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Board of Adjustment

Town of Wake Forest · Board of Adjustment
Thursday, September 21, 2023 at 5:59 pm

Regular meeting Zoning text amendmentFarmland and open spaceLitigation and settlements

Agenda document Full packet Watch Meeting recap

What was decided

  1. Approved 3.AApproval of Minutes Approved 5-0
  2. Continued 4.AConsideration of an Appeal of an Administrative Decision related to the issuance of two Notices of Violation (V-23-91 and V-23-240) at 1149 N Main St Tabled to February 2024, 4-1

Read from the agenda's recorded outcomes. Where the board published minutes, those are the record — this is a pointer to them.

What's on this agenda

Three quasi-judicial matters come before Wake Forest's Board of Adjustment on 21 September 2023. Carried over from an earlier meeting is an appeal against two notices of violation issued over a beekeeping operation on North Main Street, where the town says the use and an accessory structure were never permitted.

The other two both concern The Factory at 1839 S Main Street. One is an appeal of the planning director's ruling that a proposed sign is an awning or canopy sign rather than a wall sign, a distinction that decides how large it may be. The other is a variance request from three sections of the sign ordinance: awning sign area, directional sign height, and the number of monument signs allowed. A variance needs a four-fifths concurring vote.

Summarized from the published agenda. Read the agenda itself before acting on it.

Meeting recap

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

The board overturned the planning director on the sign question, 4-1, finding staff's interpretation was not correct. Staff had told the board plainly what was at stake: a finding against them would apply town-wide, not just to this property. That vote also made the first of the three variance requests moot, since the sign would no longer be measured as an awning sign.

On the remaining two variances the board split the other way. It denied the request to raise directional signs from three feet to four, 4-1, finding the applicant had demonstrated none of the four findings the ordinance requires — no unnecessary hardship, no hardship peculiar to the property, and so no consistency with the ordinance's intent. It approved the monument sign request 4-1. Four people spoke in support during public comment: three tenants of the property, its manager, and a resident.

The beekeeping appeal was tabled to February 2024, 4-1, at the landowners' request while they seek a farm exemption from the county tax office. The planning director said the town did not object provided they honoured the stop-work order and produced no honey on the site, and told the board the first stop-work order had not been observed before a second was posted. The meeting adjourned at 9:15 p.m.

Who spoke

4 members of the public spoke.

  1. A tenant of the property spoke in favour of the new signage.
  2. The property's manager spoke in favour of the new signage.
  3. A second tenant spoke in favour of the new signage.
  4. A resident spoke in favour of the new signage.

All four speakers supported the sign variance. Earlier in the meeting a resident spoke on the wall sign appeal and the town attorney asked that the comment be disregarded as not going to the facts of the case.

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

Speaking at this meeting

Town of Wake Forest's own rules for public comment — check them before you rely on anything here.

Agenda items (9)

Procedural · 3Public hearing · 3Minutes approval · 1Staff or committee report · 1Discussion item · 1
  1. 1 Call to Order
    Procedural
    The chair opened the meeting at 6:00 p.m. and a quorum was established.
  2. 2 Adoption of Agenda
    Procedural
    The board adopted its agenda.
    Adopted 5-0
  3. 3.A Approval of Minutes
    Minutes approval
    Minutes from the 20 July meeting came up for approval.
    Approved 5-0
  4. 4.A Consideration of an Appeal of an Administrative Decision related to the issuance of two Notices of Violation (V-23-91 and V-23-240) at 1149 N Main St
    Public hearing Farmland and open spaceLitigation and settlements
    An appeal against two notices of violation over a beekeeping operation the town says was never permitted, along with an unpermitted accessory structure. The landowners asked the board to hold the case while they pursue a farm exemption from the county tax office, which is processed once a year. The planning director said the town did not object so long as the stop-work order was honoured and no honey was produced on the site, and that the first stop-work order had not been observed.
    Tabled to February 2024, 4-1
  5. 5.A Consideration of an Appeal of an Administrative Decision related to the issuance of the Planning Director's June 30, 2023 wall sign interpretation for the property located at 1839 S Main St.
    Public hearing Zoning text amendment
    An appeal by The Macsydney Company II, LLC and Physlesther II, LLC against the planning director's ruling that a proposed sign at The Factory is an awning or canopy sign rather than a wall sign. The ordinance allows the two types different sizes. Staff told the board that a finding against their interpretation would apply town-wide.
    Staff interpretation found not correct, 4-1
    • 1839 S Main St · The Factory Property LLC · 19 acres · assessed $20,447,826
    • 1839 S Main St · The Factory Property LLC · 19 acres · assessed $20,447,826
  6. 5.B Consideration of a Variance for several sections in UDO Chapter 11-Signs for the property located at 1839 S Main St.
    Public hearing Zoning text amendment
    Three variance requests from the sign ordinance for the same property: awning sign area above the 50 percent limit, directional signs at four feet rather than three, and more monument signs than one per street frontage. The first became moot once the board overturned the wall sign interpretation.
    Directional sign height denied 4-1; monument sign request approved 4-1
    • 1839 S Main St · The Factory Property LLC · 19 acres · assessed $20,447,826
    • 1839 S Main St · The Factory Property LLC · 19 acres · assessed $20,447,826
  7. 6 Staff Comments
    Staff or committee report
    No comments.
  8. 7 Board of Adjustment Comments
    Discussion item
    No comments.
  9. 8 Adjournment
    Procedural
    The board adjourned at 9:15 p.m.

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