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What began last Thursday (March 7) as a request for clarification of an appointed board's duties ended with a suggestion that Sylva's almost 4-year-old zoning ordinance be "revisited."
Board member Eldridge Painter made the statement after Town Manager Richard McHargue asked town board members to better define what was expected of Sylva's zoning board with regard to the Darla Mathews property on Fortune Lane.
According to state statutes, a planning board can be appointed to draw up a zoning ordinance, McHargue said, and case law has determined that such a board can continue to serve as an advisory body.
"I don't think we need to change their role - I think that's what they've been doing," said board member Maurice Moody.
Town officials tabled Mathews's rezoning request last month pending a recommendation from the planning board. However, planners are not certain whether they are expected to look only at the Ridgeway/Cowan street area where Mathews's property is located or whether town leaders are asking them to study the entire town, McHargue said.
"I think the benefit of a volunteer board like that is to gain their expertise and experience," said Moody. "I don't think we need to put blinders on them."
"Several people think the zoning was done haphazardly in the beginning," Painter said. "I'd like to see the whole issue revisited. There are good people on that board, and I hate to throw a burden like that on them, but a lot of these areas need to be revisited."
Sylva's comprehensive zoning ordinance was enacted in May 1998 after almost two years of board debate and public hearings on its components.
If further discussion of the planning board's role is needed, Moody said, a work session should be scheduled for that purpose. Moody preferred to delay discussion, he said, because Mayor Brenda Oliver and Vice Mayor Audrey Tritt were absent.
Board member Eldon Cabe presided in the absence of the mayor and vice mayor.
In other business March 7:
- Local developer Wayne Smith again expressed his concern for the safety of children exiting school buses at the intersection of Main and Bridge streets and asked what progress had been made since he alerted the board to the situation.
Several possible improvements have been suggested for that area and will be considered as part of the budget planning process, McHargue said. Some options under consideration are curb cuts, signs on the building or a sidewalk next to the building.
The source of the problem, Smith said, is the location of the Merita Bread store, owned by James Messer and Larry Parris. That building intrudes on the Bridge Street right of way, Smith said.
A permit for that building was issued after approval by the town's planning board, said town clerk Tommy Thompson, and construction began in late 1997. Town officials enacted a moratorium on building permits in September 1996 that specified all building permits be approved by the planning board while the town completed its zoning ordinance.
Smith presented a copy of a document from the Jackson County Building Inspections Office that seemed to indicate that a certificate of occupancy was never issued for the Merita store.
County building inspector John Wittekind could not be reached for comment.
Smith asked town officials why they allowed the Merita store to be occupied without a certificate of occupancy when they had warned him about renting trailers before a CO was issued.
Parris and Messer, who also own P&M Automotive, said the Merita store is not in the Bridge Street right of way.
"The Merita store is definitely not in the right of way," Messer said. "I know because I paid to have it surveyed."
Parris said all required inspections and permits were completed on the Merita building.
- Board members approved a change in the way items are placed on the meeting agenda. The agenda will be finalized at noon on the Friday before each first Thursday night meeting, McHargue said, and packets will be mailed to board members on Friday afternoons; subsequent additions to the agenda will require unanimous board approval.
The new format is similar to the way agendas are set for county commissioners meetings, McHargue said.
- Metrostat Technologies owner John Kevlin spoke briefly about his February request for a franchise agreement that would allow him to construct a metropolitan area network to provide high-speed Internet access within the city limits.
A public hearing on the matter, originally slated for last week, was postponed in order to allow time to seek advice from a consultant who specializes in franchise agreements, McHargue said.
- Board members approved changing the town's bank services to First Charter subject to attorney approval of the contract. The town sought bids from local banks, and First Charter's proposal, which includes free checks, no service charge and a free safety deposit box, was the most advantageous to the town, McHargue said.
- Board members tabled action on a request from Swain County's commissioners that Sylva lend its support to Swain's effort to persuade the federal government to construct the North Shore Road, which was promised when construction of Fontana Dam flooded an existing road.
- Board members approved a contract with local accounting firm Crisp Hughes and Evans to conduct required financial audits.
- Board members reappointed Wendy Cagle as a town representative on the Economic Development Commission of Jackson County.
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