Agenda - 04-09-2013 - 5a - Laserfiche WebLink

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11 1 •Manager recommends adoption of the staff-recommended ordinance in Attachment 2 2 and the Resolution of Consistency in Attachment 4 3 4 Chair Jacobs clarified that if the Board follows staff recommendation, attachments 2 and 5 4 will be adopted and if the Board follows the Planning Board's recommendation, attachments 3 6 and 4 will be adopted. 7 Perdita Holtz said this is correct. 8 Commissioner McKee questioned why approval of either recommendation would not put 9 the area in the sidewalk business. 10 Perdita Holtz said the internal pedestrian system would be private for use of 11 development residents only, but it would not be open to the public or interconnected to adjacent 12 parcels. She said that the sidewalks would be owned and maintained by the property owners. 13 Frank Clifton said with the alternative of a small office or shopping complex which would 14 provide walkways to get to and from the complex from the parking area and again, would be 15 maintained by the property owners. He said that there were just so many hurdles with 16 sidewalks when the county does not have a public works department. He said that it is an issue 17 to be looked at further; the state has given the county permission to get into the sidewalk 18 business, but no revenue to do so. 19 Commissioner Price said, with regards to the sidewalks in a small development, she 20 wondered if this would be a requirement for every development. 21 Perdita Holtz said it would be a sidewalk in the public right of way and would be provided 22 by the developer. 23 Commissioner Price questioned if it would it be a requirement for builders 24 Perdita Holtz said it would not be frontage and the language does give the Planning 25 Board Director some leeway in the site review process. 26 Commissioner Price questioned if the sidewalk has to be concrete or could just be extra 27 shoulder width. 28 Perdita Holtz said the Unified Development Ordinance does not specify a material, but 29 the sidewalk would just have to be designated in some way. 30 Commissioner Price said when the planning board was discussing this, did they have 31 any specific ideas about sidewalk versus extra right-of-way areas on the road. 32 Perdita Holtz said that it had started out as a right-of-way discussion but this did not 33 mesh with DOT standards for sidewalks. She said the discussion then turned to how to have 34 sidewalk on private property for public use, but specific materials were not discussed. This was 35 left open so as to be site specific and determined during the site plan review process. 36 37 Commissioner Rich said she is a big fan of connectivity and wondered if there is a way 38 to make sure that there is connectivity. She questioned if the area is being looked at as a 39 whole or each parcel individually. She said she believes it should be a goal to have parcels 40 connected. 41 Perdita Holtz said staff is a proponent of connectivity, but their hands are tied by the 42 state. She said that the NCDOT has not been receptive to allowing sidewalks in the right-of- 43 way or of taking on any maintenance responsibility. She said things are done on a site by site 44 basis and there are requirements for open space connectivity. 45 Commissioner Rich said this is a concern and as overlay districts happen throughout the 46 County, the developments should not isolated. She said that the full picture is not being 47 considered if connectivity is not allowed. 48 Commissioner Price said the Board is getting caught up with the word sidewalk when it 49 could be called a walk way and should just be about getting to point A and point B without being 50 in the middle of the street. She said that NCDOT should allow use of right-of-ways for bicycles.