Planning Commission September 13, 2016

MEMBERS: Jonathan Eady, Chair; Jeff Wearing, Vice-Chair; Vivian Harris, and Ron Manson.  Penny England was out of town and Shawn Gaither was absent.

STAFF:  Bob Schwartz, city manager and zoning administrator.

GUESTS: Valerie and Larry Daniel, Jeremy and Felida Baker, and Kendra Mayfield from Oxford College. 

OPENING:  Mr. Eady called the meeting to order and welcomed the guests.

LARRY DANIEL AND VALERIE DANIEL AMENDMENT TO SITE PLAN – Larry Daniel, 590 West Richardson Street requested approval for a minor amendment to the site plan that was approved at the June Planning Commission meeting.  Mr. Daniel explained his request to the Planning Commission. He is trying to square up the house with the center of the lot.

Upon motion of Mr. Wearing seconded by Mr. Manson, the request was approved. The vote was 4-0.

JEREMY AND FELIDA BAKER DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION – Jeremy and Felida Baker requested approval for a new home at 127 Oxford North Road.  Mr. Eady noted that the house proposed met the minimum size requirement of 2,000 ft.² and was less than the maximum height permitted. Since we had not had a new home in some time, Mr. Eady reminded the Planning Commission of its responsibilities with regard to §40 – 814 of the zoning ordinance.

Upon motion of Mr. Manson, seconded by Mr. Wearing the request was approved. The vote was 4-0.

OXFORD COLLEGE – DEMOLITION PERMIT – 805 WHATCOAT STREET – Oxford College requested approval for a permit to demolish the house at 805 Whatcoat Street.  After some discussion about the development plan and the septic tank,

Upon motion of Mr. Wearing, seconded by Mr. Manson the request was approved. The vote was 3-0 with Mr. Eady abstaining.

OXFORD COLLEGE – 415 DOWMAN – Oxford College requested a permit to locate offices for five staff positions at this location temporarily from January, 2017 until January, 2018.  It is zoned R-20. After some discussion, the Planning Commission members felt that this could not be approved by the Planning Commission or even granted a variance by City Council based on the current zoning.

Upon motion of Mr. Manson, seconded by Mr. Wearing this request was rejected as it is not permitted within the zoning ordinance. Office use is not permitted within the R-20 zone. The vote was 3-0 with Mr. Eady abstaining.

OXFORD COLLEGE – PIERCE HALL RENOVATION – This was a preliminary discussion to determine what the Planning Commission needs in order to review the renovation of Pierce Hall.  After some discussion Mr. Eady noted that the Planning Commission would need more information and the plans when the development permit application was submitted.

OXFORD COLLEGE – FUTURE DEVELOPMENT PLAN – Kendra Mayfield presented an initial outline of this planning process. {A copy is attached to these minutes.} The Planning Commission asked that this be placed on the agenda for the next meeting for discussion among Planning Commission members.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES: The Planning Commission members discussed that it was only necessary to include the motions that were approved in the minutes and not necessarily all of the discussion. Several changes were made to the minutes for the August 9th meeting. Upon motion of Mr. Wearing, seconded by Mr. Manson, the minutes for the meeting of August 9, 2016 were approved as modified.  The vote was 4-0.

ADJOURNMENT: Mr. Eady adjourned the meeting at 8:35 PM.

Submitted by:

Bob Schwartz, zoning administrator