Planning Commission - Regular Meeting

You're left. I'd like to make a motion to Do we have to call the meeting to order first? Don't Don't we have to make a motion to do or All right. Call the meeting. Call them call meeting order. Okay. Okay. Um since since we are missing our chairman and vice chairman, I would like to make a motion that uh Bill Deer fill in as temporary chairman. Second. All in favor?

Okay. So, uh we have a quorum. Uh item number three, conflict of interest statement. In accordance with the state government ethics act, it is the duty of every board member to avoid conflicts of interest. Does any board member have any known conflict of interest with respect to any matters on the agenda? If so, please identify the conflict and refrain from any participation. Anybody? Scott? I do not. Nancy, Amanda? No. Steve? No.

Okay. Agenda item four, approval of the minutes. Uh looking for a motion uh to approve the minutes of September 22nd, 2025 and October 2nd, 2025. I'll open up for discussion in case two separate motions, please. Pardon? Two separate motions. Two separate motions. All right. [snorts] Well, let's have a motion first for September 22nd, 2025 regular planning board meeting. Make a motion to approve. Second. Second.

All in favor? Motion approved. Uh looking for a motion for the minutes from October 2nd, 2025 planning board special meeting. Make a motion to approve. Second. Second. All in [clears throat] favor?

Okay, both are approved. Public comments. Individuals are allowed three minutes to speak and must only comment on current agenda items. A maximum of 30 minutes is allocated to the public comment period. This time limit may be extended due to discretion of the chairman. Has anyone signed up for public comments? And no one has signed up for public comments. [snorts] You're getting off. You're getting off easy.

That's right. [laughter] Okay. Um, item number six, old business, discussion of workshop regarding UDO section D917E, additional specific requirements for conventional residential development. I'm looking to you, Greg.

Thank you, acting chairman. Uh so as a refresher UDO section D 917E are additional requirements for conventional residential development. This D917 section is basically our development standards for new projects and uh specifically new subdivisions. D17A is applies to everybody. 917B applies just to conservation development, C for commercial development, D for special uses such as schools or daycarees, things like that, etc. And then we created this E this year to impose additional requirements on when you're creating a new subdivision and specifically imposing it for new major residential subdivisions rather than imposing them on the public at large. uh for development specifically uh regarding things like property rights uh natural resources, you know, limited topography or slopes, things like that. Uh we created this new section that was codified earlier this year. Uh we got the concept there. Um but as we've discussed in a couple meetings, we might not have all the language. Uh at our previous meeting, uh we agreed that we would hold some type of workshop or meeting on this event. I still would recommend that as the planner that we hold an actual workshop on this so we are not as so time restrained uh as we are this evening. It's a gloomy dreary day. You know, we could talk about this topic for hours. I'm not sure that that necessitates it today. Um but Mr. Deer had provided some some positive [clears throat] comments on how to get us started in that right direction and kind of motivate us to make these text amendments. Those perspective text amendments were provided in your

packet. Um, you know, some of those items were talking about open space, how to define open space. Um, we talked about the definition of adjusted tracked acreage yield. So, basically, how are you separating the kind of unbuildable areas from the buildable areas, uh, some of those concepts. And so, that was provided uh, for your reference. It's on the screen. It's a little too hard to read. uh but you do have it in your your packet as well and that's publicly available. Um so that just made some amendments to basically how we calculate these areas uh how we talk about steep slopes um who has authority to review these items etc etc. Um Mr. Deer, he can speak to some of these suggestions more in depth. Uh, but again, this was to try to get us started on what some of these changes should be and then allow us to uh hold a workshop in the very near future to finalize these tech.

So, are you looking for a date to lock something in for a workshop date or is that what the intention [snorts] is? Uh, if if there's not complete consensus tonight, which frankly missing the chairman and vice chairman is is a big hit on that. I'm not sure we should make a decision um this afternoon. Well, and there's a lot there's a lot to discuss in these two things. So, yeah, I I would think we'd schedule a not a planning board meeting, but an actual workshop, especially when we have the chairman and vice chairman here. I'll be happy to walk through some of this stuff to get people thinking you have questions, but I think we could discuss it in greater detail at a at a workshop.

Yeah. I mean, that's what I I would suggest that we we discuss it at a workshop because we can we could talk about it, but we start getting into it. [clears throat] You know, it could go on and on and on. Yeah. So, you want me to summarize this or just move on? That's that's completely up to you. I think you can you can demonstrate your intent of what you wrote here, what you were trying to portray so that everybody understands the concept better. Can you can you do it in two minutes?

All right. less. Um, what I did, I went through D917, AB, and E, all the ones that were applicable, but I only looked at the one. There's a lot in all of those. If you look through the deal, I only took the the ones out that addressed open space or conservation land. So, as an example on D917A, it talks about open space and you'll see note this subsection R. It's it's a typo or things have changed. Should be subsection P. So, that's a non-issue. Then on D917B, additional specific requirements for conservation residential, we talk about minimum open space 50% of and it says net acorage. At a previous count planning board meeting, we had we came up with a definition for adjusted tracked acreage yield. And what that is, it's the gross tracks excluding primary conservation areas. And basically your primary conservation are almost non-buildable land. So instead of having all of that I was proposing instead of net acreage, it's adjusted tract acreage of the track that will be required to [snorts] retained as conservation land. And then my thinking is if we go with that that following sentence which I thought was a little convoluted wouldn't be required. I then went down to uh E primary conservation lands. We talk about conservation lands in some places we talk about primary in other places we about secondary but I couldn't find any definition of

that. So on the back, and this was missing, but I think Greg sent it out because it was on the back side of of the sheet where it has conservation lands. It said uh primary conservation lands means that portion of the track that consists of viewsheds, flood planes, wetlands, lakes, ponds, hydric soils, which I learned was just soggy ground. um and steep slopes greater than 25 degree 25%. So that defined what primary was and then conserva secondary conservation on a conservation sub would basically be what all other include that portion of track that consists of forest land farmland historic sites moderate slopes versus steep slopes and rock formations and land adjacent to parks. So that was the thinking on that. So it says primary conservation lands. I took, you can see where I've lined all of that stuff out and basically said because of their extreme limitation, stream valleys, swailes, submerged land, flood plane. You can read through what it says. Um they may also require adjoining buffer lands to be included as primary conservation lands. And this was in the existing text. And this is determined by an analysis of the protection requirements as determined by it did say town council. I've changed that to planning board on a case-bycase basis upon the finding of designations of such as primary conservation would have significant long-term envir environmental impact. So that kind of summarized it. Um

and then 917EB B it talks about minimum open space at a minimum 20% that's in the existing ordinance of the adjusted tracked acreage will be required to retain as common open space and where we're requiring 20% of a parcel to be um maintained as open space, not conservation, open space that if you've got what would be primary conservation land that you can't do anything with, I don't think it's right that we hit a developer saying you got to also include 20% of that as open space. And I think we're saying no, that's that shouldn't be the case. That was the thinking behind that that wording. So,

Bill, can I interrupt for or just ask a question for a second? Um because in my mind conservation land is different than open space. Open space can be a green or whatever but conservation land is pretty much undisturbed habitat, natural wildlife habitat. Am I correct about that? Yes. And I was going to bring this up a little bit later and it can also be a part of our uh our um workshop. Workshop. Thank you. Is I think there has been confusion over conservation land and open space. Yes.

Um all open space is not conservation land. Yes. And you can have small open space on conservation land. as an example, you can have land set conservation land set aside, but it can also be used, and we talked about this previous meeting, uh, a soccer baseball, not organized, but where people can go in and use that. So, it's often referred to as open space, but it's actually conservation land.

It could be, but but conservation [snorts] land. And what is the name of the development over on Cox Road? That's a RCD uh conservation development that is I mean they left theirs completely disturbed. Actually here I got something on that Nancy. I was going to talk about this on um in the two minutes. No, I'm done with that topic. I we can we can go on to conservation and open space. We are in the weeds. I'm kind of be in the weeds about weeds. I like the weeds. That's why I was hoping that, you know, we could just say yes, let's do this in a workshop. Then we don't have to sit here and hashtag all Well, we can do that, too. All of the red line stuff.

No, I was I was just wanted a definition of conservation versus open space is all.

Okay. Well, I I'll say one more thing so we can bring this to a quick closure so you guys can do a little homework before we have our workshop. But I think over the last four years, something's changed on conservation versus open space. conservation is locked up in perpetuity through something like Kataba Land uh organization. But if I look at and I've gone out and pulled up on Union County map several subdivisions. If I go to Providence Forest, um that's the one on Hembi and and uh Providence Road. Yeah.

That land is tagged as conservation. If you go to Lake Forest Preserve, that's one you were talking about, Nancy, and that was in 2010, that's tagged as conservation land. If I go to Harlo Crossing, that was in 2020, and I pull that up, that's tagged as open space, and it's it's conservation land. So, something something was a miss there. Well, I think that um and since I'm intimately aware of or knowledgeable about lands conservancy, they're not going to take little parcels, but what you're talking about is a deed restriction. Yes,

that's what that's different than being a member of the conser of the lands conservancy. It is a deed restriction. If you go to the other ones I talked about, [clears throat] it will say owned by XYZ HOA. Yes. But then it has on there the deed restriction for conservation. So Weddington Glenn just shows open space or Harlo crossing and Weddington Glenn. Maybe Weddington Glenn isn't complete, but it's all open space.

The Union County doesn't always have it marked correctly. The best place to find where it's what it's platted as open space or conservation land is the register of deeds and look at the plat that's been filed. They don't always they don't always get it right. So that that this sounds like something that we should bring up at the workshop to clearly define what conservation land is. What is the impact on the HOA for conservation land? What's the impact on the HOA for common open space? There's going to be a maintenance element to common open space and vent conservation land. There really is no maintenance element to that. There is a maintenance element to conservation if you look into the UDO.

Yeah, but usually it's left as as it was found. Well, you've got situations where we've had conservation land and people will complain there's garbage in there. You know, it's tires, it's trash, this and that. And say, well, it's conservation land. You can't go and clean that up. It's not conservation land. Clean it up. You just can't. It's not conservation land till the developer turns it over and says, "This is conservation." So, these are the things that we need to clarify. Most definitely. Before they before they declare this land what it is that they know understand what they have to do with it. Exactly. One would think that that would be part of their HOA agreements. And when you bought a home there, you would know that, wouldn't you? It is part of the H. It's supposed to be part of the HOA.

I will tell you this that the builder really is not too interested in in what the the HOA that they leave behind [clears throat] does. Um, they want to get out of there as fast as they can usually. Yes, but I mean once they do all of their obligations to the community or whatever and they hand it over to the HOA then then it really is the HOA's [snorts] Yes. responsibility. Got it. Their problem. I think the planning board moving forward just needs to pay a little bit more attention to this stuff. I think over past years planning board and and council didn't really follow what

concern with the with the conservation versus common areas. You might get a a builder or an HOA that says, "Oh, that's conservation area. We don't maintain that." When we're thinking that they were going to maintain, [clears throat] you know what I'm saying? So to be clear upfront with those with those specific requirements is is important. Yeah. Well, all land needs to be maintained. Trees fall, things happen. Yeah. Even if it's quote wildlife and, you know, wildlife habitat, it has to be maintained.

And that is currently in the that's currently in the UDO maintenance of open space and conservation land. I think it's just been a misunderstanding or or not knowing it was there or like Karen said, it could just be the fact that we're looking at, you know, the lazy people who don't code, you know, put it in correctly. Well, that's [laughter] not your words. That that's that's another thing. Yeah. Do not attribute that to her. Okay. I don't want to maybe not verbatim. I don't want to bust down. So, I'll I'll that's just information for when we can schedule a workshop. Um I think we probably need to do that sooner than later.

Oh, I agree. I agree. That stuff is important to especially RC get like a tenative date and then reach out to Chris like for what works for us now. Yeah. So, next week is the first Monday of November. The second Monday is town council. The third Monday

is actually our planning board meeting because we moved it up in anticipation of Thanksgiving and then the fourth week is Thanksgiving week. So, we can have it this time next week or we can schedule it on a different day of the week um with um contacting our chairman and vice chair or before the next meeting. You're saying the week of November 3rd. It wouldn't have to be on a Monday, right? Not No, not necessarily. Just like the Thursday before the Monday before the planning meeting the So the Thursday after council.

Yeah. I mean that shouldn't affect what we do, right? I mean you would want to do it before the planning board meeting. That's when you that's when you're going to make this stuff. Yeah. So it' basically be next week, the week of the 3 or the following week, the week of the 10th. Town council meeting is on the 10th, but um what about how long do we anticipate the workshop taking? Would you say just roughly? Three hours. I would say not over three. I was It depend. Well, I'm sorry. Would you say Nancy four?

Because I mean pretty much bring snacks. Well, if it were it could be an earlier start. If it were two if it were two or three hours, we could always do it before our planning board meeting and then just have a late, you know, have a later start for our planning board. Correct. Yeah. But now you're getting the four or five hours. I'll be honest with you, nothing against this group, but every every group a four or five hour meeting. Well, Nancy Nancy [clears throat] said that the discussion just on this is going to take four hours. Really? Four hours? It was a guess.

I mean, you've got a lot of information here to prepare and um identify questions. So, it's not like people are coming into this cold turkey. Yeah. But I also said, "Can we get this done in two minutes?" And you said, "Probably less." And it's well over two minutes. So, okay. I'll leave it I'll leave it up to the board. I won't set a date and time to do the workshop. It really depends on people's work schedules. That's what I'm saying. And I don't know what time people can get here.

Yeah. I was thinking if you can't get it done, you know, two, three hours and again because people working, if you do it on a an evening, let's say seven, I'm thinking of the people at work. Obviously, that doesn't affect me, but um you could be done by 9 or 10 if and if it goes over that, we do another another meeting. Yeah, that's what I was going to say. Schedule a two-hour workshop. If you still need more time, then just continue the workshop on another day.

How's everyone calendars look for the week of November 3rd? And then we can check, we've got five of us here. Then we can check with the chairman and vice chairman and see how their calendars look. So, what is that? A Monday the third. Monday's the third. The sixth. Uh, it could it Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. I mean, we got any Oh, Tuesday is election day. I don't think you want. Oh, Tuesday's election day. That's true. That's good. Thursday the 6th. Monday the third. You want to try Monday the 3. And if we don't Well, I don't know when our boys are back in town to get their input. Chris gets back on the third. I don't know about

Okay, then I think it should be like the fifth or sixth or seventh. I'll say the sixth. I don't want to do it on Friday. I don't want to do it on Friday. We could do Wednesday the 5th unless you've got are you is that not Yeah, but Thursday is probably the only day I can do it. You want to try November 6th? Is that what I heard? 7 o'clock. 7 o'clock to six. 6 o'clock. Two hours plus the six at six. Yes. Got that one. Karen noted the six at six. Everyone's good with that. We've just got to check with Chris and Rusty.

Okay. So, we got that. There was another section. I think we can save that for the workshops and some of it is what we're going to discuss anyway. And that um there was a document titled UDO notes for action. Those are just some Those are just some other UDO things. Some of them are pretty simple. Um, and then [clears throat] I think that takes care of all that. I have another question around UDO, but we'll bring that up under comment. So, if we're all good, we'll look at agenda item number seven. Moving forward. [clears throat] Okay. Number seven, discussion and possible recommendation of conditional zoning amendment application from Arcadia Homes for an amendment to CZ 2025-03 ARA at Weddington exhibit B development standards. Greg,

thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh so this is basically a conditional zoning men amendment to an ordinance that was just passed this summer. Um that's CZ 2025-03. Uh that was an ordinance that conditionally approved the Arya at Weddington subdivision which was a nine lot uh subdivision located off of Venice Road. Um, this is the slightly amended version. You obviously can't read all the notes here. Um, but the tweaks to this site plan are noted in the bubbles to to simplify this request. Um, when you pass a conditional zoning ordinance, you have the site plan is conditional. So, you have to build it exactly as the site plan says. In this case, the site plan as well as the exhibit B stated that they would utilize public water that they would have a water line that would run through the project. That water line is shown on Nennis Road. Um, after this ordinance was passed, uh, the developer and the engineer contacted planning staff and said, "Well, can we use wells instead? Can we use private wells rather than public Union County water?" And the answer is yes. if you go through the conditional zoning process all over again. We're only asking for a very slight tweak in the language of exhibit B of that ordinance, but it does have to go through the legislative process again. And so they are requesting specifically that in CZ 2025- 0304 um under subsection 10 utilities basically it would say public water lines or private wells. I phrased it a

slightly different way in my uh staff report. Uh and then that would go back through this board as well as the town council. I also noted in my staff report that the location of the existing water line is important here and why this could be recommended for approval. Um, if this were 10 or more homes, which this is nine, staff would not recommend this request because you have an existing water line that is within a half a mile, you would be required to connect to that by ordinance. But because there are nine lots, not 10, there's no strict requirement for connecting to public utilities. They are allowed to use private wells uh should they wish. So this is a request to amend their existing subdivision approval to say we have the option to use wells or water. So this isn't this isn't superseding the last one saying we're definitely doing wells. This is saying we're having trouble obtaining the easements for the water lines. Can we have the option to do both? And so they are requesting you change this language to say that they have the option to do both. I believe the applicant is here. They can speak to this request uh in more detail and why it's necessary. Um but that is that is the the simplified version of what they're requesting. It's the same development. It's the same lot layout. It's the same road, same culde-sac, same private roads, same conditions. It's just a change in the listed utilities provided. did a great job.

Can Can you get up to the microphone? [clears throat]

Did a great job with the summary on there and he spells it out, but the public sewer is still part of the game plan. There's no amendment to that. We understand the importance of that. And um I think it's worth noting that of the nine lots, one of them is an existing home already that's already on wellwater. Um and I believe there's another well out there already that exists and is operational. So there's already a few wells already that are operational on that site. So, our um uh in the event that the ultimate direction is private wells, we would anticipate only really having to dig um eight, but maybe even seven additional wells. And and I think it's true that there isn't there's no restriction on being able to dig a well for irrigation anyway. So, in this case, it would serve domestic water and irrigation if there were a private well on each individual lot. So, is the problem I think Greg said is was obtaining easements.

I wouldn't say there's a problem. Um, we there's a number of factors to take into account. Uh, cost being one of them. Frankly, it's yes, it's not half a mile, but it's well over a quarter mile and we're going to be building eight new homes, right? And we're going to be updating the ninth. So, we have to call it a nine lot community because there are nine lots. Uh, but for eight new homes, a little over a quarter mile of waterline is a a costly thing to take on. So, that's part of it. Um, easements are always an obstacle. We've had very productive and collaborative conversations with the property owners over which there would be an easement. So, I don't necessarily expect that to have been an issue and that still might very well be the direction that we go as far as public water. We frankly want to do what's best. Yeah. For the neighborhood, but really for the community as well. and and we understand that the construction and the potential disruption of digging a 1,400 linear feet water line across Andis road can be disruptive. Um and so we just wanted to be sure that we had the ability to kind of consider both options.

Any comments from any board members? Uh just just to clarify since they're looking at options um [clears throat] when you uh the outlined out of text amendment um where you strike out all existing wells and septic and just change that to septic on B uh 10B and then 10 C. Um, you're also striking out or you're also striking out. Well,

is that going to allow for the flexibility or should we just have the singular line that I guess would be 10A? Well, I believe the reason for the way that Gregory has it is because we will be removing septic because like I mentioned, it'll be so even the existing home will be converted to public sewer. Um, I think the idea was that since there's an existing well that that won't be removed that will remain, but we'll just be removing all the septic.

Well, I think like what he's saying 10B says all existing wells and septic systems will be removed or abandoned in accordance with state and county requirements. So, that says in a removal of existing wells and septic systems. Is this different than the most recent one in the packet? There's a suggestion. So this Yeah, this is uh what was initially um provided as the amendment.

Um so that just that just modified uh item A and then changed the date when it would be adopted. uh the suggestions in your packet were slightly revised as staff's recommendation because there'd be impacts also to line B and C. Um but I I believe both of our intents are aligned and that we're just trying to say that they have the option and so if there's any uh text modifications or changes that you guys recommend that it should portray uh to meet that intent, we we can certainly look into that. Yeah. So existing wells could could stay or could be removed. You know, it's just that's that's what you're looking at, right? Yes, sir. You want to have the options?

Yes, sir. Well, this would not just be for them. It would be for everybody. Correct. No. No. This is just them. Just them. But we're doing a text amendment. This is a to our conditional zoning. This is a change of the language to their ordinance technically. So [snorts] if if you if you did go with county water, was the intention to No, I'm sorry. You're going with county sewer. Was the intention for the existing house there that's currently septic? Would that go would that go to sewer? Yes, sir. Would that Okay. So it will. Okay. It is going,

sir. Public water line. Well, if you do a we'll construction public sanitary sewer, which everyone's going to go on and public water lines or private wells. Okay. Okay. And then B is simply saying the wells is the intent of B is do you have 13? You're going to you're going to remove the septic on the existing home on the on the on the packet that's online that's revised. Oh, okay. I don't I don't have that with me. What? My laptop is broken.

So, we don't have any of our chairmans and you don't have this stuff. I was not chairman when I came to this meeting or I would have done much I trust I trust Greg I I yeah I just wanted to make sure we weren't hemming them in with removing some other language on here. That's that was my question. Yeah, if they if they wanted flexibility, I want to make sure we're giving them flexibility. Um I think the way that it's amended is pretending the sentence just starts at septic. I think it just says septic systems will be removed. Right. Correct. I can make a motion. So I [snorts] guess my only second. So you said the one house has water line already to it. No sir. No,

it's currently on well and septic. Um in the event that we move forward with the private wells, it'll remain on that well, but then we'll convert to public sewer. [snorts] So any other thoughts from anybody? Nancy, Amanda, I'll just make a motion that we uh I'd like to get a little bit more discussion before we make a motion. That's I'm just getting comments from everybody. Make a motion and then discuss it. But okay, go ahead. Well, yeah, but go ahead. You would if you make a motion, you discuss the motion. You don't necessarily discuss where goes. Go ahead. Ask questions. Amanda, any comments? No,

Steve. Okay. My only comment is the fact that it is under 10.

It's the rules are under 10. You don't have to do water. You know, I accept that. Um I will just voice a concern or I guess concern is a word that um by going by not having water there, you also no longer have fire hydrants through that neighborhood. And in from a fire safety standpoint, I'm [clears throat] assuming they'll draw their water from the pond or they'll be bringing tanker trucks with water, but I know the UDO allows it. I just wanted to voice that. So, you know where the closest hydrant is outside the

probably does where the water line begins, which is like right at the end of the meadows at Weddington. Basically, if you're driving on, you get to the edge of where the Meadows at Wedon kind of stops. foot. 1400 feet. How much? About 1400. Basically where the water which is it's basically where we're having to extend from. Yeah. Uh slightly over quarter mile. Okay. If there's no other discussion, then I'm looking for a motion. Scott, go ahead. Okay.

Uh I move that we accept the language that has been presented by uh our planner. Do I need to read all the language or do you I just say as presented by presented by the planner in in our packets. Yes. On the record. Okay. Looking for a second. Second. All in favor say I. [clears throat] All oppose. All right. [snorts] Motion passes. Thank you. You're good.

Okay, moving on to the next agenda item. Eight, update from the town planner and report from the September town council meeting. [clears throat] I think uh I think we might have had a typo. That should be October's town council meeting or that one.

Yeah, but either way, it's applicable. So we, as you guys know, we had two meetings of the planning board. Um, one was a regular scheduled meeting and then we had a special called meeting that went into October here. Um, due to that, um, all the things we discussed in that meeting did not make it to the town council. So those items that we discussed a month ago will go to the town council next month. And therefore, there were no planning items on the town council docket for October. uh which it still took a surprisingly long time, but it was not planning board related. Um so there's nothing to update on in terms of uh their actions or votes. And that's that's all I got. We didn't talk about planning stuff.

Okay. Board member comments. Scott, I just want to thank everybody for coming out with your [clears throat] interest in what we do here. Uh as always, want to thank our staff. I think they do a wonderful job. in uh keeping us straight and getting us ready. And I appreciate the board members for uh for being on the board. Nancy, I'm going to go last if you don't mind. Okay, Amanda. [clears throat] Um can I clarify the workshop? Is it just 917E or is it the entire UDO? Do you have that sheet that goes over?

It should be the entire UDO. That's what I would say. Yeah, I would say the workshop is conceptual. We don't have to limit it to a particular text amendment. Focus on that stuff with everything. Well, there'll be an agenda for the workshop. Right. Correct. Yeah. Yeah. We want a dedicated day and session for that. But the iron if it was the entire UDO, it wouldn't be five hours. It'd be five weeks. Right. Right. All right. Um, yeah. Same as Scott. Thank you all for coming out. And I apologize for my lovely voice, [laughter] [clears throat] Steve. Uh, I'm good. Appreciate you guys coming out.

Okay. I just have one. I appreciate everybody coming. I appreciate all the work the staff does. I I um I'm probably like a lot of the other staff members, planning board members. At night after the kids are in bed, your spouse has gone back. I pour a glass of wine and I curl up in my easy chair with and read the UDO. So, and you go right to sleep.

No, no, no. And I I'd really like to direct the staff to do a comp I'll call it a comprehensive audit of the UDO. And the reason I say that because I've been doing a lot of research and I printed off a couple pages here. I can leave them with you, Karen. But um we have two page 22s. We have two page 23s and they're different. If you go through the index, I've got a hard copy. I also call it up on the town website. And I'm working with both of them because I can I can search the website. And as an example on VII um D917A orientation of residential loss and it goes on and on and on. The index says 17. It's actually page 41.

Right. You click on it, it'll take you right where it needs to be. There's a error in the macros that Okay, good. Maybe that's it then. update will help me because I also looked at at page five and it it shows on the index it starts at the top 22 down through 25 and then it starts at three,

right? And um my only concern is as people are I like to think I'm kind of knowledgeable of on the UDO and researching it, but as people are going out and looking at that, are they going to have trouble following it? Um if you click if you're on the the um table [snorts] of contents, you click you want to go, it takes you right where it needs to go. So, I'm working on trying to fix the errors in those macros. It is um I don't click on what I I do I I do a search like open space conservation land and and you find them all. I do.

If you find them in the table of contents and you click on it, it takes you right to where you need to be. Okay. Well, but I'm I am working on trying to fix that. There's probably not an audit that needs to be done for that particular thing. There's probably an audit need. Okay. I think anything we can do as residents go out and look at that would be great.

And Bill, if I can add to that, uh, that is a wonderful benefit of having Jacqueline on our staff. That's the first thing we directed her to do was to read and go through our UDO with a fresh set of eyes, tells it if it makes sense uh, in terms of its format and terms of its pacing. She's provided several good comments already. what we'd like to utilize in the future is a lot more visual aids to portray these concepts we're talking about. So when we talk about primary and secondary open space, there is a exhibit of that. When we talk about buildable land versus your setbacks versus your building pad, there is a better exhibit of that. Uh that is that is one of the intentions of of our our new hire is to talk about the things you're talking about.

And you're going to read through the whole UDO. She has.

We are kindred spirits. We are kindred spirits. And one last thing I have and quite this is more of a question, Greg. Maybe it comes up at at the uh workshop. When we have a new development come through, we put the Z on that, you know, like unconditional zoning or zoning. Everybody thinks they go into a panic that it's a zoning change. And if I understand, it's not a zoning change. is but their concern is are they putting in condos? Are they putting in a commercial something? Are they putting in is there something we can do rather than that Z sign that everybody goes into a panic but yet we can still put a notification out?

Uh we can we can create new signs. Um legally conditionally zoning is basically reszoning the whole property all over again. We're creating custom zones for every time we do it. Um, so it could have it could be zoned R40, but it has commercial things in it. Technically, you can, you know, that's way the whole town is is zoned RCD, right? Is conditional zoning now. So, every go through the conditional zoning process no matter what. So, the sign is actually announcing that that is a conditional zoning project coming in. It could be a conditional zoning project that's an R40 subdivision, right? Or it could be an RCD

or RCD. Is it is it so bad that the town sees those signs and wants to find out more information? I mean, is that a bad thing? Yeah. I mean, they should be able to go to the website and I don't I don't know what the solution is, but every time something like that happens, people call me. What's going on there? Well, right, but then that and then you get to share the news. Exactly. Is that Is that a bad thing? Put on the side to give the information or Right. Or just say, "I don't know. Call the town." Well, that's true. Well, Bill, I just have one question for you. If you want them to go through the UDO, are you going to provide all the wine? If it gets it done, I'll bring it to the workshop. [laughter]

Okay. Um, no other [clears throat] board member. I have I have some Oh, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Nancy. Go ahead. Um, this is actually my last meeting. Yeah, I'm going to be stepping aside because my life circumstances have changed. um might need to leave suddenly for extended periods of time. In fact, I'm going to the hospital right after I leave here. Okay,

it's fine. But I just can't give it the attention that I feel like it needs. Certainly can't come to a workshop, which is why I was asking that question, which was workshop material, but um I have really appreciated working with old friends, new friends. You guys are doing a great job and thanks for including me. I've submitted my resignation to the mayor already and um Chris knows as well. Speaking as a a temporary chairman, we're going to miss you. You've got a wealth of knowledge from the town, but uh I can sure fully understand, you know, based on your situation. You know, it just sure

life happens and Oh, yeah. And you know, and you never know when it's going to happen or where it's going to happen and I need to be available for all of it. Well, you got you got your priorities right. That's the important thing. Well, you know where I live. So, come and see me anytime. I'll bring your bulbs by tomorrow. Okay. [laughter] Okay. If there's nothing else, I'm looking for a motion to adjurnn. So, moved. Second. Second. All in favor? [clears throat] We're journ. That was