Our town council meeting this week was a long one. The good
news is that we had a number of public hearings and rezonings – things seem to
be picking up a bit.
Notable discussion and decision items included:
Consideration of a rezoning and preliminary development plan
approval for a senior life care community located off of Cary Towne Blvd.
adjacent to Cary Town Center Mall and Triangle Aquatics Center. Geared towards
seniors ages 55 and older, the proposed facility includes 128 units and would
also provide a number of life care services to include cooking, cleaning,
laundry, transportation and even a barber shop/hair salon. The site’s proximity
to services, schools, and parks also make this an ideal location for such a
facility.
With Cary’s booming senior population – our fastest growing
demographic - the facility helps to fill a growing demand in our community and
also allows Cary seniors to remain in town and close to their families. The
council unanimously approved the request.
There was however an associated roadway improvement waiverrequest that was denied 6-1. I was the one.
The Town of Cary’s Land Development Ordinance (LDO) requires
that developers mitigate the impact they create on Cary’s road network. In this
case, the developer would be required to construct 600 linear feet of an
additional lane of roadway and sidewalk along Cary Towne Blvd, OR provide a payment-in-lieu
of $244,897.50 because Cary Town Blvd. is shown on our transportation plan to
be a six lane median divided roadway.
The reasoning behind the waiver request was that, well, seniors
don’t drive all that much and that the facility provides a number of services
on site to include shuttle bus services that would take residents anywhere they
needed to go.
I supported the waiver request because I didn’t believe a
few more seniors in their Buicks and a shuttle bus were creating a $250,000 impact
to Cary Towne Blvd.
Next on our agenda was a public hearing for a multi-family
townhome project on the Herndon Burt Property located at the intersection of
Hwy 55 and Turner Creek Road. A large number of residents from the Harmony and
Chesney Glen communities attended the meeting to express their opposition to
the project as currently proposed. After conducting the public hearing it was
clear that there is still a lot of work to do and we encouraged the applicant to
continue to work with existing residents to address their concerns.
The council also held a quasi-judicial hearing to consider
an appeal of administrative denial of the Lynch Parcel Subdivision located
between Bishop’s Gate subdivision and Westwood Baptist Church. Being a
quasi-judicial hearing, this one’s pretty complicated – I’ll do my best to keep
it simple ;-)
The applicant proposes 38 single family homes on roughly 20
acres of land that is divided by Crabtree Creek. Cary’s connectivity ordinance
requires this subdivision to connect to the Bishop’s Gate subdivision and the church.
Connecting to the Bishop’s Gate subdivision would require crossing Crabtree Creek.
Crossing the creek to connect both subdivisions would
require raising the creek bed 18 feet and installing 100 foot of 72” pipe. This
would take over 1200 cubic yards of fill and impact over ½ acre of wetlands. A
significant number of champion trees and vegetation would also be lost…all for
a road that would see very little if any vehicular traffic.
Due to the significant environmental impacts and costs
associated with the stream crossing, the council supported the applicant’s
appeal of Cary’s connectivity ordinance. The developer will however construct
greenway connections between the subdivisions and also pedestrian access to the
church.
Last but not least was consideration of a Request for ReviewComments from Wake County on a Swift Creek Land Management Plan Variance. In a
nutshell, a Dutchman Downs and Wake County resident wanted to install a pool in
their backyard. Wake County approved the pool permit under the stipulation that
after construction the impervious surface of the site be at or below the 12% threshold
as recommended by the Swift Creek Land Management Plan (SCLMP). Pre-pool
construction the site was 14.2% impervious. After pool construction and removal
of a parking pad/turn around area, the site is now 13.9% impervious – less than
before construction but still higher than the 12% recommended by the SCLMP. The
SCLMP also recommends connection to municipal sewer for properties that go
above the 12% threshold.
The homeowner has asked Wake County for a variance to increase
impervious surface area to 13.9% and a waiver from connection to Cary sewer.
Wake County was asking for our opinion on the request since the property is in
Cary’s planning jurisdiction.
Cary staff were supportive of the variance to allow
impervious area of 13.9% provided that the homeowner install a stormwater management
device (BMP) but were recommending the sewer connection.
The council unanimously supported the waiver from connecting
to Cary sewer as the nearest connection was over 200 feet away and would cost
the homeowner over $20,000 to construct. The council was divided 4-3 however on
whether or not to support the 13.9% variance without construction of a BMP.
I supported the waiver without the BMP requirement as the
site is less impervious than it was before pool construction, and quite
frankly, I couldn’t understand why the pool couldn’t qualify as a BMP. I mean,
the water that rains into it stays in it right? ;-) To me this is another case
of unreasonable regulation – the homeowner made his property more
environmentally friendly yet it isn’t good enough for government. I am so
surprised…..
This past Saturday I had the privilege of attending Cary VFWPost 7383’s Inaugural open house with Mayor Weinbrecht and Councilman Jack
Smith. This was a wonderful event to honor our veterans, active military personnel
and their families. The event even included a classic car show and silent
auction. Being parents of two sons in the Army – one deployed in Afghanistan
and one in Alaska – we can’t thanks the folks at the VFW enough for all they do
to support our past and present military service men and women. It was an honor
to be in their presence.
Council member Jennifer Robinson and I taped the November
episode of Cary Matters this past week. Jennifer wrote the script and did a
great job. The main topic was Cary’s Land Use Plan Update/Visioning process
which we are calling the Cary Community Plan. Cary’s current plan was adopted
in 1996, and while we have made some tweeks to the plan over the years to keep
up with changing economic conditions and development patterns, a lot has
changed since then and the council felt it was time to undertake a more
comprehensive view of the town’s plans for the next 20 years. There will be A
LOT of opportunity for citizens to participate in the process. If you would
like to participate – and we know you do! – Please visit the town’s website
here to learn more and make sure to submit an application by November 30th.
Lisa and I attended a fundraiser for Gubernatorial Candidate
Pat McCrory on Friday with special guest New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. We
have known and supported Pat for a number of years now and we are so excited
for him to be North Carolina’s next Governor! The highlight of the event however
was getting to meet Governor Christie (sorry Pat! ;-). While I don’t agree with
him on every issue (gun control for example), I respect the heck out of anyone
who’s not afraid to call it like they see it, regardless of political consequences.
He has demonstrated the courage to make difficult choices no matter how unpopular
that decision may be. He’s also a pretty funny speaker – we had a great time.
I attended a meeting between Silverton residents and Singh
Development regarding a development proposal at the corner of Cary Parkway and
Evans Road. If this sounds familiar that’s because it is – Singh has been
working to develop this site since before I joined the council in 2007 and has
offered a number of different development plans over the years – the last of
which was a mixed use plan that appeared to have majority community support.
Unfortunately however the economic recession and the development of Park West down
the street appear to have sunk that plan. Singh is now proposing an all
residential upscale multi-family project. While I did prefer the mixed-use plan,
I fully understand the impact of Park West on the viability of a commercial
product at this location, and the last thing Silverton area residents want is a
bunch of vacant commercial buildings.
The greatest concern appeared to be the required widening of
Evans Road and associated median installation and vehicular turning
restrictions. The residents see no need for the widening of Evans Road and
prefer to see it stay as-is. I informed them that the developer could apply for
a waiver and/or dedicate the right-of-way and offer a payment-in-lieu instead.
That way “if” the town ever wanted to widen the road, we would have the necessary
right-of-way and funding to cover this section of Evans.
Well that’s about all for this past week. As always, thanks
for reading!
