Planning Board

PLANNING BOARD Tuesday, October 08, 2024 at 6:00 PM Landis Board Room MINUTES PLEASE SILENCE ALL CELL PHONES 1. INTRODUCTION: 1.1 Call Meeting to Order Madam Chair Catherine Drumm called the meeting to order at 6:00 PM. 1.2 Determination of Quorum Present: Madam Chair Catherine Drumm, Vice- Chair Scott Faw, Member Mark Bringle, Member Deborah Cox, Member Beryl Alston, Member Jade Bittle Absent: Glenn Corriher Staff Present: Town Manager Michael Ambrose, Deputy Clerk Angie Sands, Planning, Zoning, & Subdivision Administrator Rick Flowe, Assistant Police Chief Kevin Young, Officer Shawn Hill 1.3 Pledge of Allegiance Madam Chair Catherine Drumm led those in attendance to the Pledge of Allegiance 1.4 Recognitions and Acknowledgements Planning, Zoning, & Subdivision Administrator Recognized that Deputy Clerk Angie Sands has been promoted to Planning Technician for the town. Madam Chair Catherine Drumm asked to have a moment of silence for those who have been affected by Helene. 1.5 Adoption of Agenda A MOTION WAS MADE BY SCOTT FAW, SECONDED BY MARK BRINGLE TO ADOPT THE AGENDA AS PRESENTED, MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY 6-0. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES FOR MEETING(S): 2.1 Consider Approval of September 10, 2024, Meeting Minutes A MOTION WAS MADE BY DEBORAH COX TO APPROVE THE SEPTEMBER 10, 2024, MEETING MINUTES, SECONDED BY JADE BITTLE, MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY 6-0 3. OLD BUSINESS: 3.1 Consider Downtown Master Plan - Presentation of Redevelopment Analysis for Parkdale Site Mr. Flowe gave a brief overview of Parkdale site. He introduced Tom Whittenhour to walk the Planning Board through the findings, the background and where we are now. Mr. Whittenhour stated that when the Future Land Use Map and Zoning Map was done, they’d like to honor industrial property as industrial in case there’s room for that resurgence. This site is right in the heart of your downtown, and I understand the assignment is what can we do to revitalize that area, maybe think about uses for it. Perhaps even approach Parkdale and ask if they would let the town do some things to make it more attractive. Mr. Whittenhour gave a presentation with images of the Parkdale site as it is today, and what it could be in the future, if the owners of the site are interested in the idea. Mr. Flowe stated the exercise was to stimulate the Planning Boards ideas. This helps you grasp what leads to the concept. You can see how the process evolves. This process can be shared with the current property owners, because you never know what their thoughts are. They may be looking at it as an investment for leasing out cheap storage space. The price tag on that block was an extremely low price when it was sold a year or so ago. That’s when I get concerned, when I see the value going down. That sale price will affect its assessed value in the future. It may not be mirrored in the assessed value, but chances are it will come close. We want to stimulate significant investment in our downtown. The idea on a block of this size would be to have something around 25- 40 million dollar assessed value upon redevelopment. Member Deborah Cox asked where would parking be. Mr. Flowe responded that parking would be kind of on the perimeter, and we have the Parkdale parking lot, on the block itself, the two rear corners are showing as parking. Member Deborah Cox also stated that having places to eat would also bring people in. Mr. Flowe added that people like to do a little shopping and eat too, without getting in the car to go to a different location. In order for those restaurants to survive, Tuesday through Thursday there needs to be people there during the week. Having restaurants that are close proximity to new residential. How do we retain our youth? We need to attract them to want to be tied to their hometown or attract new people to Landis. It’s the same with our aging population, if we don’t have options for them other than the ranch house or the restored old mill house, what do they do when they don’t want to maintain a yard anymore. Do they move to Salisbury or Concord. What is the support from the community, and Town Hall on something like this. At some point, we would need to recommend a zoning change, but we don’t want to do that until after we have met with the property owner, to say what you are doing you can keep doing, because your grandfathered in. If you really want to open the door to more possibilities, the zoning change would open that door and show potential investors that the town is behind the project is to already be prepared for that to be part of our downtown. For now, we should keep it the way it is, until we have met with the property owner and get their feedback to see where they want to go. Town Hall should lead us into the future. Madam Chair Catherine Drumm asked if we know what is going on at the Parkdale site, what is it being used for. Mr. Flowe stated that he has seen a little bit of activity there in the buildings but nothing substantial. Member Deborah Cox asked how soon we will meet with the owners. Mr. Flowe stated that now that the Planning Board has seen it, Mr. Ambrose and I will probably role on the next step being the governing board to be informed, before we go meet with the owner. Mr. Ambrose added that Parkdale still has control of the site until March. Member Deborah Cox stated that she thinks that it was a great lay out and you have done an excellent job. 4. NEW BUSINESS: 4.1 Consider Master Sign Plan for First Reformed Church of Landis Mr. Flowe stated that in article 17 which is the article on signage and sign standards and specifications in the town. You may often run into unique properties, of the type of project where a master sign plan can come in handy, because you might have multiple frontages, or centralized locations, or dispersed locations. First Reformed Church of Landis has a representative here tonight to show us the plan to upgrade their signage on their campus. It deals with their main signs, parking, and directional signs. The way a master sign plan works, and this is covered in article 17. It allows for a procedure like a rezoning. This is when the public is notified, where the Planning Board makes a recommendation, and the Board of Alderman and Mayor ultimately make a determination that authorizes staff to issue the permit, because it is beyond the scope of standards. Doug Pierce with Innovative Signs and Graphics out of Burlington, NC, has been working with First Reformed Church of Landis for the last couple of years. This is a proposal that utilizes the master sign plan, in the Town of Landis guidelines. Mr. Pierce had a presentation with images of the property and where the signs will be placed. Mr. Flowe stated that he would like to speak to the site triangle issue and point out the things that work in this plan, even though they’re contrary to the site triangle requirement. The site triangle is an area that if you pulled up to a stop sign, to be able to look right and left it would be unobstructed even if it’s on the private property. The measurement formula for that is 25ft down each right of way. The plan as shown, if you are traveling on N. Chapel towards Garden Street the sign will be on the same side as the stop sign. That is the one location where the site triangle is important. The way that Doug has the sign turned, it is parallel to Garden Street, you’re not looking at the wall of the sign, you’re seeing the end of the sign. Its obstruction will be minimal. The letter of the ordinance is 25ft, and in this case it works. Mr. Ambrose asked if it was outside the DOT right of way. Mr. Flowe stated that was correct. It’s all on the private property, its in the site triangle that we try to keep clear between a certain height for safety purposes, between 30 inches and 96 inches. Madam Chair Catherine Drumm asked if it was a requirement that monumental signs have to be down on the ground, or can the sign be elevated. Mr. Flowe stated that the bottom of the sign would have to be 8ft and higher to clear the site triangle. A MOTION WAS MADE BY SCOTT FAW SECONDED BY BERYL ALSTON TO RECOMMEND THE MASTER SIGN PLAN TO THE BOARD OF ALDERMAN. MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY 6-0. REPORTS: Planning & Zoning Reports (Included in Packet) CLOSING: Adjournment Madam Chair Catherine Drumm Adjourned the meeting at 6:57 PM Respectfully Submitted, _________________________ Deputy Clerk Angie Sands