Do have a quorum, so I say let's go ahead and start and uh I'm oh and there's Jeff has just joined.

Jeff.

And I think Chuck must be just stepped away for a moment.

So why don't we go ahead and start?

And uh welcome everyone to the September 2nd uh meeting of the planning commission.

It's great to see everyone again.

And it was great to have you all at the retreat.

Josh, thanks for joining us.

Uh I think it was uh a productive couple hours and appreciated everyone being there.

So let's start with the um uh approval of the agenda.

Is there a motion?

And a second.

Oh second.

Any um discussion?

Any changes?

Okay.

All in favor say aye.

Aye.

Aye.

All opposed.

Okay.

So approved.

Uh announcements.

Does anybody have any announcements?

Okay.

Um petitions.

Do any commissioners have petitions?

Okay, is there anybody in the public uh that has a petition?

Okay.

And approval of the minutes.

I don't think we had the minutes.

Is that correct, Jash?

Yeah, well, we'll have them at next meeting.

I just wanted to wait for those complete community matrices to encapsulate minutes.

And that was really my delay.

So apologies.

Uh so we will, and that still should be enough time to get those to the council.

Is that correct?

In there before they see those projects.

Yes.

Um, I will talk with the main staff on this project on how they best want to convey uh planning commission's feedback.

Okay.

All right.

Um, so let's start with old business.

Um minor subdivision.

Who is uh presenting?

Sorry, can I uh one note?

I apologize.

I think we don't have a consent agenda function.

Um, but we're hoping to consider this as a consent agenda item.

Um, unless commissioners would like to pull this for discussion, we would appreciate uh yes no.

I think um just because Mike is new, and um maybe Josh, if you could just explain the purpose of us um approving uh minor subdivisions for Mike and for everybody's benefit, so that um we can understand the context.

I can explain um Anna Scott Myers with the um planning department.

Um this project was before you in June for your approval for the minor subdivision.

Um it was approved, and after the approval, the applicant decided to shift the lot line slightly.

Um so no major changes to the plat except for the lot line changes that would require your approval.

So that's why we decided to put it on the consent agenda because you've already approved it once.

It's just a slight change.

Um that all it does is shifts the the square footage of each um new lot that's being created.

Okay, and um the town staff has no issue with this change?

No.

Okay.

Uh just Mike for your um for your benefit.

The these uh minor subdivision approvals are mostly for us to just make sure that what the staff is already recommending is in fact accurate.

It's not something that we get into the um weeds on for the most part.

Okay.

Um so does anybody have any discussion?

I'd like to move adoption to resolution A.

Okay.

Does that is there a second?

A second.

Okay.

Any discussion?

Okay, let's go ahead and just take a vote.

I know that's not a consent vote, but might as well just vote.

Wes.

Yes.

John.

Yes.

Mike.

Yes.

Libby.

Yes.

Jeff.

Yes.

And Chuck.

Yes.

And I'm a yes.

So thank you, Anna Scott.

And think we're done with that.

Okay.

So on to the next item, which is new business, 120 North Street.

Anna Scott, are you also?

I am, yes.

Okay.

I'm going to share my screen.

Get this into the presentation mode.

Share that.

Is everybody seeing my screen?

Yep.

Okay.

So this is a concept plan for 120 North Street.

I'll just give a brief presentation as staff to explain what a concept plan is and what you're asked to do today.

And then the applicant is here to give a uh thorough presentation on the actual proposal.

So this is the site plan itself, which was in the packet materials.

So concept plan review is required before an applicant submits a conditional zoning application.

It's required by LUMO.

But just a reminder that no decisions are made at this point.

This is just an opportunity for planning commission to provide feedback for the applicant to incorporate in their conditional zoning application.

To orient you to the location, this blue box is the site.

So the complete community considerations, just a reminder to keep in mind as you're providing feedback, are to direct growth to greenways transit corridors and infill sites to plan for the future strategically, expand and deliver new greenways for everyday life, be green and provide housing and plan for excellence in the public realm and placemaking.

And with that, I will turn it over to the applicant for them to give their presentation.

Thanks, Anna.

Good evening, everyone.

If I don't have to ask you to do it again, Anna.

All right, can everyone see my screen?

This is just your agenda.

I'm gonna scroll down here to the actual plan.

As Anna already kind of pointed out, this is this map is in your is in the staff report that Anna prepared.

So just kind of an overall context within the town as to where the site is located here on 120 North Street.

And then let's advance down to the actual site plan.

So what you're seeing here is this is the actual, this is the existing conditions of the current site.

So currently just orientation here, North Street is on your left.

So North will be to your left on all of these site plans.

This is the existing three-story structure, which is the current uh Zeta Tow Alpha House, and existing on-site parking, which is approximately 24 stalls with a dumpster enclosure and main site circulation comes in and off of North Street here off the right-of-way, which will remain the same.

But the existing house again is served only from North Street, and then there's also a pedestrian connection out of the south end of the site, which connects over to the existing city parking garage.

So that existing, there's a little bit of grade change.

You gotta go up several sets of stairs up to that parking garage to the south.

So one of the main considerations on this site that's been that was quite the challenge with any sort of work around changing the structure is there is an existing sanitary sewer line, uh, which is this is a a 12-inch main that runs through the site.

Sorry, eight-inch main that runs through the site, which has been relocated over the years, probably I would say handful of times.

Umce it has been relocated here on the site itself.

It also was recently relocated and realigned whenever the parking garage was built several years back to the south.

But uh that line, you can see it kind of routes from the south down along and then through the property at an angle, and that sits within a 30-foot sanitary sewer easement.

Um another uh utility that was uncovered when we had the property surveyed over the summer was there's also an existing storm sewer line that runs right here along the eastern boundary of the site between um the existing sorority house and the existing residential property to the east.

Um that is a 15-inch storm sewer main that routes along the property line, which picks up some private drainage of the credit union to the south-southeast of the site and connects it into the right-of-way along North Street.

That storm sewer easement, that storm line is not in a current, is not in an easement.

There is never an easement granted for that line, but it does run along the um sororities property.

So, what we are looking to do with this concept plan is a reconstruction of the house.

The current house was built back in the 80s.

Um, as we all know, there's been quite a bit of code changes between now and now and the 1980s.

Um the existing structure is not uh sprinklered.

There's no fire fire protection system within the house.

And so our client asked us to take a look at uh uh several upgrades and code issues that need to be brought up to speed on the house after reviewing all those uh upgrades and considerations.

Uh it actually is cheaper to actually rebuild a house in order to make it code compliant for several ADA issues, again the fire sprinkling um to bring it up to current codes, and also to kind of rearrange and shuffle some of the community spaces within the building.

Um, obviously, over time, um, the the study needs and meeting needs uh that the sorority has kind of changed and altered.

So trying to make those spaces more usable and more compatible with current standards as well.

So with the proposed plan, the footprint uh grows slightly a little bit to the west.

As such, uh it would append it would impede upon that existing sewer line.

So what we're proposing is a relocation of that sanitary sewer main slightly more to the west, again, within a new 30-foot easement that would connect from the existing sanitary sewer manual here on the south, and it would be rerouted essentially from this manhole structure down and over to the north and up to this existing structure.

So it's a minor relocation, but again, it pulls that easement to the far western side of the property to allow for a slightly larger footprint of the building on the first floor.

And then due to those changes, um, the existing parking lot, as you saw a minute ago, is not code compliant for the current standards.

So we're not allowed to get as many parking stalls on the property as was before, but we are providing the code minimum, which is 12 stalls based on the bed count uh for the proposed building.

The current building has, I believe, rough 34 bedroom units, and the new one will have 36, so it's only an increase of two units.

But again, uh this site plan does provide the minimum parking requirements for the site, uh, as well as allows for a greater amenity and green space uh for the sororities use there on site as well.

Um maintains that that uh existing pedestrian connection over to the garage.

So we have some through connectivity to the south, and we are maintaining the driveway connection here at North Street due to the existing grades and concerns, and also to preserve these quite large and beautiful trees that are along the north edge of the property, especially along North Street.

So the improvements within the right-of-the-north street would remain the same.

And we are again the other utility that was of a concern is the storm sewer, which we are maintaining and actually increasing the clearance uh from the storm sewer so that the structure would not impede that.

And um, if need be, we could certainly look at put at putting that existing storm sewer within an easement if that was if that was so needed or desired as part of the process.

And but with that, I am happy to answer any questions or or any other items that you might have uh for discussion.

Thank you.

Um any uh John.

Thanks for that presentation.

Uh I was wondering whether the 12 parking spots are um desired by the house or if the house is just doing that to meet the minimum.

Um they would like to have on they would like to have on-site parking.

They would like to have as much on-site parking as they can.

Umfortunately, based upon the the code requirements and just access, we really can't put anything here along that west side that you had before.

It's just not really it's not physically possible, and quite frankly, from a design standpoint, I wouldn't want anybody trying to navigate that in a car.

Yeah, I understood.

I just wanted to make sure that you weren't artificially increasing the parking to meet the minimum.

Not at all.

Strong possibility of getting a variance downward.

Were you to want in?

It sounds like you don't.

Thanks.

Yeah, no, no.

Jeff.

The presentation.

The I read through your materials.

Is the only if I see that you're requesting a rezoning from R6 to R6 conditional?

Is the only adjustment you're requesting is the adjustment to the uh requirement to provide stormwater management?

Um there's really no reason any it's just it it basically is conditional under the new code, so it's a conditional use.

Uh so the zoning stays the same.

Yeah.

Oh, okay.

Is that correct, Anna?

Did I say that correctly?

Um I let me go on camera.

I do not know if the applicant will require any modifications to regulations since staff hasn't reviewed this application for code compliance.

So it's possible that there will be modifications to regulations that will work out once they submit a conditional zoning, but the applicant is correct.

The difference between the R6 and the R6 CZD is is just because of the conditional zoning process that is required.

Thank you.

That fully answers my question.

Okay.

Yeah, no change of use, no change of zoning, if we can avoid it.

Okay, I have a couple questions.

Um the trees in the front, nice big trees.

It sounds like you're working hard to preserve those.

What about the tree um on the bottom of that?

Plant south, which would be west.

Yeah.

Um there the main trees here are this existing tree here, um, as well as here right up at the at the northwest corner.

There's really no trees here along the west um and or back here and in the to the south.

So the main trees that we're showing to be preserved are the are primarily the large trees that are existing on site.

Yeah, yeah.

And it looks like since there'll be less concrete around that one, it might actually even do a little better.

Correct.

With all the um digging up, you'll you know, it'll have a lot of root disturbance.

Um, you are correct.

It will it will have some, but it is as you as you pointed out, it is completely landlocked by concrete now.

And it's gonna have a lot more breathing room in the new configuration.

So even with that root disturbance, I think um, because this I believe is about a 28-inch caliper tree.

Um, so it's a rather large tree, so it's pretty developed.

So um it and it it is in a good healthy state based upon our last observations.

So I think we're pretty we're pretty uh positive about the fact that it could it should be able to survive.

It may need to be trimmed a little bit and have a canopy reduction before construction starts to give it a little bit of breathing room.

So it's not trying to stress itself out over the entire canopy, but that's something that we'll look at as we go as we go through design.

Okay.

And um also um I know you're in a very early stage, but for the reconstructed building for the house, thought about um increasing the energy efficiency, addressing any of the being green, be green aspects that um Anna Scott mentioned in the complete community.

Uh yes, I mean part of part of these upgrades are to bring the building a little bit more into energy compliance uh with current, and it will be of course designed to cur to the current energy code requirement of the town.

So that de facto between 86 and now there's been a there's been strides and strides.

So both in terms of exterior envelope in terms of external it's uh materials and materiality, windows, doors, uh HVAC equipment, uh, any appliances within the within the kitchen itself of the house.

So all of those items will be brought up to current energy codes.

So it'll be far superior than what is there currently.

Okay, but that that's not they're not thinking in particular of making this uh getting say lead certification or trying to go beyond whatever the current code is.

Um to my knowledge, we are not seeking any sort of additional lead certifications, anything above the current energy code requirements.

Okay.

Um any other questions from commissioners.

Okay, why don't we go to are is there anyone in the public?

Uh Anna Scott or Josh?

There is not.

Okay.

Then let's go to comments.

Would anyone like to start off uh Mike?

This is we typically first ask questions, then allow any comments or questions from the public, and then we have a discussion amongst ourselves about the project.

Would anyone like to leave that off?

John?

I personally don't see any red flags.

Looks reasonable and unobjectionable to me.

I still don't fully understand.

Maybe Jeff can explain to me what why this is a conditional rezoning.

Was it conditional years ago when it was first built and therefore it stays conditionals that way?

Okay, got it.

Yeah.

Yeah, sorry, Josh, but there is a current condition existing conditional use, uh believe that dates back to the house construction of 96 from what I researched.

Yeah, and that applies to all sororities and fraternities in town in residential zoning districts.

Hmm.

That's interesting.

So those are my comments with.

Okay.

Uh Jeff.

Since no one has comments, I'll subject everyone to a story.

My wife was a Zeta, but not at UNC at Duke.

Um, but they were so lame that they had UNC Zetas come over during rush to make them look cooler.

Um it did not work.

Uh the sorority was disaffiliated or whatever it was the next year.

So but I can sing the song for you if you want.

And does that make you more want to approve or or disapprove this uh maybe we should ask your wife?

Uh all right.

Any other comments, Jeff?

No, I that's all I have.

It's I think it's I mean it this is a win-win, you know.

Obviously, it's gonna be a much um uh more energy efficient, safer building uh being sprinkled.

Um, you know, any time there's an opportunity in a project to reduce the amount of impervious space to reduce the amount of parking.

I mean, that's a that's a big win.

Um, especially someplace like uh the downtown area where you know there's uh a need for additional uh pervious surface.

So um I think this is a great project.

And the need for additional revenue for the adjacent parking deck.

Um Chuck West, Libby, uh Mike, any thoughts?

I was gonna c uh second what Jeff just said.

I was thinking of the pr impervious uh space in here.

So the more green and more previous seen here.

So I I think it's a great idea.

Good project.

Libby?

I don't I don't have any major thoughts.

I would just add that those trees probably will suffer more stress through the construction process, and you might want to add some uh new young tree over in some of that green space to start growing while the all the aged tree is hopefully limping along and hopefully will survive but uh yeah, no, that's good.

I would just encourage you to keep uh do as much with the energy efficiency and so forth as you can.

Okay, Wes or Chuck?

No comments, great project.

Best of luck.

Chuck.

Okay, also give us a thumbs up and I'll say I also have uh no uh problems with it.

I would encourage uh the owners to consider trying to uh make a model of this as far as it's energy efficiency and other environmental uh components, it does pay off in the long term.

Uh and since these are the owners who are gonna own it for a long time, it does make sense.

I also think um my sense from the plan is that it will be more attractive from the street once uh once this is done.

And so that's another another plus.

And as John mentioned, I assume that all those other drivers are gonna be using the parking garage, which is great.

And if it were up to me, I would just make that whole front lot a beautiful lawn and just have one or two ADA spots and have a nice beautiful um uh area for the that they could have parties and whatever else, and which would be nicer than a parking lot, but that's up to them.

Uh they do have a nice parking lot right in their backyard, so parking uh deck.

So we we told them before they should have negotiated some negotiated parking when they built that deck for that pedestrian access.

Yeah, yeah.

No, I wonder if they still could if they tell the say they'll they'll provide some more impervious or some pervious space to the town if the town gives some uh extras uh parking spots.

I will pass that along.

Okay, well that's the there it is.

I've I'm sure um Josh and Anna Scott will second me on the town won't have any problems just handing over a few free spots.

Excellent.

I'm sure my honors will be very happy to hear that with plan commission approval.

Yeah, exactly.

Recommendation.

Recommendation.

Let's recommend not approval recommendation.

All right.

Um I think we're ready for a motion unless anybody has any other comments.

I motion to uh forward our comments.

This is a concept plan, right?

Just to forward our comments.

Is that what you need, Anna Scott?

Second.

Okay, do we need to vote on that?

Nope.

I don't I don't think you need to actually go through and vote.

Okay.

Okay.

Anything else that would be helpful to hear from us?

No, from my end, this has been great feedback.

We appreciate the fact that you guys have uh expressed some interest and some support for the project.

That's always great.

I uh always like no coming in for the second step of this process when we submit the next round, and you guys will be forwarding a recommendation on that we've got some good support, and uh it's great.

I always like knowing that going in and knowing some of the some of the pressure points and um things to hit on, which I think we're gonna be focused on as well.

So I think it should hopefully be a nice smooth project going through all the steps.

But I appreciate your time and and your thoughts this evening.

Okay, well, good luck and thanks for presenting.

Yes, we'll see you soon.

Okay, all right.

Um, and thank you, Anna Scott for that.

So um I believe that's the end of our agenda.

And um, so this has to be the fastest planning commission meeting that I have ever.

So we should just talk for another hour and a half to, you know.

Jeff, do you have any more stories from your mom from your from your wife?

Um no, no.

Although I did I uh you know practice law for a little bit afterwards, and one of my uh colleagues, uh his spouse was actually a Zeta at UNC and came over.

Um don't have any pictures of that time, sadly, but it's uh it's uh I can I can really if if you want I can sing the song.

That might be a nice way to end.

I'm not too sure.

I would I I'll send that motion.

Thanks, everybody.

Yeah, just one reminder while we've got the board here.

Uh reminder, we will start meeting at 6, starting at our next meeting in September 16th.

Which is in person.

That is right.

Right.

Oh, I thought I heard you say we would have the Zoom meeting, the first meeting of the month, and the oh, the next one is our second meeting.

Never mind.

Never mind.

Yeah, it's already September.

I don't know what month it is.

I'm just wondering, do the Thetas walk through that parking deck to get to campus.

Do that.

Is there a path?

Kind of a nice pedestrian zone through there.

Those uh stairs shown on the site plan were just added with the uh parking deck.

Yeah.

Cool.

How did you I'm sorry, I missed something you said in there.

Say just repeat that.

There's a lot of stairs.

The stairs shown on the site plan um were just added when the parking deck was constructed.

Okay.

So they do walk through there now.

Okay.

Thanks.

Boy, I mean, they've got the biggest parking lot in their backyard.

Why they don't turn that into a beautiful property instead of an ugly parking lot, but it's up to them.

Taking out half the parking is great.

Oh yeah.

So thank goodness for that.

All right.

Well, thank you, everyone.

Thanks, Al.

See you in person on the uh 16th.

Bye guys.

Okay.

There's a gavel.

Oh Josh, I actually will not.

Oh no, I will be here.

Sorry.

Okay.

17th, I won't be here.

So yeah, great.

I'll see everyone on the on the 16th.

Okay.

All right.

Thanks y'all.