ASHEBORO — The Asheboro City Council met Thursday, June 8, with multiple legislative hearings regarding land use as well as multiple change orders on existing capital projects.
The council began the meeting with four legislative hearings on the agenda.
The first hearing was for a request to amend Chapter 5 – Use Regulations and Chapter 10 – Watershed Protection Regulations of the Asheboro Zoning Ordinance to allow residential developments to request a Special Intensity Allocation within the Watershed Balance Area.
“This is a request to amend the city’s code of ordinances, specifically the ones including the watershed protection ordinance, to allow residential projects to request what’s known as a special intensity allocation just as non-residential projects are authorized within the balance of the city’s watershed area,” said Community Development Director Trevor Nuttall. “So, we are only talking about development regulations pertaining to the watershed portions of the city’s jurisdictions. What’s requested here this evening, in essence, is allowing a property owner seeking a residential project to request the same permission on a project basis that a non-residential project can request.
“The zoning ordinance adopted watershed protection standards to protect the city’s reservoirs under a state directive in the early ‘90s. Each watershed across the state contains both a critical area and a non-critical, or balance area, around the reservoirs. The purpose of those areas is to have a heightened level of development standards to ensure the protection of water quality.”
Following the hearing, the council approved the request.
The second hearing was for a request to establish initial city zoning on properties located at the intersection of Old Cox Road and Old Humble Mill Road and on the west side of Old Cox Road from Randolph County zoning to R15 (CZ) to allow a residential planned unit development with up to 413 lots and with commercial uses authorized.
However, after over three hours of public comment, the council voted to continue the hearing to next month’s meeting due to the magnitude of the project and its potential impact and in order to have more time to consider and potentially address some of the concerns brought forth before the council, including environmental, traffic and noise concerns.
The third hearing was for a request to rezone 13.4 acres of property located south of 1195 Pineview Road from B2 (CZ) to R10 (CZ) for a 44-unit residential planned unit development, including a special intensity allocation within the Back Creek Watershed.
Following the hearing, the council approved the request.
The fourth hearing was for a request to rezone property located at 379-1 and 379-2 South Cox Street from OA6 to OA6 (CZ) for a congregate living facility for more than six residents, but it was continued to next month’s meeting.
The council then approved the final master plan for the David and Pauline Jarrell Center City Garden.
“The plan has been revised to collect strong community support to preserve the former dwelling on the property,” Nuttall said. “We talked about the assessment we had done for that structure and what it would take to convert it into a visitor center for the garden. That has been incorporated into the plan.”
The council also approved the setting of two public hearings at next month’s meeting for the purpose of reviewing annexation petitions, one requesting the contiguous annexation of four parcels of land located across from the intersection of New Century Drive and Veterans Loop Road and the other requesting the contiguous annexation of two parcels of land near the intersection of Patton Avenue and NC Highway 42.
The council also approved change order number 8 for $1,457,157.04 with Terry’s Plumbing and Utilities for additional construction items for the Zoo City Sportsplex.
“Some of the work that is included in this change order includes the addition of police and fire UTV storage building to the existing maintenance building, the installation of all sidewalks in Phase 2 along with the stone installation for the parking lots and the paving of the parking lots and the main drive as well the installation of walking trails in Phase 2,” said City Engineer Michael Leonard.
Finally, the council also approved change order number 1 for $681,970 with Rodgers for additional construction items McCrary Ballpark, including the installation of the tot lot retaining wall.
The Asheboro City Council will next meet July 13.
