At its Thursday night meeting, the Planning Board decided to continue the public hearing until the February meeting. In the meantime, the planning staff is to work with the school administration and the neighbors to address questions raised about parking problems on and near the school campus.
It was a marathon meeting that lasted almost four hours.
Consideration of the STARS application took more than an hour of the board’s time, punctuated by first-ever testimony by school children.
Five students accompanied David Jackson, director of STARS School, and one mother, told the board about the quality of the education at the charter school, and the need for a school where the arts are emphasized along with the regular academic curriculum.
“This is a perfect school to integrate the arts,” said Melissa Justice, whose child attends the school and also testified at the hearing. Justice is a teacher, but not at STARS.
The proposal attracted one opponent, who said that addition of an amphitheater would worsen traffic and parking problems and would pose a danger to public safety.
Louise Value, speaking on behalf of herself and residents of townhouses across the street from the school, opened her remarks by assuring everyone that she does not oppose the school. She said her two grandchildren benefit from a similar type of school.
Value said the school already has a parking problem and cited a newspaper article reporting plans for future expansion to serve up to 500 students.
She also expressed concern about the noise level from the amphitheater area. She said some residents of the townhouse complex keep hours different from those of the traditional workday and could be bothered by noise created by outdoor performances.
Jackson said the school would not be adding new activities in using the amphitheater. Instead, he said it would be a case of moving existing programs into an outdoor setting and that most of these performances would be part of the everyday class schedule. Such a schedule, he said, is not expected to attract visitors who would cause a traffic or parking problem.
He said that the school’s first performance drew an audience of 700 people, and STARS was required to rent a facility. The school is presently using a multipurpose room to conduct most regular performances.
Since the charter school opened about two years ago, student enrollment has grown from 92 last year to 141.
Students Testify
According to the county zoning ordinance, the process calls for public hearings to be held in a setting similar to that of a courtroom. The ordinance requires that witnesses be sworn before they speak.
Board Chairman Jimmy Melton administered the oath to witnesses for all three hearings.
“This is the youngest witness I’ve ever sworn in,” Melton said after swearing in the fifth school child.
All five children testified, each reading a written statement describing the need for a suitable place to perform the variety of arts taught at STARS.
Board members had problems of their own with the parking issue. Harry Huberth predicted a parking problem, and Terry Bryant asked questions about compliance with the access conditions in the original plat.
Assistant County Manager David Cotton recommended that the material be resubmitted to the planning staff for additional study.
Value suggested that the board deny the request. She said the proposed amphitheater is not a public necessity and would pose a danger to public safety. Both issues are conditions spelled out in the ordinance.
Huberth said he would not be comfortable making a decision on the request and asked that the parking issue be studied further.
“It appears there is already a parking problem,” Huberth said.
On a motion by Huberth and a second by Tony Chriscoe, the board voted unanimously to continue the hearing until the next meeting, when the staff is to report back with an update on parking conditions.
STARS Charter School is asking the county to grant a permit to add the amphitheater on 5.64 acres on U.S. 1, about 25 feet north of Southern Dunes Drive, a private road. The campus is between Southern Pines and Vass.
Existing uses of the property include three classrooms, a music and dance building, a multipurpose building, all described as temporary, and a storage building.
Car Sales Lot Denied
Paul and Lorraine Trudeau were applicants for the other two conditional use permit requests on the agenda.
The board approved one request and denied the other on a 7-2 vote. The Trudeau request to add two mini-storage buildings on a 5.24-acre tract west of U.S. 1 was approved 8-1, but the request for a permit to operate an automobile sales lot was denied.
Robert Hayter, speaking on behalf of nearby property owners, expressed opposition to both requests. He called Trudeau a good neighbor but said the proposed uses of the property would have a detrimental effect on surrounding property and would not be in harmony with existing uses.
Melton pointed out that the Trudeaus are already operating six mini-storage buildings on the tract, where seven other commercial buildings are also located. This represents a nonconforming use of the property, but addition of two more mini-storage units would not change those uses, the chairman said.
“I really don’t see the impact,” Melton said. “I don’t think it would make that much difference on surrounding property.”
The motion by Tony Chriscoe to approve the permit included conditions requiring designated buffering between the mini-storage property and neighboring property, along with conditions attached by the staff or required by ordinance.
Operation of a car lot on the tract would mean an entirely new business in this area of mixed commercial uses, and several board members had problems with this type of change.
“I have a problem making a nonconforming use even more nonconforming,” Huberth said. “We’re supposed to make them conform.”
Expressing agreement, Melton said that the ordinance is not completely clear on some things.
“If we approve this, we may be compounding the problem,” Melton said.
Rezoning Request
A rezoning request for property near Seven Lakes also attracted opposition.
The request by Drew Reeves is to change the zoning on 4.96 acres from Rural Agricultural Urban Service Boundary to Rural Business. The tract is about 25 feet from Dead Man Curve Road on the south side of N.C. 211. The property lies along a designated Highway Corridor Overlay District.
Jana Green, speaking on behalf of the applicant, pointed out that businesses are already in operation in the area.
She expressed doubt that the area would ever be considered for residential development because of the proximity of a wireless communications tower on part of the property. She said the property would be more attractive for sale if the land were rezoned for business usage.
Green said she has received inquiries on behalf of a restaurant and a medical clinic.
Tony Robertson, general manager of Seven Lakes West, told the board that adjoining property owners were not notified of the request as required by the zoning ordinance. Among the owners not notified, he said, was U.S. Cellular, owner of the tower.
“We don’t know the future use of the property, and the law won’t permit you to ask,” Robertson said. “If the property is sold, the zoning goes with the owner.”
Robertson, the former Aberdeen town manager, reminded the board that N.C. Department of Transportation has designated N.C. 211 as the future route for a four-lane highway, something else that can change land uses in that area.
“We don’t know, and we can’t ask,” Robertson added.
Under state law, planning officials cannot ask rezoning applicants to specify proposed use of the land under consideration. Uses of all property within a zoning district are spelled out within the ordinance. This is another difference from the CUP application process, in which the applicant must designate usage plans.
Staff Planner Ben Warren said the owners of all adjacent property were notified of the rezoning request, including U.S. Cellular. But questions were raised as to whether everyone seeking information on the request had received all of the material pertaining to the issue.
This led Melton to suggest that the matter be continued until the Feb. 10 meeting to give the staff time to make sure all property owners are notified and all requests complied with.
He asked the staff to confer with the applicant prior to the next meeting.
