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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2/23/2015 - City Council - Minutes - RegularUNAPPROVED MINUTES CITY COUNCIL BUDGET WORK SESSION February 23, 2015 A work session of the Council of the City of Salem, Virginia, was held in the City Manager’s Conference Room, 114 North Broad Street, Salem, Virginia, on February 23, 2015, at 3:00p.m., there being present the following members of said Council, to wit: Byron Randolph Foley, John C. Givens, Jane W. Johnson(absent), William D. Jones, and Lisa D. Garst; with Byron Randolph Foley, presiding; together with Kevin S. Boggess, City Manager; James E. Taliaferro, II, Assistant City Manager and Clerk of Council, Stephen Yost, City Attorney, Rosie Jordan, Director of Finance; Mary Ellen Wines, Deputy Zoning Administrator/Secretary; and Beth Rodgers, Director of Human Resources; and the following business was transacted: Mayor Foley reported that this date, place, and time had been set in order for the Council to hold a work session; and WHEREAS, Mr. Yost updated Council on the legalities of rezoning requests; and WHEREAS, a discussion was held regarding AMI – Advanced Metering Infrastructure; and WHEREAS, a discussion was held regarding the Salem Red Sox Lease; and WHEREAS, a discussion was held regarding the Roanoke Valley Resource Authority; and WHEREAS, a discussion was held regarding current healthcare costs; and WHEREAS, a discussion was held regarding Broadband Authority; and WHEREAS, a discussion was held regarding the Capital Projects List; and WHEREAS, a discussion was held regarding the budget calendar; and WHEREAS, a discussion was held regarding the proposed electric fee changes; and WHEREAS, a discussion was held regarding the Draper Aden Water Study; and WHEREAS, there were no other topics for discussion. There being no further business to come before the Council, the work session was adjourned at 7:03p.m. ____________________________________ Mayor _____________________________________ Clerk of Council 1 | Page UNAPPROVED MINUTES COUNCIL MEETING February 23, 2015 A regular meeting of the Council of the City of Salem, Virginia, was held in Council Chambers, City Hall, 114 North Broad Street, on February 23, 2015, at 7:30 p.m., there being present the following members of said Council, to wit: Byron Randolph Foley, John C. Givens, Jane W. Johnson (absent), William D. Jones, and Lisa D. Garst; with Byron Randolph Foley, Mayor, presiding; together with Kevin S. Boggess, City Manager; James E. Taliaferro, II, Assistant City Manager and Clerk of Council, Melinda J. Payne, Director of Planning and Economic Development, Mike Stevens, Director of Communications, Charles E. Van Allman, Jr., City Engineer, and Stephen M. Yost, City Attorney; and the following business was transacted: Mayor Foley called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. The February 9, 2015, work session, and regular meeting minutes were approved as written. The unapproved minutes of the February 11, 2015, Planning Commission minutes were accepted. The report by the Director of Finance of the City’s financial status for a six-month period ending December 31, 2014, was received and ordered filed. Mayor Foley reported that this date and time had been set to hold a public hearing and consider an ordinance on first reading regarding the request of Nikola Sumenic, property owner, for rezoning the properties located at 805 & 811 Craig Avenue (Tax Map #’s 47 – 4 – 4 & 38 – 6 – 5.1) from RSF Residential Single Family District to RMF Residential Multi-Family District; Planning Commission recommended denial; notice of such hearing was published in the February 5, ITEM 1 ORDINANCE REZONING 805 & 811 CRAIG AVENUE FROM RSF TO RMF DENIED 2 | Page and 12, 2015, issues of the Salem Times Register, a newspaper having general circulation in the City of Salem; and WHEREAS, Ms. Payne stated that Barney Horrell was in attendance representing Mr. Sumenic; they had requested a continuance because Mr. Sumenic was on his honeymoon; she further noted that this item has been before the Planning Commission several times and the issues under which this item was referred back to the Planning Commission were stormwater management and sight distance; the issue at this time is to either grant their continuation request or move forward tonight; and WHEREAS, Council discussed the request and hereby elected to hold the public hearing; and WHEREAS, Barney Horrell of Brushy Mountain Engineering, 3555 Carvins Cove Road, Salem, representing the property owner/developer, appeared before Council explaining that last fall they started with the first submittal of the design with a single apartment building with twelve units with a large rectangular bread box type structure; he further stated that after the initial Planning Commission meeting some of the issues that became apparent were sight distance and some public safety issues along with detention so after requesting a continuance from the Commission they resolved those issues with the first design; it went before the Commission, they recommended denial, and the issue came before Council; it was requested that the matter be sent back to the Planning Commission to give time to amend the design after hearing neighbor complaints the owner wanted to re-design; the engineering concerns were addressed; the new design satisfies the sight distance requirements and the stormwater requirements; the project now has two smaller buildings which brings the scale much more in line with the residences on the street; the exterior appearance is now more residential in nature using stone; the parking has 3 | Page been pulled in from the road a little bit, which allows them to hide it better using the topography and some landscaping; the layout still has 12 units, 10 of which are two bedrooms and 2 of which are one bedroom; the required number of parking spaces are provided, and there is good maneuverability in the parking lot; further, the plan complies with the landscaping requirements; he further discussed an additional plan they had considered which had the driveway further down Craig Avenue, and again, the sight distance came up as a very big concern so they heard this and immediately went back to this design; the driveway has been pushed as far to the north as it can be, and it has adequate sight distance; in addition, the owner has cleared a little more brush off the front property line to further improve the sight distance; another concern was the bus routes and children’s safety; currently the bus travels north on Craig, the bus director stated that if there were kids in the proposed apartments that they would re-route the bus so that the children would not have to cross the street; Mr. Horrell then showed the current design drawings on the screen; he stated that there are twenty-three parking spaces, two buildings with offsets, two story buildings with 3 units on each floor; landscaping requirements are met and two large trees will be preserved between 811 and 817 Craig Avenue; the grading plan now has two catch basins in the parking lot, all the stormwater flows into the catch basins and goes to underground detention under the parking lot; the water goes into some perforated pipes, and the water leeches out into the bed of gravel under the parking lot and into the native soils; all the runoff will be captured in the underground detention, there will be zero runoff; the one hundred year storm requirement has been met; the driveway has been moved to the north, there will be some additional grading done in the front corner bringing the bank back some; and after discussing the 4 | Page design with some city staff members, the owner is very agreeable to granting an additional easement on the front, 10 or 15 feet, whichever the city believes is necessary; this will be a grading easement so if in the future the city deems public safety is not up to par, they can pull more dirt out to further improve the sight distance; another concern of the neighbors was who would be living in the apartments, and the owner cannot control who lives in the apartments; it is believed that there will be a lot of college kids living in these units; Mr. Horrell stated that he went to visit with the Residence Life Management Department of Roanoke College, and their policy is to keep students on campus to extent that they can; all students remain on campus unless the following criteria is met, lived in the valley a long time, married, or live with family members, older students, veterans, or have children, or part time; the last one is the catch all, if they receive approval from the Residence Life Management Department to move off campus which is achieved by an appeal process by seniority of credit hours and a lottery system; Mr. Horrell further stated, referring to the plan, that the dark green areas along the west and south of the property are existing trees that will be preserved; adjacent properties are single family residential along with the multi-family units that are accessed from Thompson Memorial, so there is no spot-zoning in this case; across the street, while zoned residential single family the use is communications, the satellite dishes of Comcast; he further showed a picture from Google showing the landscaping that will be preserved; Mr. Horrell then presented a 3D fly-around as part of his presentation; he noted they paid a lot of attention to the facades of the buildings trying make them look on scale with the existing house; he further explained the layout, landscaping, materials, etc. of the project; he further noted that the presentation gives a better idea of the scale of the project and by 5 | Page going from one building to two buildings really makes it look more residential and less like a dormitory; again, there will be some additional grading done in the front corner bringing the bank back some; Mr. Horrell thanked the citizens for attending the meeting which shows their concern for their neighborhood; and WHEREAS, Mr. Ed Oliver, 846 Craig Avenue, appeared before Council stating that he has lived here since 1989; he appreciated the opportunity to speak; he presented a dry-erase board presentation; whenever a decision has to be made he looks at the pros and cons; he said his background is safety consulting and he recognizes a hazard when he sees it; he sees problems coming with Craig Avenue; he stated the petitioner has entered into a very ambitious project, but the neighbors have some concerns and are requesting that Council deny the request; he understood that the motivation for this development is profit and that the City would profit from this as well; the property is for students and/or families; the quality of life would be adversely affected by renting to students because the neighborhood is very familiar with what happens when students live next door; the college has rules and have monitored the street as well as the police department has monitored the street; the neighboring property that houses students has a sign that states no alcohol on this property and that sign is just there to placate the neighbors because there is so much alcohol consumed there openly that the sign means nothing; there is a problem with litter, parking with additional visiting students, noise, mostly on party nights; it does not happen that often, but when it does, it is very disturbing to the neighborhood; traffic build up is a big issue; he discussed I-81 and all the problems with accidents, etc.; the neighbors anticipate a problem similar to I-81 if this complex is approved; he noted that we have no control over I-81, but we do have control over Craig Avenue where people live; speeding 6 | Page along Craig Avenue is an issue; students do not pay attention to the no drinking no alcohol sign what will make them pay attention to the speed limit sign; he further stated that being a safety person, safety is a big issue; the blind curve on a hill is a very dangerous situation; it is considerate of the City of Salem offering to re-route the buses, but if the apartments were occupied by families with children, there is a candy store on the opposite side of the road and envision the worst case scenario; there are no sidewalks and by the time a vehicle comes up the road, there is only a few seconds to react and it could be too late for some of those kids; he continued by stating the quality of life of the neighbors that have lived there for years, invested in their property to really make it look good, is going to be trashed if students are allowed to continue their normal behavior; also according to the precedent for Council to follow the recommendation of Planning Commission hopefully would continue; he stated that he appreciated Council allowing him to share, but the concerns are evident; and WHEREAS, Mr. George H. Clemons, 935 Craig Avenue, appeared before Council stating that he had been a resident of Craig Avenue for forty-five years; he prefaced his statement by saying the rezoning is unwanted by the neighbors; he thanked Council for allowing him to speak; regardless of Council’s decision it will impact someone negatively and someone positively; Council’s decision will not satisfy everyone concerned; he inquired as to the number of times the code would allow an appeal and make changes to the presentation; he bases this on the number of times they have appeared at meetings of the Planning Commission and Council only for Planning Commission to recommend denial then Council, not satisfied with the decision, referred it back to Planning Commission for further study; the presentation tonight showed that one, who the residents will be cannot be controlled, 7 | Page and two, the safety issues that cannot be resolved; Council must adhere to the Code and not let this continue; if allowed, in ten years this part of Craig Avenue will become a ghetto; he ended by stating that the decision rests on Council’s shoulders and that they are few in number but citizens of the City of Salem and should be heard; “thus sayeth the Lord and treat the people right”; and WHEREAS, Mr. Fred Lee, 1000 Craig Avenue, appeared before Council stating that he has lived on Craig Avenue for forty-seven years; he has seen Craig Avenue go from only owner occupied homes to rental units occupied by college students; at 900 Craig Avenue there are six cars there every morning, and City code allows only four unrelated persons to live in one house; if college kids rent these apartments there will not be any families that will want to live there; there will be four students in each two bedroom apartment; it will result in forty-four students and the proposed parking lot will not sustain that many vehicles; the street is not designed for that many vehicles; he inquired as to the bus route change, what about the children on the opposite side of the street; they will have to cross the street at that point; he thanked Council and asked that they deny the request; and WHEREAS, Mr. William Shepherd, 840 Craig Avenue, appeared before Council offering a brief history of Craig Avenue; he stated that at the time that he and Mr. Clemons had graduated high school together and after rooming together at college, they wanted to come home to Salem; he further explained that at that time they could not just live anywhere; he built his first home in 1968; as the years progressed, Mr. Clemons came as well; they have enjoyed every moment of living there and would hate to see their quality of life go down because of an apartment building; he further stated that he does not have anything against the gentleman here tonight, it is nothing personal; it is 8 | Page just business; he said he would appreciate it if Council would give consideration to the wishes of the people who live in that neighborhood; he explained that the land is just not suited for apartments; he requested that Council deny the request and thanked Council; and WHEREAS, Mrs. Jennifer Oliver, 846 Craig Avenue, appeared before Council stating that she and her husband raised three children and knows what it is to be a mother and now a grandmother; she explained living in a neighborhood that has gone from being quiet and safe to constant traffic, mostly from college students; weekend nights are party time for the students causing noise, drunkenness and trash; they no longer want to sit out in their backyard because of the students actions; twelve apartments with two bedrooms each will result in hundreds of students; she thanked Council and asked for a denial to the request; and WHEREAS, Mrs. Theresa Shepherd, 840 Craig Avenue, she reiterates everything her neighbors have said, adding that the lot is very small and is not suitable for the apartment building; it will not improve the neighborhood and will increase safety hazards; there is nowhere to walk on Craig Avenue; cars park on the street causing traffic issues; she stated that the multi-family housing adjacent to this property are townhomes that are sold, not rental units; property values will plummet if an apartment building is constructed; she implored that Council consider the citizens that live in that neighborhood and deny the request; and WHEREAS, Mrs. Margaret Spurlock, 845 Craig Avenue, appeared before Council stating that she agrees with what her neighbors have already stated here tonight and requests that Council deny the request; and WHEREAS, Mr. Fred Lee reappeared before Council stating that the College has put more students off- 9 | Page campus this year then they have in the past, and we were already overloaded so eighty more students came off-campus this year; when asked, the college stated that there was no more room to build more dormitories; he concluded by saying Craig Avenue cannot handle any more students; and WHEREAS, Ms. Kathy Harris, 835 Craig Avenue, appeared before Council, stating that she has resided there for ten and a half years; she supports her neighbors and enjoys the area because it is family friendly and quiet except for the college students; she requested Council to please deny the request; and WHEREAS, Mr. Barney Horrell, reappeared before Council stating that he teaches a fifth grade community planning class, and it is sprung from this project; it has been enlightening to him what the kids want to include in a community such as an amusement park and what they leave out; some of the things they leave out are the stages of housing that a community needs; a community needs different levels of housing; not everyone can afford to own their own house; he stated that the owner lives in Salem; he is a builder, and has been looking for a property to develop for an apartment building to use as investment property for some time; he will continue to own, maintain, and the goal is to retire on; he is a builder and will build it himself; he is a quiet gentleman and is very much involved in this project, and it is very personal to him and will continue to be so; this property could be developed with two single family dwellings owned by absentee owners, out of state, and turning into very much like the concerns the neighbors are voicing tonight; they could be rentals and full of college students as well; in this case an apartment building protects their property values in that the owner will still be present and very involved with the behavior of the tenants; this circles back to the need for different levels of housing; there are college students with children and married college students 10 | Page that need housing near campus; not all college students are drunken hooligans; it is asked of City Council to look at the big picture and realize that the community does need that multi tiers; and WHEREAS, Mr. Shepherd reappeared before Council stating that there is already two apartment complexes on Craig Avenue, and there is no need for more; and WHEREAS, Mr. Oliver reappeared before Council stating that he works with Residence Life at Virginia Tech, about twenty-two thousand students, and there is a team that works with the students and their behavior; once they move off campus there is no control over their actions; once a student leaves campus there is a new freedom, and it is difficult to think that the owner will monitor their behavior; and WHEREAS, Mrs. Shepherd reappeared before Council stating that she wanted to remind Council that there was a petition submitted to Council; and WHEREAS, Councilwoman Garst responded that the petition was included in their packets; and WHEREAS, Mayor Foley hereby closed the public hearing; and WHEREAS, Councilwoman Garst stated that it was important that the residents know that Jay Taliaferro works with the City as part of the Town and Gown Taskforce and aside from the zoning questions tonight, if you have any other questions, Mr. Taliaferro should be your frontline for those concerns; and WHEREAS, Mayor Foley further stated that Vice- Mayor Givens was the Council representative on the Taskforce and that all of Council is willing to listen but those would be the initial contacts; and WHEREAS, Councilman Jones stated that he appreciated everyone coming tonight and presenting themselves in a professional manner being civil, and the presentation from the developer, the passion from the neighbors, and the compassion for this town; that is why we do what we do because we have compassion for this great City; and 11 | Page WHEREAS, Councilwoman Garst agreed, stating that everyone was able to present their case and she hopes it is known that it was heard; she appreciates the time and participation in the City of Salem; and WHEREAS, Vice-Mayor Givens appreciated their concern for our community; and WHEREAS, Mayor Foley thanked Mr. Sumenic, and Mr. Horrell on behalf of Mr. Sumenic, and that Council felt it was best to proceed tonight as this item has been ongoing for some time, and how many times the citizens have had to address the different bodies; he further thanked Mr. Horrell for his efforts and everyone for their comments; and ON MOTION MADE BY VICE-MAYOR GIVENS, SECONDED BY COUNCILWOMAN GARST, AND DULY CARRIED, the request of Nikola Sumenic, property owner, for rezoning the properties located at 805 & 811 Craig Avenue (Tax Map #’s 47–4–4 & 38–6–5.1) from RSF Residential Single Family District to RMF Residential Multi-Family District was hereby denied – the roll call vote: Lisa D. Garst – aye, William D. Jones – aye, Jane W. Johnson – absent, John C. Givens – aye, and Byron Randolph Foley – aye. There being no further business to come before the Council, the same on motion adjourned at 8:44 p.m.