Planning Commission - Regular Meeting

By my watch, the time is 6 p.m. I'd like to call a meeting to order. I want to welcome everyone to the Town of Leland Planning Board meeting. Please note that the public and media may videotape these proceedings at any time. And at this time, I'd like to remind everyone to please place their phones on either vibrate or off so as not to disturb the meeting. I'd now like to ask everyone to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. Thank you. We'll now go to the approval of the agenda. Does anyone have any amendments to the agenda? Seeing none, would someone make a motion to approve the agenda?

So moved.

Thank you. Do I have a second?

Second.

Thank you. Any discussion? All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Then we'll move on to approval of minutes. These are the minutes of the April 28th meeting. Does anyone have any amendments to the minutes?

Nope. Not seeing any.

Would someone please make a motion to approve the minutes as presented?

I'll make a motion. Any minutes be approved as submitted? Do I have a second? Second. Thank you.

Any discussion? All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Minutes carried. We're now going to go to public comment. At this time, anyone who signed up to speak during the public comment prior to the start of the meeting may come forward. After all registered speakers have finished, anyone who did not sign up but wishes to provide public comment will have an opportunity to speak. When your name is called, please come up to the podium. If you have documents to present to the board, please give them to the police officer or the town clerk. There is a three-minute time limit for public comments. You'll notice the countdown clock on the right of the room. And as a reminder, everyone here listens to everything that you say. The board will not answer or make comments on anything said during your statement, but please be assured that we are listening. I believe we have one person signed up.

Yes, sir. Ms. Sherry Dickinson. Dixon, if you wouldn't mind coming up to the podium.

I've never been to a planning board meeting in my life, and I'm 65 years old. but I felt like it was necessary this time. And the reason I think that is because I like to walk a lot. I moved to Leland in October and I love it here. I absolutely love it from Wake Forest, just a little background. But I was told there was gonna be a sidewalk placed from one neighborhood within Brunswick Forest to the rest of the community. It's in Hazel Branch 1. And I walk my dog a lot, so do the rest of my neighbors. There's 58 of us in Hazel Branch 1. But none of us can get to the main community. Brunswick Forest has over hundreds of miles of sidewalk that everybody loves. But we are the only neighborhood that must get out onto Long Pine Drive. and walk on that dangerous road to get to the main section of Brunswick Forest. So I called a couple weeks ago and talked with, actually last week, I talked with a gentleman by the name of Ben Watts. Do you all know him? I was highly impressed with him because he knew exactly what I was talking about. I wanted to know when the project was going to start and when it would finish because I knew it was already planned. But no one in our neighborhood, those that I spoke with, knew when it was going to start because they said that it kept getting delayed. But in the meantime, the road's getting busier and our safety is more at risk. We're constantly looking forward and backward. trying to get there. It's just .15 miles, but it's still very risky. So I decided to call Ben, the planning board, and Ben answered the phone. He knew exactly what I was talking about, had no idea that It's on your mind. It was very impressive. But he did give me some information. He said that from what he is aware of, that Funston Timber had promised to get that road in, and if they don't do it, then there is a... bond that would be initiated and it would get the sidewalk done. So I asked Ben if he could then just find out when, when do we expect that to happen? Because we want that sidewalk as soon as possible. In the meantime, I also, and he said he would, he said he was gonna check around and he'd get back with me this week. um i also talked with someone at brunswick forest hoa because when i looked up funston timber and i saw jeff erp who was associated with them it also showed that he was part of brunswick forest hoa so i called them and it seems like they might have some interest too so they also are going to talk with jeff erp to find out what he knows but supposedly that parcel of land was sold to four star which is primarily owned by D.R. Horton. So I don't know if it's getting messier and if there is any knowledge on where we stand with that sidewalk that we so badly need, but I would like your help and let me know. And I appreciate your time, thank you.

Thank you. We can now move on to item six, presentation, the quarterly update. for the Living 2045 Comprehensive Plan, Ms. Thurston?

Good evening, Chairman, members of the Leland Planning Commission. I'm Catherine Thurston, Long Range Planner, and I'm here to provide this quarter's update on implementation of the Leland 2045 Comprehensive Plan. The purpose of this update is to show how actions from this quarter connect back to the goals Council adopted in the Leland 2045 Plan. I'll focus on what moved forward, which themes are supported by each action item, and why it matters from a long-range planning perspective. The six themes are the framework for the plan, but they don't operate separately. Most real implementation work touches more than one theme, so this evening I'll show how each action item connects across the plan rather than treating them as isolated actions. This quarter, the town approved the annexation and initial zoning of about 150 acres along Highway 7476. This is primarily shown under the environmental resources part because the property was placed in the conservation district, which builds environmental protection into the development framework from the beginning. But it also supports neighborhoods and infrastructure because it directs growth to a logical, contiguous area where service delivery and future development can be planned more intentionally. This is both a growth management decision and an environmental protection decision. Town Council also recently approved development standards for data centers within the Leland Innovation Park. The important point is not just the use itself, it's that the town now has standards in place for an infrastructure-intensive use in an area that's intended for employment and industrial development. This supports economic development, but it also ties directly to infrastructure planning and growth management by helping the town respond to emerging investment opportunities in a deliberate, standards-based way. The town also received an additional $400,000 in grant funding for the Lowcountry Boulevard culvert improvements this quarter. That brings the total external funding for the project to about $1.4 million. This isn't just road maintenance. By improving stormwater flow and reducing the frequency of roadway overtopping, this represents a resilience project that reduces flood risk and uses outside funding to address a local infrastructure need. Advancing the focus area of an inclusive, supported, healthy, safe, and educated community, the town selected a consultant to update the parks, recreation, and open space plan. Parks planning needs to keep up with population growth, land use patterns, and access needs. And this update will help the town make future park and recreation decisions based on a long-term framework and not just one project at a time. The key action item for the regional coordination is that planning staff met with other Brunswick County municipalities to coordinate regional projects, which includes trail connectivity and the Gullah Geechee Heritage Trail. Since trails, cultural corridors and transportation connections do not stop at municipal boundaries, regional coordination is important to make sure local planning efforts line up with broader regional priorities and future funding opportunities. This slide helps pull together the quarter's action items. Each item has a primary theme, but most also support other themes, as demonstrated by the graphic. The annexation connects environmental protection, neighborhoods, and infrastructure. The data center amendment connects economy and infrastructure. Low Country Boulevard connects infrastructure and resilience and parks planning connects community health, neighborhoods and open space, which also the regional trail helps coordinate cultural resources and connectivity as well. And the point of the slide is to demonstrate that not every action does everything, but that the Leland 2045 plan gives us a consistent way to understand how each individual action contributes to the longer term outcomes of the Leland 2045 plan. I'm happy to answer any questions that you may have of city staff about the Leland 2045 plan, and I appreciate your time this evening.

I have a question. My question concerns data centers. I was at a rural summit in Raleigh in late March that talked about the pros and cons of data centers being brought into areas. So I'm wondering if anyone, and I shared it with Ben Andrea, And while I'm not knocking data centers, one of the things that was noted by this presenter was that rural communities, which is where most of the data center people are looking to put data centers, should not view data centers as an economic boon for the community. And it's something that needs to be looked at very closely to make sure that you're not trying to build your economy around the data centers and what they bring to the area. So I'm just wondering if there's been a considerable amount of research done to look at other rural communities that have invited data centers into their areas.

We had a lot of discussions at a staff level about data centers and they're a use that was allowed in Leland already prior to the amendment. The point of the text amendment was to try to set standards for those data centers. They're limited to the Leland Innovation Park and not, you know, anywhere that that use would have been allowed otherwise. And so the amendment itself was working to try to protect the impact and be ready for the impact of data centers which were already allowed.

Okay, sounds good. That's what the presenter was saying, that to make sure that your community is sustainable, can sustain these data centers coming in.

Yes, ma'am, thank you. Other questions? I have one, if we could. And it's not so much on the 45 plan, but you mentioned the culvert on Lowcountry. Is it my understanding that that project is entirely funded by a grant now?

The total funding for the project, the $1.4 million, is grant money. I don't know what the overall cost of it will be. I don't know if there's... I'm being told by Mr. Hollis that yes, it is.

I want everyone to know that because I have read things online about people very concerned about that work being done and that they're spending tax dollars. And so I just thought it was my understanding, too, it was all grant money, so I wanted to bring that up. Thank you. Yes, sir. No other questions? Thank you.

Thank you. It's not necessarily related to... but it is. I'm thrilled to drive up here and see all the kids playing in the spray pool. I think that's a great addition to our community, and it certainly ties in with all the good work that's been going on for a number of years, and to see that happening in a hot day like today, and more hot days coming, I think it's a great addition to the community. So I commend the talent in trying to... develop those types of enhancements for our community.

Thank you. Ms. Eklund also plays right into, as Ben knows, my favorite topic, livable communities for Leland.

It was fun just to see them all playing out there, it really was.

That is certainly part of the Leland 2045 focus, one of the focus areas. And you'll see the splash pad opened about a day short of making it onto this update. for the next one. If you haven't had the opportunity to see the children playing out there, I'll have pictures for the next presentation. I don't know if there are any height requirements or limits.

Thank you, Ms. Thurston. I will move on to item seven, discussion topics. We're going to talk about the Unified Development Ordinance Article 9 draft. Mr. Andrea?

Hey, good evening, everyone. Item 7.1 is to discuss if you have any feedback regarding the draft of Article 9 for the UDO. This is the article that talks about nonconformities. A nonconformity is something that was permitted or built under rules at a certain time and it was allowed and then the rules changed and then that use or that structure or that situation is something that would no longer be allowed. So this article talks about what those are and kind of how they're addressed, whether it's a use or a structure or a site or a situation. Maybe it's an element of a development. So I'll stop there and just ask if you all have any feedback.

All right, so we're talking Article 9, correct?

Yes, sir.

Okay, so just to have, I'll have comments, but anybody else have any comments on 9?

Okay. Administrative. Two questions.

Sorry, Mr. Whitton, can you speak into your microphone?

Yes, I'm sorry. It seemed to be mostly kind of administrative, and I didn't have any objections with any of the language that I saw there.

Okay, thank you.

Mr. Watkins? Just two questions, hopefully easy. Just confirming, I see that there's a portion in here about non-occupying and when this happens. The 180 days, is that an update, or is that what was already there, or is it just clearly defining?

No, that 180-day clause is something that exists in the ordinance currently. It's a pretty common amount of time for something to be considered abandoned or discontinued.

The other question was, when we referenced the Brunswick County Health Department, July 27, 2004, what specifically is that? I thought you said they were going to be easy questions.

Were we all around then?

That's some language in the existing ordinance. I honestly do not know where that language came from. I'm sure it has something to do with when they were permitting those types of mobile home parks. Figured I don't have any reason to change it. Surely it was written in there very specifically for some reason, but I just kind of wanted to leave that section alone as it was. CHRIS JERRAMSEN. Perfect.

Thank you very much.

I'll try my best to keep digging and see what that's about, but I just didn't know enough about it to suggest something different.

I did have a couple of things. On page 6 of 13, 9.2.7 CC, it says that a use shall be determined to have discontinued, blah, blah, blah. Absence or substantial reduction activity of the site compared to the former level of use. That seems pretty subjective. And I just wanted to point that out in my mind, that it didn't sound very objective, it sounded pretty subjective. And just something for you all to think about, because, you know, it's kind of, who's gonna determine? It does not use as much as it was last week. So this is something I thought of.

Yeah, just to comment on that. So these are, this list of items are sort of criteria that can be used to sort of build a case that something has been discontinued. So I'll be it. That one is a little subjective if it came to the point of having to list out why or how staff can came to a conclusion that something was been discontinued or abandoned. Uh, the ordinances is sort of allowing that to be a consideration.

And 9.3.6 on the next page, under I, I believe you have a typo. It says reconstruction. And if I read it correctly, I think it should be reconstructed. It says the structure shall only be reconstruction in a manner. So I think you want reconstructed. All right. And... And my last one was the 9.5.4, change of a non-conforming lot. The boundary shape or size of a non-conforming lot may be modified through lot line adjustment to provide lot line adjustment results in, no, it's hard to read this, to becoming more conforming. Should something be added in there, too, that whatever change in the lot would have no detrimental effect to an adjacent lot?

I don't see any.

It's just food for thought, again. Sure.

I don't see any harm in adding something like that, but I also don't know that that's necessary either. This is saying that if there's a lot on record that isn't meeting the dimensional requirements, that it can change shape, but only in a direction that moves towards meeting the dimensional requirements. So I think that that sort of implies that it's moving towards conformity based on what the ordinance says and then therefore shouldn't cause an adverse impact to an adjoining property.

And again, as I said, it was food for thought in my mind. And I'm not an attorney. I went to law school for one whopping day and then quit. But as I was reading it, that was the one thing I thought. I said, well, should we say something about the adjoining lots, too?

Sure. Let us think about that.

OK. No other questions? Then we will move on to old and new business. And again, Mr. Andrea, UDO Article 10.

Thanks. Just to note that Article 10 was included in your agenda package, and this is the one that we'll be talking about next month. This one talks about the violation and enforcement procedures for the UDO. So we'll chat about it next month.

With that, is there any other old or new business? Okay, we'll move on to Item 9, which is Staff Board Committee Monthly Reports.

Good evening, everybody. I'll go ahead and go over some highlights on the items that are in the packet for you this month. The Permitting Inspections Team, they had a total of 259 permits issued. Of those, 99 were for new homes, 59 single-family residential, and 40 townhomes. There was a total of 2,670 inspections with the total value of construction just over 37 million. Give a little update from the item that you heard last month. There was the zoning map amendment for the US highway overlay district that went to town council last week and did get approved on that. Today was a good day for us. We had two new hires for our department. We have a brand new code enforcement officer, Brian Renner. You may not see him. He usually doesn't come to the planning board meetings, but he'll be welcome. He has seven years experience in the city of Wilmington doing code enforcement. He'll be hitting ground running here very quickly. And then someone you might have recognized in the past, Kate Fersinger, she was our long range planner, community development planner about a year ago, a little less than. She has opted to come back and she's gonna be serving as our planner two here with the town. So you'll be seeing her come around with some presentations in the next couple months or so. And then I can move right into transportation. There's really not too much to report other than if it's in your packet, other than the teardrop runabout got opened up since our last meeting. So we've heard some good reports as of last Friday. No accidents at all, so that's a bonus. But I'll take any other questions you guys might have.

Any questions? Thank you. We'll move on to item 10, and that is adjournment. Do I have a motion to adjourn the meeting? Any discussion? All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? And the next regular meeting of the Planning Board will be on June 23rd at 6 p.m. right here. Thank you all.

I do want to indicate that I will not be present at that June meeting. Yes, sir.