CITY OF POOLER
PLANNING AND ZONING MINUTES
NOVEMBER 27, 2000

 

The regularly scheduled meeting of the Pooler Planning and Zoning Commission was held on Monday, November 27, 2000 at 6 p.m.   Members present were:  Larry Olliff, Fleta Pepper, Holly Young, Debbie Ryan Watts, Tim Lovezzola, Larry McKendree and Judson Trapnell.   City Planner Tim Inglis, Zoning Administrator Jackie Carver and Councilwoman Billie Tyler were also in attendance.  Chairman Holly Young called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.

The minutes of the previous meeting were approved upon a motion made by Larry Olliff.   Motion was seconded by Judson Trapnell and passed without opposition.   

Public Hearing:

  1. Jesse M. Cosby’s request to rezone 704 West Highway 80 from R–1A, Single Family Residential to C-1, Light Commercial Zoning.  Mr. Cosby stated that he did not have a buyer for his property, but wanted to market his property as commercial.  Lucille Dowd, resident of 409 Purple Finch Drive, presented a petition with at least 100 signatures opposing the rezoning for the following reasons:  decrease in property values, potential for excessive noise, lights, and traffic which may adversely effect the residential neighborhoods.  Mrs. Dowd questioned the visibility of the zoning sign posted on the property once the trees were cut down.  Mr. Cosby had cut some trees last week and had not removed them from the property.  Glenda Champion of 402 Durden Drive felt this rezoning would cause traffic congestion and would be a safety issue because of all the children in the area.  The petition proposed a C-P zoning (Commercial-Professional) as an alternative zoning for this property.  Chairman Young asked Mr. Cosby if he would consider a C-P zoning instead of a C-1 zoning.  Mr. Cosby was not familiar with the C-P zoning and asked for some time to review the list of permitted uses.  Due to lack of visibility of the zoning sign and the request by Mr. Cosby to review the C-P zoning, a motion was made by Larry Olliff to table this item for two weeks.  Motion was seconded by Larry McKendree and passed without opposition.  
  1. Fayrene Sturgis Wilson et al and Lee, West & Walsh LP request to rezone 257.4 acres from R–1A, Single Family Residential to C-2, Heavy Commercial Zoning  Roy Smithberg, agent for the property owners, presented this request for rezoning to the board. He stated the proposed use of the property would be large retail, motel and office buildings. The property is located in the southwest quadrant of Pooler Parkway and I-95 on the northside of the Pipemakers Canal.  Mr. Smithberg presented an access exhibit for the property that showed a 100’ right-of-way through Benton Boulevard, a 60’ right-of-way through Pooler Park of Commerce and 500’ frontage along Pooler Parkway for an additional access if needed. The property is bordered by “The Preserve” Apartment Complex to the northwest, Pooler Park of Commerce on the west and Mill Creek Commercial subdivision to the north.  The petitioner realizes there are some undesirable uses listed in the C-2 zoning, so for the record, Mr. Smithberg stated that the property owners have no intentions of allowing a truck service center nor a mobile home sales on this property. Larry McKendree excused himself from discussion and voting on this item due to a conflict of interest.  Kumar Viswanathan, the owner of “The Preserve” Apartments that are located adjacent to this tract of land stated that he does have some concerns. He doesn’t have a problem with the C-2 zoning, but is concerned with the size of the tract and some of the allowable uses in the C-2 zoning.  He feels truck service centers, mobile home sales, bars, nightclubs and package shops would have a negative impact on “The Preserve” Apartment Community.  Kumar’s other concerns are potential traffic with limited access to the site and adequate buffering for the apartment complex.  Mr. Mike Kistler, an adjacent property owner and developer of the Pooler Park of Commerce, spoke in favor of the rezoning.  He feels the issues of traffic and buffering will be addressed during the development process.  Attorney Rebecca Benton, an adjacent property owner to the south, stated that she supports the rezoning.  Mike Thompson of Merryland Properties would like to have all the issues resolved prior to the rezoning being approved.  Commissioner Debbie Ryan Watts questioned if the owner of the property is willing to provide access to the Benton property on the south of Pipemaker’s Canal.  Mr. Smithberg stated the property owners are willing to work with the City in providing access to the Benton property. Since the petitioner is willing to abide by any changes proposed in the C-2 zoning, a motion was made by Debbie Ryan Watts to recommend approval of the rezoning of the 257.4 acres from R-1A to C-2, a Heavy Commercial Zoning.  Motion was seconded by Timothy Lovezolla and passed without opposition.

New Business:

3.   “The Crossing” Preliminary Construction Plan Review and Approval.   Steve Wohlfeil of HGB&D presented the construction plans to the board for their review and comments.  “The Crossing” is a major subdivision of Godley Station Commercial Parcels 4 & 5 adjacent to the Parkway Loop and Godley Station Boulevard.  The tract contains 21.7 acres subdivided into 16 lots.  Mr. Wohlfeil stated that he is working on comments received from Downer Davis, the City of Pooler’s secondary engineer.  Larry McKendree made a motion to approve “The Crossing” preliminary construction plans contingent upon all of the engineer’s comments being addressed.  Motion was seconded by Larry Olliff and passed without opposition.  

  1. Paul Sumner’s minor subdivision request of Phase 3, Scottsdale Subdivision.  Chairman Holly Young excused herself from any discussion or voting on this item due to a conflict of interest.  Co-Chairman Larry Olliff introduced the item and asked for questions from the board.  The 1.93 acre tract is located at the end of Second Street and is currently subdivided into lots A, B & C.  Mr. Sumner explained subdividing lot D off the rear of lots A, B. & C would allow him to sell lot D to the adjacent property owner for privacy and access to current property if needed.  Commissioner Debbie Ryan Watts questioned if he could build a house on lot C and meet setback requirements.  He assured her he could since he had already discussed this with Building Inspector Tim Inglis. With no public comments, a motion was made by Larry McKendree to approve the minor subdivision of Phase 3, Scottsdale Subdivision.  Motion was seconded by Judson Trapnell and passed with no opposition. 
     
  2. Discussion of permitted usages in a C-2, Heavy Commercial Zoning and C-1, Light Commercial Zoning.  Mayor and Council had asked Planning and Zoning to review the permitted uses in these commercial zonings and recommend certain undesirable uses be moved to conditional uses.  Following some discussion, the following recommendation will be forwarded to Mayor and Council on Monday, December 3rd for their consideration.  Under the C-2 zoning, truck service centers, mobile home sales, bars and nightclubs will be moved to conditional uses.  Restaurant with or without alcohol will be added under permitted uses in the C-2 zoning.  Truck service centers and mobile home sales are to be added as a permitted use in I-1, Light Industrial zoning.   Under the C-1 zoning, service stations, mini-warehouses and new or used auto sales and service will be moved to conditional uses. These three will also be moved to permitted uses in the C-2 zoning.   
       
  3. Discussion of comprehensive rezoning along the Pooler Parkway from U.S.80 to I-16.   The board felt a comprehensive rezoning is not needed at this time.  The board will discuss this issue at a later date as construction of the Pooler Parkway nears completion.
  1. Discussion of a change in the PUD Ordinance that would allow a property owner to add purchased lands to their existing PUD Master Plan.  The Foram Group, Loretta Cockrum has purchased approximately 136 acres from Mack Armstrong on Pine Barren Road and would like to include this tract in her PUD Master Plan.  The board discussed the following:  lands had to be contiguous to the existing PUD boundaries and whether a limit should be placed on the amount of acreage that could be added.  The board agreed that any change would involve an amendment to the PUD master Plan and shall be administered and processed accordingly.     

    There being no further business to come before the board, a motion of adjournment was made by Judson Trapnell and seconded by Fleta Pepper.