Cary Town Hall Building A, Auditorium
316 N. Academy Street

Board Members Present-Voting: Jeffrey Bartley, John Berndt, Lair Block, Michael Cantrell, Steve Crutchfield, T.C. Frick, Vice Chair Allan Koeppel, Eric Strom, John Werner and Lea Strickland.

Staff Present: Charlie Henderson, Walter Harris, Beth Lewis, Lissa Parrish, Donna Blackmer and Joanne Gunther.

Minutes from the July 8, 2002 meeting – the quasi-judicial decisions of the Board made at the July 8, 2002 meeting were prepared in written form by Town staff and sent to the Board. Board members were given the opportunity to note typographical-type errors and a final version of each decision was signed by the Chairperson.

APPLICATION: 02-A-010

STAFF CONTACT: Beth Lewis

SUBJECT PROPERTY: 2800 Pleasant Grove Church Road, Morrisville, NC  

APPLICANT: Emmett Boney Haywood 

OWNER(S): Thrifty Car Rental

REQUEST: The applicant is appealing the Zoning Compliance Officer's Notice of Violation for a violation an approved Site Plan.

CHRONOLOGY

1. In the 1980s, Thrifty Car Rental located at 2800 Pleasant Grove Church Road (the "site"). On January 31, 2001, the Town of Cary approved what the Town contends is Site Plan 00-SP-239 that provided a revision to the parking lot entrance, necessitated by the addition of a median in Pleasant Grove Church Road.

2. An inspection by Zoning Compliance Officer Lissa Parrish in late March 2002 found vehicles stored in the right-of-way between Thrifty Car Rental’s property line and the edge of the pavement of Pleasant Grove Church Road. Thrifty has acknowledged in their Statement of Justification that "The street right of way is owned by the Department of Transportation and is a state maintained road. Thrifty Car Rental has been parking cars within this right-of-way since the beginning of operation of the business on the site since 1984 without objection from the State." (see page 1, Statement of Justification by Thrifty Cary Rental).

3. Officer Parrish sent a Notice of Violation ("NOV") to Thrifty Car Rental on April 1, 2002, citing the agency for acting in violation of an approved Site Plan. Vehicles used in the business were being stored in the right-of-way. Ms. Parrish gave Thrifty Car Rental the option to either remove the vehicles from the right-of-way within seven (7) days, or appeal her decision to the Zoning Board of Adjustment. The NOV was signed for at Thrifty Car Rental on April 9, 2002.

4. On April 15, 2002, Emmett Boney Haywood, attorney for Thrifty Car Rental, requested by e-mail an extension of thirty (30) days to bring the property into compliance with the Site Plan. Officer Parrish granted the extension.

5. On May 9, 2002, Ms. Haywood, on behalf of Thrifty Car Rental, filed an application for the July 8, 2002 Zoning Board of Adjustment meeting for an Administrative Appeal of Officer Parrish’s NOV decision that Thrifty Car Rental was in violation of an approved Site Plan. Filing the appeal stopped all enforcement action on the Town’s behalf until the appeal is decided.

6. On June 17, 2002, Caroline Fissinger, Legal Assistant to Ms. Haywood, requested by email and received a postponement of the Zoning Board of Adjustment hearing until the August 12, 2002 meeting.

During the August 12, 2002 meeting, after hearing testimony from staff, the Board discussed the application. Extensive discussion concerned the issue of whether 00-SP- 239 constituted a site plan, and if there is a site plan, has the site plan been violated.

Mr. Werner articulated the view that the petioner had a duty to submit proper plans based upon their request for the approval to construct the driveway, and that which was submitted by the petioner is a site plan. In that regard a notice of violation of that site plan was issued. There is no dispute that there is improper placement of vehicles for a business purpose and off the property of the applicant in a DOT right of way That issue is not at dispute at all at this hearing so therefore the City does have site plan on record and the undisputable fact is that they have issued a notice of violation and there is substantial evidence to suggest that there is a violation being committed.

ACTION: Mr. Werner moved to uphold the Notice of Violation issued by the Town official. After conducting a duly advertised public hearing and reviewing the application, testimony and evidence and the general purposes of the UDO we find the following: The undisputed findings are that the property is developed with the car rental agency and is subject to site plan 00-SP-239, the property is zoned PEC (Planned Employment Center), and that a notice of violation was issued on April 1, 2002 by officer Lissa Parrish to Thrify Car Rental for violation of an approved site plan. This committee has found that the business is parking vehicles for a business purpose off their site and in fact there is a violation of the site plan. In conclusion, based on the application, testimony and evidence the general purposes of the UDO and the above findings, the Board concludes that the decision of the Town official was correct and the notice of violation was applicable. The motion was seconded by Ms. Strickland The Board voted (8-2) in favor of the motion, with Mr. Frick and Mr. Strom having the dissenting votes.

New/Old Business:  The Town Attorney, Mr. Charles Henderson, gave an update on the Weaver Brothers case.

Adjournment:          Mr. Koeppel adjourned the meeting at 8:35 p.m.