Town of Maggie Valley

Regularly Scheduled Planning Board Meeting

May 5, 2004

MINUTES

 

Members Present:          Chairman Patricia Tilley, Jerry Zerbock, Mark DeMeola, Joann Lyons, and Torry Pinter

Members Absent:           Richard Pierce

Staff Present:                     Code Enforcement Officer Tim Henson and Town Clerk Vickie Best

Others Present:                 Mayor Jo Pinter, Dean Tomlinson, Dan Massie, and Alderman Linda Taylor

 

Meeting Called to Order

Chairman Tilley called the meeting to order at 3:10 p.m. on Wednesday May 5, 2004 in the Maggie Valley Town Boardroom.

 

Approval or Correction of Minutes

Mr. Zerbock asked that the first paragraph under the heading MEETING SCHEDULES

be reworded to be more legible.

 

Conflicting work schedules of committee members as well as meeting schedules of other committees dictated a change of the planning board meetings.  By a motion of Richard Pierce, and seconded by Torry Pinter. Motion carried unanimously.  The meetings of the Maggie Valley Planning Board will be moved from the second Monday to the first Wednesday of each month.  Therefore the next scheduled meeting of the Maggie Valley Planning Board will take place on May 5, 2004 at 3:00 p.m.

 

In an effort to maintain a quorum the regularly scheduled planning board meetings will be held on the first Wednesday of each month.

 

MR. PIERCE MADE A MOTION TO MOVE THE MEETING DATE TO THE FIRST WEDNESDAY OF EACH MONTH AT 3:00 P.M.

MR. PINTER SECONDED THE MOTION.

MOTION CARRIED.

 

MR. DEMEOLA MADE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES

OF APRIL 12, 2004 AS CORRECTED.

MR. ZERBOCK SECONDED THE MOTION.

MOTION CARRIED.

 

Zoning of Campbell Creek Area

Mr. Henson reported that he and Mr. Chris Boyd had not had the opportunity to discuss the watershed area within Campbell Creek.

 

The Board will discuss zoning Campbell Creek at the next regularly scheduled meeting.

Update on Strategic Plan Workshop

The Planning Board members briefly discussed the upcoming workshops and the summary report Dr. Cooper will be giving to Town Council.

 

Manager Buffkin will review the document and make notes of any items that are unclear or require further explanation.

 

The Strategic Plan process is on schedule.  The next phase will be the historical portion of the plan.  Chairman Tilley’s only concern was the lack of participation. The Board of Aldermen must support the study or else the plan will be lost.

 

Alderman Taylor asked if the clerk could call the aldermen the day of the meeting as a reminder.

 

Mr. Zerbock suggested sending a letter to everyone attending the first workshop.

 

Alderman Taylor felt that attendance was high at the first workshop because of the recent involuntary annexation.  Alderman Taylor went on to suggest that as many people as possible put the date and time of the meeting on their marquee/sign throughout town.

 

Chairman Tilley will try to get an article in the newspaper inviting people to attend with the dates and times.

 

By-Laws for Planning Board

Mr. Zerbock will review the sample bylaws and make suggestions at the June 2nd meeting.

 

Yard Sales & Outdoor Vendors- Review of Amendments

Council has asked that the Planning Board review the proposed amendments. At the recent Public Hearing to amend the zoning ordinance to include outdoor vending the audience could not separate festivals from outdoor vending.

 

The Planning Board felt the suggested amendments were needed for both safety and appearance.  During the public hearing several people in the audience felt that requiring flame retardant tents would be too restrictive and expensive.

 

Mr. Zerbock added that the people attending the public hearing as well as the aldermen did not realize that the amendment would help protect merchants within the corporate limits and allow them more freedom in outdoor sales.

 

As previously discussed, the Planning Board will begin having informational meetings prior to any public hearings conducted by the Board of Aldermen to make certain the public understands the amendment.

 

The Code Enforcement Officer needs direction, clearly defined, within the zoning ordinance.

 

Because of the tourist season being so close, the amendment needs to be revised and sent back to the aldermen for another public hearing as soon as possible.

 

Mr. Tomlinson spoke from the audience asking why a permit is needed if outdoor sales are allowed.

 

Due to the confusion between outdoor sales and festivals, Mr. Tomlinson suggested simplifying the amendments as much as possible. “A picture is worth a 1000 words. Get a poster board and write out the pros and cons the amendments will have on the merchants.”

 

Mr. Henson had problems during the last Harley Rally with people setting up booths at different stores throughout town; the common factor being “We don’t want to pay the fee to set up inside the festival grounds.” 

 

Food vendors are regulated through the Health Department.

 

Again the members discussed the proposed permitting process.  The Planning Board members will give the permitting procedure more thought.

 

The ADA requirements were not mentioned in the proposed amendments.

 

The following revisions were made to the proposed amendments.

Outdoor Sales:

 

The requirements of this section shall apply to all areas within the Town of Maggie Valley Zoning Jurisdiction. Any permanent business with a current business license issued by the Town of Maggie Valley will be permitted to have outdoor sales or displays only on their property. Permanent licensed businesses may only display and/or sell merchandise offered inside their business. No outside/out of town vendors will be allowed to sale or display merchandise.

 

Businesses having outdoor sales/merchandise areas shall meet the following requirements, to protect the safety and health of their employee's and the public:

 

(1) No fixtures or devices on which outdoor merchandise is displayed shall be attached to the sidewalk, public utilities, or other public areas without the permission of the Town of Maggie Valley. Outdoor merchandise areas shall not be permitted within three (3) feet of the sidewalk or within three (3) feet of a roadway entrance or exit of the subject business.

 

(2) All merchandise located within an outdoor merchandise area shall be placed so that the outdoor merchandise and the fixtures or devices on which the merchandise is displayed are stable and not easily tipped, and shall not be hazardous to the public.

 

(3) All merchandise and the fixtures or devices on which the merchandise is displayed shall be moved inside the building or structure wherein the retail business is located during hours the retail business is not operated.

 

(4) All merchandise and the display tent/structure, fixtures or devices on which the merchandise is displayed must be secured so that it may not be dislodged during windy or stormy weather.

 

(5) In the event of a declared emergency or in a situation where exigent circumstances arise, the business shall remove all articles from the merchandise area when directed to do so by any law or code enforcement officer, fire official or emergency medical personnel.

 

(6) The permit holder for the outdoor merchandise area shall be responsible for the maintenance, upkeep, and security of the display structure, and/or fixtures or devices on which the merchandise is displayed. Any permit holder agrees that the Town of Maggie Valley shall not be responsible for the same, including but not limited to loss of personal/business property, theft, damage, and/or injuries upon their property.

 

(7) The permit holder for the outdoor merchandise area shall be responsible for keeping the outdoor merchandise area clean of garbage, trash, paper, cups, cans, or litter associated with the operation of the outdoor merchandise area.

 

(8) The permit holder for the outdoor merchandise area shall comply with the sign ordinance of the Town of Maggie Valley. All permit holders will be provided a copy of the Sign Ordinance upon request.

 

(9) Outdoor merchandise areas shall not contain dangerous or exotic animals: i.e. snakes, pit bull, rottweiler, or doberman pincher dogs, or any other animal considered by the Code Enforcement Officer to be a danger/nuisance to the public, etc.

 

(10) If any outdoor merchandise is displayed with the use of a tent, said tent shall be a manufactured 'easy-up' style tent which has been safely secured for the welfare and safety of the public, and without use of any cinder/concrete blocks or other potentially dangerous items for support. If any tents are closer than 10 feet from a permanent structure, then in that event, the display tent is required to be made entirely of flame retardant material. One fire extinguisher in good working condition is required to be easily available and within twenty feet of any tents displaying outdoor merchandise.

 

(11) Non-profit organizations may conduct outdoor sales on any property with written consent of the property owner.

(12) Food vendors will be required to meet all health regulations and obtain any and all permits required for the sale of food.

 

(13) Outdoor sales ordinance does not apply to events held on the Festival Grounds, also all promotional events refer to the special events ordinance.

 

The planning board had concerns about merchants putting up banners, outside booths, etc on weekends when the code enforcement office is closed.  Chairman Tilley will speak with Manager Buffkin about Mr. Henson working a few hours on the weekend.

 

Zoning of Danny Blitch Property off Moody Farm Road

Mr. Danny Blitch has requested his property be zoned R3. Mr. Blitch intends to split the property into six lots for single family homes.  The lots would more than meet the R3 standards with the closest zoning districts being C1 and R2.  Mr. Henson gave a positive recommendation to the zoning request.

 

Alderman Taylor spoke from the floor stressing the importance of zoning and the impact that zoning has when someone is selling a business or home.

 

Alderman Taylor owns a home on Teague’s Loop. The area has been zoned Commercial 1 because of road frontage off US-276.  A contract to purchase was secured but when the proposed buyer went for his loan package the appraiser could not do a residential appraisal on a commercially zoned property.  Thus the interest rate and down payment would increase. Alderman Taylor asked that the board members give careful consideration before zoning property because the impact is significant.

 

BASED ON MR. HENSON’S RECOMMENDATION MS. LYONS MADE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE SUBDIVISION PLAT AS SUBMITTED SUBJECT TO THE 25-FEET SETBACK FROM THE TOP OF THE CREEK BANK.

MR. PINTER SECONDED THE MOTION.

MOTION CARRIED.

 

MS. LYONS MADE A MOTION TO ZONE THE DANNY BLITCH PROPERTY R3.

MR. PINTER SECONDED THE MOTION.

MOTION CARRIED.

 

Other Business

The Haywood County Planning Board has resolved that nothing can be done about affordable housing.

 

Mr. Richard Pierce and Joann Lyons’ terms are up in July.  It was the consensus of the planning board members that both should be re-appointed. The planning board members would like to have alternate members the same as the Zoning Board of Adjustment. 

Chairman Tilley will address council at the May 18th meeting requesting the re-appointment of Ms. Lyons and Mr. Pierce, alternate members, and the outdoor sales amendments.

 

There being no further business to discuss, the meeting adjourned at 6:10 p.m.

 

 

 

__________________________________________

          Patricia Tilley, Chairman

 

 

 

 

__________________________________________

              Vickie Best, CMC

        Town Clerk