Keisler Rezoning: The council unanimously approved the
applicant’s request to rezone 3.5 acres along Kildaire Farm Road from
residential to office. The applicant has proposed a 50,000 sq. ft. office
building on the site. Conditions include a 40 foot opaque buffer with no
averaging, a 100 foot building set back from the rear property line, shielded
lighting and storm water BMP’s that will be designed to accommodate a 50 year
storm event. This site has been identified on Cary’s Land Use Plan as O+I since
1996. The site is not viable as a residential use (except for high density).
Technology task force: Councilmember Lori Bush and I
initiated a request for Cary to consider creating a Technology Task Force to
help Cary better understand and utilize technology and social media in
communicating with citizens. Council unanimously approved the request. The
clerk’s office will handle the application process so if you are interested in
serving on the task force, please contact Town Clerk, Sue Rowland at sue.rowland@townofcary.org .
Chickens: Discussed numerous times ad-nauseum. We conducted
a public hearing and heard from many in support of allowing folks to keep a
limited number of backyard hens. Two people spoke in opposition. The council
forwarded this item to Cary’s Planning and Zoning Board for review before
coming back to council for final decision in July or August. Yes, government
moves slow – and that’s usually a good thing.
Yes, I still have a few concerns with the proposed
ordinance; the $50.00 fee is too high, the recommended number of chickens
allowed (6) is a couple too low, and the set-back requirements for coup
placement are a bit difficult for the average citizen to understand, but I’m
not going to win these arguments right now. The council consensus is to take it
slow and see how this goes. Not a bad idea at all. If we find we need to make
some adjustments in the future we can do so. I believe what is proposed to be a
good balance of allowing folks to keep some chickens for personal use while
protecting those who do not want to be impacted by their neighbor’s chickens.
One last point on chickens – if you live in a community
whose HOA covenants prohibit the keeping of chickens, you still cannot get
chickens. HOA covenants trump town code and you agreed to those rules when you
bought your house.
Panther Creek 9th Grade Center: The council
unanimously denied WCPSS’ request to amend the Town of Cary’s Land Development
Ordinance (LDO) to allow for the construction of a “temporary” 9th
grade center at the future site of the Alston Ridge Middle School (M16).
The overriding concern was with having to amend Cary’s LDO
to allow for temporary classroom space in the absence of a principle structure
(existing school). This amendment would not only apply to this specific
request, but would also apply to any educational/institutional use town-wide.
Any public or private school, trade school or other educational uses would be
allowed to construct “temporary” facilities in the absence of a principle
structure. We are all unfortunately familiar with WCPSS’ practice of adding
trailers/modulars to alleviate overcrowding at area schools. This is the first
time I can ever recall where they want to install the temporary classrooms
first.
If council were to consider supporting the amendment, town
staff recommended defining “temporary” as 2 years with a possible 2 year
extension for a total of 4 years. WCPSS is on record stating they would need
the 9th grade center for 6+ years.
Should WCPSS construct middle school M16 within four years
of constructing the 9th grade center, that would then provide the
principle structure required for the modulars to remain indefinitely – whether
as a 9th grade center or to alleviate overcrowding at the middle
school.
I blogged about this request last week in an effort to
solicit citizen feedback, and boy did we get it. The emails and phone calls
were overwhelmingly in opposition to this request with only 2 supporting it.
Make no mistake – this was not an easy decision. We all are
well aware of the overcrowding issues at Panther Creek High School and we know
we need additional school seats. Sacrificing our development standards however
is not the answer. Council members also expressed concerns about the urgency of
this request. I think councilmember Bush said it best, “Poor planning on your
part does not constitute an emergency on our part.”
I don’t have an answer to this problem – none of us do. I
wish we did and we will continue to try. But this isn’t our responsibility;
it’s the school system’s. Cary works very hard to communicate development data
and trends to WCPSS staff. What they do with that information I do not know.
UPDATE: WCPSS has filed an appeal with Cary’s Zoning Board
of Adjustment. I will post an update as I learn more.
Land Development Ordinance (LDO) Amendments: There were a
number of amendments discussed and approved – too many to write about and not
as interesting as chickens ;-). You can view the staff reports here and here.
Well, that's our council meeting in a nutshell. As always, thanks for reading!
