Agenda - 02-05-2013 - 6b - Laserfiche WebLink

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Lela] As I commented during the hearing, there would be no chain restaurants north of the railroad tracks. The rational is as simple as this: Imagine a McDonalds somewhere in downtown Hillsborough, say by King street or across from the Weaver Street Market. I suspect the franchise rules are also not a problem for chain restaurants. I would imagine they would prefer to be close to the interstate, not up north of the railroad tracks. During the Small Area Planning and the Implementation phase of these proposed UDO changes, the topic of sidewalks seemed to always come down to keeping people from walking on the road. There are many people that walk along US 70 day and night. At night, it is very hard to see many of these people as they don't wear anything reflective. I suspect that any higher density project would increase this potential for this pedestrian traffic, and that you would see more people walking on what are now less traveled side streets. The ordinance changes attempt to deal with this problem, but does not do so as clearly as it does for the Interstate overlay area. Perhaps the answer is to require sidewalks that will keep people off the streets, but not require sidewalks internal to the project. This will allow for a slow development of a sidewalk system in the area as development occurs. In the Interstate overlay, the goal of (10) in section 6.6.3 is to avoid the problems that currently exists with people walking on US70 on other roads, such as Mt. Willing, as the area grows. The wording assure a review of these concerns, but also allows for project specific discretion. Note that as always there is the conflict of wanting sidewalks for safety and aesthetics being in conflict with the desire for affordable housing. Even the comprehensive plan wrestles with this one. Citizen Comment on the Changes: A citizen from Efland commented that most people in Efland would not understand the changes, and that they did not understand what had been going on. I remember the early community meetings, and 30+ people showed up. Most were interested in getting sewer into the area. They were told that with sewer comes increased development and business, which was welcomed by most. They were also told that there would be zoning changes due to the pending development. Once the sewer project was on track, many citizens stopped showing up at the meetings. Most residents also wanted to see opportunities for more businesses in the area, and commented that no new businesses had been allowed for years. The proposed changes allow for more bushiness in the area. The small area plan and subsequent small area implementation group has been an 8+ year process that was always open to the public. There have been many opportunities for community feedback. I have personally discussed the changes with many at the Fire Department. I sympathize with the average citizen reading zoning ordinance text and trying to understand it, but I feel there has been plenty of opportunity for citizens to ask and receive a 'plain English" description of what the overall goals are. It should also be noted that only 10 citizens showed up at the meeting to go over the changes. The opportunity was there. The citizen made the comment that these changes will not be of much benefit to the community (or words to that effect) and I disagree. These changes allow for new businesses, small professional businesses, and large scale development near the interstate. While there may be some style issues, such as monument style signs for a business instead of pole signs, the overall goals are consistent with the wishes of the community. All that said, I would be delighted to schedule a meeting with any concerned group and talk to them about these changes. ******************* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * **