Town Council Regular Meeting

Tyrone Town Council Workshop Meeting Minutes October 1, 2020 5:30 PM Present: Mayor, Eric Dial Mayor Pro Tem, Gloria Furr Council Member, Linda Howard Council Member, Melissa Hill Town Manager, Brandon Perkins Town Clerk, Dee Baker Planning & Zoning Coordinator, Phillip Trocquet Finance Manager, Sandy Beach Town Engineer/Public Works Director, Scott Langford Mayor Dial called the meeting to order with limited seating and broadcasted on YouTube Live at 5:30 pm, this was followed by the invocation. The public was invited to watch. Approval of Agenda Council Member Howard made a motion to approve the agenda. Council Member Hill seconded the motion. Motion was approved 3-0. New Business Discussion: 1. Business Technology Park Phillip Trocquet, Planning & Zoning Coordinator Mr. Trocquet opened the discussion regarding the Business Technology Park (BTP) zoning district by stating that the conversation would be a continuation of the Retreat discussion. Mr. Trocquet wanted to clarify the development strategy for the Community Gateway Corridor along Hwy 74 North. He shared that there had been a lot of interest in the area near Sandy Creek Road and Jenkins Road, and on the opposite side of 74. Council Meeting WS– Social Distancing/YouTube Live October 1, 2020 Page 1 of 7 He shared that the Community Gateway area was a commercial area and represented the potential for technology parks, modified light industrial, along with office space and essentially, visually appealing. The former uses were more intensive. He added that while working along-side the Fayette County Development Authority (FCDA), several large tracts on the north end could be deemed as marketable. Mr. Trocquet shared that one set of parcels within the Town lies property that is in between two County properties, and that Fayette County had similar zoning categories. If the Town chose to annex these two properties, along with sewer, this would make the transition smoother and the properties more marketable. Three specific properties were discussed; Campbell, Whitlock, and Hobgood all totaling approximately 180 acres, with the Campbell property located within Town limits. Mr. Trocquet shared that the County required right-of-way access on Hwy 74 for an access or frontage road for connection between properties and to pull heavy truck traffic off Hwy 74. He shared that the Town should adopt this requirement as well, especially with one property in between two county properties. He added that if there were future annexations, that requirement could lessen the truck traffic immensely. By connecting each parcel’s parking lot, this would create a frontage type road. Mayor Dial asked if a frontage road could be placed in the rear of the properties. Mr. Trocquet stated, yes. The discussion continued regarding connecting a frontage road to properties. Mayor Dial questioned if the Town could require the developer to install these connecting roads, or would that be too restrictive. Mr. Trocquet stated that if the developer dedicated the land to the Town, the Town could put the road in, or require the developer to. He shared that inter-parcel roads connect parking lots; a frontage road is a road in front or behind the development. He also shared that if a developer were to develop all three parcels, there may be signals located at Thompson and Kirkley Roads. Mayor Dial expressed his concerns regarding being too restrictive on developers. He posed that if the Tyrone property owner wanted to develop their property, could the Town require them to agree to the placement of a frontage road for the remaining property developments. Mr. Trocquet stated that the practical way to assure some sort of ease of traffic would be the dedication of right-of- way. He explained that there was a design precedence already in place. This would avoid dead- ends or stub-outs. The adjoining builder would then agree to connect the dead-end road with their development. Mayor Dial asked if we are forcing homeowners to deed right-of-way to allow the developer to connect to the neighboring development? Council Meeting WS– Social Distancing/YouTube Live October 1, 2020 Page 2 of 7 Mr. Trocquet informed Council that it was the same principle as subdivisions, it would be a development agreement. Mayor Dial inquired if the Town would require the adjacent property owners of the three aforementioned properties to so, even if they were not in the Town limits. Mr. Trocquet shared that it would be a condition if and when they were to annex into the Town. The Land Use Strategy would need to be amended. Mayor Dial declared that this would be the right thing to do, not to have multiple locations for trucks to enter onto Hwy 74. Mr. Trocquet clarified the process, if one of the properties were to annex into the Town, the Town would have a process in place for the developer to agree to the placement of an access road of sorts for future connection to adjacent property development. Mayor Dial asked if someone came to the Town today and wanted to develop the middle (Campbell) property would the Town require them to have a frontage road leading to Thompson Road? Mr. Trocquet stated that the single property owner would only be asked to dedicate right- of-way and have an entrance onto Hwy 74. The frontage road would come after most of development was approaching completion. Mayor Dial restated that the Town did not want several right-in-right-out entrances for truck traffic on Hwy 74. Council Member Hill asked if the Town was being premature in making these changes or, are we making that area more desirable to developers. Mr. Trocquet shared that the intention was to make the area more desirable and easier to develop. Mr. Perkins stated that a representative the FCDA came to the Town, considering that entire development. They wanted a BTP type of ordinance in place. We are not rezoning but acting proactively for future development. Mr. Trocquet added that this gave developers more and better options. He added that the market was asking for light industrial or for six residential units per acre. Mayor Dial stated that developers want large distributions centers, and the market does not want office/retail. Tyrone has to decide what is best for us. Mayor Dial asked what does a BTP look like? Mr. Trocquet shared that it was a modified light industrial type development. The highest intensity uses would be assembly, some fabrication, coupled with landscape and site design standards. The Overlay District would be upgraded, this would all allow a higher intensity and should be a visually pleasing development. Mayor Dial shared that two developers came to the Town through the FCDA, marketing a prop facility and a set facility. Warehouse type would be in the back and offices up front, along with landscape. He added that the FCDA informs the Town what that area is marketable for, we in turn try to make that area more marketable. “If you build it, they will come”. Council Meeting WS– Social Distancing/YouTube Live October 1, 2020 Page 3 of 7 Council Member Howard inquired about the possibility the County would agree to annexation. Mr. Trocquet stated that if the Town created a similar development strategy to theirs, they would have a difficult time saying, no. This would maintain our good working relationship with the County. Council Member Furr inquired about the amount of right-of-way a property owner would need to deed to the Town. Mr. Trocquet stated, approximately 60 ft. Council Member Furr stated that a frontage road may not be parallel to Hwy 74. Mr. Trocquet agreed and added that the road would essentially be a connectivity road. The discussion began regarding the established properties such as the church, would they also be made responsible to the same standards. Mr. Trocquet stated, not while they were still present. Mayor Dial stated that he believed that the Town had already signed off on the BTP. Mr. Trocquet shared that the Town agreed to begin the process, we are only ironing out the specifics. Council Member Furr inquired about the possibility of a frontage road, and if the Town would own the road. Mr. Trocquet stated that it could manifest itself in a couple of ways. One way was that the Town would be given the right-of-way and a road would not be constructed until all three properties were fully developed. If there was a delay in paving a road, there could be a letter of credit issued. The third option could be inter-parcel access connecting parking lots. Council Member Furr shared that the Town does not want to take on a road like that. There would be a cost to maintain. Mr. Trocquet stated that along with the road could come a multi-million-dollar project. Mayor Dial suggested an impact fee type payment for the road maintenance. Mr. Trocquet shared that an impact fee could be dicey. He suggested taking the same approach as the Town would with a subdivision. Mayor Dial shared that the Town does not want an excessive amount of truck traffic on Hwy 74, including on Kirkley Road. He inquired how to avoid that situation. Mr. Trocquet shared that it would be difficult to not allow a curb-cut onto Kirkley Road from the Whitlock property. The traffic study would have to show a severe reduction of service not to allow a curb-cut. Mayor Dial shared his concerns stating that there was already traffic feeding from Sandy Creek, the church, and the school, we do not need any additional traffic on Kirkley Road than necessary. Mr. Trocquet informed everyone that GDOT had planned a future light at Sandy Creek Road, and a median U- Turn before Kirkley Road to handle all southbound traffic from Sandy Creek Road. GDOT may also place a J-Cut at Kirkley Road to prevent any cross-traffic from Westbourne Drive. Council Member Hill inquired about the reasoning behind no left turn at Kirkley Road. Mr. Trocquet stated that GDOT had plans to upgrade the intersection at Sandy Creek to a signal. Both prioritize traffic flow. The Hwy 74 plan would be safer with better traffic flow and fewer stops. Council Meeting WS– Social Distancing/YouTube Live October 1, 2020 Page 4 of 7 Mr. Trocquet began a discussion regarding the uses of the BTP zoning. The list consisted of technology research, research development, high-tech firms, light manufacturing, distribution, professional offices and, office space used in tandem with these types of businesses. He shared the secondary uses, or ancillary uses, such as; sandwich shops, retail, or visitor shopping. He shared that concerning permitted uses, the zoning would be similar to the O-I (Office Institution) zoning. In addition, call centers, movie/media production, similar to that of Sandy Creek Corners, would also be held to certain conditions. The movie/media conditions come in to play when the height of a building exceeds the restrictions. They would also have a greater set-back, perhaps a berm as well. He added that along with light industrial there would also be fabricating and assembly of food, metal, wood, plastic, and cloth products and electronics. These would all be considered heavy uses. Mr. Trocquet mentioned that the use of distribution was not listed. Those types of businesses could be found on State Route 85 and could be very large. Mayor Dial inquired if there was a use for light distribution. Mr. Trocquet shared that most industrial uses do have a distribution component. He posed the question, how does the Town allow this use, without it being a primary use? We would allow warehouse/distribution as an ancillary use, not a primary use. It could be a conditional use. He suggested the wording of; warehouse/distribution cannot be more than 50% of the business use. He added that it would require more discussion. Mr. Perkins asked if there was a size limit. He mentioned the Clorox factory in Fulton County. He added that the warehouse was several thousand square feet, but that they also manufacture sanitized wipes. The Town does not want a business of that nature. Mr. Trocquet shared that the maximum building size listed in the ordinance was 100,000 square feet. The County would say that was small, it would be closer to 1 million square feet. This would typically be a warehouse-type facility. The Town could state in their ordinance that no more than 50% of the development could be warehouse/distribution. Council Member Furr stated that if a business was a manufacturing business, it would need to have a distribution center. Mr. Davenport suggested that 1 million square feet may be too large for a BTP type of development. Mr. Trocquet stated that he would be researching the size further, 100,000 square ft. footprint came from the County’s ordinance as an example. Council Member Hill inquired about movie/media production facilities. Mr. Trocquet stated that they were permitted, with the conditions; that the Fire Department could service the building, increased set-backs, and/or screen the facility. These regulations were also placed on Pinewood Studios. Council Meeting WS– Social Distancing/YouTube Live October 1, 2020 Page 5 of 7 2. Parking Ordinance Philip Trocquet, Planning & Zoning Coordinator Mr. Trocquet informed Council that the current parking requirements for downtown commercial property and future owners were hefty. This was mostly due to the ordinance was written for highway commercial. He added that currently, the Town would like to move more toward a walkable downtown district, which would coincide with the Comprehensive Plan’s Town Center District. He shared that the first step in accomplishing that goal would be to provide more public parking. The new Town Hall, the old Town Hall, and Police Department would provide just that. This additional parking would be part of the calculation for a new developer in the downtown district. They could essentially build a bigger building, improving the tax revenue, which could require fewer parking spaces. Another example would be to reduce the new development parking space required by 1/3 %. The developer knows their need for spaces better than we do. They can share their need and the Town would work with them. He added that most municipalities were eliminating their downtown parking requirements, however, we should not move entirely in that direction. We should work with the developer for their needs. Mr. Trocquet stated that the Town could also propose shared parking spaces. He gave examples of Veterans Park, She Craft Co. and Shamrock Kitchen. If a business was closed on Mondays, the adjacent businesses could utilize that parking lot on that day. He also gave the example of shared parking with Tyrone First Baptist Church and a downtown business owner. He gave another example of the potential use of impervious surface parking, no paved parking requirement, utilizing grass parking behind the building. Currently, the Town requires paved parking. This could save the business owner paving costs. The Town could loosen the requirements of front parking. Another example would be to eliminate parking requirements for smaller buildings. He also gave the example of the developer paying in-lieu fees for parking elsewhere. He shared that it would be similar to the Town’s treebank. When a developer does not meet the tree criteria for their new development, they pay the Town what it would cost to plant those trees. The Town then utilizes that fund to purchase and plant trees throughout the downtown area. The Town could use the fees to create public parking elsewhere in the downtown area. Mr. Trocquet also shared that the developer could cater to other means of transportation, such as; golf cart parking, bike racks, or small car parking. We could work in tandem with the developer. Council Member Hill inquired about the financial impact lowering parking restrictions would have on the Town. Mr. Trocquet shared that it would benefit the Town. The land value would be increased. If the Town were to increase parking on public property, there would be a cost, however, it would work out with the improvement of the downtown district. Council Meeting WS– Social Distancing/YouTube Live October 1, 2020 Page 6 of 7 He added that there could also be additional financial improvement benefits that come from developing in the downtown district. Mayor Dial and Council Member Howard agreed with loosening the parking restrictions. Council Member Howard stated that she also agreed with reducing the parking spaces by one third, and implementing additional public parking. Mr. Trocquet shared that the Livable Incentive Initiative (LCI) Program could also assist with the process. He added that if the Town were to reduce business parking and increase public parking and to encourage walkability in the downtown district, he believed it to be beneficial. Businesses would not suffer due to a lack of parking; it would only be a 1-2-minute walk, and downtown parking would be plentiful. He added that handicap parking, expectant mothers, and the elderly would still be made available close to the business. Others can enjoy their walk downtown. Council Member Furr shared her concerns with concrete parking in the front and aggregate parking in the rear, it is not attractive and it would affect ladies wearing heels or people in nice shoes. Mr. Trocquet shared that this was only a suggestion. He gave the example of a pea gravel upgrade for Ball Ground’s downtown parking. He added that they used railroad ties as parking stops, it looked attractive. He stated that he would send other examples to get a better visual of that type of parking. Mayor Dial gave examples of Senoia and Pinewood parking. Adjournment Council Member Furr made a motion to adjourn. The motion was approved 3-0. The meeting adjourned at 6:39 pm. By: ________________________ Attest: ______________________ Eric Dial, Mayor Dee Baker, Town Clerk Council Meeting WS– Social Distancing/YouTube Live October 1, 2020 Page 7 of 7