Planning Board

PLANNING BOARD Tuesday, July 15, 2025 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 Members Present: Madam Chair Catherine Drumm, Vice Chair Scott Faw, Member Deborah Cox, Member Beryl Alston, Member Mark Bringle, Member Glenn Corriher Members Absent: Member Jade Bittle Staff Present: Town Manager Michael Ambrose, Planning Director Phil Collins, Planning Technician/Deputy Clerk Angie Sands, Police Chief Matthew Geelen Others Present: Alderman Tony Corriher, Mr. Steve Ross and Mr. Spencer Ross with Dynamic Developers of the Carolinas LLC 1.3 Pledge of Allegiance Madam Chair Catherine Drumm led those in attendance to the Pledge of Allegiance 1.4 Recognitions and Acknowledgements 1.5 Adoption of Agenda A MOTION WAS MADE BY VICE-CHAIR SCOTT FAW, SECONDED BY MEMBER BERYL ASLTON TO APPROVE THE AGENDA AS PRESENTED, PASSED BY UNANIMOUS VOTE (6-0). 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES FOR MEETING(S): 2.1 Consider Approval of April 15, 2025, and May 20, 2025, Meeting Minutes A MOTION WAS MADE BY MEMBER DEBORAH COX, SECONDED BY MEMBER GLENN CORRIHER TO APPROVE THE APRIL 15, 2025, AND MAY 20, 2025, MEETING MINUTES, PASSED BY UNANIMOUS VOTE (6-0). Planning Board Meeting Minutes – 7/15/2025 3. NEW BUSINESS: 3.1 Consider Review of Proposed Amendment to the Landis Development Ordinance (LDO), Article 4, Section 4.2-2. 'Membership by Appointment' to Reduce the Number of Planning Board Members from Seven (7) to Five (5) Town Manager Michael Ambrose gave a brief overview. The Board of Aldermen voted at their July 14, 2025, meeting to reduce the Planning Board members from seven (7) to five (5) members with two (2) alternates. Those alternates would be required to come to the Planning Board meetings and fall under the same guidelines as the members of the body. However, you would only have to have three (3) members present for a quorum. In the event that an active member is not present the Chair would appoint an alternate to sit in that member’s place and they would be able to vote. If you have a full board of five (5) members present, the alternates would not be able to speak unless spoken to by the Chair. This is an opportunity for the board members to decide who wants to be an alternate. Madam Chair Catherine Drumm suggested to the members that they wait to vote on this topic until all members are present. A MOTION WAS MADE BY BERYL ALSTON, SECONDED BY MARK BRINGLE TO TABLE THIS ITEM UNTIL AUGUST 19, 2025, MEETING, MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY (6-0). 3.2 Consider Zoning Map Amendment #ZMA-2025-09-08-1 - 1335 Mt. Moriah Church Road - (Parcel ID: 130B09601) from SFR-2 to Civic Planning Director Phil Collins gave a brief overview of the differences in SFR-2 and Civic zonings. Single Family Residential Districts are intended for single family detached; it does not allow multifamily which is what the applicant is requesting. Civic is meant for civic type institutional uses but it also allows multifamily residential which the surrounding properties the applicant is working on are zoned. Madam Chair Catherine Drumm asked what type of properties are normally zoned Civic. Planning Director Phil stated that typically in my experience are Fire Stations, Library, Government building’s that type of thing. Madam Chair Catherine added churches, schools or no profit. Director Phil stated that it is allowed in Landis for multifamily to be in the Civic zone areas. Madam Chair Catherine Drumm asked if there are other designations in our area that allow multifamily. Director Phil stated yes Mixed Use and Residential Main Street Districts do allow multifamily. Vice-Chair Scott Faw asked if the property was adjacent to the current project. Director Phil stated yes. Steve Ross with Dynamic Developers of the Carolinas LLC stated that they purchased a piece of property from the church, the church used it for picnics etc. That’s why it was Civic to begin with. Early on when they purchased the property we came to the planning department here, at that point Richard Flowe was over that department. We were told we could build town homes here. Then later we purchased the property came back in tried to do town homes and they said no you can’t do town homes. I said we got our information from you guys; we came here to get our information. He said you gotta do apartments, or we gotta get rezoned. I said well what kind of apartments. He said this is what you can build. So we did 3 story apartments. You know we got into it a little deep. Obviously there has been a fire and all that kind of stuff that’s happened but me and my son started thinking about it. We had sold the house off in the middle there, because we had planned to do duplexes. And there’s duplexes Planning Board Meeting Minutes – 7/15/2025 all behind this that surround us. It’s not like we are right up against single family here. So what we did we bought the two ugliest houses next door to us and we thought we’d expand the project a little bit. So right now we have 51 units coming up and the reason we want to expand it was we don’t have enough units on the ground to have you know property manager full time on site, maintenance guy on site, pool, you know maybe pickle ball court. Try to make it a little bit nicer. So, when we found these pieces that we could buy we bought them. That’s our goal to go from 51 to 80 units I guess what ever is allowed there. Then we are able to build the pickle ball court, club house and make it for the community. An apartment building standing by itself is not nearly as desirable as if it has amenities. So that was our goal to try to grow that and to take down those ugly houses that were next door. You know that’s the ins and outs of it. If we can get the rezoning, we’ll put two (2) new buildings up add a few more units and then we’ll have a clubhouse you know pool everything that you normally see with a high-end apartment building. Member Cox asked if this had started the process of rezoning. Mr. Ross said that’s what we are here for is to try to rezone those couple of parcels that were zoned single family, they were right against us. And just to put some clarity on it, on the right hand side there are no houses on the right-hand side of that. It’s like owned by The Town of Landis I believe. So, Landis is on this side of it and behind us is all multi-family so there is nothing touching us that would be a problem. For us if we go to multifamily, we get a much nicer product for the community and that’s what we are after. Member Glenn Corriher asked about how this would impact on the traffic. Planning Director Phil said that it would be part of the TRC review. NCDOT would determine if a traffic impact analysis is needed. Mr. Spencer stated he could certainly see that it would be more of an impact there. The reality is we’ve already got 51 units on the ground, I know it’s a few more units than what is already allowed, but the issue with us is we are spending lots of money to make it as good as we can and we’ve found these two (2) houses that were eye sores. We thought we’d take those down get it rezoned and put pickle ball courts, pool and make it where someone doesn’t want to live there for one (1) or two (2) years, they want to live there for five (5) or seven (7) years. And that’s what you’re looking for. The transient is when you have a small investment without amenities. Amenities keep families. That’s what we’re after. Madam Chair Catherine Drumm asked why civic when there are other zonings that allow multifamily. Mr. Spencer stated what happened was the old administration that was in here told us that we could initially build I think it was 12 or 15 duplexes here. You know before we bought this property we came into the office and made it real clear that we wanted to build the same amount of duplexes they got behind us. One road in duplexes on each side. They tell us yes. We purchased the property, come back in Richard says no you didn’t get full approval. I said so what do we gotta do. He said you can’t build duplexes there. So we’re kinda stuck on what they told us. So, he’s like this is your next best opportunity is to go with this because multifamily is allowed in civic zoning. So, I would go with that if I were you. Madam Chair Catherine Drumm added that multifamily is also in other zonings. Mr. Ross replied it is. Madam Chair Catherine Drumm stated that civic does not seem to fit what you are doing in what I understand is Civic. Mr. Ross replied I just took his advice that came from the guys in charge. We do other projects other places. This is the first one we’ve ever done in civic zoning but we were told it was good to go there. The schools near by the churches near by that’s what people look for. Member Deborah Cox asked if there was something better he could go to. Planning Direct Collins stated there are other districts that allow multifamily, the problem is where it’s already developed it is zoned civic, so that’s why he is requesting Civic I believe, just a continuation of that. Planning Board Meeting Minutes – 7/15/2025 Member Deborah Cox asked if it was already Civic Director Collins stated that the biggest portion of the property that they have started the project on is civic. The parcels they purchased are adjacent and they are just going to incorporate that in. Now, whether they can get thirty (30) lots which is what they need. We haven’t sat down and looked at a site plan at this point, civic does allow 14 ½ dwellings or units per acre. I don’t think that would get you there, but we aren’t considering the whole site either. Mr. Ross added that’s what it is 14 units per acre. We had 3.4 acres initially and that didn’t include the house and this is another acre and a half that we’re trying to put with it so it would be times 14 units per acre. Town Manager Ambrose asked how many units per acre in MU-1. Director Collins stated MU-1 is 17 I believe. Vice -Chair Faw asked if you zoned MU-1 more apartments per acre could be put there. Mr. Ross added that MU-1 is Civic. Director Collins stated that it is different it would allow for more, but the property is already zoned Civic. Vice-Chair Faw wanted to make it clear with the board that if MU-1 was suggested it would be 17 units per acre, and Civic is 14 ½ per acre that would be more detrimental. That means more people, traffic etc. Director Collins stated that either way it goes MU-1 or Civic there could be more units permitted, and part of that would be the site plan review, and part of that would be NCDOT reviewing the site plan to determine what might need to be done as far as TIA. Manager Ambrose asked if the prior administration already had it zoned Civic when you purchased the property that you currently are building the apartments on. Mr. Ross stated the property was Civic when he went under contract yes. Manager Ambrose asked Mr. Ross if they told him to change it. Mr. Ross stated it was already Civic. Member Deborah Cox stated that it seems very poor management that this gentleman spent his money thinking he was able to do one thing and comes up here and finds out he can’t. That is horrible. Manager Ambrose stated that he can’t speak for the prior administration, so that’s where we are at with that. We have pre-application meetings that are thirty (30) minutes that we hash normally in that time frame to ensure that they understand the ordinance. Member Cox stated that we would like to say that we are sorry that this happened to you. Mr. Ross stated that he appreciated that. For clarity we planned to spend around 3 million dollars to build the townhomes. Now we are at 10 to 12 million as it sits, so we had to triple down to make this happen and obviously we had an issue with an arsonist, but I guess the whole point was we are here to try to get to eighty (80) units. Eighty (80) units plus gives us onsite people five (5) days a week, gives us the pool and the amenities that put people there longer. Member Cox stated that when you have the amenities it is better for the community because it does keep stable people to stay longer, especially if you can afford to have onsite maintenance or someone who will be watching the property. Mr. Ross stated that’s right and 80 units is the threshold to be able to afford to have those two (2) salaries on site to watch everything. The Chief of Police Matthew Geelen spoke about the traffic problem at Landis Elementary School. This is a grave concern of mine with the current apartments we have is the influx of citizens and motor vehicles that we will have at the stop light at the intersection and how that will affect the safety of our children. I currently have a meeting with the safety officer over Rowan County Salisbury Schools on Monday to discuss the current situation with the traffic we have prior to any of these apartments being filled. Planning Board Meeting Minutes – 7/15/2025 Manager Ambrose stated the TIA will take place in the TRC review. The TRC review takes place once the zoning is approved by the Board of Aldermen and the plans for the new buildings are submitted. There are other zoning options that have been explored with the applicant, correct me if I am wrong. The applicant has requested that it go to Civic. To the previous administration like I said those guardrails have been put in place, but I can’t speak to that management prior to myself. The board members discussed the number of people that MU-1 would allow compared to Civic. Manager Ambrose asked if the difference between those zonings MU-1 verses Civic. Director Collins stated MU would probably be more commercial or business mixed in with residential. Civic would be more schools, churches, civic buildings, but for what ever reason in the ordinance it was allowed to have multifamily dwellings in civic, which I’m not sure why they did that. Madam Chair Catherine Drumm stated that sometimes church have multifamily units on their property. Manager Ambrose asked if the setbacks are the same of different for those zonings. Mr. Ross asked if you want to get back to the number of people. I have no problem if you want to limit it to 80 or 82 units. If I get 80 units I’m happy, I can build what I want to build and I can make it nice. If you want to say hey we’ll rezone it provided the public goes along with it and we cap you at 82 units I’m fine with that. I’m not looking for 100 plus units. I just need to get at least 80. A MOTION WAS MADE BY VICE-CHAIR SCOTT FAW TO APPROVE ZONING MAP AMENDMENT #ZMA-2025-09-08-1 – 1335 MT. MORIAH CHURCH RD - (Parcel ID: 130B09601) from SFR-2 to CIVIC, SECONDED BY MEMBER DEBORAH COX, MOTION PASSED (4-2). 3.3 Consider Zoning Map Amendment #ZMA-2025-09-08-2 -719 W. Ryder Ave - (Parcel ID: 130 097) from MU-1 to Civic Director Collins stated that this is along the same lines. I think this would basically clean it up. You have MU-1 there but it’s less than half an acre, so, really what could you do with that. The objective is to rezone it the same as the surrounding that way it can be worked into the development as multifamily use. Manager Ambrose asked if MU-1 would allow multifamily. Director Collins stated yes it does allow multifamily. A MOTION TO APPROVE ZONING MAP AMENDMENT #ZMA-2025-09-08-2 – 719 W. RYDER AVE – (PARCEL ID: 130 097) FROM MU-1 TO CIVIC WAS MADE BY MEMBER DEBORAH COX, SECONDED BY MEMBER MARK BRINGLE, MOTION PASSED (4-2). 3.4 Consider Zoning Map Amendment #ZMA-2025-09-08-3 – (Parcel ID: 130 331 from SFR-3 to Civic Director Collins stated that SFR-3 does not allow multifamily. A MOTION WAS MADE BY VICE-CHAIR SCOTT FAW TO APPROVE ZONING MAP AMENDMENT #ZMA-2025-09-08-3 – (PARCEL ID: 130 331) FROM SFR-3 TO CIVIC, SECONDED BY MEMBER DEBORAH COX, MOTION PASSED (4-2). Planning Board Meeting Minutes – 7/15/2025 REPORTS: Planning & Zoning Reports (Included in Packet) Code Enforcement Report Chief Geelen gave a brief overview of the Code Enforcement report. CLOSING: Adjournment A MOTION WAS MADE BY MEMBER DEBORAH COX TO ADJOURN THE MEETING AT 6:44PM, SECONDED BY MEMBER GLENN CORRIHER, PASSED BY UNANIMOUS VOTE (6- 0). Respectfully Submitted, ____________________________ Angie Sands, Deputy Town Clerk Planning Board Meeting Minutes – 7/15/2025