Greenville Board of Adjustment Special Meeting – August 6, 2020
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Greenville Board of Adjustment Special Meeting – August 6, 2020
The Greenville Board of Adjustment held a remote special meeting on August 6, 2020, at 11:15 AM UTC. The board acted on several special use permits, a variance, and administrative matters, all conducted via an electronic platform due to the COVID-19 emergency. All votes were unanimous (6-0 or 7-0) unless noted.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of prior month's minutes (moved by Bullock, seconded by Evans; passed 7-0).
- Excused member Hunt McKinnon from the meeting (moved by Bullock, seconded by Bellis; passed 7-0).
Public Comments & Testimony
- No public comments were made outside of evidentiary hearings.
Discussion Items
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Old Business – Continuances
- Item 1: Special use permit renewal for a bed and breakfast (Christopher Walkers) continued to August 27, 2020, at the applicant's request (moved by Bullock, seconded by Atkinson; passed 7-0).
- Item 2: Decision and order on an administrative appeal from February 27, 2020, continued to August 27, 2020, because the attorney who represented the board was unavailable (moved by Bullock, seconded by Evans; passed 7-0).
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New Business – Special Use Permits
- Game Center (Well Played Games) – Applicant Christopher Payne sought a permit to relocate and expand a game center at 1400 G 14th Street. Staff recommended approval with conditions (no evolution into a club/sweepstakes; compliance with fire and building codes). Board approved findings of fact and petition unanimously (6-0, with one member absent for part of vote but later present).
- Tobacco Shop Class One Amendment (Farook Salah) – Applicant sought to amend an existing permit to move to new units at 1311 West Arlington Boulevard. During discussion, the board clarified that traditional wooden tobacco pipes (not hookah-style) are allowed under a class one permit. Staff recommended approval with conditions (no drive-through, no smoking apparatus, etc.). Approved unanimously (7-0).
- Variance for Modular Home Setback (Modular Solutions Inc.) – Applicant Jeremy McAllister requested a variance to reduce the side setback from 10 ft to 7.6 ft at 117 Chippeway Drive due to a septic system installation that forced the home forward. Staff recommended approval with conditions. Board found unnecessary hardship and unique circumstances; approved variance unanimously (7-0).
- Home Occupation Child Daycare (Brenda Acklin) – Applicant sought a permit to operate a daycare at 506 Fenner Drive. Staff recommended conditions (up to 5 children, fenced play area, off-street parking). Board member Bellis raised safety concerns about dead pine trees and a broken fence. Applicant agreed to remove trees and repair fence before operation. Board added a condition requiring those repairs; approved petition with all conditions (6-0 after one member lost connection).
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Election of Chair and Vice Chair
- Michael Glenn was nominated by Ann Bellis and elected Chair (7-0).
- Rodney Bullock was nominated and elected Vice Chair (7-0).
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Decision on Remote Meetings
- The board voted to continue meeting remotely until further notice, consistent with anticipated City Council policy (moved by Evans, seconded by Bullock; passed 7-0).
Key Outcomes
- All four evidentiary hearings (game center, tobacco shop, variance, daycare) were approved with staff-recommended conditions and, for the daycare, an additional condition to remove dead trees and repair fencing before operation.
- Two old business items were continued to August 27, 2020.
- Michael Glenn elected Chair; Rodney Bullock elected Vice Chair.
- The Board of Adjustment will hold future meetings remotely until further notice.
Meeting Transcript
Good to go. All right. Good evening, everybody. The meeting will now come to order. I want to welcome you all to the August 6th, 2020 special meeting of the City of Greenville Board of Adjustment. My name is Michael Glenn, and I am acting as I'm the acting chair of the board. I would like to start by acknowledging that we are conducting this meeting using a remote electronic platform. This is the first remote meeting of the Greenville Board of Adjustment. I would ask for your patience today as we proceed. There might be slight delays as we transition between speakers, participants, and presentations. The Board of Adjustment is a quasi-judicial body that is governed by the North Carolina General Statutes and the City's code of ordinance. We conduct evidentiary hearings on requests for special use permits, variances, appeals of administrative decisions, and interpretations. Before we begin the evidentiary hearings on today's agenda, I would like to provide some important information about steps taken to ensure that each party's due process rights are protected as we proceed in this remote platform. First, today's meeting will be conducted in accordance with the newly enacted statutes in session law 2020-3, which allow for which allow for remote meetings and quasi judicial hearings during declarations of emergency. Second, each applicant on today's agenda was notified before being placed on the agenda that this meeting would be conducted using a remote electronic platform. Every applicant on today's agenda has consented to the board conducting the evidentiary hearing on their request using this remote platform. We will also confirm today at the start of each evidentiary hearing that the participants in the evidentiary hearing consent to the matter proceeding in this remote platform. Third, notice of this meeting was provided to the applicants and the public in numerous ways, well beyond the legal requirements for noticing this meeting and the evidentiary hearings. Specifically, notice of today's evidentiary hearing was provided by mail to all property owners within 250 feet of each subject property. The mailed notices were sent two weeks in advance of the meeting date and within the law to provide such notice, and each notice letter notified the recipient of the remote meeting platform. No case is proceeding today in which the city has been contacted by an individual with an objection to the case or to the matter being heard in this remote meeting platform. Notice was also provided by posting signs on the site of each property, publishing notice in the newspaper, and providing notice on the city's website. Each of these notice methods were also done within the legal requirement to provide such notice. The notice for today's meeting contained information about the means by which the public can access the remote meeting as the meeting occurs. Any individual wishing to participate in today's evidentiary hearings was required to sign up prior to the meeting to participate. Information about this sign-up requirement along with information about how to sign up to participate was included in the mailed notice letters sent to each property owner within 250 feet of each subject property. This information was also included on the board's website, and among other information, a link to the board's website was included in all methods of notice. No case is proceeding today in which anyone contacted the city to voice an objection to a request or the remote meeting platform. All individuals participating in today's evidentiary hearings were also required to submit a copy of any presentation, document, exhibit, or other material that they wish to submit at the evidentiary hearing prior to today's meeting. All materials that the city received from the participants in today's cases, as well as a copy of city staff's presentations and documents were posted online on the Board of Adjustment meeting schedule and agenda prior to this meeting. All posted on, excuse me. All materials that will be discussed today can be viewed at any time during today's meeting by visiting the Board of Adjustment uh link on the City of Greenville website by clicking on the August 6, 2020 agenda and meeting packet link. No new documents will be presented at today's meeting. All decisions of this board are subject to appeal with the Pitt County Superior Court. And finally, all individuals who signed up to participate in an evidentiary hearing on today's agenda, as well as all city staff participants were emailed a witness oath form prior to today's meeting. Any individual planning to testify or submit evidence in an evidentiary hearing was notified that they must sign the oath form prior to today's meeting. We will also reaffirm everyone's oath on the record at today's meeting. Madam Clerk, would you please call the roll? Yes. Michael Glenn. Present. Rodney Bullock. Here. Ann Bellis. Hunt McKinnon. Dylan Godley. Nathan Cohen. Christopher Lilly. Sharon Evans. Here.
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