Planning Board and Board of Commissioners Joint Meeting

Meeting recap

What happened, drawn from the records published after the meeting. Minutes

The Planning Board and Board of Commissioners added a closed session to consult with the town attorney, then opened a joint public hearing on three items. For 202 Holiday Park Road, managing member Gregg Pacchiana of owner Home Hillsborough LLC said the rezoning from General Commercial to Neighborhood Business would let the LLC lease the warehouse to a church after its current tenant, a wine wholesaler, leaves; staff had already turned down a text amendment that would have let churches locate in General Commercial land generally. No one signed up to speak against it, and after the commissioners left, the Planning Board voted 7-0 to recommend approval to the Board of Commissioners.

The board took no recommendation on the other two items. Five residents, including Corbinton Commons Homeowners' Association representative Lynn Parker and retired civil engineer Don Bryson, raised concerns at the hearing on the 715 US Hwy 70 East rezoning and development agreement over trail connectivity, a shared pedestrian bridge, traffic and private-road maintenance; the Planning Board said it would keep discussing the 67-unit townhome proposal at its March meeting rather than vote. On the Historic District Commission quorum text amendment, members pushed staff to align the language more closely with state statute and consider replacing two vacant seats with alternate positions; staff agreed to revise the amendment and bring it back for a new public hearing in May.

How the votes went

The Planning Board recommended approval of the 202 Holiday Park Road rezoning to the Board of Commissioners, 7-0, once only Planning Board members remained to vote. It made no recommendation on the 715 US Hwy 70 East rezoning and development agreement, continuing that item to its March meeting, and made no recommendation on the Historic District Commission text amendment, sending it back to staff for revision and a new hearing in May. Procedural votes to amend the agenda, open the hearing and close the hearing all passed 10-0 with the full joint board present.

From the published minutes.

Who spoke

5 members of the public spoke.

1. Lynn Parker, representing the Corbinton Commons Homeowners' Association, objected to trail connections between the two developments given the age difference in residents, questioned repairing rather than replacing the shared pedestrian bridge, and asked that the new development share the association's $10,000 annual downtown-access easement payment.
2. Andrea Shapiro, whose property on Saint Mary's Road adjoins the site, disputed staff's comparison of the multifamily plan to the original assisted-living plan, citing traffic from about 100 added cars, and asked about landscaping buffers and space for children to play.
3. Lee Gordon raised concerns about lighting, the 50-foot buffer, traffic on US 70, and whether the town has enough water and sewer capacity for the project.
4. Don Bryson, a retired civil engineer and Corbinton Commons resident, said several piers of the shared pedestrian bridge sit in the creek and have been undermined by flooding, and asked for a clear maintenance agreement since the bridge crosses the property line.
5. Michael Trivette asked how pump station upgrades would be funded and what standards would apply to the development's private roads, citing Corbinton Commons' history of road problems.

Five people spoke, all on the 715 US Hwy 70 East rezoning and development agreement; no one signed up to speak on the 202 Holiday Park Road rezoning.

Read from the records the government published after the meeting. Members of the public are private residents and are not named or indexed.