Planning Commission

Minutes City of Petersburg Joint City Council/Planning Commission Meeting March 23, 2021 The City of Petersburg joint meeting with the Planning Commission and the City Council was held on Wednesday March 23, 2021 virtually and was called to order by the Mayor, Mr. Sam Parham at 12:03 PM. A roll call was completed by Mr. Reginald Tabor. Members Present: Ms. Tammy Alexander, Chair Mr. Fenton Bland, Vice Chair Ms. Marie Vargo Mr. Thomas Hairston Mr. Michael Edwards Ms. Candy Taylor Dr. James Norman Members Absent: Mr. William Irvin A Quorum was established by the Chair. Others Present: Mr. Reginald Tabor, Ms. Michelle Murrills, Mr. Lionel Lyons, Mr. Jeremy Tennant, Mayor Parham, Vice-Mayor Smith-Lee, Mrs. Treska Wilson-Smith, Mr. Howard Myers, Mr. Darrin Hill, Mr. Charles Cuthbert, Ms. Darnetta Tyus, and Mr. Anthony Williams. Adoption of the Agenda: Because it was a special joint meeting there was not any adoption of the agenda. Minutes: Because it was a special joint meeting there was not an adoption of minutes. 1 Public Information Period: Because it was a special joint meeting there was no public information period. Public Hearings: 3B. Mayor Parham announced that the Planning Commission items were to be done first so that the people who were on lunch from the Planning Commission could get back to work as quickly as possible. He then announced that there is a public hearing and a consideration of a Petition and Ordinance to rezone the property at 3706 S Crater Rd from PUD-M-1C to PUD requested by PG Investments, LLC. Mr. Lyons announced that this petition had been withdrawn the previous week but that he and Mr. Tabor thought that it was important to continue on with the presentation. Mr. Lyons and Mr. Tabor wanted to let both the Planning Commission and the City Council know about the issues on Crater Road, including those that relate to the capacity as well as issues that relate to our pump station. The developer has decided at this time to drop their interest in the rezoning, but they are still going to be kept up on information about the area. Mr. Tabor then gave the presentation to explain the rezoning of the property at 3706 S. Crater Road along with the following timeline. • The developers met the city's development review team regarding the proposed development. • Impact statements were requested from development review team members and the Petersburg city public schools. • The developers requested a service availability letter for water and sewer. • The city's utilities division identified concerns with the utility capacity. • Staff met with developers and the city's engineering consultants regarding capacity concerns. • The developers submitted a request to withdraw the rezoning petition. • Revenue: connection fees assessed for the approximately 330 proposed dwelling units would total $937,200 for water and $1,696,200 for sewer. • The property is within the Poor Creek sewer shed. • The pharmaceutical manufacturing development project that is currently underway will capitalize on most of the remaining Poor Creek pump station capacity as well as the capacity in the downstream force main. • The proposed development will have impacts on local infrastructure immediately serving the site as well as within the greater context of the city's water and wastewater systems. • The city has not committed effort or funds to studying or improving the capacity or condition of the gravity sewer system upstream of the Poor Creek interceptor (a gravity line which extends from the Poor Creek pump station to the I-95/Rt. 460 interchange). There is a study done on the Poor Creek Drainage area from 2006. Which basically says that the drainage area is at or basically at capacity. In the study it was recommended to • Replace 21-inch segment of South Crater Road interceptor with 24-inch gravity sewer. • Replace 24-inch segment of Black Water Creek interceptor with 30-inch gravity sewer. • Replace 36-inch segment of Poor Creek interceptor with 42-inch gravity sewer. • Upgrade Berkeley Manor pump station. 2  • Upgrade Prince George Pump Station. • Replace existing 12-inch Force Main from Prince George pump station with 16-inch Force Main. • Upgrade Poor Creek Pump Station. The City has committed to meet ongoing and future utility needs with the Civica/Phlow/Ampac development in the following ways. • Poor Creek pump station and forced main improvements and relocation are calculated at almost $17 million. • An additional $13 million in water infrastructure improvements is also expected. • $10 million in funding has been requested in the state budget for water system improvements. • Timmons has determined that meeting the future pharmaceutical development needs will utilize nearly all available capacity in the Poor Creek Sewer Service Area. Poor Creek Sewer Service Area Existing Development—Capacity meets current needs. • Brenco Rail • Route 460 business corridor • Brasfield Development (Sheetz, Dunkin' Donuts) • South Crater Road business corridor • Southside Regional Medical Center • Aqua Apartments, Addison Crater Apartments • Battlefield Park, Oakhurst, Berkeley Manor, Fort Hays neighborhoods Poor Creek Sewer Service Area Potential Development—Development Opportunities • Brasfield Parkway • New pharmaceutical hub • 800 acres of unimproved, developable land already zoned residential, commercial, or industrial. • 595 acres of unimproved, developable land requiring rezoning. • 290 acres of “under improved” property. Recommendations • Five-year capital improvement plan and budget to include Poor Creek systems concern. • Detailed presentation on Poor Creek issues. • Identify and seek funding to address Poor Creek System needs. Mr. Tabor also wanted to let the City Council know that, by code, the Planning Commission is to review and develop a capital improvement plan and present it to the City Council. So, the Planning Commission will be involved in the development process. The Mayor than called for Mr. Tabor to continue on to the next Planning Commission item. 3 3d. A Public Hearing and consideration of an ordinance amending the City of Petersburg Municipal Code regarding the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act. Mr. Tabor conducted a presentation explaining that this was a text amendment to the city code. It is related to property city wide and specifically, the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Several rivers feed into the Chesapeake Bay watershed, including the Susquehanna, Potomac, Rappahannock, York, James and the Appomattox Rivers to name the biggest ones. There are more than 100,000 streams creeks, and rivers that thread though this watershed. Each waterway contributes to the Chesapeake Bay. The Chesapeake Bay preservation act (Bay act). Was enacted by the Virginia General Assembly in 1988 as a critical element of Virginia's nonpoint pollution source management program. The purpose of the Bay act program is to protect and improve water quality in the Chesapeake Bay by requiring implementation of effective land use management practices. The city of Petersburg municipal code currently includes required elements and criteria that local governments must adopt and implement in administering Chesapeake Bay act programs. There is a need to amend the Chesapeake Bay preservation areas section required elements and criteria of the municipal code to comply with Act requirements and to remain compliant with state and federal laws. This is a request to approve an amendment to the city of Petersburg municipal code Chesapeake Bay preservation areas section. Mr. Tabor then asked that the ordinance be considered for approval and possibly a public hearing. Mr. Williams clarified that it would need two readings and a public hearing. Since this was the second reading, the Mayor opened the floor to public comments. Since there were no public comments, the Mayor then closed the public hearing portion. The Mayor then asked if there were any questions from the rest of the City Council. As there were no questions from council either, the Mayor asked for a motion to accept to adopt the ordinance amending the municipal code regarding the Chesapeake Preservation Act. Vice Mayor Smith-Lee moved for approval and Mr. Myers seconded it. Motion was passed by City Council. Next the Planning Commission made the same motion moved by Commissioner Bland and seconded by Commissioner Edward. Motioned was passed by the Planning Commission. And with that the Planning Commission portion of the joint meeting of the ended at 12:39 pm. Next meeting to be held on Wednesday, April 7, 2021. 4