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(Contact the town clerk at 919-469-4011 for official minutes)
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Cary Town Council Minutes Thursday, January 24, 2008 6:30 p.m.
Council Chambers
NOTE: Click on links to view staff reports. Exhibits mentioned herein may be obtained from the town clerk.
Present:
Mayor Harold Weinbrecht, Mayor Pro Tem Julie Robison, Council Members Gale
Adcock, Don Frantz, Ervin Portman, Jennifer Robinson Absent:
Council Member Jack Smith
A. COMMENCEMENT
1. Call to Order
Mayor
Weinbrecht called the meeting to order at _________________________
2. Ceremonial Opening
Mrs.
Robinson provided the ceremonial opening. _________________________
3. Adoption of agenda
The one proposed
addition is to add consent agenda item B.1.d. to consider moving Chris
Brooks from an ETJ member of the planning and zoning board to an in-town
member of that board with a term expiration date of ACTION:
Mrs. Robinson moved to approve the agenda with the above proposed
addition. Mrs. Robison provided the second, and council granted unanimous
approval. _________________________
B.
CONSENT AGENDA The
council pulled the following items from the consent agenda for discussion:
B.3.b., goals and funding for land-banking, and B.3.e., evaluation of
corridor transition zoning district (
1.
Regular Consent Agenda (any
regular consent agenda item pulled for discussion will be discussed at the
end of the old/new business portion of the agenda, which is item H on this
agenda) a.
Consideration of approval of the minutes of the regular town
council meeting held on
ACTION:
Mr. Portman moved to approve the consent agenda, except for items B.3.b.,
goals and funding for land-banking, and B.3.e., evaluation of corridor
transition zoning district ( _________________________
b. Consideration of an amendment to the adopted 2008 Town of Cary Official Meetings Schedule.
ACTION:
Mr. Portman moved to approve the consent agenda, except for items B.3.b.,
goals and funding for land-banking, and B.3.e., evaluation of corridor
transition zoning district ( _________________________
c.
Consideration
of adoption of certificates of sufficiency and resolutions calling for
public hearings on the following citizen-initiated annexations: (1)
ANNEXATION
PETITION 07-A-27
ACTION:
Mr. Portman moved to approve the consent agenda, except for items B.3.b.,
goals and funding for land-banking, and B.3.e., evaluation of corridor
transition zoning district ( _________________________
(2)
ANNEXATION
PETITION 07-A-31
ACTION:
Mr. Portman moved to approve the consent agenda, except for items B.3.b.,
goals and funding for land-banking, and B.3.e., evaluation of corridor
transition zoning district ( _________________________
d.
ACTION:
Mr. Portman moved to approve the consent agenda, except for items B.3.b.,
goals and funding for land-banking, and B.3.e., evaluation of corridor
transition zoning district ( _________________________
2.
Land Development Consent Agenda (any
land development consent agenda item pulled for discussion will be
discussed at the end of the land development discussion portion of the
agenda, which is item F on this agenda) There were no land
development consent agenda items on this agenda. _________________________ 3.
Planning and Development Committee, a.
Public
Art for ACTION:
Mr. Portman moved to approve the consent agenda, except for items B.3.b.,
goals and funding for land-banking, and B.3.e., evaluation of corridor
transition zoning district ( _________________________
b.
Goals
and Funding for Land Banking Program
(AD08-005a)
(1)
Use of the $3 million of school capacity fees to be paid to the
Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) to assist with the purchase of
one or more school sites to be located within the western portion of the
corporate limits of the Town of Cary, to be paid to the WCPSS once
specific property(ies) have been identified and approved by the Wake
County School Board for purchase.
(2)
Funding of a new $20 million Town of Cary capital project entitled
“Land Banking” to be funded as follows with initial targets for total
funding of $23 million to include assistance with school sites identified
by Wake funding to: ·
$5 million of general fund fund
balance to assist with land purchases to include the following types of
public service uses:
schools,
post office, open space, fire station, and other Town of ·
$5 million of utility
fund fund balance for the purchase of additional open space to help
protect water quality ·
$10 million of asset
backed debt.
The debt service
for this borrowing will be approximately $1 million during the first year
and will decline gradually over the payment term of twenty years.
It is expected that the first year of debt service will occur in FY 2009
and would be paid from the general fund.
This $10 million in funding would be the last funding out of the
$20 million utilized so that the timing of the debt service would be
delayed as long as possible.
Initial
targets for this total of $23 million in funding will include assistance
with school sites identified by the WCPSS, key open space parcels, and the
future location of a post office.
Committee
further recommended approval that an appropriation be made at this time to
allow staff to move forward with a land banking program as soon as
possible.
(3)
Committee further recommended that the public be invited to provide
feedback on this program, and on any specific concerns or considerations,
through the previously scheduled dedicated public hearings at each Council
meeting in February as part of the annual budget process or by providing
feedback through email at budget.input@townofcary.org
during the month of February. Pulled from consent for discussion. See item G.
_________________________
c.
Consideration of Waivers and
Financial Contributions for the Wake County Public School System
(EN08-064) ACTION:
Mr. Portman moved to approve the consent agenda, except for items B.3.b.,
goals and funding for land-banking, and B.3.e., evaluation of corridor
transition zoning district ( _________________________
d.
Waiver Requests – Gateway
Preston Bank (EN08-071) ACTION:
Mr. Portman moved to approve the consent agenda, except for items B.3.b.,
goals and funding for land-banking, and B.3.e., evaluation of corridor
transition zoning district ( _________________________
e.
Evaluation of Corridor Transition
Zoning District (Walnut Street) (PL08-021)
Pulled from consent for discussion. See item G.
_________________________
C.
RECOGNITIONS, REPORTS, There were no
recognitions, reports and presentations on this agenda. _________________________ D.
PUBLIC HEARINGS 1.
Development Fees Budget Director Scott
Fogleman introduced this item. Mr. Joe Ciulla is in
favor of this proposal. He predicted that the council will hear from the
development community that these fee increases will cause financial
hardships, and he does not believe this is true. He stated installing an
irrigation meter is a decision for homeowners to make, and if they do not
install one, then they do not pay the fee. He does not think the other
increased fees will keep people from coming to Mr. Matt Bland stated
the fee increase will drive away some developers, some of whom are local Mr. Jeff Sheehan,
president of the Research Triangle Park Chapter of NAIOP asked council to
send this item to committee to ensure all impacts are understood. His
organization wants to work with council to find the right balance. Refer
to Exhibit for Mr. Sheehan’s detailed comments. Ms. Lynn Wilhelm
stated the increase in irrigation fees may discourage people from
maintaining their property at the current level of aesthetics. She
believes there are many ways to improve the irrigation system in Ms. Suzanne Harris on
behalf of the Raleigh/Wake County Homebuilders Association stated the
present time is very difficult for the homebuilding industry, which
impacts many jobs and the economy. She stated if the council decides to
increase fees, then she requested that council do this over a longer
period of time so the industry can ramp up. Mr. John Powell
stated the area is in a recession and a water shortage. He stated people
come to Mr. Brad McGinness
concurred with Mr. Powell’s comments. He stated the council needs to
determine what is right for Mr. David Williams, a
local irrigation contractor representing the Green Industry Council, and a
Garner resident, stated they visited the legislature last night and
presented information to them on water allocation. They gave the Town of Mr. Brent Miller
stated the council has heard exactly what Mr. Cuilla predicted in his
comments. He stated Mr. Kurt Bland stated
he is in the green industry, and his business does a lot of work in Mr. Jeff Edwards
stated if council raises these fees, it will cause a personal hardship for
his family because he installs irrigation systems in The mayor closed the
public hearing. Mr. Portman asked the
rationale for impact fees, the impact to eliminate this fee and the impact
to double this fee. Mr. Fogleman stated impact fees help recover the
capital costs to provide the capacity to provide the service. He stated
the impact of doubling the fee would depend on the volume, and we do not
know the volume of permit development in order to predict this. He stated
if the fee were eliminated, it would increase the amount of funding that
would be provided through other sources other than development fees to
help provide the necessary infrastructure. Mr. Portman suggested
postponing this issue. He has asked staff for additional information on
the market basket of fees comparing Mrs. Robinson is
concerned about making a rash decision to raise the fees. She wants
deliberative input and to move forward cautiously. She wants to accept the
offer of tonight’s speakers to provide input, and she suggested to task
force the issue with the members from the industry and citizens. She
believes that citizens misunderstand impact fees, and she doesn’t
believe it’s appropriate to deter development with impact fees; instead,
she thinks the council should focus on the land use plan. She stated it is
not possible to set fees high enough to recover the full cost of
infrastructure because it will drive development away. She stated Mr. Frantz concurs
with Mr. Portman and Mrs. Robinson, and he is concerned with the accuracy
of the numbers. He stated as a business owner he is seeing extra costs
because of the economy and increased fees. He stated the real question is
how much of a fee increase is appropriate. Mrs. Robison sees
this as a values question, and it’s important to determine what
percentage should be paid by development vs. the people who benefit by the
infrastructure over a long period of time. Mrs. Adcock supports
further study. She stated council’s intent is not to slow development,
but rather to have development assist in paying for infrastructure. She
stated everybody at the table is a stakeholder. Mr. Weinbrecht stated
it is important to be sensitive to the market; however, there is a cost
associated with growth. He thinks some adjustment is appropriate. He urged
council to bring everyone to the table to come up with the best possible
decision. Mr. Portman thinks it
is important not to use fees to push commerce in any one direction. He
stated if fees are set at the right level, then the monthly usage fee
protects existing and new user. The question is the impact of added
capacity. ACTION:
Mr. Portman moved to table this issue until the next council meeting at
which time the council will have the additional information from staff.
Mr. Frantz provided the second. Mrs. Robinson will
not presume it will be acted on at the next meeting; rather, council may
choose to forward it to a task force or committee. Mrs. Adcock stated
part of continued deliberation should be the timeline issue, including the
importance of a decision now vs. later. Mrs. Robinson stated
there is time to change fees with the new fiscal year that begins ACTION:
Vote was called for on the motion, and council granted unanimous approval. Mrs. Robison moved to
create a development fee task force and invite multiple stakeholders to
participate to make recommendations to council. She thinks staff can help
formulate the task force. She doesn’t think there’s time to wait until
the citizen initiated issue group is in place, because this decision must
be made with the budget process. Mrs. Adcock provided the second. Mr. Coleman suggested
waiting until the next council meeting to make a decision on the task
force so that council will first have time to review the additional
information from staff. He also said that this information will be
provided to anyone who requests it. ACTION:
Mrs. Robison withdrew her motion, and Mrs. Adcock withdrew her second. _________________________ 2.
White Oak Creek Project at a.
ANNEXATION
PETITION 07-A-02 b.
REZONING
07-REZ-31 Staff’s powerpoint
presentation on the rezoning is attached to and incorporated herein as Exhibit. No one spoke, and the
mayor closed the public hearing. Mrs. Robinson thinks
this will be a gateway into the community in which everyone will be proud
and will reflect the values of the community. No action is required
on the annexation at this time. ACTION:
Referred the rezoning to the _________________________
3.
White Oak Creek Project at Green Level Church Road
a.
ANNEXATION
PETITION 07-A-03 b.
REZONING
07-REZ-32 Staff’s powerpoint
presentation on the rezoning is attached to and incorporated herein as Exhibit. Mr. Tom Hemrick asked
if this annexation is contiguous to the previous rezoning, and if not,
what is being done about the missing link. The mayor closed the
public hearing. Mrs. Grannan stated
the property is not contiguous, which is why there are two cases. She
stated an easement between the two properties will extend the greenway
trail. Mrs. Robinson stated
the area designated for General Commercial has a note on the land use plan
that states whatever is developed here should be sensitive to the property
that adjacent to an historic area. She stated property to the west of this
parcel is in Apex’s planning jurisdiction. She wants to meet with Apex
representatives regarding the area to the north of the White Oak Creek
being placed in Mrs. Henderson,
director of parks, recreation and cultural resources, stated ACTION:
Referred to the _________________________
4.
ANNEXATION PUBLIC HEARINGS: a.
ANNEXATION
PETITION 07-A-28 b.
ANNEXATION
PETITION 07-A-29 No one spoke, and the
mayor closed the public hearing. ACTION:
Mrs. Robinson moved to approve 07-A-28 and 07-A-29. Mr. Frantz provided
the second, and council granted unanimous approval. (Ordinances are also
on file in the town clerk’s office.) _________________________
E. PUBLIC SPEAKS OUT
Mr. Waheed Haq, a
real estate developer, spoke about his positive experience working with
Town staff. He specifically mentioned Greg Barnes, Ken Hawley, Gina Smith,
Harry Van Wagner, Tammy Spivey, Tom Horstman, Tara Adams and Shuyan Tian. Mr. Joe Ciulla stated
there were 75 people who attended the meeting for the development fee
public hearing, and when that hearing concluded, they disrupted the
meeting to leave. _________________________
F.
LAND DEVELOPMENT DISCUSSION ITEMS
(any item pulled from the land development consent agenda for discussion
[item B.2. on this agenda] will be discussed during this portion of the
agenda) There were no land
development discussion items. _________________________ G.
COMMITTEE REPORTS (discussion
items) Planning
and Development Committee,
1.
Goals
and Funding for Land Banking Program
(AD08-005a)
(a)
Use of the $3 million of school capacity fees to be paid to the
Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) to assist with the purchase of
one or more school sites to be located within the western portion of the
corporate limits of the Town of Cary, to be paid to the WCPSS once
specific property(ies) have been identified and approved by the Wake
County School Board for purchase. (b)
Funding of a new $20 million Town of Cary capital project entitled
“Land Banking” to be funded as follows with initial targets for total
funding of $23 million to include assistance with school sites identified
by Wake funding to: ·
$5 million of general fund fund
balance to assist with land purchases to include the following types of
public service uses: schools,
post office, open space, fire station, and other Town of ·
$5 million of utility
fund fund balance for the purchase of additional open space to help
protect water quality ·
$10 million of asset
backed debt. The debt service
for this borrowing will be approximately $1 million during the first year
and will decline gradually over the payment term of twenty years.
It is expected that the first year of debt service will occur in FY 2009
and would be paid from the general fund.
This $10 million in funding would be the last funding out of the
$20 million utilized so that the timing of the debt service would be
delayed as long as possible. Initial
targets for this total of $23 million in funding will include assistance
with school sites identified by the WCPSS, key open space parcels, and the
future location of a post office. Committee
further recommended approval that an appropriation be made at this time to
allow staff to move forward with a land banking program as soon as
possible. (c)
Committee further recommended that the public be invited to provide
feedback on this program, and on any specific concerns or considerations,
through the previously scheduled dedicated public hearings at each Council
meeting in February as part of the annual budget process or by providing
feedback through email at budget.input@townofcary.org
during the month of February.
Budget Director Scott
Fogleman outlined the staff report. ACTION:
Mrs. Robinson moved to approve the land-banking initiative. Mr. Portman
provided the second. Mrs. Robinson stated
this began with the former council, and she is pleased to see it come to
fruition. In the beginning the council hoped to attain land before it
escalates in value and while it still exists to meet the future community
needs. She stated she has heard the concern from some of the public about
potential double taxation to purchase land for a potential school. She
stated the Town is not acquiring the sites to give them to the school
board; rather, the Town wants to secure the land while it still exists,
and if the school board chooses to use any of the sites, then they will
pay the Town of Cary for the sites, and the Town will charge the market
rate at the time of transaction. Mr. Portman thinks
this is an example of the council being forward-thinking. ACTION:
Vote was called for on the motion, and council granted unanimous approval. _________________________
2.
Evaluation of Corridor Transition
Zoning District (Walnut Street) (PL08-021)
Mr. Weinbrecht stated
he pulled this item from the consent agenda to express Council Member
Smith’s comments. He stated this district was created out of the concern
of the rows of houses behind Mr. Portman respects
the work done in past years on this issue. He asked to review this issue
as a result of the recent council campaign when he had the opportunity to
have conversations with these Mrs. Robison asked
who initiated this agenda item. Mrs. Grannan stated in addition to hearing
from council members, staff has also heard from landowners, developers,
and people trying to sell properties. She stated staff has not yet talked
to adjacent property owners, and this is an important part of the process. Mrs. Robison asked
Mr. Weinbrecht how Mr. Smith weighs in on this recommendation. Mr.
Weinbrecht doesn’t want to speak for Mr. Smith, but it’s his
understanding that he’s not opposed to the revisiting this issue, and
his concern is that criticism and comments today may be the same as the
ones heard when the plan was created, and he wants council to consider
this. Mrs. Adcock stated
the only way to tell if progress is being made is to re-evaluate. ACTION:
Mr. Portman moved for staff to create an ad-hoc committee, direct staff to
initiate public input sessions, followed if necessary by preparation of
proposed ordinance amendments for consideration of the _________________________
H.
OLD/NEW BUSINESS
(any item pulled from the regular consent agenda for discussion [agenda
item B.1.] will be discussed during this portion of the agenda) 1.
Consideration
of adoption of the anti-monotony and garagescapes portion of the Land
Development Round Staff’s powerpoint
presentation is attached to and incorporated herein as Exhibit. Mrs. Robison stated
if council chooses to focus on single family detached with regard to
opaque tree plantings or different roof lines, then she would like to
pursue similar regulations on attached units in the future. She prefers
option 2. ACTION:
Mrs. Robison moved to adopt the staff recommendation of option 2 which is
to approve both anti-monotony and garagescape regulations and apply them
to single family homes, etc., as read in option 2 (in the staff report
herein). Mrs. Robinson asked
if the motion includes opaque streetscape for the rear facades. ACTION:
Mrs. Robison added to her motion to approve option 2 and add a requirement
for the developer to plant evergreen trees within the streetscape to an
opaque standard in lieu of varying roof styles. Mrs. Adcock clarified
that this would allow an option to either plant the evergreen trees within
the streetscape or vary the roof styles. Mr. Barker confirmed. ACTION:
Mr. Frantz provided the second. Mr. Barker stated the
legal department has suggested several minor text changes to the
ordinance, and this motion will also require additional text
modifications. He recommended that council adopt the ordinance tonight and
place it on the Mrs. Robinson
suggested to omit the additional language pertaining to opaque screenings
in lieu of varying roof styles, and instead bring this concept forward in
the future as another amendment. Mrs. Robison
clarified that her motion applies only to single family detached, with the
understanding that the council is interested in pursuing a similar
ordinance amendment in the future for attached dwellings. Mr. Barker stated the
ordinance requires opaque screening of all residential uses along
thoroughfares; however, there have been some planned developments that
opted out of the opaque standard. He stated staff has begun scrutinizing
these developments carefully to ensure there are opaque standards. Mrs. Robinson
reiterated her earlier suggestion to set aside the opaque matter vs.
roofline and just require developers to vary the roofline standards. She
stated she is surprised to hear that some developers have “opted out”
of the opaque standard. Mr. Barker clarified that a planned development
allows a developer to do less than what is required by ordinance if they
provide extra amenities. Mrs. Robinson wants
to see variety in rooflines and to continue to pursue opaque standards and
address it separately from this ordinance amendment. Mrs. Robison stated
she thinks she can accept the proposed modification to her motion (as
requested in the above paragraph). Mr. Portman will vote
against this motion; he thinks this further complicates the land
development ordinance (LDO), and he would prefer that the LDO only focus
on what’s really important. Mr. Weinbrecht stated
the original motion was to approve the anti-monotony and garagescapes.
Then, the motion was amended to include the opaque language. Now, the
amendment has been withdrawn, and the motion is to approve the original
motion, which is: Approve both anti-monotony and garagescapes regulations
and apply them only to single-family detached units. ACTION:
Mrs. Robison confirmed that her motion is as Mayor Weinbrecht stated above
(Approve both anti-monotony and garagescapes regulations and apply them
only to single-family detached units). Mr. Frantz amended his second. Mayor Weinbrecht
further clarified that the town attorney will modify the ordinance as
she’s requested, and it will be on the February 14 consent agenda for
council ratification. Mrs. Robinson stated
developers have indicated that this ordinance is not a hardship and sets
an appearance standard and an expectation of what the council wants to see
with ACTION:
Vote was called for on the motion to approve both anti-monotony and
garagescapes regulations and apply them only to single-family detached
units. Mr. Portman voted “no”. All others voted “aye.” The motion
carried by majority vote. The ordinance will be
on the _________________________
I.
CLOSED SESSION ACTION:
Mrs. Robison moved to go into closed session for the following purpose,
which was seconded by Mrs. Adcock and unanimously approved by council: PURSUANT
TO G.S. 143-318.11(A) (4), TO DISCUSS MATTERS RELATING TO THE LOCATION OR
EXPANSION OF INDUSTRIES OR OTHER BUSINESSES IN THE TOWN, INCLUDING
AGREEMENT ON A TENTATIVE LIST OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INCENTIVES THAT _________________________
J. ADJOURNMENT</ |