Planning Commission - Regular Meeting

I'll start with the invocation. All right, well, we're gonna get started with the swearing in of the new member, Kater Joseph. Oh, you did that already, sorry. I misunderstood what you were saying there. Then first up, we have the agenda approval. Anyone like to make a motion to approve the agenda? I'll make a motion to approve the agenda as presented.

I'll second.

All those in favor? Aye. Next, we have the approval of the meeting minutes from February 17th of 2026. Would someone like to make a motion to approve the meeting minutes? I'll make a motion to approve the minutes as presented. I'll second. All those in favor?

Aye.

It's unanimous. So next, we have conditional zoning CZ 26.02.02, Lawyers Road Commercial Office.

Hello, planning board. I know we have some new members. My name is Bridge. I'm a GIS planning tech with the town. I will be presenting conditional rezoning application CZ 260202, which is Lawyers Road Commercial slash Office. The Lawyers Road Commercial Office is a proposed non-residential commercial and office development on approximately 1.23 acres located at 14721 Lawyers Road. The request seeks to rezone the property from single family residential one to conditional zoning mixed use two. We had a neighborhood meeting on March 31st. Today is our planning board meeting and we have a tentative town council hearing date for June 22nd. So this is the aerial and street view. As you can see, it's this triangle parcel right here. And this is the street view here. It is also, I wanted to point out, as you can see here, this is Courtyards at Emerald Lake, and there's around a 220 foot separation from this parcel line to the next residential parcel line. So this is our current site plan, includes a building towards the right rear of the parcel here, with a parking located in the front. It also features a connection stub right here to the left for a future potential connection for the parcels to the left here, which are, this is zoned, conditional zoning, and then there's a commercial parcel to the next side as well. The buffer on the right side here is marked as a 14 foot type C buffer, which is a 60% opacity and an included six foot wooden fence. And on this side, there is an included 12 foot buffer with a type D landscaping buffer around the parking lot. A few conditions associated with the proposed rezoning include a prohibited uses of smoke, vape, hookah lounge and CBD uses, as well as a request to reduce the required type A 40 foot buffer adjacent to the courtyards on this right side to a 14 foot type C buffer with a six foot wooden fence. Also a request to not provide the required five foot sidewalk along lawyers Road, so they're not They are not including that in their conditions and a request to place the building in the rear of the parcel with parking located in the front which is not consistent with the ordinance for this type of building in our ordinance, which is shopfront commercial and Just a summary, as we can see, it is zoned single family residential one, surrounded by a conditional zoning. We have mixed use two across the street, and down here is courtyards on the Greenway. Sorry, lots of courtyards in this area. As I said, it's 1.23 acres total. The existing use is vacant, and current use is vacant, but single family residential one. The future land use for this parcel is multifamily neighborhood, which is intended to accommodate higher density residential development, including apartments, condos, and senior housing. The proposed conditional zoning is not consistent with the future land use. Staff recommends denial of CZ 260202 as the proposed rezoning is not consistent with the town's adopted future land use plan, which designates the property as suburban multifamily neighborhood. And it also does not meet several key development ordinance requirements, including not installing the five foot sidewalk along Lawyers Road. It also does not provide the required type A buffer adjacent to the courtyards on Emerald Lake. and with the placement of the principal building towards the rear of the parcel and parking in the front, which is not consistent with our development ordinance. We also have the applicant here who also has a presentation for you. I can take any questions now, but if you want to hear the applicant present first and then I can come back.

Cool.

Great.

Thank you.

Yeah. Okay.

Good evening. This is my first time speaking at a government event. My name is Yuri. I'm the applicant and owner of the property that was purchased last year in July. The purpose of buying this property is to build something memorable for the city of Stallings or Matthews or In the area where this property is located This is a Nice site to use for residential in my opinion in my humble opinion Obviously the building the house could be built on this property but given the situation with the location and lack of specifically Coffee shops That was the purpose for us to buy this piece of property, to develop something of a benefit for people, not only for the city, which obviously generates tax income, but more so for people. Yet having safe distance from the property line to the neighborhood community of 250, or close to 250 feet, 245, I felt like it was a safe... environment for both neighborhood and and location for the for the development given all the conditions that were given that bridge has mentioned that There won't be any smoking wipe Wine related or alcohol related activities so That's where we started the building is located more closer to the front of the building than to the rear and with the buffer of 20 feet, which was reduced by the town, which I really appreciated. So initially, it was supposed to sit more towards the back of the lot. Now it sits closer to the main road. As we go through the slides, this was the initial version of of the site layout, which wasn't exciting, but this is how engineer developed. It didn't provide that look, and obviously it wasn't in ordinance with the town, so this was the first edition. Then there was second edition, which was presented during the neighborhood meeting. Then third edition, which was updated after the meeting, then the fourth edition, and the fifth edition. I think this is a better viewpoint, right? So the building sits on the right-hand side, and thanks to Laurie's suggestion that it would strike a better presentation from the main street so that people could see the building itself, And as you can see, it sits way closer to the front of the road than to the back. The property itself is a triangular shape, which does have its challenges. The triangular lot shape makes a parallel layout to the main of the road very inefficient from setback requirements per engineer and traffic circulation, and it limits parking completely. THE SIDEWAY ORIENTATION, WHICH IS NOT THAT FAR OFF FROM THE FRONT END, GIVES A BETTER TONE FROM THE SAFETY STANDPOINT AND ESPECIALLY AS I'M PLANNING TO HAVE A COFFEE SHOP BAKERY IN THE BACK OF THE BUILDING WITH THE SITTING AREA IN THE BACK RIGHT HERE, THIS IS THE SITTING AREA, WHICH WAS PROPOSED AFTER THE NEIGHBORHOOD MEETING BY Couple I can't remember their last name I Think it's safer for people to be inside than to have this area on the inside instead of Closer to the main road These are just site plan revisions. So I have agreed to put a six-foot wooden fence as proposed by the subcommittee meeting. Move the building up 20 feet towards the front of the lot. Added this stub out to the adjacent property on the left-hand side, even though I don't think it will be developed because it's owned by the same owner that owns eye care and funeral home. nevertheless added additional shrubs and trees in the in the front of the building as as we discussed it because to have the sidewalk it's It really doesn't make sense to have the sidewalk because there is no sidewalk on the right from from the right of the property all the way to the Entrance of that community and it won't be developed any time So just to have it In my opinion, it really doesn't serve any purpose to have the sidewalk. Added outside sitting area in the back is suggested by neighbors in the meeting and built a brick building to create classy and warm atmosphere in the area. These are some pictures for the interior. That's what we were planning or that's what we are planning to do. The name of the cafe or coffee shop is the Cozy Bean. We came up with the name. And again, the purpose is to really target classiness, comfort, build around community, and creativity. So the inside, the interior design will be pretty soft to make it a top notch, not on the budget side, but really to make it stand out between other places. These are some of the items that my wife makes. This will be a run by ourselves business if it's approved and specifically that's the reason why we targeted this site to have a coffee slash bakery place. I did bring some cheesecakes, so you're welcome to try it out. Not to bribe anybody. You're welcome to have it. My wife baked them today. They're small, but they're not too sweet. And again, our premium KPIs is to really make the community improve the relationship, have social relationship with one another, and to really stand out, to be the landmark, if you will, in that part of the city. This is my wife on the left, myself, and our kids. Thank you very much. I'm open to questions.

I noticed you'd mentioned not placing the sidewalk because of the property to the right not having a sidewalk. And what about the property to the left? Is there a reason why we can't provide a sidewalk beyond just not connectivity to the neighborhood? To the left or to the right?

To the right.

Mean either way it doesn't really matter at some point. We you know we go from a town of no sidewalks to a town of sidewalks We have to begin somewhere, so my question is Is there some reason?

beyond Just the the connection to the neighborhood no just just that reason because I don't I really don't see how it's how it could be used especially to the neighborhood to the right and Because, I mean, there is no sidewalk, and it doesn't seem like it will be developed by the homeowner association on the right-hand side. There is 180 feet, if I'm not mistaken. Max, am I correct, or am I off? No, from the sidewalk, from the neighborhood, from the community on the right-hand side.

Yeah, I think it was like 180 if I'm not mistaken And it's not developed I Know it's a non-traditional shaped site Did you look at any non-traditional shaped buildings? Maybe not just trying to force a box onto the triangle

I did not, but I did talk with engineering, Eagles engineering quite often, quite extensively. We went through so many reiterations and based on his feedback, this would be the best option for the value from all of the above. And in fact, I understand that the TOWN OF STALLINGS HAS THE ORDINANCE TO HAVE BUILDINGS UP FRONT PARALLEL TO THE FRONT ROAD. BUT IF YOU LOOK AT THAT STREET, THERE IS NOT EVEN SINGLE BUSINESS THAT IS LOCATED THAT WAY. I MEAN, AGAIN, ALL BUSINESSES ARE WAY IN THE BACK WITH PARKING LOTS RIGHT NEXT TO THE FRONT ROAD. IF YOU CHECK ALL THE BUSINESSES ON THE LEFT. And it's not like, see, the parking in this case is not solely up front, right? On the left-hand side facing the lot, it is closer to the front end. But I'm going to put extra bushes and shrubs and trees in lieu of sidewalk so that it doesn't stand out like there's a parking lot, even though this is not something new out of the current situation on Lawyers Road. Obviously we want to improve, but there has to be a common sense and reasonableness included.

I believe, Brig, you had mentioned that the buffer to the adjacent neighborhood is slated to be a Type C?

Yes. That is what is on the current site plan.

But I think zoning requires a...

It requires a 40-foot Type A buffer. Right. A Type A buffer is a 90% opacity. Requesting a 14-foot type-c buffer, which is a 60% opacity with a six-foot wooden fence That's a significant decrease.

Yeah, I Mean if the how if the houses were way closer to the property line Then yeah that 10 feet would make a difference but houses itself are over 220 feet from the property line and Do you really think that 10 feet would make a big difference?

Part of planning is looking at the future and what the adjacent properties are slated to be and right now we don't know what those things are going to be. We only know what the comprehensive land use plan has for us and so that's what we have to go by.

Yeah, as far as, and it's not my feedback, based on the info from the engineering office, that piece of property will not be developed.

Any other questions for the applicant? Are we doing public hearing or no? Are there members of the audience that would like to speak today?

Okay.

Thank you for your presentation. Thank you. Yes, thank you.

Hello.

Hello.

I'm Kathy Finocchi and I'm the current president of the courtyards at Emerald Lake. As a neighborhood, I don't think we're opposed to responsible commercial growth, or just responsible rezoning and promote responsible growth. Our concern is protecting our neighborhood. We ask that any rezoning include adequate buffering, visual screening, and noise control. He is correct, there's 220 feet there, but that was a complete natural buffer from our neighborhood to the street of Lawyers Road. And the county put a sewer line, or cut a sewer line in, I don't know what you call it, what's the term? Yeah, straight through the buffer, okay. So now when the house is at the cul-de-sac there, their lot ends and there's a few straggly trees and then all those trees are gone. Okay. Yeah, yeah, and so. Yeah. So yeah, I have helpers back here. But yeah, so then it looks like when you clean that property off, and I assume that he will take it down to what developers usually do, take everything all away and start over, it's going to leave the people in that cul-de-sac totally exposed. And is this a two-story building? No? There's one story? Okay. All right. Well, I think the main thing is it's good that he's going to put up a fence, but you really need something like cypress trees or something that's going to grow up. I mean, just a fence is not going to block his view because he's below those houses. They're up here and he's here. Also, too, another... Problem is, like, where would he put the dumpster on this if he puts that building at the back of the property? Because you can't go, it's obvious you can't go behind the building. So where would his dumpster be, just for looks-wise? And then his lighting, he has to put lighting up, I assume, in the parking lot. So would that be downward phase lighting or would it be, would the lighting spill over into their yards if he was open when it was dark? And then what would happen to the lights at night? Would they be dimmed or would you just have bright light shining in these people's backyards? Another question is how will people get in and out of there? Will they return in lanes put in by Stalins or... him I mean I don't know what okay but thank you but you know it's like the traffic already has stopped there because it's just two lanes so it's it's difficult already I was concerned about the building height and but that doesn't seem to be a problem stormwater Is there a plan for where the water would go? And, you know, would we be guaranteed that it would in, you know, forever and ever be a medical office building? And is it going to be a coffee shop in a single office building, or is it going to be two or three spaces? I don't know that. I mean, would you have two or three business? Okay, okay, okay. Okay. So anyway, there's just a lot of, you know, there's just a lot of questions because once that property is cleared, I don't think there'll be any screening between my neighbor's houses and this building. And that's the main thing, plus, you know, noise level. You know, I don't know how much that'll be affected. But, you know, that was, they were, We were all promised when it was built that you would have that screening from the house to Lawyers Road. And then Union County had to have it for their sewer, which upset a lot of people. And now we've kind of got this going on. So I just would like, if you do decide to approve it, and like I said, we're not against... Commercial rezoning and responsible growth. We're not against that. We just want it handled properly so the neighborhood and our residents, you know, won't suffer. So thanks for your time.

Thank you. Thank you.

Can anybody else talk? I don't know.

Is there anyone else from the audience who would like to speak?

No, the only thing is we were talking about opacity and I at this point it's close to zero all you have is a few tree trunks between those houses and Lawyers Road, I mean you can see right through so any further erosion that that buffer area is just going to make it worse.

That's all. Thank you. He talks about no sidewalk.

Sorry, could you please state your name and address?

I'm Buddy Stevenson. I live in the subdivision behind where he's trying to build. And he says no sidewalk. Well, how are you going to get to his place? Try to run over from the development across? Lawyers Road into his place. He needs a sidewalk, in my opinion. I don't know why y'all think about it, but to me, to have a building out here that comes close to the road and you don't have any sidewalk leading to that business besides trying to run across Lawyers Road, and I wouldn't recommend that. But that's the way it sounds.

Thank you. One more.

Hello, I'm Mary Sturmlinger. I do live in the neighborhood. I remember the problem with the last person that owned the property, always noise, motorcycle shop. So this sounds really nice, but I am worried about the traffic. We already have Epcon across the street. That's going to be a nightmare when those people are trying to make a left out of there. Then you have this, his shop, a coffee shop usually makes it because it's walkable. People can walk to it and get coffee. See already happening because lawyers are so crazy now, but people coming from 485 down lawyers want to turn in there and grab coffee Cars are gonna be backing up because if there's a lot of oncoming the cars start backing up I just think one points of Union County and I just don't want to push back on the buffer So I just wanted to say that thank you.

Thank you. I Think we have one more

Hi, I'm Ruth Alpreta, and I live in that neighborhood too. My question is, once it's turned, if you switch this and you turn it to commercial, can it be anything? Suppose not for anything that the coffee and the traffic. So I don't see that correct.

I can clarify.

So with the current conditional zoning, it would be conditional zoning mixed use too. So the only... condition on uses is that there's no smoke shop, vape, tobacco, CBD uses. So anything else within the mixed use two table would be allowed to be put there.