TOWN OF CARY

TOWN CENTER REVIEW COMMISSION

 MINUTES

Wednesday, February 25, 2004 , 7:00 PM

Herb Young Community Center

404 N. Academy St. , Cary , N.C.

Web Site:  http://www.townofcary.org

Members Present: Ervin Portman, Michael Crowell, Douglas Harned, Renee Hutcheson, Alan Jones, Katherine Oury, Richard Redfoot

Staff Present: Randy Guthrie, Elizabeth Lewis, Bob Benfield, Matt Schedler

SPEAKER

Item 1

Call to Order

Mr. Portman

Item 2

Approval of the January 28, 2004 Meeting Minutes

Motion to approve made by Ms. Hutcheson and seconded by Ms. Oury. Minutes were approved by a vote of 7-0

Item 3

Town Council Report:  Town Council meeting February 12, 2004

Provided by Mr. Guthrie

Item 4

Site/Subdivision Plans for Action:

A.

03-SP-212: Precision Walls

Ms. Hutcheson made a motion to forward the plan to the March 11^th Town Council meeting for approval.

Ms. Oury seconded the motion.

The Commission voted unanimous approval, 7-0.

B.

03-SP-229: A-1 Alterations

Mr. Redfoot made a motion to forward the plan to the March 11^th Town Council meeting for approval with conditions #1 - 3 as recommended by the staff.  

Conditions #4 - 6 are not reviewable by the Town Center Review Commission, they are strictly the purview of Town Council.

Ms. Oury seconded the motion.

The Commission voted unanimous approval, 7-0.

Item 5

For Discussion:

A.

Discussion of possible changes to the Town Center Signage Regulations

The Commission voted unanimously to recommend changes of the Town Center Signage Regulations as recommended by staff to the April 15^th Planning and Development Committee meeting.

The only exception being the recommendation regarding landscape lighting that was approved by a vote of 6-1. Mr. Harned voting against.

B.

New/Old Business

Chairman Portman asked staff about the possibility of not sending every project in the Town Center area to the TCRC if there were not major changes to a site. Mr. Guthrie stated that staff is working on a Principle of Interpretation that would allow staff to approve smaller projects administratively.

Commission members also expressed a desire to get more information in future meetings from staff on the following topics:

-      more information on the process of approving public art

-       all the plans the Town of Cary has for downtown such as parking garages, on-street parking, and extra street lighting, including timetables for completion

-      the pedestrian vs. vehicular focus, and when the train is expected to be up and running

-      what the Town is doing to help and encourage redevelopment in the Town Center

-      ideas about the Town putting funds behind initiatives to redevelop the Town Center

-     wants staff to talk about changes to wayfinding, street name signs, and "walk/don't walk" traffic signals in Town Center

Item 6

For Information:

Construction Activity Reports

       Handouts were sent to the Commission prior to the meeting.  

Item 7

Adjournment:

Mr. Portman