Neighborhood Commission Agendas & Minutes

MINUTES Hampton Neighborhood Commission Meeting Community Development Conference Room, City Hall December 10, 2012 Time 5:00-6:00PM Present Nancy Belew, District 3 Alice Callahan, District 6 Robin Carpenter, District 7 Karen Duncan, District 1 James Gray, City Rep. Kathy Johnson, Institutional Rep. Ryan Jones, Youth Rep. Henry Mills, Institutional Rep. Anthony Reyes, City Rep. Jason Samuels, District 8 Tommy Southall, District 9 Peggy Todd, At-Large Rep. Anthony White, Youth Rep. Valerie Twine, District 2 Judy Hart, Chair Terry O’Neill, Executive Director Rashida Costley-Clarke, Recording Secretary Absent Ann Bane, School Rep. Steven Edwards, Institutional Rep. Edward Lattimore, City Rep. Guests I. Opening Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 5:00pm A. Roll Call and Verification of Quorum Quorum verified. B. Pledge of Allegiance 1 C. Approval of Minutes of the November 5, 2012 Neighborhood Commission Meeting The Chair asked for consideration of the minutes for the November 5, 2012 Neighborhood Commission meeting. Jason Samuels made a motion to approve the minutes. Peggy Todd seconded the motion. The Chair called for a vote. Chair voiced, “All in favor please say aye.” Response, “aye.” Chair voiced, “Opposed?” Response – none. Minutes approved. D. Chair Announcements • The Chair provided copies of the letter regarding Wind Turbines. • The Chair reminded Commissioners of the holiday social immediately following the meeting. E. Youth Report • Anthony White acknowledged the NYAB members in attendance; Jaelin Lewis, Candace Potter, Briauna Kralik, Chloe Newsome, Eilyah Burwell, Jevonte Blount, and Milton Harvey. F. Items from the public • Brian Sanders and Gay Siekirski, 38 E. Southampton Avenue presented to the Commission regarding debris in a waterway behind their home. They are looking for assistance to have the debris removed. Handouts were provided to each Commissioner that included pictures and contact information. • Laura Burbage, 159 Beach Road, spoke in favor of the proposed amendment regarding chickens, and discussed her experience keeping chickens in other cities. • Joyce Clark, 6 Clark Road. Joyce visits Amish country to bring back fresh eggs for her family. She would like to teach her grandchildren and children in the neighborhood how to be self-sustaining and get back to nature. She is in support of the ordinance amendment. • Cris Ausink, 1296 Thomas Street. Cris briefed the Commission on several topics which included; 2  o Storm Water Monitoring is from March through December 2013. One is scheduled to be done at Buckroe Beach by Smithfield Packing Company. Cris would like to encourage others to participate and asked Commissioners to spread the word. Training is scheduled for February 23, 2013. o Cris is available to present to neighborhoods organizations regarding stormwater stress. Contact her to schedule a presentation. o Cris reminded Commissioners that the Clean City Commission supports the Adopt A Spot program and has supplies for neighborhood clean ups. o A program called Walk Hampton Beautiful is tentatively scheduled for March 13, 2013. o Rain barrel workshops for water conservation will be coming up in the Spring. o Cris requested contact information for; Grist Mill, Hampshire Glen and Benjamin’s Landing if available. II. Actions (New Business) Item A. Briefing on FY14-18 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) • Gloria Washington, Budget Office Director briefed the Commission regarding this year’s CIP process. A full presentation on the CIP is scheduled for January 14, 2013. • Each year, the City adopts a 5 year plan for capital improvements. In FY13, the City adopted $25.2 million in projects for upcoming years. • The City will conduct outreach regarding the CIP throughout January to various Boards and Commissions. In past recent years the citizen education process has not been very successful. The Budget Office requested the help of the Neighborhood Commission to host a citizen forum to gather input. The input session would be scheduled for February 2013. • There was a brief discussion among Commissioners regarding the citizen forum. Commissioners agreed to host the forum. Tommy Southall made a motion to add a discussion regarding the forum to the January agenda. Kathy Johnson seconded the motion. Chair voiced, “All in favor please say aye.” Response, “aye.” 3  Chair voiced, “Opposed?” Response – none. Motion carried. Item B. Staff Briefing on Proposed City Ordinance Amendment regarding the Raising and Keeping of Domestic Chickens. • Lesa Yeatts, Senior Deputy City Attorney presented regarding the ordinance amendment. The ordinance amendment is in response to several citizen inquiries regarding chickens received by the City Manager’s Office. • Currently, the code states that chickens cannot be within 175 ft of another building or 250 ft of any church or school building. Staff is proposing to permit domestic chickens on single family lots. Commercial use (selling of eggs) will still be prohibited and there will be requirements for the shelter. The structures will not be allowed in the front or side yard. • Complaints regarding people who currently keep chickens generally related to noise and smell. Staff is recommending a restriction on the number of chickens, 4 hens on any size lot. Roosters would not be permitted. • Commissioners asked about the proposal to limit the number of hens. Currently there is no limit unless there is a smell or other complaint from neighbors. City staff has responded to homes of residents keeping 2 up to 20 hens. • People are interested in keeping chickens for fresh eggs or as pets. • Commissioners were asked to discuss the proposed zoning ordinance amendment with their neighborhood groups and report that feedback in 60 days to the Neighborhood Commission. Item C. Analysis of Proposed Zoning Ordinance Amendment regarding Ice Houses • Steve Shaprio opened the floor for comments regarding Ice Houses • District 9: Neighborhood association said they would support Ice Houses, but the structures should be aesthetically pleasing and maintained. Another organization thought they should remain in manufacturing zones. Concerns included maintenance, their proximity to residential homes, health codes, placement in regards to traffic flow, noise and foot traffic associated with the Ice Houses. Questions included: Who is responsible for inspection? Can Ice Houses be limited to larger shopping centers? 4  • District 3: All input received was in favor of the Ice Houses. Concern was expressed regarding the appearance of the building. Questions included: Can they be limited to large shopping centers? It is possible to make the roof and awning a requirement? • District 10: Aberdeen is drafting a letter of support and will forward it to the Commission Chair. All other organizations were in favor of Ice Houses. • District 1 & 6: Commissioners in these districts received no comments for or against allowing Ice Houses. • Terry commented on the neighborhood concerns regarding aesthetic regulations for Ice Houses. Aesthetics can be difficult to regulate unless it’s through a process of rezoning or conditional privilege application. Mr. Davis informed the Commission that the City of Newport News required the Ice Houses to have awnings. Robin Carpenter asked if the City could require some type of permit in order to have greater control of aesthetics since it seemed to be a common concern among neighborhoods. Terry indicated that he would research options for regulating aesthetics. IV. Dialogue A. Matters by Commissioners • Tommy Southall requested an electronic copy of the wind turbine letter. Tommy also expressed concern regarding an overwhelming number of clothing donation boxes that have appeared throughout the City. He requested that the Executive Committee discuss a possible ordinance amendment to regulate these. • Nancy Belew reminded Commissioners of the Riverdale Christmas Party on December 17, from 6-9pm at the Riverdale Pool. • Jason Samuels attended his neighborhood association meeting. Residents had a question that he would like to get information on to take back to the residents; does the city have a program to protect renters and landlords? Staff will follow up on the request for information. • Judy received a complaint about a neighbor piling junk behind their home. 311 has already been contacted regarding the matter- Is there anything else that the City can do? The City can only enforce what is legally allowed by the City Code. Terry recommended that neighborhood schedule a presentation from the City regarding the City Code, so they can become knowledgeable about what can be enforced. 5  • Tommy informed Commissioners that Steve Edwards is out sick today with bronchitis, but wanted to inform the group that Steve was recently ordained into the ministry and installed as pastor of his church. • Kathy Johnson informed Commissioners that Alternatives, Inc. is able to get books for low to moderate income children/youth in need, particularly elementary and middle school. Alternatives would like to work through faith-based and community organizations to get the word out. B. Committee Status Reports None Director’s report Next Meeting Date: January 14, 2013 @ 6:00PM. Location: Community Development Conference Room, City Hall. 6