Minutes 11-25-2013 - Laserfiche WebLink

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He said there are many limits being played with in the effort to preserve character, such as size of structures, number of visits and size of trucks. He said there are many opinions, and there have been many discussions. He said the changes to the minor uses were designed to bring the various municipal and rural rules a little closer to the municipality rules. Pete Hallenbeck said the size limits are interesting because there are two different kinds of rural character; one is where you have a farm with the normal and expected traffic and noise, and the other is a big lot residential community where no one wants that farm experience. He said this makes many of these decisions hard. He referred to the plumbing example and said no one had a problem if a plumber simply owned a truck or two at their house. He said there is a point however, where the business would be big enough that it should be moved to an office park like Millstone Drive. Pete Hallenbeck said he likes the idea of changing the goal of the document from promoting business to promoting a balance between business and residential. He said that wording will help people make better decisions for this living document in the future. He said the other thing that everyone is wrestling with is balancing the impact more than restricting certain occupations. He likes the idea of screening and setbacks, and he said perhaps the planning board can look at this. He said perhaps a building that is 500 feet from the property would not need shrubbery. Pete Hallenbeck said he has 1500 square feet of work space over the garage and 1000 square feet in his basement, both used for different types of projects. He shares this as an example of that balancing act of putting a limit on square footage, putting a limit on the activities, or putting a limit on what can be seen, heard, or smelled, as well as the traffic count. Lisa Stuckey thinks it makes more sense to get rid of the language on page 15 regarding the building businesses. She feels the language should focus more on the visual impact of the businesses. She thinks these home businesses should be invisible to neighbors Paul Guthrie said he has had some questions, as reflected in the minutes. He said he has been skeptical, not of the concept, but of the specificity of the language. He said one example is the provision for barriers and buffers, which requires an 80 foot space between activities and neighbors. He said this is over half an acre and, coupled with other issues, puts a real barrier on people who want to operate on their own property. He said ever time he reads this document he sees a new issue, and this tells him this process needs to be carefully considered. He said this can be accommodated with a reasonable degree of judicial flexibility, so as not to impede people's ability to make a living. Paul Guthrie said this is just part of the working life today. He said 50 percent of his neighbors have been involved in a home business of some sort, and he has a daughter who telecommutes from London. He said this is symbolic of the new world we live in, and it must be thought through in coming to a final conclusion on this issue. Maxecine Mitchell said she would like to address Commissioner Rich's question about public input. She said she is an average person, and she may start a home business. She does not want all of these restrictions so that she would potentially have to move out if the business did well. She also does not want to discourage other people from creating a business. Ashley Moncado proposed a revision to the recommendation. She requested this be brought back to the February 18th meeting, in order to allow time to work with the planning board to address the concerns highlighted tonight. Chair Jacobs said this seems more practical. A motion was made by Renee Price, seconded by Commissioner Rich: • To receive the proposal to amend the Unified Development Ordinance. • Conduct the Public Hearing and accept public, BOCC, and Planning Board comment on the proposed amendment.