CITY OF POOLER

CITY OF POOLER

PLANNING AND ZONING MINUTES

APRIL 13, 1998

The regularly scheduled meeting of the Pooler Planning and Zoning Commission was held on

Monday. April 13.1998 at Pooler City Hall. Members present were: Joe Harmon, Holly

Young, Fleta Pepper. Don Taylor, Gay Tucciarone and Robert Drewry. Jackie Carver, Zoning

Administrator was also present. Chairman Robert Drewry called the meeting to order at 6 p.m.

1. Sandra Sowell's request to subdivide a 3 acre tract on Old Louisville Road into two lots:

Mrs. Carver explained Mr. & Mrs. Sowell want to subdivide the 3 acre tract to build a home on lot 3-B. Mr. & Mrs. Sowell were present to answer any questions. The board discussed the following items that needed to be added to the minor subdivision plat: owner signature block for easement dedication, power line easements and note about water well agreement. Don Taylor made a motion to deny this request to give the applicant time to address the above comments. Motion was seconded by Fleta Pepper and passed without opposition.

2. Marvin Strickland's request for a recombination of two lots he owns at the corner of eastbound U.S. 80 Skinner Avenue and westbound U.S.80. Mrs. Carver stated Mr. Marvin Strickland owns a .23 acre lot on the comer of westbound U.S.80 and Skinner Avenue. Mr. Strickland has recently purchased a .27 acre lot from Norfolk Southern on the eastbound corner of U.S.80 and Skinner Avenue. Mr. Strickland plans to develop this comer lot once the recombination plat is approved and recorded. Don Taylor asked Mr. Strickland about any utility or drainage easements on the lot. Mr. Strickland assured the board that he will dedicate the necessary easements once development plans are finalized. In reference to the power line, Mr. Strickland stated SEPCO has agreed to relocate this line to the rear of the lot. A motion was made by Holly Young and seconded by Don Taylor. Motion passed without opposition.

3. Public Hearing on Proposed Zoning Text Amendments. The Planning and Zoning Commission has been working on a list of changes in the zoning ordinance pertaining to building setbacks, office trailers and conditional use requirements. This item was tabled from the last meeting to give the public more time to review these proposed zoning text amendments. Rick White questioned the change proposed in Section 4-(B)(2) . This section deals with site plan criteria required for a conditional use submittal. This change would eliminate the developer from the expense of a complete set of engineering drawings prior to obtaining a conditional use approval. The board feels a preliminary site plan which includes items, 1,2,3 and 6 of Sec4 (C) would furnish adequate information needed to make a conditional use determination. Mr. white also questioned the deletion of Section 8(B) which states 'Because Conditional Uses and Variances require approved site plans, site plan approval is the first step in the permitting process." After some discussion about Mr. White '5 comments, Chairman Drewry closed the public hearing. The board decided not to make any changes in the proposed text amendments. A motion was made by Joe Harmon to make a recommendation to Mayor and Council to approve the proposed zoning text amendments. Motion was seconded by Fleta Pepper and passed without opposition.

4. Public Hearing to discuss proposed changes in the subdivision ordinance.

Chairman Drewry presented a draft of the proposed changes in the subdivision ordinance. The board worked hard with the valuable assistance of Dave Rutherford of Coastal Georgia RDC to draft these proposed changes. Chairman Drewry opened the public hearing to comments from the board members. Holly Young questioned Sec 703.03 (b) whether an irrevocable letter of credit will be acceptable by the city to meet final plat requirements. Dave Rutherford stated he had discussed this with the City Attorney Wiley Ellis and Mr. Ellis has no problem with leaving irrevocable letter of credit in the subdivision ordinance.

Chairman Drewry stated he has some problems with the lot sizes as drafted in the proposed subdivision ordinance. He thinks we will have identical type subdivisions, just on larger lots with no open space requirement on lots larger than 2,000 sq. ft. He is worried all subdivisions will have 12.001 sq. ft. lots. With no deductions in open space, He feels we are discouraging residential development. Chairman Drewry is in favor of good development but unsure we are headed in that direction.. Don Taylor agreed with Chairman Drewry about smaller lots as long as proper open space areas are designed in the subdivision. Fleta Pepper would like to see a mixture of small and large lots with more amenities. Gay Tucciarone stated the board has an obligation to represent all of Pooler and not base their decision on personal opinion. In reference to smaller lots, Mrs. Tucciarone would like to see the city ease into these new growth patterns. Holly Young stated development is coming our way and there's definitely a market for larger lots in the City of Pooler. Mrs. Young recommended extending the open space requirement to lots larger than 12,000 sq.ft.lots.

Chairman Drewry opened the meeting for public input on the proposed subdivision ordinance. Fred Williams stated builders will go elsewhere because the proposed subdivision regulations would create a hardship for developers. The type of soil in Pooler and the proposed minimum lot sizes with no open space deductions would hinder residential growth. Rebecca Benton concurred with Mr. Fred Williams about the proposed subdivision ordinance. Miss. Benton asked the board for clarification on street-right-of-way as mentioned on p.1318. The board explained the building line setback requirement is measured from the street right-of-way. Miss Benton also pointed out on p.1325 where “the Planning Commission" should be deleted.

The board asked Dave Rutherford of Coastal Georgia RDC for his comments and recommendation. Mr. Rutherford suggested the City of Pooler create a unified development code. He expressed concerns about the open space percentages required in the proposed subdivision allowing no deductions for wetlands, etc.

Chairman Drewry closed the public hearing and asked the board members for further comments and a motion. After more discussion among the board members, a motion to recommend approval of the proposed subdivision ordinance as submitted was made by Holly Young. The motion died for lack of second. Don Taylor made a new motion to make the following changes in the proposed subdivision ordinance: Delete the 12.000 sq. ft. lots, change open space on 10,500 sq. ft. lots to 10%, Change open space on 9.000 sq.ft.lots to 15%, add 8.000 sq. It. lots with 20% open space and 75'lot widths. Mr. Taylor also included in his motion that a developer must submit a sketch plan for approval of open space locations in all subdivision and wetlands would be