Greenville Board of Adjustment Meeting - December 16, 2021
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Greenville Board of Adjustment Meeting - December 16, 2021
The Greenville Board of Adjustment held a remote quasi-judicial meeting on December 16, 2021, starting at 6:00 PM. The board considered five evidentiary matters: a variance request, two special use permits, an amendment to a special use permit, and a surrender of a special use permit. All votes were unanimous unless otherwise noted.
Approval of Minutes
- The board voted 6-1 to approve the minutes from the November 18, 2021 meeting as written, after a motion to strike a sentence attributed to Hunt McKinnon was not adopted. McKinnon voted in opposition.
Discussion Items
1. B&M Wang, LLC – Variance from Parking Requirements (655 S Memorial Drive)
- This matter was continued from November. The public hearing was closed; only voting remained. The applicant sought a variance because the property (0.95 acres, 29 existing spaces) cannot meet parking requirements for a vacant unit. Staff recommended conditions: total parking shall not exceed 15 spaces over existing 29, no dwelling units, and compliance with all laws.
- The board discussed that the hardship was not self-created (property line division in 1995). After a motion on that criterion passed unanimously, the board approved the findings of fact and then the petition with staff’s conditions, both unanimously.
2. Andrew & Christy Garris – Special Use Permit for Major Repair Facility (701 Peed Drive)
- Continued from November. The applicants plan to operate an auto repair and paint shop. Staff reported no objection with conditions. The applicant testified; Mike Baldwin appeared as a facilitator, not an expert. No opposition. The board approved findings of fact and the petition with conditions, both unanimously.
3. Ironwood Development, Inc. – Amendment to Special Use Permit for Carolina Crofts (NC Highway 43 North)
- This amendment removes the commercial village and 34 townhomes, replacing them with additional single-family lots, bringing total dwelling units from 387 to 356 (a density reduction). Open space drops from 61 to 54.61 acres. The development remains an agricultural master plan community (agrihood).
- Tim Newell (land planner, accepted as expert) explained market changes due to COVID. Roger Kemp, a nearby resident, withdrew opposition after concerns were addressed. Staff recommended no objection.
- The board approved findings of fact and the petition with conditions, both unanimously.
4. Metro FiberNet, LLC – Decision and Order on Special Use Permit
- The board considered a proposed additional condition regarding generator testing: weekly preventative maintenance may only occur on a weekday between 7:30 AM and 8:30 AM. This was added to the previously approved permit. Motion to adopt option two (including the condition) passed unanimously (Ryan Purdle abstained, treated as a yes).
5. Alan Hamm – Special Use Permit for Outdoor Dining at Mission BBQ (425-D SE Greenville Boulevard)
- The applicant, an architect with 38 years of experience, plans to use an existing covered sidewalk for outdoor seating. Staff recommended conditions (e.g., no amplified sound audible from residential zones, no outdoor activity after midnight, no live music). No opposition. The board approved findings of fact and the petition with conditions, both unanimously.
6. Coastal Plain Shooting Academy – Surrender of Special Use Permit (100 Staton Road)
- The applicant voluntarily surrendered the permit for an indoor firearm range due to strong opposition from an adjacent property owner. Staff presented the revocation letter. No speakers. The board unanimously accepted the surrender.
Key Outcomes
- Variance granted to B&M Wang, LLC (unanimous).
- Special use permit granted to Andrew & Christy Garris (unanimous).
- Amendment to special use permit granted to Ironwood Development (unanimous).
- Additional condition approved for Metro FiberNet (unanimous, with one abstention).
- Special use permit granted to Alan Hamm (unanimous).
- Surrender accepted for Coastal Plain Shooting Academy (unanimous).
- Meeting adjourned at approximately 8:30 PM after a ten-minute break.
Meeting Transcript
We are live. Very good. This meeting will now come to order. Welcome to the December 16th, 2021 meeting of the City of Greenville Board of Adjustment. My name is Rodney Bullock, and I'm the chair of the board. I'd like to start by acknowledging that we are conducting this meeting using a remote electronic platform. This is the virtual meeting of the Greenville Board of Adjustment. I would ask for your patience today as we proceed. There may 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 Ordnance. We conduct the evidentiary hearings on requests for special use permits, variances, appeals, and administrative decisions and interpretations. Before we begin the evidentiary hearings on tonight's agenda, I would like to provide some important information about the steps taken to ensure that each party's due process rights are protected as we proceed in this remote platform. First, tonight's meeting will be conducted in accordance with the enacted statutes in session law 2020-3, which allow for remote meetings and quasi judicial hearings during declarations of emergency. Second, each applicant on tonight's agenda was notified before being placed on the agenda that this meeting would be conducted using a remote electronic platform. We will confirm tonight at the start of each evidentiary hearing that the participants in the evidentiary hearing consent to the matter proceeding in this matter. No case is proceeding tonight in which the city has been contacted by an individual who objects to this meeting being heard by way of simultaneous remote meeting platform. Third, notice of this meeting was provided to the applicants and the public in numerous ways. Specifically, notice of tonight's evidentiary hearings was provided by mail and all prop to all property owners within 250 feet of each subject property. The mail notices were sent at least two weeks in advance of the meeting date and with within the law to provide such notice. And each notice letter notified the receipt of the 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 notice methods were also done within the legal requirement to provide such notice. Tonight's meeting notices contain information about the means by which the public can access the remote meeting as the meeting occurs. All individuals participating in tonight's evidentiary hearing were also required to submit a copy of any presentation, document, exhibit, or other material that they wished to submit at the evidentiary hearing prior to tonight's meeting. All materials that the city received from the participants of tonight's cases as well as copy of city staff's report and documents were posted online on the Board of Adjustment meeting schedule and agenda prior to this meeting. All materials that will be discussed today can be viewed at any time during tonight's meeting by visiting the Board of Adjustment page on the city's website and clicking the agenda and meeting packet link. No new documents will be presented at tonight's meeting. All decisions of this board are subject to appeal with the Pitt County Superior Court. Finally, any individual planning to testify or submit evidence in any evidentiary hearing will have to provide their consent for tonight's meeting. We will affirm everyone's oath on the record tonight. Okay, and with that being said, we will now have a roll call. Madam Clerk, if you would please. Yes, sir. Rodney Bullock. Yes. Christopher Lilly. Yes. Ann Bellis. Here. Hunt McKinnon. Here. Sharon Evans. Here. Nathan Cohen. Ryan Pertle. Ryan Burdle here. John Landrine. Here. Mr. Chair, we have a quorum.
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