STANLY) COUNTY Maten Ah Lend Siccenr. Stanly County Planning Board January 8, 2024 - Meeting Minutes  Call to Order Chair. Jay Eckman called the meeting to order on January 8, 2024 at 6:30 p.m. in the Gene McIntyre Stanly County Planning Board members attending David Underwood, Jay Eckman, Michael Williams, Joel  meeting room: at 10001 N. First Street, Albemarle, North Carolina. Mauldin, Kevin! Brickman, TJ Smith & Tim Fesperman  Absent: none  Stanly County Planning Staff Attending: Bobl Remsburg, Planning Director & Bailey Cline, Planner 2 Chair Eckman asked ift there were any conflicts ofinterests with thei items to be heard due to financial or personal  relationships. There were none There were none. Motion: Kevin Brickman Second: Michael Williams Approved: 7-0  Chair Eckman asked if there were any other additions to the agenda that the board needed to consider.  Chair Eckman asked for ai motion to approve the proposed agenda.  Chair Eckman asked for ai motion to approve the minutes from December 11,2023.  Motion: David Underwood Second: Tim Fesperman Approved: 7-0  Chair Eckman shared the first item on the agenda was CR 23-04 which was tabled at thel December 11th meeting, a request by Alil Darwich to rezone aj portion oft two adjoining parcels located at 244261 NC: 24/27, Albemarle, NC and 24414 NC 24/27, Albemarle, NC totaling 3.5 acres from County, RA to a Conditional Zoning District.  Chair Eckman asked for ai motion tol bring this item off oft the table.  Motion: David Underwood Second: Joel Mauldin Approved: 7-0  Chair Eckman asked Planning Staff to share the details oft the request  Bailey Cline shared the following:  You all should have received an updated memo as well as some updated maps that] Mr. Darwich had sent in. None of the conditions have changed on the request since the last meeting, just the amount of land. Ifyou remember at thej previous meeting the request was five acres but now it is 3.5 acres. You all do have the authority to suggest any amendments to the conditions as long as Mr. Darwich is okay with that. The request is  1    to rezone portions oftwo parcels totaling 3.5 acres located at 24414 & 244261 NC 24/27 Hwy., Albemarle, NC 28001 in order to operate an automotive dealership. Mr. Darwich has indicated that therei is ai mobile home at 244261 NC: 24/27 Hwy. which would potentially be used ast the office space: for the carl lot, ifit meets all criteria for thel Building Inspections Department. Thej property next doori is zoned General Business. Ify you: all remember, Nathan Soltis asked for the rezoning next to this a couple of years agoi in order to operate his concrete business. Nearby properties are zoned M1 and Highway business. Two existing used car lot locations are within .61 miles and NC: 24/27 sees about 14,000 cars per day in 2022 which is the most updated vehicle  count.  Mrs. Cline read over thej proposed conditions.  Mrs. Cline went over thei maps oft the property that Mr. Darwich submitted, which showed as sitej plan for the This property is zoned County, RA (Residential Agricultural) and lies in thel Rural Preservation Areaj per the 2040  property, zoned map, land use plan map and aerial map.  Stanly County Land Usel Plan.  Chair Eckman asked if there were any questions for staff. Chair Eckman "Whati is the building that isi included there?"  Mrs. Cline "Thati is an existing home that] Mr. Darwich owns. But, ifIremember correctly, thisi is going tol be an David Underwood "Bailey, on this mapi thei inventory will go all the way up to the red line, correct?" Mrs. Cline indicated the northwest area on thei map that will be used as inventory space. Chair Eckman "So, the entrance willl bel between the sales office and that?" Mrs. Cline "Yes, there are actually multiple driveways."  updated modular for the office space."  TJ Smith' "That sales office is not to be used tol bes slept in or as ar residence, correct?"  Mrs. Cline "Yes, that is correct. Sot the only use they willl be allowed to have for that modular is a sales office David Underwood "Ift thei inventory is going tol be stored on thel left hand side then the right! hand side will: not be Mrs. Cline "Right, so thej plan that he submitted just shows inventory goingi in the left corner." Michael Williams "What is the setback like that for ai four lane highway? Is it 15 feet as well?"  space." used for that?"  Mr. Remsburg "Well, iti is zoned RA: so as of right now the front setbacks would be 50 feet from the Right of Way. Thisi is conditional zoning so you could assign ai new setback but Highway Business fori instancei is 40 feet."  Chair Eckman invited Mr. Darwich to speak in favor ofh his request.  2    Mr. Darwich shared thei following:  Ioperate eight other stores and I would like to open a storel here sincel Iown thej property next to it. Seven inl North Carolina and one: in South Carolina. Basically there willl be no service department on this property. All the vehicles will bes serviced offs site. Inventory volume willj probably be around 50-70 it really. just depends on thei market. Iam planning toj put up a six foot privacy fence on the neighbors side. The modular home that is existing now will be  strictly used as a sales office. Iam open to any questions. Chair Eckman "Where will the entrance be?" you all would like for me to use. They all work." Mr. Darwich "It will not.. Just in thei front."  Mr. Darwich "There are three entrances existing now on the property. I am open to any restrictions, whichever one  TJ Smith "So the area that was pointed out earlier will not have inventory on it at all?"  Kevin Brickman "What willl bet the pavement type for the driveway?" arej planning to use some compaction material to maybe pave iti in the future."  Mr. Darwich "Right now there is an existing gravel driveway. But, we did some clearing on the side ofita and we David Underwood "That is aj pretty large dip that you are working on right there. Will you bring that up to grade?" Mr. Darwich "Iti is not allt the way up to grade but it is about 14 feet deep at the deepest point sO we are going to run some lines under there tol help prevent erosion. Iti is going tol be higher than what it is now but not all the way  up to the highway level. We are working on a drainage system now as we speak." Joel Mauldin "Has DOT approved one of thet three entrances yet? Have you talked tot them?"  Mr. Darwich "T have talked to one gentleman that was an inspector and he gave me al list of conditions but he did not mention anything about the entrances. Their main concern was that we stay away from the right of way and  they marked it for us."  Chair Eckman' "You said that you are open to the entrance being any oft the three driveways?"  Mr. Darwich "That is correct." you going to go?"  TJ Smith "You said the neighbors house to the right, you are going to screen or have ai fence and how far back are Mr. Darwich "All the way down thej property line and then another 20 feet or SO. Again, Lam open to adjustments.  Ifyou want buffers instead ofai fence then I am open toi it."  David Underwood "Will your lighting be over the whole property or just overt the inventory?" Mr. Darwich "Basically, just one light over the modular office and the rest willl be over thei inventory."  TJ Smith "Will those lights be on 241 hours?" Mr. Darwich "They will bei from dusk to dawn."  David Underwood "But, you are not planning on lighting the area to thel back where you are not storingi inventory, Mr. Darwich "For now, there is no plan. There is an existing security light that is on the back oft thel house."  ist that correct?"  3    There were no: further questions for Mr. Darwich Deborah Strzeszkowski shared the following:  Chair Eckman invited any others to speak concerning this zoning request.  Iwas herel last meeting and I own and live at the property next door. Ido want to acknowledge that I hate this] plan less than I hated it when it was going tol be right behind my yard. Istill wish that this did not go through. This isa very pretty residential area. Idon't want to live next to a car lot. This modular home which would be the sales office, you can see the little carport and that is my property line. The modular is closer to my driveway than my own home. Iti is going to degrade the value of my property. Iheard him say that for now there is no plan to use this land back here for cars but I fear thati in the future it would be easy for him to come back int the future and expand. Iti is true that there are two other used carl lots. They are small, nowhere near 50-70 cars. They are. like maybe 8 cars parked. Iv would say that the homes sitting near thosel lots are nots sO desirable. Id don't see this at all as al benefit to me or my other neighbor. Id did al little reading on the. Adams Auto Group, Mr. Darwichs company. He does have many other locations and Idoi not know why this has to be one oft them. It certainly would be small for him. Isaw one ofhis] places when I was at an antique mall and it would be very out of place here. Again, I want to say the elimination of using some oft the land.. At thel last meeting I know there was al lot of talk from a group about water issues near their property. So, sincel Mr. Darwich cleared the land oft the vegetation, hel has al huge burnj pile, we have developed ai river that when it rains therei is a pipe that the water comes out of, goes across my: yard andi into a river down the way. There is also aj pipet that goes across thej properties at thei front sO Ido not know what would happen ifity was paved over and then this water is goingt tol keep coming across. I don't even know how ai fence  would work for this pipe. Ihave pictures ifyou would like to see. TJ Smith' "Did you say that this problem did not exist before that?"  Mrs. Strzeszkowski "It did not. The trees were sucking up the water I guess. Is it going tol bring crime ift there are cars sitting out there, will alarms be going off? I don't know ifiti is better or worse that it won't be lit up. ImeanI don't want lights shining in the bedroom but Ialso don't want al big dark area of cars out there. Right now there is a  driveway going to the carport andl I really do not wanti it to be used." TJ Smith' "Did you say his carport is on your property?"  Mrs. Strzeszkowski "It is right there on the line. Idon't know that iti is or isn't."  Audience member "Her driveway dips down a little intol her carport and therei is a paved section and his building Mrs. Strzeszkowski "We did not get as survey when we purchased thej property but Ibelieve that Mr. Darwich did.  isi right there and it is the property line." There is al littlel hole there with ai flag by the road." David Underwood "Is that your building back in the back?" Mrs. Strzeszkowski "Thati is another little carport, yes."  David Underwood "Honestly it looks about the same distance off the line as his does." Audience member "The carport thati is on thej property line was there before she moved in."  Mrs. Strzeszkowski "It is possible."  Chair Eckman "Bob, are the carports allowed in the setback area?"  Mr. Remsburg "The short answer is no but so1 many get put up without permits. That is probably what happened  inl both of these situations."  4    David Underwood "Would that not have been an issue that came up when it was surveyed?"  Mr. Remsburg Potentially would be grandfathered in but ifv we received a complaint and realized that something had been installed without permits then we could demand that it be taken down. 10 feet is all you have to be off the Mr. Darwich "IfI may add, this carport is on our side of thej property and we did get a survey done. But, ift thisi is going tol be an issue then we can remove it. When we bought thej property it was already there. We do: not have to TJ Smith' "If you are not going to use thej property on the rear then why do you have tol be SO deep in the back?" Mr. Darwich "I own the property behind it and to the side ofit which is 160 acres so Iam very flexible with  line for an accessory building."  havei iti ift that helps."  whatever you guys think Ishould do."  TJ Smith "Can you) put the cursor ini the area that you are wanting toj place the cars?"  Mr. Darwich "Sure, and the neighbor spoke about the water issue but we are: in thej process of fixing iti now. Ihave only owned thej property fora ai few months sO we are working on it to get better not worse. There willl be nothing  behind the office, iti is just too deep."  Joel Mauldin "So, you are saying about an acre and al half for the cars tol be on?"  Mr. Darwich "T would say yes, at the most."  Kevin Brickman "Will your lot be fenced at all for security reasons? Will there be a gate?" Mr. Darwich "Yes there willl be ai fence and gate. Our operation now is from 9-6 sO allt the stores willl be closed at thes same time. Iam going tol be living next door also so I will be able to keep an eye on that." TJ Smith "So, you would be up for reducing the size of the area because Ib believe in talking to the neighbors,I know that they are against it buti ifwet try to work with both sidesi it may work. Iknow that ifIl lived in that house I Mr. Darwich "Yes, absolutely and that is why I adjusted it from the 5 acres to 3.51 but] Ia am open to adjusting it Mrs. Strzeszkowski "Is there any chance you would consider not using the modular home as a sales office?" Mr. Darwich "No, that is one oft the main things we considered when wanting to open the car lot." Tim Fesperman "Aren't you required by law tol have a sales office for al license for car lots?" Mr. Darwich "Yes, iti isa al DMV regulation that you have at least 961 heated square feet. The architect drew the plans and the DMV will comel back with some: notes because Iwill need handicap accessibility, ramp and Audience member "Currently, right now it looks like the deck was: replaced andi it comes out and slopes downwards and the entrance to the deck is right at that carport that is right next to thej property line. Wouldit itl be possible tol have the entrance of the deck be on the other side so that people are coming in on the other side?" Mr. Darwich "Am Iallowed tos start a conversation with the neighbor? No disrespect. Thel handicap ramp has to slope in a certain way. It cannot be uphill, it must be downhill. So the way it sits now, the handicap parking  would not want to look back and think there are cars behind my home." again. We are trying tol be a good neighbor and not an issue."  bathrooms. That willl have to be donel before thel DMV can inspect it."  5    proposed by the architect willl be right there by the end oft the ramp. Handicap parking spots arel hardly ever used. David Onderwood "You would be open to using the other driveway that is not the closest to the neighbor,  We do not sell mobility vans but Ihave tol have them per code."  correct?"  Mr. Darwich "Sure, anything that works for you all." Mr. Darwich "Either or. Whichever you like." Chair Eckman entertained: a motion  Mrs. Strzeszkowski "Could wel have a vegetation buffer and aj privacy fence?"  Tim Fesperman made a motion to recommend approval of this rezoning request to the County Commissioners. The petitioner has also agreed to all oft the conditions set before them and the property lies  onamajor highway." Second: Michael Williams Discussion was held  TJ Smith "My thoughts are: ifhes said he was going to be al kind neighbor then two things need to be pointed out. If he were tol build then fence and put out some type oftreet that would maybe work. Then bring that one line up from the corner and bringi it straight over to where his loti is to minimize the sizel because he does not need that." David Underwood "T would alsol like to see the driveway that is the furthest away from ther neighbor be used and Mr. Darwich "As long asi iti is accessible and it can access thej parking lot then Ihave no issue with that. Because there is a culvert pipe in therel I willl have to make sure but ifit is okay then Ih have noj problem." Chair Eckman' "We could word the condition to say that hel has to use the middle or west entrance. Just not the  the other ones could not be used."  one that is closest tol her home."  Thel board asked staff to show where the new line would be - this reduced the area to 2.5 acres.  David Underwood "Once we approve this as conditional then things may change and you may need it and there is TJ Smith "Let's talk about the buffering and fence. Obviously thati is really close to her driveway and side ofl her  nothing that we can do."  home. What can we dot to make sure that does noti impose on her." Chair Eckman "Well first, can you take down that carport that is on the line?"  Mr. Darwich "As a matter off fact, thes survey says that the concrete part of! her driveway is about 3! % feet on our property but that does notl bother us. Ican take it out,I I do not: need it. Honestly, I don't liket the carport myself."  TJ Smith' "Do we: need to come up with what type of tree?"  6    Mr. Resmburg "I guess so, yes. Therei is al list and you could simply say it needs to reflect whati is in the  ordinance."  Tim Fesperman "T feel like you have been very reasonable with this."  Mr. Remsburg "I was looking back at the zoning ordinance and we may need to consider how to address this. It saysa 101 foot buffer or 61 foot high fence abutting residential property. The other component is that ifitisas solid fence then the rule says it cannot bel higher than 41 feet in the front yard. From the front facade to thei right ofway essentially. We may want to take the 61 foot high fence except in the front yard it can be 41 feet." Audience member "The only concern about that is that the master bedroom ont this house is facing the modular home. They are going to be looking straight into thel bedroom and that is one oft the biggest conerns.: Mr. Remsburg "This is conditional zoning so you can set whatever you would like and it essentially overrides the  ordinance in my opinion."  David Underwood "This also says a 101 foot or 61 foot fence. Thel key word is or."  Mrs. Strzeszkowski "You have tol be able to see coming out of the driveway and see traffic as well so it can't! be Audience member "The only problem is that its slopes downward on his property and ours. So when you come: into Mr. Remsburg "One way we would address this ist the first 40 or 501 feet is considered the front and therefore you would have tol be limited to 41 feet and beyond that is 61 feet. We may want to specify the conditions to say that the Mr. Darwich "One ofmy other stores had thes same: issue and the neighbor chose vegetation the first 40 feet and then the rest ofi it was a 61 foot fence. They have to see the traffic before leaving the driveway."  right up to the point in thej property line." the bedroom you will be able tol be seen."  first 40 or 501 feet are 41 feet high and beyond that is 61 feet."  David Underwood "There would be a sight distance requirement right?"  Mr. Remsburg "Right, but it would be ai right turn only. Wej just have to make sure that the neighbors to the east  can see."  Kevin Brickman "How much lighting do you need to see 60 cars?"  Mr. Darwich "6 pole lights should cover it and thati is the plan. The office building will not have any added light.  There are already two outside lights on it." Chair Eckman "Where are we at with this gentlemen?" Mr. Remsburg "It would be trees and shrubs by the ordinance."  David Underwood "Fence from the road to the front oft thel house and then vegetative the rest of the way back."  Mrs. Strzeszkowski "Then Iwould have the option toj put a fence up ifI wanted to?"  Mr. Remsburg "Sure."  7    Mrs. Strzeszkowski "Why does it have tol be right here?"  Mr. Darwich "Because Ilivel behind you and Iv would like tol have something to do while Iami there." Mrs. Cline "Thei four changes in the conditions that youl have recommended are the change in acreage, use of the middle or western access, removal oft the carport and then the vegetative buffer from the right of way to the front of  thel home and the 61 foot fence the rest oft the way back."  TJ Smith "T am not good with lighting but does this light point down?"  Mr. Darwich' "Iti is an umbrella shape, itj points down. It has ai radius of about 501 feet. Not the whole property will David Underwood "This isi in the preservation area but there are always exceptions. It think in this case based on what is situated around it, I don't want people to think we are backing up on everything we do. Wel have two within sight ofita almost and we said we wanted to push business to ai major thoroughfare and where there is actual  be lit."  growth.  TJ Smith "Youl have businesses right down the street, beside it and across the road."  Mrs. Strzeszkowski "Ij just want to say again, there are two other lots but they are not 50-70 car lots. They arel like  10 cars. So thati is not an apples to apples comparison." Chair Eckman "All ini favor of approval of CR 23-04 sayI P  Vote:7-0 Motion passes  Chair Eckman shared that the Stanly County Commissioners willl likely hear this request at their February  5,2 2024 meeting at 6:00 PM. Motion: David Underwood Second :Tim) Fesperman Approved: 7-0 Adjournment time: 7:201 PM  Chair Eckman entertained a motion to adjourn  Chai, Jay Eckman  Clerk, Bobl Remsburg  EHEhig  8