City Council - Regular Meeting

Thank you.

Good evening, everyone. Welcome to September. Let's hope that cooler weather is coming soon. I would like to welcome everyone to tonight's September 1st City Council meeting and just ask that you please silence all electronic devices. And at this time, I recognize Council Member Dewana Bigelow for our invocation.

Thank you, Mayor. Tonight, I chose to share with you all something that was interesting to me. And it came out of Proverbs. Proverbs 11, 14. For the lack of guidance, a nation falls. But victory is won through many advisors. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. And tonight I have a proclamation that I'd like to read. This is for the 9-11 National Day of Service and Remembrance. The City of Burlington, North Carolina proclamation recognizing National Day of Service and Remembrance, September 11th, 2026. Whereas on September 11, 2001, the lives of nearly 3,000 men, women, and children were lost in the worst terrorist attack on United States soil in our nation's history. And whereas in response to this tragedy, Americans across the country came together in a remarkable spirit of patriotism and unity and carried out countless acts of kindness, generosity, and compassion. And whereas many first responders and civilians tirelessly and courageously participated in dangerous rescue and recovery efforts, risking or forfeiting their lives for the safety of others. And whereas the brave individuals who serve in our nation's military were called upon to leave their families and risk their lives to fight and defend America. And whereas the Serve America Act, approved by Congress and enacted into law on April 21, 2009, directed September 11th to be observed and recognized as an annual National Day of Service and Remembrance. And whereas participating in service and remembrance activities on September 11th is a positive and respectful way to remember the lives of those lost, pay tribute to those who rose in service, and honor those who continue to serve our country today. And whereas on the anniversary of September 11th, on this day being the 25th year since the event occurred, we recommit to the spirit of unity and resolve to give ourselves in service to each other. Now therefore, I, Mayor Beth Kennett, and the Burlington City Council do hereby proclaim September 11th, 2026, as a day of service and remembrance in the city of Burlington, North Carolina, and call on our city's first responders, houses of worship, businesses schools and residents alike to join our nation in sounding of sirens and ringing bells for one minute at 8 46 a.m on friday september the 11th 2026 in honor of those who lost their lives and loved ones 25 years ago on that day this the first day of september 2026 signed by your mayor. This time I'd like to recognize Fire Chief Matt Lawrence and Police Chief Alan Balog to receive the proclamation. And as was proclaimed with the proclamation, I do invite all of you to find ways that you can be in unity with your community and to give back in a day of service. Thank you. At this time, I recognize City Clerk Beverly Smith for our Code of Ethics.

Members of Council, it is my responsibility to remind you of your duty to avoid conflicts of interest. I ask if there are any potential conflicts concerning tonight's agenda item.

None. At this time I need a motion and a second to adopt the agenda for this evening.

Motion approved. Second.

All in favor? Aye. And our consent agenda. This evening we have two items on the consent agenda and these are typically non-controversial. If you have questions, please let us know. So item A, to adopt an ordinance for the following traffic commission recommendations to convert the existing two-way stop condition at Trail 6 at Vinnie Street intersection to a four-way stop condition. and item b to adopt a resolution authorizing the police department to accept grant funds awarded by north carolina governor's highway safety program for fiscal year 2027 traffic enforcement overtime grant and authorize the project director city manager mayor chief financial officer and city clerk to execute applicable grant agreement documents we need a motion and a second to approve or deny the foregoing consent agenda second all in favor aye And at this time, we enter into our public hearings. And at first, I'd like to recognize Director of Planning Services and Development, Jamie Lawson.

Good evening, Mayor and members of council. So you're going to hear, if it's okay with you, a presentation that is combined regarding items one and two because they really apply to the same property and they're tied together essentially. But then we'll ask you to act on them independently.

Right.

Okay. so if you recall um back earlier well i guess last month now back in august this item was presented to you at your work session this is do we want to announce the public hearing oh the agenda item for yeah we want to read that I can read it. Okay, thank you.

Sorry about that.

A public hearing has been scheduled for City Council to consider a voluntary contiguous annexation petition for Peace Haven Farm Incorporated located at 1458 NC Highway 61 south within Guilford County. The track encompasses five separate lots totaling 89.26 acres and consisting of Guilford County tax identification numbers 220601 241672, 241718, 241719, and 241720. and then the second item is public hearing has been scheduled for city council to consider rezoning an 89.26 acre track of land from guilford county planned development pdm and agricultural zoning districts to planned development zoning district the parcels located on the west side of nc highway 61 are addressed as 1458 nc highway 61 south and consist of guilford county Tax identification numbers 220-601, 241-672, 241-718, 241-719, and 241-720. Okay. These items have been properly noticed for the public hearing tonight. And so just as a reminder then, going back to July, these items were, August, these items were presented to you at the work session. The property that we're talking about today is the Peace Haven Farm property. It is on the west side of Highway 61. It is 89 acres in size. highlighted here in teal it does consist of several different parcels that are listed in the on the agenda the reason for the request is the applicant is is essentially seeking a utility connection as a result of the utility connection they've applied for annexation and because they've applied for annexation we would have to assign a zoning designation to the property. So Planning and Zoning Commission did hear this item and recommended it unanimously. I'm sure the applicant can go into a lot more detail regarding the purpose of the applications, but I just wanted to summarize it really succinctly. Peace Haven is seeking to continue what they are doing currently. So there's not going to be any change to their overall ownership, composition, land uses, so on and so forth. As I mentioned, they want to tie into the city of Burlington water line. and that requires the annexation. They want to build a build out consistent with their phased master plan that actually went in front of the Guilford County Planning Board first, got approval for that, and then they came through, they're coming through our process. So this plan has been very well vetted. And they also, you'll see throughout the application and the materials, There's a big emphasis on protecting the area's environmentally sensitive areas and rural character of the property. Feel free to stop if you have any questions, but this map illustrates their overall concept map, which is attached as part of their application, and it breaks down, color coded, the different land use areas within the property. just wanted to kind of point out a couple of things. So my cursor is pointing to where the existing drive is now off of Highway 61. This road currently extends on up and there are some existing buildings located closer to the to the road with another building that is under construction right now. And then this extension and circle area is a feature phase of their development. And again, they can go into a little bit more detail if you have specific questions on that. There's a lot of words and a lot of commitments associated with this request. And just to highlight that all of these terms and commitments are included as part of their rezoning request. So everything you see here pertaining to the residential development or the limit in terms of commercial development, hours of operation, various uses, different phases, protection of rural character, all incorporated into one overall master plan and attached as part of the rezoning. It continues on to the next page as well. And pertaining to the rezoning request, Staff does recommend the rezoning, and you'll see here a couple bullet points that we reference in the staff report. allowing for this unique mixed use campus to serve the population that Peace Haven Farms is currently serving now. The coexistence of this site in relationship to the other properties that you have gone through the rezoning process with us and annexation on other commercial economic development properties. As I mentioned before, this was already gone through the Guilford County Planning Board process and there is a water line that is under construction and meant to serve this area extending to this property. So these are all of the reasons stated why staff does find this consistent and makes a recommendation for the rezoning request. I'll have another map on the annexation, but the annexation essentially is also scheduled for public hearing and that is again tied to the water line request. So you would act on the annexation first and then if it's found to be within the city's jurisdiction, then you would act on the rezoning request. Do you have any questions for me? The applicant's representatives are in the audience. They do have a PowerPoint presentation. If you'd like me to call them up and I can start it for them.

Okay, thank you.

I'm the land use attorney representing Peace Haven Farm, the applicant, thank you, and property owner, before you here this evening. Thank you, Ms. Lawson, for the presentation. I'll just lift up a few things. This has been a long time in the making, both in Guilford County and with your staff here at the city, so we're very excited and pleased. to be before you tonight for for this part of the vision that we're going to talk about tonight as you've heard this is a little bit of a unique project you know 90 acres a mixed-use campus but one user with a one single operator implementing its whole vision within that concept and for a mixed-use population not just mixed land uses so if you would humor me i would love to have phelps sprinkle the ceo of peace haven come up and just tell you a little bit about that mission real quick because that'll help set the stage as to why this land use and this planned development is structured the way it is thank you thank you please yep

Hello, Mayor Kennett and council members and staff and everybody else here today. Thanks for having us. We are really excited to be in front of you today. Most of you probably know a little bit about Peace Haven, but I'll give you a quick primer just in case you don't know. Peace Haven was founded about 17, 18 years ago, and we've been working this land and doing programs and housing for adults with intellectual disabilities that entire time. So, we're really excited where we are today because we've owned this 89 acres for many, many years, and we're now going to be able to develop it in a way that we think will be a model replicable community for people with and without disabilities living together. There's nothing like this in North Carolina. There's very few instances of this across the country, and so we're really excited. The state has been very supportive. elected officials in Greensboro and in Burlington and alamance County have been really supportive what we're doing to in terms of both funding as well as helping us make some things happen when we need to make them happen in other ways too so we're really excited to be here and to put this in front of you guys The last thing I'll say is the problem we're solving for in case if you have a connection to a disability, intellectual disability especially, you may know this. I have a 23-year-old daughter who is an example of the people that we serve now and that will be able to live at Peace Haven and to give her mother and I peace of mind. What happens with folks like this when they leave the school system, typically around 21, 22 years of age, is they get very isolated because the services drop off, the community relationships drop off, and it's really up to the parents or that individual, if they're able, to try to create community, but it's very difficult to do. And so that's what PSA was founded to do, is basically to create community as a way of battling against isolation. And so, as you guys know, when you're isolated, it can create Mental health problems can create other physical health problems, and that's what happens a lot of times with these folks. So we believe that by building community and creating a community where people with and without disabilities live together and the supports are built in, those challenges that come from isolation will go way down. So we think we can save money and have better outcomes at the same time in what we're doing. Thank you for letting me talk to you.

Thank you.

Thank you. So as you've heard, this is all about community, creating a community that doesn't exist locally, nationally, and for families who need it, and all of us who need a remedy for isolation. I think we've all learned that all too recently. So just to lift up a few things, let's see. How do I advance here, Jimmy? I'll quit touching it. Thanks. So just to lift up a few things you've heard, this is just under 90 acres, comprised of several different parcels. It is over in Guilford County, but within the Burlington annexation area. Existing zoning is a split zoning between Guilford County Agricultural and Guilford County CZPD-M, Conditional Zoning Plan Development Mixed Use. that's a mouthful the reason we had to do that over in guilford county is because their ordinance does not allow agricultural uses inside of planned development and since the agricultural sort of origins of this property and of the farm it's therapeutic benefits it's beautific benefits were a big part of this and we wanted to keep that in part of the community building we had to split zone it that way in guilford county but that's one of the benefits of the burlington planned development district we can we can get rid of that and have one unified planned development zoning should this be successful for the entire for the entire area so the request as you've heard from miss lawson is to establish original zoning in burlington it's not to change the zoning to change the land use to change the plan or the vision it's not to get out of something that you know a condition that got put on over in guilford county it's nothing like that it is because when we annex we have to have burlington zoning we can't be in burlington city limits with guilford county zoning so the zoning follows the annexation the annexation is pursuant to the water service and so of course for that utility connection your utility connection policy is to annex so so we're happy to complete those steps hopefully tonight and and come on into burlington and have have the zoning that matches it so no increase in density no increase in intensity no change in use or adopted conditions thanks way ahead of me So the subject property here, this is just a little bit more zoomed out. I know a lot of you are familiar with the site. I know a lot of you have been out there. If you haven't yet, I know the folks at Peace Haven will be excited to host you at some of the upcoming events as this vision keeps coming along. But we are south of the interstate. If you turn at Red Oak and head on down past the new Food Lion Distribution Center around Lake McIntosh, You're in this lovely sort of rural area along Highway 61 right at the edge of the lake, and it's an old existing farm. You can still see the farmhouse and the barn from the road, and that's what you will still see as this project develops. I want to call your attention here just south of the interstate, as we've said, the Food Line Distribution Center just to the northeast, you're all well aware of. You see all the platted residential subdivisions further west into Guilford County. and a large industrial area immediately to the north. And then of course Lake McIntosh, very environmentally sensitive area, lots of rural residential scattered around that. So the bottom line is you have a big quilt work here, a hodgepodge of a lot of uses. And I will submit to you that this mixed use campus with agricultural, recreation, entertainment, medical office and housing is the perfect nexus to really swirl all those land uses together and provide the transitional bow tie, if you will, to complete this transitional area as you move from the interstate corridor through these employment district uses that Burlington is starting to see here with your investment in the water infrastructure, but then still preserve that rural nature, those sensitive environmental features and the feel and character around Lake McIntosh that is also very important to our community. if we could keep going this is your existing zoning pattern we've got guilford county zoning there the more colorful one and then the burlington zoning map on the right hand side because of course with this being on the cusp here we need to see both maps to get the the full picture most of it is currently zoned in guilford county around here the purple is that industrial i was talking about you see a lot of yellow for those platted subdivisions to the west the green are those largely agricultural rural areas that remain and then you see some uh jumping over to the burlington map of course you see the purple area immediately next door is the food line distribution that's that's industrial you see the blue there is office and institutional and the pink is commercial as you start to go up 61 head into the highway so you can really see how this how these land uses are started to form in place Coming right down from that intense travel corridor into the rural area as we've just talked about and plopping this PD in here as we've submitted it and as is described is the perfect transitional tying together of this fabric. If we could go to the next slide, please. So this is the concept map. I know you've got it in your packet. We've got Brent Seavers here with FEI Engineering. He was our very talented civil planner and designer that worked on this from an engineering standpoint. But what you see here, you've got blue for all the agricultural area and open spaces. You've got some called out passive undisturbed open spaces for floodways and and water wet elements there. You've got the pink for your residential and mixed use. That's where the medical office will be. You've got the green area for your recreation and entertainment. That's the community center that's already under construction that some of you may have had the opportunity to check out. And then you've got existing gardens, the existing barn, existing farmhouse that are there. So that's the mix of uses. There'll be agricultural, some hoop houses for horticulture activities. You've got some gardening, just your very basic types of farming things still going on. But then the new stuff that will be added is very internalized to the site. So that's what I wanna call your attention to. And that's one of the ways that we accomplish this nice integration and transition that I'm talking about. So as you drive down Highway 61, you're still going to see that same lovely view shed, looking across the field, looking up into the tree line, seeing the barn, the house. You have to go up the road, up the hill, to even get to the site where the community center sits. And then it just looks out beautifully onto that low point, out onto Lake McIntosh, out onto some of those farming rolling hills. And then further beyond, you have that circular drive, which the residences will be featured around. and then the medical office will sit there along that roundabout so everything's focused pulled up into the interior of the site that does two things it preserves the rural nature along the perimeter preserves those view sheds but it also creates that community and that insular you know interior oriented campus feel that will create that community and create that walkable connected sense of place and identity that's so important to the vision that that you heard mr sprinkle describe if we could go to the next slide so the project terms and restrictions you saw james miss lawson's lots of words two slides so i've just boiled down a few key points on the next couple of slides here the use is the use is very specific it's a planned development a couple different things going on but it's narrowed down use specific and they're narrowed by location so we know like i've just talked about that it's pulled up to the interior of the site that the environmentally sensitive areas are preserved that the view sheds are preserved so very intentional about not only what the uses are but how they are arranged watershed protection overlay compliance that was a part of this in guilford county it's a part that translates over into into your watershed ordinance without having to fuss with any of those built upon areas or change any of that. The residential density, you saw that was a part of the mix of uses. Once it's all said and done, that will not even exceed more than 1.25 units per acre, which is much less than any of your base residential districts. Commercial development will not exceed 150,000 square feet, and that's with all the mix of uses, the medical office, the recreation, or community center, excuse me, the office pieces. A couple of key things as we worked on this the last few years, this has been underway since 2012. 2015 i think was the first zoning so a couple things we wanted to make sure to lift up and bring with us from guilford county the community center will have events if you want to host an event where you want to make sure everyone's included and feels comfortable and able to come and not like they have to miss out because they have someone at home they need to give care for you can host your event here And you just need to be done with your amplified music by 10 p.m. Can't start it back up till 9 a.m. And then all those residential events have to end by 12 a.m. midnight. And again, that's just to be respectful of the residential neighbors we still have. Going to the next slide, a couple of key project features I'll lift up just for the record, because of course this is plan development. Plan development was the perfect district to encapsulate the existing entitlement we wanted to bring over from Guilford County, but also because it's a district that Burlington uses for exemplary projects. that create a really high standard of exceptional development, and I hope you'll agree that this project is a great candidate for that. So a couple ways we've done that, we've talked about, so briefly I'll run through this, preserving that existing rural character, even in light of adding this mixed-use campus that is really first of its kind. extremely low density so being able to capture a meaningful contribution to housing and community create a real impact but doing so in a way that doesn't overburden or ring out too much from the property it sits upon extremely high open space with preserved space and vegetation you saw that in the blue areas and the gray areas as opposed to the pink and green areas much more open space than not an intentional site layout and design that emphasizes livability and fosters that community we talked about that with the layout everything internal creating places for gathering and and meeting with your friends and neighbors walking together doing activities together a cohesive aesthetic design and treatment that's an important aspect of your of your ordinance when you look at things like your multi-family or your residential standards so we wanted to make sure to bring those features over this will look cohesive and well planned and intentional as you as you visit the campus It's fully connected for walkability. That's important for our health, for our community goals. Enhanced landscaping treatment. So not only do you have that nice preserved green view shed along Highway 61, but as you come up that private road, even though it's a private road, we're going to do all of the public road landscaping streets yard standards that your ordinance would otherwise require. Even though all those buildings we looked at are up off the road and you really won't see them, they're going to have the same foundation plantings that your ordinance would require. The parking lots are going to have the same planting landscaping standards that your city requires everywhere else. So really making sure that we keep the project up to the landscaping standards that Burlington sets for itself. and then sustainability measures looking to make sure that this community lasts for a long time and contributes for a long time by implementing water preservation features with low drip farming techniques we've got ev charging spaces in the parking lots energy efficiency with heat pumps in the buildings we've actually met the criteria for a duke energy high efficiency award to meet those incentive programs, sustainable farming practices and building practices with the sourcing of the lumber and all of the products. So really, I hope you'll agree that these guys, Phelps and his team have really gone over and above to just make this a gold standard project in every aspect. One more slide here. I do just want to touch on comprehensive plan, guidance and consistency because of course we are asking for a rezoning. i think ms lawson will of course correct me if i'm wrong but the comprehensive plan for burlington doesn't actually have future land use plan designation in this area however of course you've invested in the water line you're growing this way and so we we start to see that there is an employment center you know economic development objective that seems to be going in this area so but also there's the environmental sensitivities and the rural character that we want to preserve so again we meet those goals by adding an employer to the area that doesn't exist that offers an opportunity to bring specialists in in this field that currently can't stay in north carolina if they're trained in this or don't have a place to work at a state-of-the-art facility in this regard they're going to be offering things there's a is it the century room that you were telling me about where you can come if you need to deescalate or deregulate, you can kind of scale back all the outside factors that overload our senses every day. And there's specialists who are trained and work in that and know how to operate those rooms and help kind of bring somebody back to their best self. When we need that kind of decompression, that's just something you can't go do everywhere. That's the type of thing that we'll be able to employ here. also a large residential community keeping with the rural nature and providing a nice return and contributing use for that investment of the water line so with any questions i'm here phelps is here neil sharp is here a key member of the team as well and brent sievers with fei and we'd be happy to answer any questions and we're excited about the about the project thank you thank you

Any questions, council? Okay. If there are no questions, then we will move into our time of public comments. And just a reminder that this is a public hearing on annexation first. First we're talking about annexation. And if there are any comments, just a reminder to state your name, address, and know that you're limited to five minutes. Are there any comments from the audience? If there are no comments, then I will entertain a motion to close the public hearing. All in favor? There are no further comments and so at this time I will ask council if you have any further questions for city staff or for the applicant. Then I will entertain a motion to approve or deny the annexation request. All in favor? Aye. Okay, so that was the annexation. Annexation was improved, welcome to Burlington. Next we have a public hearing to consider rezoning. And so we will go through the same process for rezoning. At this time we will open the hearing for rezoning. Are there any comments for rezoning? Okay, please approach the microphone and share your name, address, and just a reminder, five minutes.

Good evening, council. My name is Theresa Wiley. I reside at 809 Ross Street, Burlington, North Carolina. I come before you, first and foremost, that I do support the need for safe and affordable housing here in Alamance County. However, housing affordability and housing safety are two elements that cannot be separated.

I think you may be, I don't mean to stop her clock. I think you may be addressing the next.

Oh, I thought they were gonna do, I thought you all were doing.

We're doing, this is the hearing for Peace Haven Farm rezoning. Okay, so we'll come back in just a minute. Thank you. You said just enough for me to know where you were going. Thank you. Okay, are there other comments on rezoning the Peace Haven Farm property? There are no further comments. I'll entertain a motion to close the public hearing.

Motion to approve. Second.

All in favor? Aye. And at this time, then, I will entertain the, well, let me first ask you if you have any other questions or comments.

I'll just comment. I appreciate, we wrote a lot of things into the plan development ordinance, and I appreciate y'all utilizing them. especially in relation to building a quality development, the sustainability, and respecting the landscape and environment around our reservoir, which clean water is ever more important these days. So thank you all for being good stewards of that land, and we look forward to what you do with it, and turning these two-dimensional drawings into a place we can all visit.

Other comments, questions? If there are no further comments, then I'll entertain a motion to rezone as you want to recommend or move. Anyone?

Mayor, I'll make a motion to approve the request to rezone property from the planned development and agricultural zone and district to the planned development zone and district and the mixed use future land use designation the properties located on the west side of the NC Highway 61 are addressed at 1458 NC Highway 61 South and consisting of Guilford County tax identification numbers 220601, 241672, 241718, 241719, and 241720. The motion is based upon the consistency of the proposed rezoning with the comprehensive plan and that the request is compatible with the mixed-use future land use designation. The proposed uses support the needs of attainable housing for the Peace Haven farm residents and supporting and preserving agriculture and the regional employment center intended to accommodate a variety of residential and non-residential uses. This action is reasonable and in the public interest in that the proposed zoning would not modify the existing uses of the property. It is consistent with the overall pattern of development in the area, which is a mixture of agriculture, low and medium density residential and non-residential uses. This location has direct access to NC Highway 61 South.

And do we have a second? Second. All in favor? Aye. Then the rezoning is approved. Thank you all. And thank you for the work you're doing, leading the way. And next we have, this time I'll read my part. Next we have a public hearing has been scheduled for city council to consider a request to rezone a 1.58 acre parcel from medium density residential and high density residential zoning districts to the high density residential zoning district. The parcel addressed as Zero Ross Street is located on the southwestern corner of the intersection of Lower Hopedale Road and Ross Street and consists of Alamance County Tax ID number 140651. And again, we'll recognize Director of Planning and Development Services, Jamie Lawson.

Thank you again. So this next item is a rezoning request. It is a general rezoning request. The property is highlighted on the screen. It's at the corner of Lower Hopedale Road and Ross Street. You can see from the zoning designation colors shown on the map, a portion of the property is in the high density residential district, which is an orange, and then a portion is also within the medium density residential zoning district, which is the yellow shade. Split zoning of properties make it difficult for development and efficient use of the land. The applicant has requested to rezone the entire property to the high density residential zoning district. This was also heard by the Planning and Zoning Commission with a recommendation at their meeting in July in front of you at your work session in August. And again, this has been properly noticed for a public hearing for tonight. again the slide just illustrates the aerial that is shown on on the left and then the future designation of the area which is suburban residential which would be consistent with the rezoning request so staff does recommend this rezoning request i believe they also the property owner also owns the parcel to the left and there is a application in front of the technical that will be in front of the Technical Review Committee condition upon this rezoning. So if you have any questions for me, I'm happy to answer them. Otherwise, I'll turn it over to the applicant in the event they have anything else to add.

Good evening. Good evening. Nice to see you all. My name is Chad Huffine. I'm 505 East Davis Street, Burlington, North Carolina. I'm the civil engineer for the project. And just to recap what Jamie spoke about, the property, two parcels are currently owned by the same owner. We have plans to do a single family neighborhood there with a short cul-de-sac. approximately 19 units are proposed there and the current zoning splits the property and is not consistent with the property lines so during our TRC application and awareness of the zoning peculiarity for this project we humbly request a rezoning from the MDR portion to the HDR so that we have consistency in our setbacks and lot dimensions that's the reason we're here for I'll be glad to answer any questions specific to any technical matter that you might have. That in a nutshell is the reason. Thank you.

Thank you. Any questions for the applicant or for Ms. Lawson? Okay, then at this time, I'll open the floor for public comments, for public hearing on this item, and just remind you to state your name and address, and you have five minutes. So this is on the Zero Ross Street property. Are there any comments? and you get your four or five minutes.

Thank you, thank you so much, ma'am. Again, Theresa Wiley, 809 Ross Street. And I had actually had it all written out, but I'm just gonna cut to the chase. So here in Alamance, we know that affordable housing is an issue for many reasons, and I do support more residential housing. however this proposal here brings a health equity issue to me not only to me but to the community when we think about the current zoning of the property that's here at hand it is mdr it's medium density residential and high density residential across those two plots and it was originally zoned like that for a reason so the current udo supports wyatt zone for this reason So the particular 0 Ross Street is a flood zone area. And so when you look at the UDO, when you look at for medium density residential, it clearly discourages the use that may interfere with development of residential or detrimental to the residential nature of the district. So my statement is that when we know that this is a flood zone and we endure one of the most horrific flood zones I endured ever in my life at 50, February of this year at this address and this location. It raises the health equity concern because the people who are most likely that need affordable housing are the same ones that are at least able to absorb the health, the financial, and the displacement consequences of that. So I endured the flood. Flooded the home, flooded HVAC unit, the whole nine. My animals, my dad had to come. We had to move it. There was a wreck in the middle. Fire department, police department, everybody was there and closed off that bridge. I was able to do that. Why? Because I was able to afford flood insurance. Most people in East Burlington area cannot afford the financial burden of a flood. And so my question is, what are we considering from a health equity standpoint when we are making these kind of decisions of building residential areas in a flood zone? We currently have built a property and layout development over on Ballroom Road. One of the residents that live on the bottom floor is the house manager for my current business. Every time it rains more than three days, her bottom apartment is flooded. So my question is, what happens when this develop is added to the existing storm water and drainage system? What have we as a city done to alleviate the current issue? Again, going back to why zoning is in place. It is in place to protect the wellbeing of the community. So, you know, I also wanna leave with the question of who will live in this development and what protections are being provided to ensure that the residents with the fewest financial resources are not being placed in a location where they will bear a disproportionate share of the environmental risk that it presents. And I mean, I... I ask that each of you to really consider this, because I personally voted for each of you, and I voted for each of you with the intent and with the belief and the hope that we are gonna have a better, equitable Alamance County. See, people get the word equity and equality and justice. They like to use that interchangeably. There is a difference in those three words. Equity, everybody gets the same thing. Equality is where they get actually the resources that they need. But justice is when we remove, we remove the barrier of why we in disparity, why there is an east and a west, right? So I just put that out there to say I trust you and I hope that you make the right decision. Yeah, I'll leave it with that. Thank you.

Thank you. Are there other comments? Council, do you have questions? I do have a question about the flood zone. How does that factor into rezoning? I mean, this is just your baseline kind of help me understand question. There's a flood zone, tell me about that.

Yeah, so if there is a stream or water body, it would be determined whether or not that area is protected. And if it is protected, then there would be associated buffers and riparian areas that would be designated, would not be able to be part of the overall development. There could be some portions of the development within it, but... Those areas are regulated and have overall greater controls. You're not seeing any residential development. You don't have a development plan in front of you. So there really is no specific ask of council. pertaining to this. Your ask or what's in front of you today is just the rezoning pertaining to the medium density and the high density.

Okay.

I do have a question, Mayor. So from the medium density to the high density, how many more homes could that add by making that change?

Yep. So I did have this handy in case you asked that question. Thank you. And so on the left hand side is the medium density residential zoning district standards and on the right is the high density residential standards. So there is an increase in the number of units as well as the minimum lot size. Both of the zoning districts, I would also add, do allow for other uses besides just single family detached. The request in front of you tonight is not a limited use rezoning, so essentially if you approve the request, it could be any use under the zoning district table of permitted uses.

Because we don't have a site plan. We technically do not have a plan that's saying they're going to build a certain amount of homes. Not associated to this request. They could use anything under that zoning.

So related to those questions, just because it would be rezoned doesn't necessarily guarantee that they could build those many units if the flood maps or the engineering or the other design rules that would come into play at a later stage said that you couldn't actually build on all of that as you...

Yeah, there's other standards that would also have to be put into place too. You've got your perimeter buffers that would be required around the perimeter of the property. You're also going to be limited to, there's an open space requirement of at least 10% of a subdivided property be set aside for property. Overall open space. So oftentimes you also have roads and infrastructure. So when you're looking at that max density number, oftentimes the density and the yield that you get is much lower than that.

And we're talking about 1.85, right, acres? It's just a little under two acres, right?

That is this portion of the property that they own.

They own another portion already.

Yes.

And... I heard a concern about stormwater runoff. And I do know that there has been some efforts in that, over around that area. I don't know if it's exactly adjacent in the area to improve stormwater runoff, but I don't know if anyone wants to speak to that or where we are on that.

I am not familiar with that specifically, so I would not be the best person to answer that question.

Okay, so we're not supposed to, well, we're still on public comments, aren't we?

Yeah, this is council comments.

I don't know that you used your full five minutes if you want to make a comment.

I am fine with you making a comment.

I'm just going to say if this gets out of control, we'll figure it out.

So I have contacted the environmental department of the city to ask about what efforts have been made. I've even asked if there could be a volunteer group to help with cleaning of the creeks and how are the creeks that are within Alamance County decided on where you do these volunteer groups that clean up the creeks. I was told that there were three creeks that are identified per year. that are chosen to be cleaned off. And unfortunately, none of those creeks are in that area. But you can always put in a proposal or request to have the creek added to the cleanup list next year in 2027. But there's only three that are chosen per year. And so none of those creeks on East Burlington were chosen. So we'll wait to 2027. In regards to the stormwater,

The community needs to know.

Where my business is, I have a business at 1006 Richmond Avenue, which is on the hill, that houses adult mental health residents. The flood impacted all of the homes so far down on the hill. that we had to house the residents at the mental health group home just to keep them safe and save some of their things this past blood season in February. So I don't want this to be taken lightly. And it's already to the point to where other new developments that have popped up over here, if we don't do our due diligence and ask for that analysis, ask these hard questions to get answers, then we are all guilty of egregious behavior. Egregious behavior to the most vulnerable. So that's what I'm putting here. I'm all in support for housing, but we need safe, affordable housing. We don't need housing just to say we have housing if we know that it's not safe, and we know that the vulnerable cannot afford the repercussions and the consequences of when it rains. The climate is changing rapidly. So right now, at that lot 809 and Zero Ross, there is a huge discrepancy right now on the GIS that the city has for that lot. And so as a taxpayer, we've been at the city, we've been as a tax office all morning long trying to correct it before there's any new development. But really, at the end of the day, it just shows that over years, that creek moves. And when that creek moves and widens, it creates more environmental risk. that we're sitting here discussing and how to put families, mother, father, children's on. So just, you know, consider that. I mean, just consider that as a pinpoint for further discussion.

Thank you. Did you want to speak?

There is the the Robinson Park Creek

is being worked on i do want to put that on the record that is one of the creeks in east burlington that is currently being worked on and monitored mayor thank you for recognizing us again one of the things that's interesting about public comment is that oftentimes we discover things we don't know about But for the record, in this case, I would like to show you on the GIS exactly where this particular property is, if we could pull that up. And then we'll show you the specifics to any flooding concerns at this location. And then I'll take you down the... Lower Hubdale Road, and we'll look at one of the stream crossings there. For the record, also, we'd like to tell you that along with the private consulting engineers and civil engineers, the city staff also employs engineers that look specifically in detail and exhaustive detail. From a stewardship perspective, from the private land section and city section, specific to stormwater and flood, and a significant amount of effort is put into proper site selection, proper location of homes. conformity to existing stormwater rules and regulations and improving those regulations as we see the need to improve those. So in this specific zoning case, specific to Roth Street, we'll just show you where the location of the property is relative to any mapped FEMA floodway elevation or floodway areas. And then if we could go after that to the 1006 Richmond and hopefully maybe identify a location that we could further pinpoint i think in the conversation so this is the area that the rezoning is and if we pull the fema or if you just pull the 100 year flood layer on And just bear with us, this is a little bit tedious of a request, spur of the moment. With all due respect, Jamie and I and our colleagues live on this website, so we navigate it every day.

Yeah, it's bookmarked on my computer.

So if you zoom in carefully to the specific property where we're requesting the zoning change from MDR to HDR.

It's at the northern top of the screen.

So I'll just use words. So many demands. So in the interest of time, just to walk you through what you're looking at, the property hidden behind the box that we're so desperately trying to take a photograph of is north and several miles north of what is mapped in blue on the bottom of the screen as a flood area of concern. So you can see that topographically we are high and dry at this location and like I say earlier, part of our work is specific site selection to make sure we abide by flood limits and avoid them at all possible. I think one more thing I'd like to add. We spoke specifically about due diligence in our work as we develop properties in the city. without question, one of the most rigorous functions of your planning staff and your engineering staff is dedicated to making sure that we research and properly discover items on every site, not just this one, but all of our land development projects. So we work extensively to make sure we do a good job as the development progresses and as the city grows. And we appreciate that and we appreciate being heard tonight.

So this is in blue is where the FEMA floodplain area is, correct?

So in that white and blue kind of candy cane looking area, in the middle or approximate middle of that is a creek or a stream or a river or something. Inside of that candy cane blue and white stripe is... mathematical and geometrical canal of water or a channel of water that we have several limits and regulations we abide by the outer periphery the blue area and the yellow area are areas where the flood water is predicted to rise to, those we call the 100-year flood line or the flood limits or floodplain. A lot of things are used interchangeably in layman's terms. But suffice it to say that if it's inside that dark blue area, we avoid that if at all possible.

Thank you for answering that question for me.

Yes, ma'am. Thank you.

So just to clarify, Director Lawson, any development that would come later would comply with modern stormwater rules?

That's correct.

And then we have our new stormwater ordinance and fee structure we put in place to give us the tools to be able to address any legacy infrastructure that might be overtaxed or overburdened by the changes in rain patterns that we're starting to see. Those are both relevant, and then this is what, about a half mile north or so.

Okay. If you zoom out just a little bit, does that, I could see that the blue circled around, but I just wanted to see where it came back to.

Okay. Okay. Yeah, and that's that creek that runs through North Park.

Yeah.

Are there other questions, comments? So just to be.

We have one more.

Okay, you can come to the microphone, state your name, address, and you have five minutes.

and thank you for letting me speak uh 809 raw street and zero raw street i've seen it fluid three times in 25 years and it was a mess and the city knows it because the fire department was dispatched the rescue was dispatched the neighbors and everybody was trying to help and nothing been done about it so if they're going to rezone it why are they rezoning it to build units, is that what I'm hearing? So why, let it make sense.

I think the rezoning is because right now it's split, which makes it a challenge, you help me if I'm wrong on this, makes it a challenge to develop it one way or the other. So by making it all the same, then it allows for the same use across the property.

And just to be clear, I'm sorry, go ahead.

But to be safe.

I hear you, yes.

So what is to be done about 0 Raw Street and 809 Raw Street and that area? Like I said, I've seen it flood at least three or four times in my 73 years, but I've never seen anything being done about it. I haven't even seen the river or the creek being drugged so that the water will flow rapidly. Trees have fallen down in the creek, blocking the water, and everybody knows it, but nobody never do anything about it. And you're talking about rezoning it to build units. Let it make sense. Thank you.

Thank you. So where is 809? So 809 is...

809 is this property here. And then this is zero. When there's vacant parcels, the address is zero. So you often see zero multiple different areas. Okay. So this is zero Ross Street, I believe. what they're referring to.

But that's not the property that we're looking at.

No, you're looking at a rezoning that's up here.

Okay. Multiple zero-raw streets, they're all just on, okay.

But that was 809, so 809 is in the floodplain.

and that zero ross street adjacent to 809 is in the middle of that floodplain yes but that is not the zero ross street we're talking about correct this is very confusing

So yeah, it's not that zero.

So it's not the zero raw street adjacent to. Okay, that's that's very helpful. Okay.

So does that make most of your comments moot at this point? It's not the same place. You're good.

It makes the comment mean in regards to the development, but it does not negate or make the comment around the stormwater cleanup and what is currently being done. Because if if you still think about it, even though the zero loss we're talking about is a lot higher, decisions that are made up top often create downstream disparities. So that same development up there is gonna still come down. Right. Okay.

Thank you. And thank you for your comments, both of you. And the applicant's engineer as well.

Yes. Right.

0-1, 0-2. We must all reference parcel ID numbers. And thank you for expanding that so I could see the actual floodplain as well. So thank you for answering that question for me because that opened the gate to let us know that there are two separate zeros that we're speaking of. Okay.

So let's go back to the rezoning requests for the current property Zero Ross Street at the corner of Ross and Lower Hopedale Road, am I correct? So back to that property, which currently has two zonings, and what is the, and so our question is, We are in a public hearing, and we've not closed that yet. We are in a public hearing to consider rezoning that we have not closed this one. Okay, and you wanted to comment.

Yes, ma'am. So, Mayor Cannon, council, and staff, I think it would all be beneficial for me to read into the record that we are requesting a rezoning on parcel ID 140651, a zoning change from MDR to HDR for approximately 1.6 acres.

thank you okay thank you um sometimes all of the numbers are confusing too so it's helpful to be able it's helpful for me to be able to see on the map um are there other comments other public comments at this time if there are no further comments then i would entertain a motion to close the public hearing motion approved the second second all in favor aye Are there other questions, comments for staff?

No, that was great, thank you.

Okay, thank you all. Then at this time, if there's no further questions and conversation, then I'll entertain a motion to approve or deny the rezoning request.

motion to approve as consistent with the land use plan i make a motion to approve the request for one parcel of land totaling 1.58 acres that contains both the medium density residential and high density residential zoning districts to the high density residential zoning district the property is located at the southwestern corner of the intersection of lower hopedale road and raw street It is addressed to 0 Ross Street as are multiple properties and consists of Alamance County Tax Identification Number 140651. The motion is based upon the consistency of the proposed rezoning within the comprehensive plan and that the property contains split zoning designations with different development standards. This creates a conflict for future development opportunities. The proposed zoning is consistent with the future land use plan. which calls for the area to be suburban residential. The action is reasonable and in the public interest and that the proposed amendment supports infill residential development. Future development would be consistent with the area as well as the adjacent property owned by the applicant and any future development would be required to comply with the city's unified development ordinance and stormwater regulations.

Thank you for the motion. Do we have a second?

Second.

And all in favor? Aye. Thank you and thank you for your comments and raising awareness in the room tonight, thank you. At this time we have a public hearing which was scheduled for City Council to consider a request rezoning four properties of land totaling 68.17 acres from the medium density residential and high density residential zoning districts to the planned development zoning district. The parcels located north from the intersection of Sharp Road and Lakeside Avenue on the easterly side of Lakeside Avenue and the terminus of Elva Drive are addressed as 1071 Lakeside Avenue, 1107 Lakeside Avenue, and Zero Elva Drive, and consists of Alamance County tax ID numbers 128181, 128187, 128212, and 139955. And again, I recognize Jamie Lawson. Okay, the thing again, so this series of properties,

There's actually four, one, two, three, four, two of them are not labeled with parcel ID numbers, but they are also included as part of this rezoning request. The applicant is seeking to rezone the property. This is also split zoned so you can see that there's high density residential orange shade running through the property as well as the medium density residential zoning district the applicant has come in with a request for planned development rezoning as you may recall those items go in front of the technical review committee first for review and consistency with the unified development ordinance That was done back in July and then the item moved forward to the Planning and Zoning Commission later in July and in front of you for a work session and scheduled for a public hearing tonight and properly noticed for that. This is the concept map or master plan map that is associated with this rezoning request. So there are a number of different things that are shown on this map, all of which are commitments associated with the plan development request. There are a number of open space, active open space areas throughout, scattered throughout development. One of staff's concerns when we initially saw the application was we wanted to ensure that there would be that the recreation will not be isolated throughout the development, and you can see that there are also connections, sidewalks and connections throughout the property, as well as going up the stream corridor, connecting the different open space and green areas. Another, I call them proffers, but that means that they are items that the applicant has included above and beyond what the ordinance requires so they have included visitor parking throughout the development as well that was another concern that staff had since these parcels are less than what our standard lot sizes are so we did have some concern regarding parking and on-street parking, and so there's additional parking areas added. The area that I'm circling down by, number one, that is actually an area that has been designated in the event that Link or Mass Transit would come to this area and to the property, there would be sufficient pull-off area for that to occur, because Lakeside is is not accommodated for that. Let's see, what else? They have committed to 200% greater open space than what is required by our ordinance. Through the rezoning request, the density that they're proposing is less than what our medium density residential zoning district allows for. The proposed density of this development is 3.68 units per acre, and our medium density residential zoning district is 4.85 units per acre. So if they were going to build just per their existing zoning that's in place right now, the number of units and the yield would be much greater than what is in front of you today. There is 3,400 linear feet of a nature trail. I mentioned that, various parks and open space areas, overflow parking, perimeter buffering. They are providing excess feet in terms of the perimeter buffer than what is required. That street eye that's mentioned under number four is the area for the set-aside for mass transit. Again, another feature that they are adding is a circulation connection to Brassfield Drive to the north. So they will actually be extending the right of way through their property and connecting to the existing development to the north. And then last thing I'll just highlight is our design standards. So our ordinance has design standards for single family homes, but those are optional. So the applicant has actually committed to a number of the provisions that are optional. So again, that's above and beyond what our ordinance does require. this is just a comparison and it's included in your packet but this is just a comparison to the udo standards versus what the plan proposal is and this slide highlights the existing future land use designation of the area it is split between rural residential ag and suburban residential, staff does recommend this rezoning request consistent with option number two found in your packet, and the Planning and Zoning Commission also did recommend this unanimously. So I think that's it for my presentation. The applicant is also in the room in case you have questions for them.

Director Lawson, real quick, you mentioned the brass field connection. Are there any barriers or existing things outside of the property bounds here that would prevent that connection from being finalized?

No.

Okay.

Thank you. And this is Ryan Moffitt from the applicant representing them.

Thank you.

Thanks, Ms. Lawson. Good evening, Mayor Kennan and members of council. It's a pleasure to be with you this evening. I'm particularly excited to present this request on behalf of Stewart Village, LLC. Before I jump all the way in, I'll just mention that I'm Ryan Moffitt with the Vernon Law Firm. We're located at 522 South Lexington Avenue. Stewart Village comprises of mr dr ray covington and mr james kirkpatrick who are clients that i've worked with for a number of years related to this property and of course mr chad huffine our all-star engineer who we all appreciate and gets us through these fun projects is when was no exception um it's it's been a treat to take this project through the plan development process i think this is the first single family detached plan development to reach council since the udo was adopted the new the current udo was adopted in 2019 and i want to commend the city as council member val tutis mentioned in one of the earlier hearings for peace haven that that zoning district is is really one that if used correctly allows for a lot of creativity a lot of collaboration and really consensus going into the ultimate request hopefully consensus going into the ultimate request I'll just give you a brief background on this. My clients purchased the land in 2024 from the Stewart family who up until then had owned it for decades and saw this as an opportunity to follow the direction of natural growth within the city. particularly in the northern region of the city, and to address a demand for efficient quality and attainable residential inventory, which, as we all know, this community and the surrounding region needs in a big way. I want to thank Ms. Lawson and the planning, not only the planning department staff, but all the staff who vetted this project and Chad Huffine for his really hard work. I mean, these require constant communication, constant tweaking. Lots of meetings that when we've got a lot going on, but that notwithstanding, we still get to have those meetings thanks to your staff. So that made it a real pleasure to work together on. The aim from the beginning with this was to offer a residential community that's accessible to a broad market and offers the opportunity for active community experience with low individual property maintenance and real value in an offering of community amenities. As we do with all of our requests and particularly one of this scope and magnitude, we engaged the surrounding property owners and we engaged them early on. In fact, this is not the first time we've come to the city with a zoning request for this property. Early last year, we tested potentially zoning the entire 68 acres for hdr this is split zoned as as miss lawson mentioned about 14 acres are high density residential and the other 54 are mdr so when we when we came through the first time around we had a community meeting at the Mako Bigelow Center, had lots of feedback, then we didn't have a site plan at that time. It was a standard request, and so we didn't come with a site plan we could really lean on, and understandably, that spurred a lot of questions. We took that feedback. Planning and Zoning Commission took the feedback from Planning and Zoning Commission, regrouped, and then came back to the city with a plan development where we could, and again, kudos to Ray and James, they committed to investing in this process of really putting together a detailed site plan and subjecting it to scrutiny on the front end. And early in that process, we sent out our communications to neighbors again, hosted another community meeting at the Mako Bigelow Center, in february of this year as we were getting started with with trc technical review committee review in earnest had fewer had fewer attendees but a much better response because we we kept our notes from those those last meetings and those last um comments we adjusted the access and the traffic we clarified some points around the utility impact which is a positive one here and I think you know came out of that meeting feeling good and and generally ready to move forward this went through four four reviews through the over the across trc um which as you know i mean that's that's every department in the city looks at this that's it and offers feedback again it's uh time consuming and resource intensive but feedback and communication collaboration is always good and it gets you to a product that has not just planning staff recommendation, but full staff approval after close review, you get to take that to a Planning and Zoning Commission who can put their faith in that review, and we've got unanimous recommendation from PNZ, and so hopefully you all see the same thing that staff and PNZ have seen. Just to quickly run through a few of the items. I know Jamie mentioned some of those, but this is a What we're doing here is requesting a smaller lot. We're requesting accommodations from a dimensional standpoint, from the base requirements of what a lot looks like in the MDR or HDR. You're getting a smaller lot throughout most of the development. You have larger lots also, but by availing ourselves of the plan development structure, we can get those smaller lots, offer enhancements that on the net are going to benefit this community, and you've got a product that is attractive to the market, attainable, is low cost, low maintenance and and you've got a substantial amount of community area that we have here we've got more than 20 acres of open space here almost six total acres of that is active so that's well in excess of what the development ordinance requires and really that's what you can't really understate the benefit of that you know those aren't lawns you have to mow but yet those are areas that families in these communities get to enjoy um and and there are amenities provided within these dedicated you know pocket park areas uh that that are that can be reasonably maintained by a homeowners association and the idea is that it becomes a sustainable sustainable neighborhood and and the type of neighborhoods and communities that we want to see grow in the city and so The big enhancement around open space is a key one. The five satellite parks all have recreational amenities. That central park there will have pickleball courts. The nature trail, there's... more than half a mile of nature trail combined with the pedestrian infrastructure, the sidewalks throughout on both sides, you've got more than two miles of walkable space throughout the community. Your buffering around the perimeter is enhanced. So you've got double the perimeter, you got 20, at least 20 feet of perimeter buffering around the entire community. which is twice what the UDO would otherwise require. So normally 10 feet, you've got 20 feet. Where there's not natural, we're not gonna remove any existing vegetation that can provide buffering, but where there is none, it will be buffered with a type A landscape buffer. a big part of the conversation is Jamie mentioned early from early on throughout was Burlington doesn't have really any maybe one or two communities with lots that are 40 feet wide. And so we haven't tested this yet. This is in some ways a test case and so what do you do when you've got a 40 foot wide lot and you've got a family living in a home like that that has guests and where are they gonna park and how deep are the driveways and good foresight, good questions to consider and so we have interspersed guest parking throughout mainly around the park areas to help alleviate any curbside parking pressure that may result from guest accommodations at the residences. And then of course, as we start to pay attention and really encourage various types of transportation, having space for potential bus stop or other public transit there at the opening of the project was something that we were able to make room for if that becomes a reality in the future. I'd much rather hear your questions than guess at what you're interested in hearing about, and so I'll just conclude by saying that this is a project that's consistent not only with the stated goals and policies of the city's land use framework, including to provide an enhanced quality of development in the city, but it is compatible with existing uses. You've got higher density, medium higher density to the east and north, medium density to the west it also is consistent with that existing character that residential character this will accommodate and facilitate choice and attainability and value through efficient use of space safe and efficient traffic flow opportunities for expansion of public transit and expansion of city utilities and an efficient administration of utilities with a smaller lot you gain you gain utility administration efficiencies from there as well i will pause there if of course mr huffine mr kirkpatrick dr covington If they have any remarks they'd like to add. But again, just want to say what a pleasure it was to work through this. I think these products are always the best after this process. Thank you to Mr. Kirkpatrick and Ray for making the investment in the process. James, thanks.

My name's James Kirkpatrick and I live at 530 Country Club Drive in Burlington, North Carolina. I served on your Planning and Zoning Commission for 14 years. I started with Joey Lee. I listened through the UDO and Chad Meadows' ability to talk incessantly. But I have never walked through the planning process. And Dawana, you had your comment, was it invocation in the beginning? And I believe the verse is there is safety in having many advisors. And that drew me to your TRC. The staff at the City of Burlington, I've worked with them for quite some time. There's lots of advisors on that TRC. And what I will say is this, they made our development better. Trust your city staff. They are, you have to do a little bit of work. But if you have something that comes before you that has passed the TRC, it has been vetted from buffers to canopies of trees to parking. It's a process, but it's a good process, and they do a hell of a job. Thank you.

Thank you. Council, do you have any questions, comments for city staff or for the applicant?

Two that came up while they were talking. One was, we've had a number of conversations about parking, and I was just curious, at a higher parking load, with street parking generally fully utilized, will school buses still be able to traverse the whole development easily?

Okay.

Nice to have the bus stop at the front end, but school buses are going to run from day one through that whole complex. And then the second question is there's some boardwalk listed, and I was wondering if what quantifies as boardwalk allows for ADA access through the sidewalks between the development and Austin Drive or Austin Street. Okay. We've had a lot of conversations internally about ADA access, so thanks for helping bridge that gap.

Thank you for those questions. Other questions or comments? Then at this time we will open the floor for public comments on this item. And you know the routine, I ask that you state your name, address, and you have five minutes. Are there any public comments on this particular rezoning?

argument just just a comment um thank you for explaining um with much detail in regards to um the rezoning two questions that i just wanted to for clarity is um what is the benefit from changing it from mdr to hdr for the community for those that will be purchasing homes in this community and then the second piece is when we are thinking about community investment is this going to be a total home ownership or will this be rental good questions so the it's currently split zoned and where the request is for planned development zoning

And your question was, say it again.

What's the benefit?

Right. I think the applicant could speak more to that. I've gone through in my presentation the added elements that have been contributed as part of the development that are not part of our unified development ordinance by right. But I think they've also made their presentation as well.

What we've talked about a couple times is that the medium density and high density residential kind of simply allow a use within certain setbacks and rules versus the planned development allows kind of additional flexibility, but it requires certain things. So all the list of bullet points that are spelled out with this and the design features are what get added in in order to allow this development. So you get a lot more on the front end guaranteed So it's neither high or medium in this case. It's going to that that you see on the screen, which is planned development. Yeah, it's a special carve-out. Good question, because it is unusual.

so I need to say that I think you have to speak to counsel so again we came to the city over a year ago with the request to zone the entire 68 acres for high density residential. Now we had mapped that, we couldn't present it as a site plan like we can here, and it was, not very attractive because we had the confines of strictly what the dimensions you have to follow in the HDR district. And so you had funny looking lots everywhere. You had a traffic pattern that didn't flow well. There were lots of corners. and really not a lot of room for community space. And it wasn't a good use of the land. And because we're here to talk about efficient land use, having this planned development, which is what you see in all the conditions, all the terms on that plat are requirements of the zoning. And yes, it will be a HOA managed community, but what we have found, what I've experienced in working on projects like this and have observed in other communities is that if you're not careful about how you design amenities in HOA managed communities, you can put some really nice looking amenities in a community like this, and you can market a home on a small lot for what seems like an affordable price, but then you got your HOA fee to manage that real fancy, those five really high maintenance amenities. So you've gotta think about what that added cost of the maintenance is. Here we've got a lot of natural open space. We've got... trails and existing amenities that are fairly low maintenance and can be maintained at a reasonable, hopefully, the idea being a value for those HOA fees relative to something that you over-amenitize a community, people can't afford to live in it, and it gets overgrown and nasty looking real quick. So we're You're sort of tuning the levers on the land to make it work.

And then the other question is the intent for rental or home ownership.

Yeah, it's not really land use, but yeah, it's not.

Just wanted to put that question out there. Thank you.

Thank you. Just so we're educating folks that might be watching, not people in the room primarily, but you can't have those little mini parks without an HOA. Somebody's got to pay to cut the grass, right? And so everybody aggregates money and sets that aside monthly to pay for insurance for people who fall down and trip in the park and how to cut the grass. And so the HOA is not a bad thing. It's a necessary entity to manage the cool stuff that you get three doors down from your house, right?

Yes. And there's a science. There's a very well-calculated science to that. So there's a difference between... a 50 to 100 a month hoa and a 300 200 200 300 a month hoa and when you have property that sets up naturally for common space you don't you can save some you gain a lot of value um there so yeah good question i do want to add jamie i'm not sure if you can show this um that it's included in our workbook

But what I found valuable in the community to answer Ms. Wiley's question was the pavilion. I know that you may not can see that Ms. Wiley. The pavilion, the five parks, the recreational areas that's located throughout the community. So I think that gives value for switching to this new zoning as well so it's not just homes you know another um another complex it's actually walkable and you have the different amenities but yes it does come with a cost but you want to have those um amenities protected in the neighborhood i think it also ensures that the value stays where it should be because it's being kept it's being maintained so it's not just you know a pop-up community that's just going to be left and i think it's going to add i think it may be the best new community in that area to be honest with the amenities and the from what i can see in the workbook and the examples of what the homes will look like on a small property i think it's definitely going to be valuable And sorry you can't see what I see, Teresa.

Are there other public comments? If there are no other public comments, then I'll entertain a motion to close the public hearing. Motion approved. And second. All in favor? Aye. Just a reminder, this is a rezoning for planned development, moving from medium density, high density, to planned development zoning. Council, do you have any questions, comments? At this time, I'll entertain a motion to approve or deny the rezoning request.

I'll make a motion to approve the request to rezone properties from medium density residential MDR and high density residential HDR zoning districts to the planned development PD zoning districts. The properties are located north from the intersection of Sharp Road and Lakeside Avenue on the easterly side of Lakeside Avenue and the terminus of Elva Drive. addressed as 1071 Lakeside Avenue, 1107 Lakeside Avenue, and Zero Elva Drive, consisting of Alamance County Tax Identification Numbers 128181, 128187, 128212 and 139955. While the request is inconsistent with the future land use map and section four land use of the comprehensive plan in that it calls for this area to have rural, residential, agricultural, and suburban residential uses, the request is compatible with the existing residential uses in the area. It provides an opportunity for additional housing options within the city. The plan development provides an enhanced quality of development. This action is reasonable and in the public interest in that the comprehensive plan encourages a sustainable balance of land uses. The request is compatible with the existing zoning and land uses in the area.

So we have a motion, is there a second? Second. All in favor? Aye. The rezoning passes. Thank you. At this time, I will call on public comments for topics that were on the agenda. for things that were not in the public hearing. Okay, we had four public hearings. We had one person to sign up and I believe she has left. So I'm gonna take that as we have no public comments this evening. And I will check in with Ms. Allen just to find out what her comments were. So, okay, no public comments. Are there comments from council this evening?

I just wanted to bring to the attention to the council, thank you to addressing the issue on Graham Holtdale Road about the flea market that was popped up in those areas and not necessarily zoned for those areas. However, they just moved down the block to the Walgreens that is closed now, which is zoned as general business use. but the building is not operating. And so on any given Saturday and Sunday morning, you will see the same flea markets popped up that was addressed on Graham Hotel Road at the 2294 North Church Street at the Walgreens business that was there. It's now closed at this point. And so I just bring it to the council's attention because there's been a lot of energy and effort in completing the surveys that you've all asked for feedback and have deployed myself and others to be boots on the ground to get honest feedback. And so now that this flea market has popped up just a block down the road, it is being viewed by the community. that it's being pacified in a Band-Aid. So if the need is that this is what is taking place for financial stability for these members that are doing it, is it potential we can find a place that is not an eyesore for East Burlington? Thank you.

Thank you for your comments.

Where was the Walgreen located at? I am completely lost. It was a bank and then a Walgreen's. Okay.

I noticed that this weekend as well. Okay, council comments. Comments from our council.

I have two, and I left my prop in the meeting room over there, but we had a ribbon cutting on Tuesday, Tuesday today, yesterday, Monday this week, over at 1236 Plaza Drive in the old Burlington Outlets. for Alamance County's first 24-7 Narcan vending machine. So yesterday was National Opioid Awareness, or Overdose Awareness Day. I lost a good friend to overdose about a decade ago, as have many of us, or we at least know somebody who's struggling with drug use and substance use. And so this vending machine is sponsored by the Opioid Settlement Funding, as well as Alamance County Health Department. It's also hosted by Hope City CrossFit. So please spread the news that it exists. It's free. There's also one in the Health Department, but that one's within the Health Department, so not 24-7 accessible. Narcan is recognized as one of the most effective ways to save a life. You're more likely to encounter somebody day to day suffering from overdose than somebody who has a heart attack. But yet we have AEDs everywhere that you go. So having Narcan or Naloxone in your glove box, in your office, at your home is a great way to be prepared. As an Eagle Scout, always be prepared. Be ready to save that life. There's instructions on the box. All you do is walk up to the vending machine. get one, no questions asked, and hopefully we can all reduce the number of deaths that we all have to remember. That was my first announcement, and the second was a little longer. We had a conversation in our work session a couple months ago about distressed and fire-damaged and vacant homes throughout the city, and this is a list that's existed for more than a decade, and some of the properties are still on that list after a decade. I was chatting with a number of residents on Shaw Street, Lee Street, Brooklyn Street, and Elm Street over the past couple weeks and got to see some of these houses. Some of them are pretty bad. Some of them have been damaged by fires. And they've been sitting there as they burned and as the fire department did a great job putting them out, but they haven't changed or been stabilized in between one and four years. So there are residents who have to live next to damaged, vacant decomposing structures, and we continue to get these reports. I appreciate staff's work on them, but we continue to get these reports of we're trying, but there's nothing we can do with our current ordinance. So I did some digging, and I would love for council and staff over the coming months to explore a number of different opportunities, and I'm happy to provide these notes to the manager and attorney, but I'd like to explore drafting a vacant property registration ordinance. that would ask owners of these properties to register with the city and incur a financial fee that would hopefully escalate over time should owners choose to keep their properties, specifically residential properties, vacant. And then the second operation is to draft a mandatory securing requirement for vacant structures. It's something that baffles me that we cannot require a property owner to put plywood up or secure a property. And from talking to neighbors, the number one concern here is kids. The last thing we want is kids getting into one of these structures. We know they're going to explore them. We don't want them to get hurt or killed. And we do not have a rule right now in the books requiring some type of securing method to keep people out of these structures. So I'd love for us to explore what we can do. there it's just common sense and keeping our neighbors safe third item is to establish permitting deadlines for fire damage properties this is something that exists around the country and the idea being that if your property succumbs to fire damage you have a certain number of days 30 60 90 days to put it on a road map to either get demolished or to revitalize and that if you don't put on that road that pathway then other rules go into place so and then the fourth one is to assess a receivership authority as granted by General Statute 160 D 1130 the idea being that if and many of these properties as we've seen from a notes are in these weird states of ownership There's family members battling over them. Nobody wants to take responsibility for it. Or people just weren't sure who owned it in the first place. And so to create a pathway where we can just clear that ownership and actually move the property ahead rather than waiting. year after year or even a decade or more for other entities to figure out an ownership. And then actually the fifth one, which is just to create a cross-departmental distressed property working group. We're already doing some of this within the department, but if we're really trying to move these things ahead, we need to make sure that there's a team that's specifically looking at how do these properties move from one tool to the next to actually get resolved. because you're welcome to go see some of these, but it is hard to imagine what it's like living next to these. I lived across from, a block away from the one on Front Street that burned during National Light Out a couple years ago, and even that one sat with just police tape around it for almost a year before any work was done on it. So, it's hard as a neighbor.

Do you know what the holdup was? Can you, like, what was the barrier of why that home was left after the fire for over a year?

I don't know on that one, so... They're usually complicated, but I think these tools help us kind of nudge the process along, or in the case of an uncertain property ownership, actually take control of that situation rather than waiting for other entities to step in. But we'd love, if counsel's interested in that, I'd love for us to move those conversations along over the next month or two.

So I'm hearing you make a request for if our attorney can bring something to us. Yeah. So that would be good. Thank you, counsel. Thank you. Other comments?

I was going to say something. Regarding, oh, so can we at least since the issue came up about the certain areas that are flooding, such as Wall Street, I know our biggest, Ms. Barber, the biggest project that we have on our plate right now is actually Shaw Street, I think. and I know she's not in the room, but I believe it's Shaw Street. It's one of the most expensive areas that is flooding. It's a legacy area. But if we can explain, just to put on record again, and you're probably right for this, but to go ahead and explain why we started the stormwater fees and how did we get here to this place of passing this fee on to be able to take care of our stormwater issues. We are active. We have made initiatives to address those areas, but of course it takes money. It takes taxpayer dollars to take care of a neighborhood that everyone may not live in because these are legacy areas. They're not the areas now where they're having to put in additional measures to prevent the flooding. These are old areas, but can someone explain on that level of where those funds, where we're trying to use those funds for the sewer?

You mean for the stormwater? My understanding is stormwater fees will go to help the city meet those challenges by increasing staff, by increasing, y'all can help me out anytime here.

Yeah, so the increased revenue that will come from the fee changes will build some reserves that we can then use to study each of these drainage areas that have that have been developed long ago prior to any stormwater rules. Some of these, there are areas where there are homes that were built in what are now the FEMA floodplain areas where that mapping, that designation did not exist when those homes were built. So we'll be able to study those drainage basins and determine what improvements may be potentially put into place to help alleviate some of the

Thank you so much. And beyond that, we have a program associated with it that allows for actual project funding on public and private property with a cost share initiative. So to Ms. Wiley's comments about specific properties, previously we've had to just look at them and say, here's what we might recommend, but it's all up to the property owner. And even when we could do something, our funds are very limited. So this is going to give us a growing capacity to address these things and a growing capacity to help people who may be resource constrained to take action where legacy design and engineering and knowledge of flood zones didn't exist to prepare those properties for what they're now experiencing with flooding.

Thank you. Other comments? I have just a few announcements. Well, let me make a couple of comments first. I want to say thank you to our city staff for making the council retreat such a positive experience. I mean, I feel like I walk into the room tonight knowing my council members a little better. Yeah, I mean, it's like that we get to function as a team in a different way than what we did prior to that. So thank you for helping to make that happen. And not just us as a team, but us with you all as a team so that we can better serve our city. The other thing, over the weekend, Fourth Fridays on Friday night, which was transition to inside, but still amazing music, downtown Burlington, and then Saturday all day long, Well, all afternoon and into the evening, amazing music in downtown Burlington. I got to see my neighbors walking around downtown. Got to enjoy really good music. And I would love to be able to do that all the time. So let's keep it up. It was a fun weekend to me. And I hope that others were able to go out and enjoy Burlington. Good musicians right here from our community entertaining on the streets and sidewalks of Burlington. It was kind of cool. So a couple of announcements. Our city offices will be closed on Monday, September 7th for Labor Day holiday. As we started out with our proclamation this evening on September 11th. At 8.46 a.m., there will be a sounding of sirens for one minute, and the community is invited also to ring bells, church bells, let's encourage school bells, you know, all the things. This is a day for us to pause and remember, not just about tragedy and terror, but to remember about caring for each other, to remember about unity and working together and serving each other. Our next city council work session will be on September 14th, Monday, September 14th at 5 p.m. And our next city council meeting will be Tuesday, September 15th at 7 p.m. I do not have anything else. Anybody else? Okay, if that is the case, I need a motion and a second.

Motion approved. Second.

All in favor? Aye. Thank you all.