0:04Good evening and welcome to the July 2nd 2026 meeting of the town hall of the sorry the town of Chapel Hill Board of Adjustment.
0:14It is now 6 30, so the meeting will come to order.
0:16Taz Lagu is serving as staff, the liaison to the board this evening.
0:22Baker is not here present tonight.
0:24Legou, would you please sign uh would you please uh call the roll?
0:45With seven members present.
0:47The chair declares the quorum exists for the conduct of the board's business.
0:52The first item on the agenda is the approval of tonight's agenda.
0:56The agenda was mailed out to the board membership on Monday, June 29th.
1:01Are there any objections or amendments to the agenda?
1:09We have a motion and a second task.
1:13Would you please call the roll?
1:36Soy's, one abstention.
1:38We have six ayes, one abstention.
1:40And so we have approved the agenda for this evening.
1:46Are there any announcements tonight?
1:52I would just like to, before we get started, uh officially congratulate uh Dr.
1:57Wartman on his reappointment.
2:01Weiner to the board full time.
2:03Extend appreciation to Mr.
2:06Nan who's not here this evening and uh Mr.
2:09Herman who's here this evening and uh is serving as an alternative alternate uh in the future, but tonight is sitting in with us.
2:18Welcome to everybody and congratulations.
2:20So let's go ahead and proceed uh to the review of the minutes for June 4th, 2026.
2:28Uh these were the meetings of uh the meeting of the town of Chapel Hills Board of Adjustment.
2:32Are there any objections to the minutes as drafted?
2:36Move to approve second um I did well.
2:44I should have uh I should have uh said that I actually didn't have an objective objection, but I had a uh request.
2:53Non's name NAHM is misspelled incorrectly in one place.
2:59And I know sometimes on the computer program, if it picks it up once, it blows it out in the future.
3:04So move to approve with the uh uh uh with the corrected name spelling.
3:13Um so we have um we have a motion and we have it second.
3:19Uh Taz, can you call the roll?
3:37We have six approved, one abstain.
3:42Um the meetings are approved.
3:47The uh minutes are approved for June fourth.
3:51Um now I'd like to turn to one piece of old business.
3:54This is the last and only thing we'll need to address this evening at our last meeting on June 4th.
4:00Uh, we instructed staff to draft an order granting the requested dimensional variance for the property at 700 Bowlingwood Drive.
4:08After evidential hearings and board deliberation, the motion was made by Dr.
4:12Wartman and seconded by Mr.
4:14Garza to approve resolution A, which directed the staff to order uh an order to approve.
4:21I'm sorry, let me back up, which directed the staff staff to draft an order approving the requested variance.
4:28The motion carried unanimously.
4:30So tonight we are being asked to vote on this draft, which was prepared by staff, was circulated to the members of the board um prior to tonight's meeting.
4:41Um have all the board members had an opportunity to review the variance we'll be voting on tonight.
4:50Um I think we can move straight to Taz to you going ahead and calling a roll for the request that the variance for the property at 700 bowling would drive be approved.
5:02And I would just remind the board that the required threshold for approval is four fifths of the membership of the board.
5:10And so with seven members on the board, uh we'll need six affirmative votes uh to approve the ordinary or the order.
5:18And I'm assuming that Mr.
5:20Herman is going to abstain.
5:22Can he abstain, or would that be the proper thing for him to do?
5:26That would be at his discretion.
5:28Yeah, I intend to abstain.
5:30Um just point of order.
5:34So how would an abstention be counted for the record?
5:37Would it be counted as a yes vote or a no vote?
5:43For calculations of the fourth four fifths, it should be a no vote.
5:51I hoping that we don't have to get into math tonight.
5:56Um do we need to have a motion to call this role tonight?
6:04Uh yeah, I think it would be appropriate to have a motion on that.
6:08Let's have a discussion first.
6:09Um I'm not certain that it abstention is a nay vote.
6:18If I remember my orientation correctly, several years ago, an abstention would count as an I vote.
6:28But it may be a moot point.
6:31Um given that I believe that it will be a mood point.
6:36I'd like to move to approve this um variance as written by staff.
6:43Having a uh motion to approve and a second, uh, could you please call the roll?
7:04So we have six in the affirmative, one abstention, which would mean that this is passed.
7:12So one quick thing before we adjourn.
7:18Uh I don't want to necessarily do this this evening, but I wanted to see if you had had an opportunity to talk to Julia Chamberlain about her interest in potentially being moving forward.
7:29I haven't heard from her yet.
7:30Um, so I'll continue to try over the summer, and uh we can try again in September.
7:35Yeah, we'll put this on we'll put the uh we'll put it on the agenda in September.
7:39And if we've heard from her, great.
7:40If not, um that'll inform our decisions.
7:46Uh thank you all very much for coming out tonight.
7:49Um, two days before the fourth.
7:52And I know that the applicant, former applicant, appreciates it, but's not here to tell us so.
7:58And um Chair, real quick.
8:01Um, so on the nay vote, I would like to get this confirmed for next time we meet, just so that we know.
8:06But looking this up again, and that my recollection was it's not a nay vote, it is also not an affirmative vote.
8:11We need four-fifths majority affirmative votes.
8:14So while it's not a nay, it does not help in terms of approving the measures.
8:19Yeah, you still need four fifths.
8:23It's almost a moot point, but um, but it's not a definitive nay.
8:27And but it's it doesn't also count to four fifths of the well, we could give Mr.
8:31Baker a homework assignment if he wants to definitively answer that question in our next meeting.
8:36Um fortunately, it didn't become a material fact this evening.
8:39So we have we can kick it down the road.
8:41No, that that sounds correct.
8:43Um, I think the the one situation in which an abstention um or a lack of a vote by a member that is present would factor into the math would be a recusal uh based on a conflict of interest.
8:58Um if a sitting member recuses themselves or is recused by the board, um they are basically just taken out of the arithmetic.
9:08Um but yeah, an abstention is is just kind of in the void.
9:16It's not an affirmative vote, and what you need is five affirmative votes basically.
9:21Um let's go have a wonderful weekend and everybody be safe with the heat.
9:26Thank you and good evening and good night.