Greenville Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting - April 18, 2023
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Greenville Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting - April 18, 2023
The Greenville Planning and Zoning Commission met on April 18, 2023, at 6:00 PM in City Hall Council Chambers. The meeting included a public hearing and votes on multiple zoning text amendments, including changes to bar spacing requirements, allowances for microbreweries and microdistilleries, tobacco shop regulations, and city code amendments related to engineering standards. All items were approved unanimously.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of Minutes: The minutes from the March 21, 2023 meeting were approved without discussion.
Public Comments & Testimony
- No members of the public spoke for or against any of the agenda items.
Discussion Items
Preliminary Plat – Nexus Harris Mill Run
- A request by The East Group, P.A., on behalf of BRC Greenville LLC and PHO Greenville LLC for a preliminary plat for “Nexus Harris Mill Run” on a 33.68-acre lot along B’s Barbeque Road. Staff requested a continuance to the May 16, 2023 meeting. The commission voted unanimously to continue the item.
Item 3 – Bar Separation Requirement Amendment
- Staff presented a request initiated by the commission to delete the 500-foot separation requirement between bars, except within the “BAR 2022” eligible area in uptown Greenville. The history was summarized: City Council approved the BAR 2022 use in January 2023 with no separation requirements, and asked the commission for additional feedback. At the February 21 meeting, the commission voted to initiate this text amendment. The amendment deletes the bar-to-bar separation in CDF, CG, and CH districts but preserves it elsewhere. A commission member thanked staff for the presentation. A motion to recommend approval passed unanimously.
Item 4 – Microbrewery and Microdistillery Zoning Amendment
- Staff presented a request to add “microbrewery” and “microdistillery” as special uses in the CDF, CG, and CH districts, and to add “microdistillery” as a permitted use in the Mixed-Use Institutional (MUI) district. This aligns with the districts where bars are allowed. The MUI district was created for the Intersect East project and is currently the only area with that zoning. A commission member asked if bars are permitted in MUI; staff clarified they are not. The amendment also adds microbrewery as a special use in the districts. The commission voted unanimously to approve.
Item 5 – Tobacco Shop Separation Amendment
- Staff presented a housekeeping amendment to clarify separation requirements between tobacco shop class 1 and class 2. The intent was to prevent a class 1 shop from locating within a half-mile (2,640 feet) of a class 2, but the existing ordinance language allowed it. The amendment removes the phrase “existing or approved” to ensure complete separation. There are currently 27 tobacco shops in the city (class 1 and class 2). A commission member noted two red dots (class 1) close together on the map; staff confirmed no existing shops are in conflict. The recommendation was approved unanimously.
Item 6 – Engineering Department Code Amendments
- Staff presented a comprehensive set of amendments to various chapters of the City Code to reflect changes in the city’s operating structure and development standards. The amendments were grouped into four sections: (A) creation of the Engineering Department and director; (B) revisions due to updates to the Manual of Standard Designs and Details (MSDD); (C) updates to the Soil Erosion and Sedimentation Control ordinance to match state model; (D) updated references to governmental agencies and documents. Key changes include: increasing shared duplex driveway maximum width to 26 feet; prohibiting private streets for single-family and two-family attached residential (continuing to allow for multifamily and non-residential); requiring adherence to lighting standards; requiring turnarounds on dead-end streets over 150 feet; requiring sidewalks on all new residential streets; and clarifying drainage responsibilities. The MSDD stakeholder group included developers, engineers, contractors, and city staff. The full ordinance package was approximately 600 pages. A commission member praised the thoroughness and noted the two-and-a-half-year process. The recommendation was approved unanimously.
Key Outcomes
- Preliminary Plat – Nexus Harris Mill Run: Continued to the May 16, 2023 meeting (unanimous).
- Item 3 – Bar Separation Requirement Amendment: Recommended approval (unanimous).
- Item 4 – Microbrewery/Microdistillery Zoning Amendment: Recommended approval (unanimous).
- Item 5 – Tobacco Shop Separation Amendment: Recommended approval (unanimous).
- Item 6 – Engineering Code Amendments: Recommended approval (unanimous).
- Adjournment: The meeting adjourned after the votes.
Meeting Transcript
I would like to ask for us to keep in mind the people of Ukraine and the tragedy that that war um continues to unfold as well as the um gun violence in our country and uh the people who seem to lose their lives every day. I'm in thank you, all right. Madam Clerk, can we please have a roll? Kevin Fazine. Present Chris West Billy Parker, Max Joyner, President Pat Maxwell, here John Collins. Present Andrew Denton. Here, Alan Brock, Alan Thomas, and Hunter Peyton. Here we have quorum. All right. Thank you. You have all been presented in advance with the minutes from the March 21st, 2023 meeting, and have had an opportunity to read and review the minutes. Are there any questions or corrections? If not, can I entertain a motion? Move to approve. We have a motion to approve live second. Second. Aye. Any opposed? All right, minutes have been approved. New business. The property is further identified as Pitt County Tax Parcel number 018274. The proposed plat consists of one lot holding 33.68 acres. Staff is asking for you to continue this to the May 16th meeting. So again, if you could make a motion to move to the May 16th, 2023 meeting, staff would certainly appreciate that. Motion to a move motion to move the uh request to next month's meeting. We'll have a motion to move the request to next month's meeting on May 16th. Uh we have a second. All those in favor? Aye. Any opposed? All right. On to our next order of business. Except in the bar 2020 eligible area. Staff presentation. Um at your last meeting, I don't know if you remember or not, but you voted to have a couple of different items that were related to alcohol establishments and have individual votes on them. I know some of you weren't here last month. Um so what I've done is I have taken two of those items. I'll let you know that the wine shop item is not finished yet, so I have not brought that one back to you. But what I have brought you tonight are items three and four, and I'm going to tell you which ones those are. The commission uh did a vote that you wanted to vote on them separately. So to save time, I'm going to do one presentation. I'm going to take you through both amendments. You can hold one public hearing, but you will have two separate votes. You you ask to vote on them separately. Okay. So the first one again, this is for item number three. This is a request initiated by the commission to amend the zoning ordinance to delete the 500 foot separation requirement from a bar to another bar, except in the bar 2022 eligible area. So I want to first give you just a little bit of history. I don't want to go all the way back in time. So I want to start in January of this year.
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