborhood and not outside. Commissioner Williams asked if Mr. Adams lived in front of the property. Warren said Adams owned the house in front, but it was currently being rented. He said that Mr. Adams lived in a house further back on the property. Chairman Tice said it would be better for Mr. Adams to go along with the request and have the protection of the overlay district. Proposed Text Amendments to the Iredell County Zoning Ordinance including the Addition and Revision of Various Definitions to the "definitions" Section & Revisions to the following uses: restaurant & bar, bona fide farm, farm buildings, farm type enterprises, kennels/animal shelters/grooming, land clearing and inert debris (LCID) landfills and rural commercial recreational facilities: Planner Richard McHargue said several months ago the staff began reviewing the zoning ordinance, and the planning board formed a subcommittee of four members who met monthly. McHargue said the committee recommended a new article to separate the definitions from the main text so that anyone reviewing the ordinance could find them more easily. Commissioner Robertson asked if the farm definition was different from what the tax assessors used. County Manager Mashburn said the zoning definition would not change the criteria used by the tax office for land use. He said a person could have a farm less than ten acres, but the property might not be able to qualify for farm use. Mashburn said a footnote could be added indicating that a farm building was for zoning criteria, and this way, the staff would have something to refer back to when addressing questions. McHargue said at the present, if a person owned property and wanted to build a barn, the construction would not be permitted unless there was a dwelling on the property, and this was due to the accessory building ordinance. He said this section would differentiate between a bona fide farm building and a farm building. McHargue said with the amendment, if a bona fide farm building existed, there would be an exemption from the zoning. He said if a bona fide farm didn't exist, a person would have to follow the guidelines of SR55. 2 Johnson said he recalled a problem a few years ago when the tax department required people to bring their income tax forms into the office. He said if they had satisfied the requirement listed as item two, then they had met item one, and they did not need item three. Mashburn said someone could own seven acres of farmland and earn income, but not classify under the county's program. He said the amendment would be an option for property owners to prove they had a working farm -- if they could not meet the requirements of item one or two. Johnson asked the benefits for having a bona fide farm in the zoning. McHargue said the property owners would be exempt from any zoning requirements. Robertson said the amendments would help people with small acreage farms, and he agreed with the requirement of bringing the forms in as an option, if they could not meet the other requirements. Johnson said that he did not like the wording, and would offer an amendment to item two at the 7:00 p.m. meeting. In regards to the kennel amendment, Robertson asked if veterinarian clinics were considered different from actual kennels. McHargue said they were treated differently, and vet clinics could be situated on less than five acres of land. Robertson asked about the amendment to the Rural Commercial Recreational Facility. He asked if the ordinance applied only if you were charging someone. McHargue said yes -- the intent was not for personal property and personal use. Chairman Tice said the individual was not required to follow this. Mashburn said that was correct --- unless they were operating their property for business purposes or receiving money. Chairman Tice said it was her understanding that if an individual had a dirt -bike track there was nothing that could be done to control it. Niblock said that if a track was being used for family or personal use, there wasn't much that could be done. Robertson said at the retreat, noise regulations were discussed. He said noise could be defined by decibels and not point of origin, but it was expensive. Norman asked if the planning board could look at the noise issue. Planning & Code Enforcement Director Niblock said the noise ordinance was not in the zoning ordinance, it was in the general section of the county code. Norman asked if research could occur on how other counties addressed noise problems. Niblock said most counties used a decibel range to determine noise violations, but disturbances occurring on nights and weekends would have to be investigated. He said the planning/zoning department did not have adequate staff to enforce additional guidelines/ordinances, especially during off hours. ADJOURNMENT: Chairman Tice adjourned the briefing at 6:18 p.m. Approval: 3 Acting Clerk to the Board