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Planning Comm. - Feb 23, 2009 |
Draft Minutes McClellanville Planning Commission February 23, 2009 - 7:00 PM The McClellanville Planning Commission convened for a regular meeting on the above-noted date. Notice of the meeting had been published in the town newsletter and the Charleston Post and Courier. Chairwoman Ginny Prevost presided at the meeting; other Commission Members present included Kathy Livingston, Oliver Thames, and Hayden Geer. Commissioner Ted Dawson was absent. Zoning Administrator Kathryn Basha and Town Clerk Mary Duke were present to assist in facilitating the meeting. Chairwoman Prevost called the meeting to order at 7:05 PM. She asked the Commissioners to review the minutes from the January 26th meeting. Commissioner Livingston pointed out that, in the second paragraph of the minutes, Ms. Basha had recorded the vote on a motion as "(4-0-1 absent)," whereas elsewhere in the minutes she had recorded "(4-0-1, Geer absent)." She said that she thought "Geer" should be inserted in front of "absent" throughout the minutes, for consistency. There being no other comments or corrections, Commissioner Geer made a motion to approve the minutes with the correction as noted. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Livingston and carried by unanimous vote of the members present and voting (4-0, Dawson absent). The Commission next considered a plat that had been submitted for preliminary review. The plat showed a proposed subdivision of TMS No. 744-00-00-116 at the corner of Geneva Moore and N. Carolina Roads. Zoning Administrator Basha said that the two lots to be created would meet the requirements of the Zoning Ordinance, but that documentation from DHEC of an approved septic system site on the proposed new lot had not yet been submitted. Commissioner Thames made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Geer, to authorize Zoning Administrator Basha to approve and sign the plat for this subdivision upon receipt of the approved "permit to construct" from DHEC for the septic system on the new lot. Zoning Administrator Basha then informed the Commission of an upcoming continuing education opportunity on Monday, March 9, from 5:00 - 6:30 PM. She said that Jennifer Satterthwaite from the SC Archives and History Dept. had agreed to conduct a training session in McClellanville for all interested planning and zoning officials, and that Jennifer had asked for input on what topics would be most interesting or valuable for local officials. Ms. Basha said that Ms. Satterthwaite might have time during the session to touch on several different topics. Ms. Basha then presented to the Commission copies of a proposed schedule for the 2009 update of the Town of McClellanville's Comprehensive Plan. Chairwoman Prevost suggested that the Commission first complete its consideration of old business before discussion of the Comprehensive Plan review and update. Zoning Administrator Basha told the Commission that Town Council would hold a second public hearing on March 2nd for the proposed zoning ordinance amendment to allow administrative review/approval of certain applications for "insubstantial" change to structures in the Historic District and Highway Commercial District. She suggested that it would be helpful for some members of the Planning Commission to attend the hearing. Commissioner Hayden Geer said that she still believed that the amendment was not necessary and felt it was prompted by a member of the community whose business would benefit from the changes. Chairwoman Prevost said that she did believe that the amendment could be helpful to both applicants and ARB members by streamlining the approval process for insubstantial projects. Ms. Basha said that the Town had been successful in purchasing three acres of property on Pinckney Street with funding from the Charleston County Greenbelt Bank. She said that $8000 of the Greenbelt funds could be used to help pay for construction of the boardwalk proposed to connect this property with Old Cemetery and Kit Hall Roads on the other side of Jeremy Creek. Ms. Basha said that the Town had also applied for half-cent sales tax funding for the boardwalk construction and that other grants would be investigated, as the estimated construction cost for the boardwalk was approximately $77,000. Ms. Basha said that the Town had offered to purchase the property at 201 Cassena Street at the appraised value of $15,000. She added that, to date, the property owner had not accepted this offer from the Town. Ms. Basha then reported on the "Streetscape" project input meeting held on February 12. She said that the meeting had been well-attended, and that County Roadwise representatives and engineers/landscape architects chosen for the project would compile the input provided by participants and draft a streetscape plan to be presented at another public meeting to be scheduled and advertised in the coming months. Ms. Basha said that she had attended a recent meeting to discuss the result of several meetings held by Charleston County Planning officials for public input on proposed future land uses along the Hwy. 17 corridor for the East Cooper areas of Mt. Pleasant, Awendaw, and McClellanville. She said that the comments from the public had been consolidated, and that several areas of common interest/concern had been identified, including interest expressed by many participants for creation of a bike path to connect different parts of the East Cooper area. Ms. Basha said that the County was planning a second round of meetings for March and asked whether the Commission would prefer the week of the 16th or the 23rd of March. By consensus, the Commission agreed that they would prefer that the meetings take place during the week of March 23rd. Ms. Basha said that she planned to attend the spring SCAPA conference on March 20 in Fort Mill, SC, and that any other interested planners were encouraged to attend. Commissioner Hayden Geer said that she had seen a notice concerning an upcoming sustainable development conference to be held in Beaufort, SC, and that she would find out the dates and other details in case of interest. The Commission then returned to the start of review for the 2009 Comp Plan update. Ms. Basha began a review with the Commission of the content, goals and policies of the current elements, originally adopted in 1999 and updated in 2006. She said that after review of the current elements, the Commission could identify areas where revisions might be necessary, and that they could concentrate on update ideas at the March meeting. The Commission discussed the plan for sale of the US Forest Service property on N. Pinckney St. Commissioner Oliver Thames said that he had heard plans to sell the property and relocate the offices were not final, and that he believed the Town should fight to keep the ranger station here in McClellanville. Clerk Mary Duke said that she had been told that the plan had been finalized, but that she would inquire further into the matter. Chairwoman Prevost said that she understood that the Town was in danger of losing its only pharmacy, and asked that everyone contact their congressmen to ask for support and possible stimulus package funding to help retain this business in town. There being no further business, Commissioner Geer made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:15 PM. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Livingston and unanimously approved. Mary S. Duke Town Clerk |