March 1, 2000 - 6:30 PM - County Board of Commissioners Meeting Minutes (Special)

10 59 March 1 , 2000 Special Called Meeting The Johnston County Board of Commissioners met in Special Session , Wednesday , March 1 , 2000 , at 6 30 pm in the Emergency Operations Center located in the Johnston County Courthouse Law Enforcement Center , Smithfield , North Carolina , with the following members Present James H Langdon , Jr , Chairman , Cookie Pope , Vice - Chairman , Jerry F Wood , DDS , Eleanor N Creech , Thomas M Moore , Wade M Stewart and Allen L Mims , Jr , Absent None Also Present Rick Hester , County Manager , Joyce H Ennis , Clerk to the Board , Mark Payne , County Attorney , Calvin Genereux , Planning Director , and Dave Roesler , Assistant Planning Director The Chairman called the meeting to order and announced this meeting is to get input from stakeholders on the proposed Development Ordinance 1 Proposed Development Ordinance The Chairman opened the meeting for comments on the proposed development ordinance Several area developers , engineers and surveyors asked questions and made suggestions concerning different aspects of the document Developer Fred Smith commended the staff for an outstanding job and stated he feels the new ordinance will help create the type of communities and environment we need in Johnston County He suggested that one issue that might need to be looked at further is requirements for Planned Unit Development He stated , in his opinion , planned development is the wave of the future for Johnston County , and the ordinance should provide encouragement for this rather than discouragement He noted the proposed ordinance , as it is presently written , places more requirements and permitting on PUDs than other types of development , without any real incentives , such as longer vested rights He pointed out it takes at least 10 to 15 years to build out a community development , and there should be some assurance that the developers ’ vision can be carried out without a change in the rules Commissioner Allen L Mims , Jr noted that large planned developments with 1500 or more homes have a tremendous impact on other things the County must consider , such as schools , roads , and other infrastructure For that reason , these developments require careful study He noted the only rules he could foresee changing in a 15 year period would be possibly state requirements that pertain to safety issues Engineer Steven Sanderson with Southwind Surveying , asked for clarification of several sections of the document and made some suggestions that , in his opinion , would improve the ordinance He asked that some of the terms be better defined , such as active and passive recreation , and perennial and intermittent streams He suggested that staff and Board members review again several issues such as requirements for open space , mobile home park districts and the 100 acre requirement for PUDs Chuck Smith , engineer for the Hermitage Planned Unit Development , addressed several issues of concern He suggested the front setback requirements for housing in a mixed use development are too deep and recommended the setback should vary depending on the size of the lot He also asked if approved developments , such as the Hermitage PUD , could go back and incorporate some of the terms of the new ordinance , even though they were approved under the existing one In discussion , it was noted that changes would require amendments to the master plan that has already been approved Attorney Mark Payne noted the master plan , once approved , gives the developer vested right in the master plan itself ; however , both the current and proposed ordinances allow minor changes Any major change in the plan would require careful scrutiny to determine the impact on the whole Bruce Nichols , developer from Clayton , asked for clarification of several issues He asked if the County would be prepared to accept open space land Planner Dave Roesler responded that would be up to the County Commissioners ; however , there are several other options including land conservancies and other organizations that might accept land and maintain it for environmental purposes Page60 Chairman Langdon thanked everyone for their comments and noted these suggestions will be looked at further He stated that a public hearing will soon be scheduled and further input is welcome at any time until the hearing , and of course , at the hearing He thanked the staff for the hard work they have put into this project There being no further comments , Commissioner Cookie Pope moved the Board adjourn Commissioner Eleanor N Creech seconded the motion , which carried by unanimous vote _______________________________________ James H Langdon , Jr , Chairman _____________________________ Joyce H Ennis , ClerkPage