Planning, Streets and Traffic Committee

Planning, Streets and Traffic Committee Monday, April 14, 2025, at 5:00 p.m. City Service Center – 915 Quarrier Street – Conference Room Members Present Members Absent Mary Beth Hoover Pam Burka Becky Ceperley Kathy Rubio Jennifer Pharr Bobby Haas John Gianola Staff Present Dan Vriendt Terri Allen Matt Hartline Jessie Redden Brent Webster Scott Campbell 1. Call to Order 2. Unfinished Business Bill No. 8050 - A BILL to amend and reenact Sec. 114-579 of the Municipal Code of the City of Charleston, as amended, relating to requiring residential permit parking holders to park within the vicinity of their residence. 3. New Business Bill No. 8051 – A Bill amending the Zoning Ordinance of the City of Charleston, West Virginia, adopted January 1, 2006, as amended, by amending the sign regulations related to buildings over 10 stories in height in the Central Business District. Dan presented the staff notes. He said this was a simple text amendment to the Sign Ordinance. Currently, buildings in the Central Business District, over 10’ in height, are allowed to have additional signage at 3 square feet per linear feet of the building. This allows the buildings equivalent to or exceeding 10’ in height to have big signage that is visible from the interstates, river, etc. These are the iconic buildings in Charleston. It was always the intent to allow them to have signage on all four sides, but there is at least one building that has a parking garage that abuts it. So, they cannot have signage on the fourth side. 1 Planning, Streets & Traffic Committee April 14, 2025 ordinance to have parity between all the tall high-rise buildings in town. This affects approximately 10 buildings. “Frontage” was removed from the amendment and replaced with “building side” in the proposed amendment. Motion and Vote: John Gianola made a motion to amend “frontage to “building side” in the proposed amendment. Becky Ceperley seconded the motion. The motion passed by a unanimous vote of 6-0. Motion and Vote: John Gianola made a motion to approve the committee substitute. Bobby Haas seconded the motion. The motion passed by a unanimous vote of 6-0. Bill No. 8053 - A BILL to adjust PARKING PROHIBITED times on several streets, in order to accommodate street sweeping at a later time of day; and amending the Traffic Control Map and Traffic Control File, established by the City of Charleston, West Virginia, two thousand and three, Traffic Laws, Section 263, Division 2, Article 4, Chapter 114, to conform therewith. Emmett Pepper introduced Bill No. 8053 before the committee. Emmett noted that Bill No. 8053 addresses more than one issue. The East End has street sweeping weekly and also have a parking enforcement in order to accommodate the weekly street sweeping. Currently, street sweeping is being conducted from 9:00 am – noon on one side of the streets. On the other side of the streets, it is from noon – 2:00 pm. The Traffic Control File actually states 8:00 am – noon on side of the street and 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm on the other side of the street. Traffic Control is currently out of compliance. The main purpose of Bill No. 8053 is to bring conformity to all of the street sweeping streets that currently are subject to the above-mentioned parking enforcement. Mary Jo stated that street sweeping was one of the biggest issues for the city every spring. If you fail to move your car during the time the street sweeping reaches your residence, you are given a $25 ticket. The city went door to door to houses affected by the parking enforcement. The city found out that most people, when given the choice, preferred cleaner streets. Emmett said he heard from these residents that streets are not being swept, especially Lee Street. Mary Jo mentioned a concern over making a change in the street sweeping schedule at this point. Street signs will have to be replaced. The Bill will have to go before another committee 2 Planning, Streets & Traffic Committee April 14, 2025 and then to City Council and we are going into May. May is a busy month in the city. She felt it may be better to introduce this change next year. Mary Jo addressed Brent Webster and Matt Hartline to entertain their questions and concerns. Brent Webster does not believe that street sweeping between 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm should cause a problem. Scott Campbell stated that changing the time from 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm should not cause an issue. Taking into consideration the time it would take to replace the current signage and getting the word out to residents affected by this change, this would be better introduced in 2026. Emmett mentioned that the residents also expressed to him their concerns with the leaf pick. The cars are in the way. Is there an opportunity to have street cleaning through November? Mary Beth said she understood the concerns over leaf pick-up, but it also meant adding another month of tickets. Brent Webster stated that he and Scott Campbell have discussed this issue. For ordinance purposes, however, they are not willing to commit to an additional month. Mayor Goodwin addressed the committee. The Mayor wanted to thank Director Allen as well because she has been a wealth of information on when tickets are issued, how tickets are issued and the processes. Mayor Goodwin said her main concern with this situation are the neighborhoods where this service is not provided. Motion and Vote: John Gianola made a motion to amend Bill No. 8053, Line 20, by removing the word “Tuesday” and replacing it with “Thursday” and Line 41 by removing “June 1, 2025” and replace it with “April 1, 2026”.Kathy Rubio seconded the motion. The motion passed by a unanimous vote of 6-0. Motion and Vote: John Gianola made a motion to approve the committee substitute. Kathy Rubio seconded the motion. The motion passed by a unanimous vote of 6-0. Resolution No. 25-034: Certifying that at the conclusion of the Capital Connector project involving the redevelopment of Kanawha Boulevard, the City Council for the City of Charleston will adopt an ordinance reducing the speed limit on Kanawha Boulevard to 30 miles per hour in a manner consistent with the approved redevelopment plans. Motion and Vote: Beckey Ceperley made a motion to adopt Resolution No. 25-034. John Gianola seconded the motion. The motion passed by a unanimous vote of 6-0. 3 Planning, Streets & Traffic Committee April 14, 2025 4. Discussion 5. Approval of the Minutes of March 10, 2025, meeting Motion and Vote: Becky Ceperley made a motion to adopt the minutes of the March 10, 2025 meeting. Jennifer Pharr seconded the motion. The motion passed by a unanimous vote of 6-0. 6. Adjournment 4 Planning, Streets & Traffic Committee April 14, 2025