Planning Commission Meeting

Town of Tyrone Planning Commission Meeting Minutes January 13th, 2022 7:00 PM Present: Chairman, David Nebergall Vice-Chairman, Dia Hunter Commission Member, Jeff Duncan Commission Member, Carl Schouw–Online via Zoom Commission Member, Scott Bousquet–Online via Zoom Town Attorney, Patrick Stough Town Planner, Phillip Trocquet Call to Order: Chairman Nebergall called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm. The meeting was also available via YouTube Live. Appointment / Selection of Chairman, Vice Chairman, and Secretary: Vice-Chairman Hunter made a motion to nominate David Nebergall as Chairman. Commissioner Duncan seconded the motion. Motion was approved 3-0. Commissioner Duncan made a motion to nominate Dia Hunter as Vice-Chairman. Seconded by Chairman Nebergall. Motion was approved 3-0. Chairman Nebergall nominated Phillip Trocquet as the Secretary. Seconded by Commissioner Duncan. Motion was approved 3-0. Approval of Agenda: Commissioner Duncan made a motion to approve the agenda. Vice-Chairman Hunter seconded the motion. Motion was approved 3-0. Approval of Minutes: Vice-Chairman Hunter made a motion to approve the minutes from December 9th, 2021, with edits. Chairman Nebergall seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0. Public Hearing: 1. Petition from applicant Randy Wright to rezone 1420 Senoia Road from O-I (Office Institutional) to C-2 (Highway Commercial). Phillip Trocquet, Town Planner Before the public hearing portion opened, Mr. Stough reminded the Commissioners that while the two commissioners attending virtually could take part in the discussions, they could not vote. Mr. Trocquet pulled up the public tax map on the screen showing the property in question. He stated that applicant Randy Wright had submitted an application to rezone parcel 072604010 from O-I (Office) to C-2 (Highway Commercial). The stated intent of this rezoning was to develop a Commercial Business Park compatible with C-2 uses. This property was originally zoned O-I for the purposes of locating a medical office park on the property. In the early 2000's this development, which was under preliminary site construction, was abandoned. Subsequent development in the business park had since assumed C-1 and C-2 zoning for heavier commercial uses. He continued that C-2 zoning was consistent with the Town's Comprehensive Plan as the property was within the Commercial Corridor Future Development Character area which encourages high- quality commercial growth with heightened architectural and landscaping requirements. Mr. Trocquet then read the impact assessment: 1. Will Zoning permit suitable uses with surrounding properties? Highway Commercial zoning exists adjacent to this property. Such uses are compatible adjoining other uses in this district and in the Powers Court business park. 2. Will Zoning adversely affect adjacent properties? It is staff's determination that Highway Commercial zoning would not adversely affect the commercial properties surrounding it. 3. Does the property have reasonable economic use as currently zoned? It is staff's opinion that the current commercial zoning provides reasonable economic use; however other properties adjacent to this have been rezoned C-2 consistent with other properties in the business park. 4. Would the proposed zoning result in a use which will or could be excessively burdensome on existing infrastructure? It is staff's determination that C-2 zoning would be unlikely to cause an excessively burdensome use for this particular property. The Powers Court business park has a common stormwater infrastructure system that is not yet at capacity. C-2 zoning has the potential to increase impact on roads; however, this is usually associated with office and retail uses. The proposed use is consistent with the rest of the business park and would not generate unreasonable traffic. Mr. Trocquet stated that the applicant had submitted a traffic analysis and a concept plan with the rezoning application. He noted that the concept itself was not something to be approved at this meeting but would instead be approved during the site plan process. He then put the concept plan on the large screen. He pointed out that the concept plan included not only the property in question, but also the one directly next to it on the left, as the applicant would eventually like to acquire it as well. He continued that though heavier traffic vehicles would be proposed for the site, when compared to an O/I zoning, the O/I zoning typically has a heavier traffic impact. He also pointed out this type of traffic was consistent with what was already in the park. Staff recommended approval of the rezoning. Chairman Nebergall opened the hearing to those in favor of the petition. Mr. Rick Lindsey approached the podium to speak in favor on behalf of his client. He stated that the property had been vacant for about 20 years. He also noted that it was frequented by trespassers and could be considered an eye sore. He stated that his client is wanting to put three nice looking buildings at the entrance of the business park. He said that even if they are not able to purchase the other piece of property, they still want to proceed with this rezoning. He pointed out that the rezoning met the requirements of the comprehensive plan and aligns with the other businesses in the area. He stated that the buildings were geared towards tenants that needed offices and some storage. He wanted it known they were not proposing warehouses, but more so buildings for medical product companies, builders, plumbers, companies with showrooms, etc, and this property would not be the next Amazon warehouse. He said that when they come back for site plan approval, they will be requesting approval for three thirty-thousand square foot buildings. Those types of buildings are permitted for C-2 zoning. Mr. Lindsey said that the O/I zoning doesn’t really fit this property anymore. Perhaps it did twenty years ago, but the area has changed and many other pieces of land along that same road are now zoned for C-1 for C-2. Chairman Nebergall asked if anyone else would like to speak in favor of the rezoning. No one spoke. Chairman Nebergall closed the public hearing to those in favor and opened the hearing to those in opposition. No one spoke. Chairman Nebergall closed the public hearing for those in opposition. Vice Chairman Hunter addressed a question to staff. He wanted to know about the partial road at the entry to the business park with potential access to Highway 74. He thought building that road would give the park better highway access without having to come through some of the more densely packed spaces in the surrounding area. He pointed out how nice it would also be for the applicant if the trucks could directly access Highway 74 (northbound only). Mr. Trocquet noted that building that road was in the most recent SPLOST book and was pitched as a potential project. GDOT (Georgia Department of Transportation) was not in support of the project, and staff does not see GDOT allowing that kind of access at that point. Chairman Nebergall had concerns about the traffic impact around the Carriage Oaks area. He thought the area already looked tight. Commissioner Bousquet spoke up sharing the Chairman’s concerns and noted that visibility was already quite poor in that area and he would like to take a closer look at the traffic impact this development could bring. Mr. Trocquet pointed out that the traffic study did not show the development pushing nearby intersections into a failing state and could be further addressed in the site plan approval process. Commissioner Bousquet wanted it known that the left turn lane from Carriage Oaks onto 74 was pretty non-existent and wanted to get that addressed in the future. Mr. Trocquet responded that any type of treatment/change at that intersection would have to be approved by GDOT or something that the Town works on with GDOT approval. Vice Chairman Hunter pointed out that there was a recent fatality at that intersection and he did not want that to happen again if they could prevent it. Vice Chairman Hunter wanted to clarify the buffers for the O/I zoning. Mr. Trocquet said that it was a 75 foot buffer from properties with a residential zoning, and from the rail lines it would be a standard rear yard setback which 30 feet. Vice Chairman also asked about the architectural guidelines for the property facing HWY 74. Mr. Trocquet noted that if the second property was acquired, then anything fronting 74 would have to conform to those standards. Vice Chairman Hunter said that if they were trying to create some sort of uniformity between the 3 buildings, then they would want to consider the design standards when designing the other two. Mr. Trocquet said that staff would encourage them to be designed similarly. Vice Chairman also asked about the set up of the buildings and how the buildings were going to look from the road. He thought they didn’t have good curb appeal and they should consider the Town’s design standards when designing the building. Mr. Trocquet noted that these types of conversations had already started with the applicants and would continue throughout the process. Vice Chairman Hunter brought up the stormwater runoff. Mr. Trocquet said that the business park had a shared stormwater infrastructure. They had obtained the original calculations, and the new development should be able to utilize most of the stormwater facilities. This would also apply to future developments in that park as well. Chairman Nebergall asked for clarification on road improvements and who takes those responsibilities on. Mr. Trocquet said that it can depend on a few things. If there can be shown a direct impact to a level that pushes an intersection or road into a failing or downgraded level of service, then the Town can request of the developer to help compensate for that, whether in the form of an impact fee or another arrangement. The Town does not currently have an impact fee schedule adopted. Based on the preliminary information, Mr. Trocquet stated that he does not think they will have to go there with this particular development but that he will know more during the site plan review. Chairman Nebergall stated that he is very proactive when it comes to traffic and making sure roads can handle traffic. He thought we should go ahead and start opening communication with GDOT and whoever else was needed so that the Town doesn’t end up in a bind. Commissioner Bousquet pointed out that box trucks and tractor trailers would be turning onto HWY 74 and would impact traffic, especially at peak traffic times. He thought it would be great for the Town to have this type of facility, but as someone who drives in that area frequently, he did not want to be stuck in that type of traffic. Chairman Nebergall stated that he wanted to have things designed before they reached capacity and that pre-planning was very important. Vice Chairman Hunter stated that he thought it was GDOT’s preference to keep traffic moving on HWY 74, but as a Town, it was our preference to best serve our citizens, and disagreeing with GDOT could put the Town in a quagmire. He said it might not even be a problem right now, so he didn’t want to make it a problem if it wasn’t. Chairman Nebergall stated that if they could keep pushing for improvement to the Carriage Oaks intersection and for that northbound access on HWY 74, then a lot of problems would be resolved. Mr. Trocquet stated that one of the reasons that GDOT denied the original request for a northbound access there was the proximity to the rail line in that location. Mr. Trocquet asked the applicant if the traffic study showed the level of traffic impact on the intersection. Mr. Jason Walls approached the platform. He pointed out that on page 13 of the traffic study it is stated that the level of service to those intersections is unchanged. He also wanted to clarify the types of trucks that would be common for the development. He stated that it would be smaller trucks, pickup trucks with trailers, box trucks, and the rare tractor trailer. He also pointed out that the 118 vehicles turned left at that intersection for the entire day, not by the hour. He also pointed out that they did have another option besides using Carriage Lane. He said that he the traffic study did support this type of development. He also noted that they’re estimated to have about 500 cars per day, as opposed to the original medical building proposed for the land, which would have brought in almost 1,000 vehicles per day. Vice Chairman Hunter pointed about that 118 cars are turning left on HWY 74 as shown on page 5 of the traffic study. Mr. Walls pointed out that it was all vehicles, not just trucks turning. Vice Chairman Hunter said that this was part of a larger discussion, much bigger than just the rezoning of this property. Chairman Nebergall agreed and added that with that rezoning, a different business could one day come in that uses more heavy-duty trucks, and that would have a larger impact. Commission Bousquet said he brought it up just to make sure that the Town had a relationship with the development, not to stymy any development. Chairman Nebergall said that if they could gather the developers support to contact the appropriate authorities to make sure these traffic issues were resolved in the future, it would be greatly appreciated. Mr. Trocquet pointed out that the Town had a traffic engineer of record, Pond Company, and they do all of the traffic design studies. He stated that there are 3 traffic studies in the works for this year. Chairman Nebergall wanted to encourage the alternate route that Mr. Walls previously suggested. Mr. Trocquet clarified with Mr. Walls that 10 percent of the traffic would go down the ramp to get on HWY 74. Chairman Nebergall reemphasized his previous concerns with traffic and reaching out to GDOT. Vice-Chairmen Hunter asked the development timeline if they are able to purchase the additional property. He said it would be nice to be able to compare already scheduled traffic studies to see if there’s any impact. Mr. Blake Barnett approached the platform. Said they would like to break ground as soon as possible, especially with current supply chain issues. He said the first building would hopefully be done by November of this year, with the second building being done by October of 2023. They are planning on focusing on one building at a time. Chairman Nebergall asked if the applicants would like to say anything else. Mr. Rick Lindsey approached the platform. He wanted the commissioners to know that they had been taking notes and would be taking their comments into consideration, Chairman Nebergall asked for a motion. Commissioner Duncan made a motion to approve the plan. Vice Chairman Hunter seconded the motion. Motion passed 3-0. 2. Submission to amend the Town's Future Development Map as part of the Comprehensive Plan. Phillip Trocquet, Town Planner Mr. Trocquet started by stating that this was a submission to amend the towns future development map as part of the comprehensive plan, and more specially to amend the downtown districts, both Town Center District and in Town Residential District. He noted that the Town is going through a comprehensive plan update and which would be completed in June, but that a slight adjustment was required due to how fast things were progressing. He put the new map up on the screen and described the old one. He said that the in-town residential district had stretched into areas that were no longer considered downtown. He noted that where Magnolia Trail and Senoia Road align there is a large tract, that should it ever develop, it would be desired that it develop consistent with other lots in the area. Those areas have been removed from the in-town residential. However, other properties have been added, such as the OM property. Areas on Valleywood Road were added as well. He said that the remaining map was much more concentrated and a little more square. It’s a much more cleaned up direct kind of relationship. The NW piece of property along Palmetto Road zoning for Highway Commercial was highly discussed. Any properties fronting Palmetto Road would assume a Town Center zoning and then the large pieces of property behind it would be largely residential. Commissioner Schouw asked if this change would eliminate a live/work scenario. Mr. Trocquet stated that it would allow for supporting commercial in the in-town residential areas, but on a limited basis. Town Center was the opposite—supporting residential, but mostly commercial. He then asked if anyone had any questions about the boundaries. Commissioner Schouw asked if there was a reason the OM property was included. Mr. Trocquet said that in the LCI, it was noted as a property with a lot of potential to serve the downtown area, and is very close to the historic homes and shops in town. If they decided to pursue development of the land, they would want it to support the downtown area. Chairman Nebergall asked if OM had been contacted about the change to their property. Mr., Trocquet stated that the Town had been in communication with OM owners and one of the DDA members is an OM employee. Vice Chairman asked if the OM property did develop, would there be any logical street connections. Mr. Trocquet noted that the LCI recommended a connection of Briarwood to several of the older streets in that area. He pulled up the map and pointed out old streets and acknowledged previous street names, and noted that created connections on the OM property would be highly encouraged. Commissioner Bousquet asked if this was the final map or not. Mr. Trocquet said it was a draft, and the commissioners could approve it as-is or approve it with conditions and that’s how it would go to council. Vice-Chairman Hunter asked about the properties right directly off of HWY 74, parcels 0738 033 and 0727 078. Mr. Trocquet noted that since there couldn’t be direct access from the ramp, Highway Commercial would not make sense in that area. He said that should it develop, there would probably be extra buffers or berm requirements put into place and there would also be some requirements regarding trees. Vice-Chairman Hunter asked if a cart path could be put in that buffer. Mr. Trocquet said that was one of the current SPLOT projects and that it was the next highest-priority path behind the Tyrone Road path. The Tyrone path is scheduled to be completed within the next 12 months. He said the Town was in the right-of-way acquisition phase, and that was normally what takes the longest. Mr. Trocquet went over the narrative descriptions of the zoning classifications. He said that for Town Center, staff would like to add the Town Center overlay district and the Open Space district, essentially parks. Would also like to retain all O-I, E-I and C-1. He said that language was also added to support the LCI and the DDA. He said the primary development mix should be commercial with supporting residential. The design should be pedestrian oriented around strong, walkable connections between different uses with Shamrock Park serving as the central public space. Road connections should be made wherever possible in order to allow for traffic dispersion in a grid-like fashion. Enhance the pedestrian-friendly environment by adding sidewalks, streetscaping, street trees, traffic calming, and creating other multi-use routes linking neighboring communities and major destinations such as the Tyrone Branch Library, Recreation Center, Post Office, Town Hall, Tyrone Museum, Tyrone Elementary, Shops, Restaurants, Services, and the four downtown parks: Fabon Brown, Dorthea Redwine, Veterans, and Shamrock Park. He also noted that this would probably be revisited with the comprehensive plan coming in June. Chairman Nebergall opened the hearing for those in favor. No one spoke and the Chairman closed that portion of the hearing. He then opened the hearing for those looking to speak against. No one spoke. He then closed that portion of that hearing. Chairman Nebergall made a motion to recommend approval as presented. Seconded by Vice- Chairman Hunter. Motion passed 3-0. 3. Staff-initiated petition to amend Sec. 113-134 Town Center Architectural Design Considerations. Phillip Trocquet, Town Planner Mr. Trocquet said he recommended withdrawal of this item. Vice Chairman Hunter made a motion to withdraw the item. Seconded by Commissioner Duncan. Motion carries 3-0. New Business: 1. Submission by Paramount Engineering to approve a Landscape Plan for owner GA Rheumatology at 145 Greencastle Road. Phillip Trocquet, Town Planner Mr. Trocquet said that the landscape plan has been approved by himself and by Environment Specialist Devon Boullion and met all of the guidelines. Mr. Trocquet noted that they had a larger than required parking lot, but that it didn’t pose an issue with them meeting the tree requirement. Vice-Chairman Hunter asked which way the site drains. Mr. Trocquet said that it drains to the south. Vice Chairman Hunter then asked about the property directly south. He wanted to know if the stormwater management on this site would impact the lot to the south of them. Mr. Trocquet said that he believed it would do an adequate job of not impacting the southern property neighbor. Mr. Trocquet then pulled up the property on the tax map to show it in relation to the rest of the business park. He then pointed out the stormwater pond that the property would drain into. Mr. Trocquet noted that they are already constructing the building and the landscape plan is the last thing to be approved by Planning Commission before they can get a certificate of occupancy. Chairman Nebergall asked about the elevation of the property. Mr. Trocquet said that it was higher than the others around it and used info from the tax map to support it. Chairman Nebergall raised an issue with stormwater issues already in the Market Hill area and Mr. Trocquet noted that there is a double ditch along Market Hill that should catch it all. Commissioner Duncan made a motion to approve the plan. Seconded by Vice Chairman Hunter. Motion passed 3-0. Staff Comments Mr. Trocquet noted that the first hearing of the comprehensive plan will go before council on the 20th and that the steering committee had already met. The concentration of this year was going to be on the Town outside of Downtown. He noted that they tried to pick a good representation of people in the town, more specifically, they were trying to get a good representation from all areas of town. It was mostly residents with a few business owners, but mostly a geographic spread across the town. Commission Comments Vice Chairman Hunter wanted to congratulate the Georgia Bulldogs. Adjournment Commissioner Duncan made a motion to adjourn. Meeting ended at 8:19PM. ____________________________________ __________________________________ Chairman David Nebergall Phillip Trocquet, Town Planner