AGENDA #4i
to: Roger L. Stancil, Town Manager
from: J.B.
Culpepper, Planning Director
Loryn Clark, Housing and Neighborhood Services Manager
subject: Receipt of Glen Lennox Area Neighborhood Petition to Initiate Phase One of the Neighborhood Conservation District Process
date: June 25, 2008
The purpose of this memorandum is to forward to the Town Council a petition that was submitted from the Glen Lennox Area Neighborhood to initiate Phase One of the Neighborhood Conservation District Process. Adoption of the attached resolution would accept the petition and initiate Phase One of the Neighborhood Conservation District Process.
Section 3.6.5 of the Land Use Management Ordinance states that Phase One of the Neighborhood Conservation District Process may be may be initiated “by the Town Council; by property owners representing 51% of the land area within the proposed district, upon submittal and acceptance of a petition by the Town Council; or by 51% of property owners in a proposed district upon submittal and acceptance of a petition by the Town Council.”
On April 28, 2008, the Council adopted a resolution to invite the residents of the Glen Lennox area to demonstrate with a petition that 51% of property owners seek to initiate Phase One of the Neighborhood Conservation District Process for the Glen Lennox Area Neighborhood. The resolution specified that the boundary of the proposed Neighborhood Conservation District would include the area inside Rogerson Road on the east, Cleland Road on the north, Hayes Road on the west, and NC 54 on the south. Please see Attachment 1 for a map of the Glen Lennox area submitted to the Council on April 28th delineating the proposed boundary.
On May 16, 2008, residents representing the Glen Lennox Area Neighborhood submitted a petition to initiate Phase One of the Neighborhood Conservation District Process. We have evaluated the petition and determined that 61% of the owners of property are represented by signature.
Acceptance of the petition by the Council would initiate Phase One of the Neighborhood Conservation District process. As stated in the Land Use Management Ordinance, as part of the initiation, the Planning Board would review the petition, designate a preliminary notification boundary and set a date to hold a Public Information Meeting regarding the proposed Neighborhood Conservation District.
Notification of the Public Information Meeting would be sent to all property owners located within the preliminary boundary and within 500 feet of the boundary. In the case of the Glen Lennox Area Neighborhood, notification would also be sent to residents of the Glen Lennox Apartments.
We are concerned that there may be an expectation associated with this Phase One petition that the Neighborhood Conservation District zoning overlay designation could prevent the redevelopment of the land on which the Glen Lennox apartments are sited. We do not believe that creating a Neighborhood Conservation District for the Glen Lennox Area Neighborhood will meet this expectation.
As a zoning overlay, a Neighborhood Conservation District is part of the Town’s zoning regulations that determine the range of land uses and development intensities permitted on a property. The zoning overlay is effective in enforcing specific dimensional standards for a neighborhood when improvement or building projects require a Zoning Compliance Permit.
However, in the case of a project that may include an application for a Zoning Atlas Amendment and/or Special Use Permit, both the Neighborhood Conservation District zoning overlay and the underlying base zoning are subject to change and revision. We understand the recent Concept Plan review application associated with the land on which the Glen Lennox apartments are sited indicates the intent to request a Zoning Atlas Amendment and a Special Use Permit.
We believe that addressing this expectation during the Public Information Meeting will be important information for the residents of the Glen Lennox Area Neighborhood about what the development of a Neighborhood Conservation District can and cannot accomplish.
We recommend that the Town Council adopt the attached resolution accepting the petition to initiate Phase One of the Neighborhood Conservation District Process for the Glen Lennox Area Neighborhood.
We believe the initiation of Phase One of the Neighborhood Conservation District process will be helpful in providing information about the advantages and disadvantages of a Neighborhood Conservation District, as well as what can be accomplished through the designation.