Council OKs conditions for planned subdivision

Feb. 22—LENOIR — Lenoir City Council has approved a request to subdivide two parcels of land into 22 lots with driveway access off of Hillhaven Place.

City leaders conducted a quasi-judicial public hearing during the council meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 21 as requested by the applicants and adjoining property owners Barbara Bush and her husband, Richard Ferraguto.

The applicant was proposing to create 22 residential lots off of Hillhaven Place, for a total of 24 lots fronting on the street. According to planning staff, the proposed lots meet all minimum dimensional and setback requirements of the zoning ordinance and range in size from just over 15,000 square feet to over 4.5 acres in lots 17 and 22. The topography of the site has over 100 feet of elevation change from 1,110 feet above sea level at the connection to U.S. 321, to 1,215 feet above sea level at the top of the dead-end. The larger acre lots contain the steepest slopes and would not be suitable for further subdivision.

There are only two homes on Hillhaven Place, on platted lots in separate ownership. The remainder of the acreage is wooded and owned by PB Realty/Broyhill Timber Resources.

City planning staff and Planning Board recommended approval of the proposed major subdivision along with the following seven conditions:

1. The developer shall pay into the sidewalk fund in lieu of sidewalk construction.

2. A stormwater permit for a low-density development is required prior to approval of the final plat.

3. The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) must review and approve the existing connection of U.S. 321 and Hillhaven Place, due to the addition of residential density.

4. A cul-de-sac or turnaround must be installed at the end of Hillhaven Place.

5. A 40 ft. wide public right-of-way must be extended to the southern property line where the city-maintained "fork" off Hillhaven Place currently extends to serve the house at 120 Hillhaven Place. A "stub out" must be constructed to the property line within this right-of-way, in order to facilitate future extension and connection to serve future residential subdivision.

6. While current water and sewer infrastructure is sufficient to handle 22 additional homes in the location, the existing fire hydrants are not sufficient to service structures larger than 1,870 sq. ft. Either the water service can be upgraded to increase capacity of hydrants, or deed restrictions must be recorded that limit overall square footage of individual houses to 1,870 square feet and/or require houses larger than 1,870 square feet to have sprinklers or fire suppression systems.

7. A grading plan must be submitted prior to approval of any building permits on lots 18-21. Placement of homes on steep lots may negatively impact the city's ability to effectively fight house fires on these properties.

Following approval, the developer must construct all public improvements in accordance with the approved preliminary plat and the acceptance of infrastructure by the city.

"One reason why we generally scrutinize these major subdivisions is that the infrastructure that gets installed eventually becomes the city's responsibility to maintain," said Hannah Williams, planning director.

Will Clayton, principal and owner of Clayton Engineering in Hickory, next spoke on behalf of the applicant. He outlined the seven conditions mentioned above that were recommended by planning staff and assured council that the applicants and engineers on the project have agreed to adhere to the conditions.

For example, the developer has agreed to pay the fee in lieu of a sidewalk; to install a cul-de-sac at the end of the street; and to put a deed restriction that any houses on the lots will be 1,870 square feet or smaller, or anything larger will have fire protectants or sprinkler systems installed.

Wallace Respess, an attorney with Respess & Jud in Lenoir, was there representing Bush and Ferraguto. He presented David Gray, a professional engineer with Precision Contracting who was asked by Bush to make a detailed study of the proposed lots and issue a report.

In his report, Gray found many unique aspects to the property that he argued would require two further conditions to be added to the seven proposed by planning staff.

"The first one is, this property has such a unique environmental impact possibility that each lot needs to have an engineered site plan developed just for that lot," said Gray. "Second, I would suggest, given the magnitude of potential environmental problems that can come from this property, we need to employ a third-party testing agency that is charged to go to each of these lots during the construction process on a monthly basis, check the erosion control measures, and be sure that they're being properly monitored and maintained."

After the witness testimonies were heard, Respess offered council his closing remarks.

"My clients and I are not here to oppose this proposed development, but to suggest that this development be carefully planned by professionals. That means requiring an engineered site plan," said Respess. "This is a very, very unusual area in that it is so precipitous and steep. Because of that, an engineered site plan should be a requirement, with special inspections by a third-party agency to submit reports stating that they are in compliance with those engineered site plans. I urge you, if you're going to consider this, to make that a condition."

Wesley Deaton, attorney at The Deaton Law Firm, PLLC, in Denver, NC, was in attendance on behalf of the applicant.

"I would respectfully disagree," said Deaton during his closing rebuttal. "Overlaying additional requirements beyond what the state requires in this matter is not something the statutes allow the city to do. There are state requirements already in place, and it's been testified to that they would resolve the concerns that are being talked about."

City Councilman Jonathan Beal recommended that council follow city staff's guidance for approval of the subdivision with conditions.

"I do not see a compelling reason to add any more restrictions than our staff has already recommended," said Beal.

City Attorney T.J. Rohr suggested that council address the matter as two separate motions: one to approve the seven conditions laid out by planning staff, and another to approve the major subdivision as presented with the seven conditions.

There was no motion made to accept Gray's two additional conditions, so council did not vote to adopt them.

City Council voted unanimously to approve the seven conditions, and then council approved the preliminary plat with the conditions submitted by staff.