Planning Commission

MINUTES TOWN OF FORT MILL PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING December 19, 2023 112 Confederate Street 6:00 PM Present: James Traynor, Dan Stout, Sarah Curtis, Matthew Lucarelli, Erin Pratt, Planner II Zach Driggers, Planning Director Penelope Karagounis; Nicho Eggers (HFA-Project Manager) Absent: Mark Kerr and Jason Therrell Chairman James Traynor called the Planning Commission meeting to order at 6:00 pm on Tuesday, November 15, 2022. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Chairman Traynor gave an opportunity to the Planning Commission to review and comment on the November 21, 2023, Planning Committee meeting minutes. Commissioner Stout made a motion to approve the minutes and Commissioner Curtis seconded the motion. The minutes for November 21, 2023, were approved by a vote of 5-0. NEW BUSINESS ITEMS 1. Commercial Appearance Review: Love’s Travel Shop Planner Zach Driggers presented the staff report and provided a brief overview of the request from Love’s Travel Shop to grant commercial appearance review approval for a portion of the existing building located at 135 Sutton Ridge Lane. The Town’s Zoning Ordinance states that all new exterior construction or addition which adds square footage associated with commercial uses are to be brought before the Planning Commission for Appearance Review. The applicant is intending to complete a full interior remodel and alterations to the exterior of the existing building. The applicant is proposing to add 117 sq. ft. to the existing 8,276 sq. ft. building; the proposed new sq. ft. is for expanding the IT closet and two new areas for storage. The applicant has indicated that the existing brick in some areas will be removed, as well as the roof structure, and replaced with EIFS and Fiber Cement. Alteration of these areas will match the rest of the proposed improvements. Elevations are provided. The applicant did not have any samples of the building material to distribute to the Planning Commission. 1 Chairman Traynor thanked Nicho Eggers for providing colored copy elevation drawings because it provided a clear rendering of the proposed color scheme of the building. There was discussion among the Commissioners on what was their purview of reviewing this commercial appearance review application. Planner Zach Driggers explained to the Commissioners that they are only reviewing the addition of the 117 sq ft. to the existing building. Planning Director Penelope Karagounis stated that if we need to modify the review requirements of the Commercial Appearance Review, she will have to submit a proposal to the Zoning Committee (committee is 3 members of Town Council) to see if a text amendment was needed for the criteria of reviewing commercial appearance review applications. Currently, the reason why the Love’s Travel Shop is at the Planning Commission meeting is to gain commercial appearance review approval for only the addition of the 117 sq. foot building. Even though, they are changing some of the existing brick in some areas, roof structure to replace with EIFS and Fiber Cement. The changes of material to the original building that is not adding square footage does not need to get reapproved by the Planning Commission. Chairman Traynor asked if an approval of signage is done at this time. Planner Zach Driggers stated the review of signage is a separate approval process done administratively where staff reviews the site plan for signage to see if it meets the ordinance. Commissioner Lucarelli stated for the record the proposed graphics of the signage is too large and since the Commission is not reviewing signage with this submittal, he wanted to state for the record that he does not believe in the large scale of signage. He believes that signage on the back of the building, where trucks pull in do does not need to be there to state it is a Love’s Travel Shop because they see the sign when they enter the entrance of the site. He believes that the signage could be reduced and perhaps study a window graphic sign better than a wall sign. Commissioner Lucarelli also made a friendly suggestion for Council to review and consider the criteria for the commercial appearance review. After no further questions or comments, Chairman Traynor asked for a motion. Commissioner Lucarelli made a motion to grant commercial appearance review approval with the condition the vertical Love’s Travel Shop to the right of the main entrance facing Sutton Road on the southwest remain and to recommend reducing the other vertical signage as shown on the northeast elevation by either reducing the scale, size, or delete in favor of other wayfinding architectural features. Commissioner Stout seconded the motion. The motion was approved by a vote of 5-0. 2 2. Amendment to Comprehensive Plan Planning Director Penelope Karagounis read the staff report. This is an ordinance amending the Town of Fort Mill 2040 Comprehensive Plan, as amended on September 13, 2021, so as to incorporate the Town of Fort Mill Trail Master Plan as an addendum to the Land Use Element contained within the plan. The Town Council supported and budgeted for a consultant to work on a Trail Master Plan for the Town of Fort Mill with our planning department. From August 2022- August 2023, McAdams worked with staff to complete a trail master plan. The Fort Mill Trail Master Plan was a community-led initiative that proposes a comprehensive trail network based on input from residents, visitors, key area stakeholders, Town staff, and the Parks and Recreation Subcommittee. The plan builds on proposed trail facilities developed through the 2009 Carolina Thread Trail Master Plan for York County communities and the Town of Fort Mill 2040 Comprehensive Plan (2020). This plan will also guide future development and ongoing maintenance of trails and sidepaths to increase active transportation and outdoor enjoyment opportunities. Planning Director Penelope Karagounis thanked Chairman James Traynor for representing the Planning Commission for a year serving on the steering committee for the Trail Master Plan. She mentioned how the link to the document is located on the Town of Fort Mill website. She also thanked the Mayor and the Town of Fort Mill Town Council for providing support in funding the Trail Master Plan project and encouraging staff to work on the plan. The Town of Fort Mill had a huge turnout of public supporters by either participating in our survey or attending our public open house meeting. The participation from the Town of Fort Mill residents showed us they value the quality of life and are excited for more trail opportunities for our residents to enjoy. Chairman Traynor acknowledged that a lot of thought and work went into this Trail Master Plan. He noted a correction for the unit count for the Waterside MXU development off Whites Road needs to be updated in the Mixed-Use development page in the Trail Master Plan. Commission Lucarelli noted that to fund these future trail projects, the Town should look at working together with public/private partnerships. Planning Director Penelope Karagounis that the current document opens the dialogue of looking in the future for being able to construct future trails with public/private partnerships. Future policy decisions will need to be made to see how we can fund and maintain future trails/sidepaths for the Town of Fort Mill. Planning Director Penelope Karagounis explained to Commissioner Lucarelli that the consultant used a criterion ranking to list the top four priority projects. The four priority projects list the cost estimates for the trails. This is a good source to see the average cost for those projects. A question was asked if the definition of a sidepath refers to also a multi-use path and the answer is 3  yes it can be interchangeable. Planning Director Penelope Karagounis explained the amendment will go to Town Council on Monday, February 12, 2024, for a public hearing too. Since we are amending the Comprehensive Plan, a 30-day public hearing ad is required and that is why Town Council will hear the case in February. After no further questions or comments, Chairman Traynor asked for a motion. Commissioner Lucarelli made a motion to recommend approval to amend the Town of Fort Mill 2040 Comprehensive Plan to incorporate the Town of Fort Mill Trail Master Plan as an addendum to the Land Use element contained within the plan. Commissioner Stout seconded the motion and the motion to recommend approval was made by a vote of 5-0. 3. Discussion and Information Planning Director, Penelope Karagounis presented the 2024 Boards and Commission calendar. The Planning Commission will still meet on the third Tuesday of each month at 6:00 pm. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 6:52pm. 4