Lewisburg Planning Commission

Lewisburg Planning Commission

Meeting Minutes

April 4, 2013

Page 1

The City of Lewisburg

Planning Commission

Meeting Minutes

April 4, 2013

Paul R. Cooley Council Chambers

The City of Lewisburg Planning Commission met in regular session on Thursday, April 4, 2013 at 7:00 p.m. in the Paul R. Cooley Council Chambers located at 942 Washington Street West, Lewisburg, WV.

PRESENT: President Mark Etten,Commission members, John Manchester, Mike Dotson, Amy Dawson, Jeff Vickers; Zoning Officer Ken Tubbs; City Recorder Shannon Beatty.

ABSENT: Commission members:Michael Adelman Greg Allman, Jim SimpsonFlorian Schleiff

VISITORS: Wes Sheridan, Robert Richardson, Criss Haynes, Ronald & Dianna Barnette, Tony Hinkle, Brenda Boone, Doug Forni from Thrasher Engineering and Jay Bennett.

CALL TO ORDER: President Mark Etten called the meeting to order at 7:10 p.m.

Barnette Development, LLC/ Preliminary Plat

Ken Tubbs stated that a preliminary plat was required for the Barnette property behind Lowe’s on the approximately 17 acre tract of land. He stated the Preliminary Plat shows a road extending from the West Virginia Department of Highways Cut Through Road (from Route 219 to Fairview Road) and tying into the existing road on Carpenter Drive. He stated the Preliminary plat indicates that the retention pond (located on the upper right hand corner beside the Cut Through Road),which was constructed when the Lewisburg Baptist Church was built, will be utilized in this plan. He also stated the developer will build sidewalks from the Cut Through Road to the building site. He indicated that the Stormwater Drainage plan was not submitted in time for the City’s engineering firm to review. Tubbs stated the Preliminary Plat meets the requirements of the Subdivision Regulations.

Commission member Vickers stated that any Planning Commission approval should be contingent upon approval of the storm water calculations from the City’s engineering firm, Stafford Consultants.

Planning Commission President Mark Etten called a public hearing to order at 7:21 p.m. on the matter of the Preliminary Plat for Barnette Development, LLC, Greenbrier County Route 219/74 Tax map 12 Parcel P/O par 1.

He asked if there was any comment from the public. Robert Richardson representing Fairfield, LLC and Sharon Hayes stated his clients had concerns regarding the drainage and screening. He stated the Hayes property was the lowest point in the area. He says they feel that any new additional fill material on the site may change the flow on the property which could cause water to flow toward the Hayes property. He stated that Sharon Hayes would like to have her engineers take a look at the drainage plan. He said she was also concerned about screening her residential property from Barnette’s commercial development. He stated that only a small portion of land is adjacent to the Hayes property on which to place landscape screening because the Hayes property just misses being considered an adjoining lot. He stated his client also feels that where it does adjoin is a low area and that if the landscape screening is located there, it will not provide enough screening because of the actual difference in grade.

Applicant Diana Barnette stated she intends to plant additional trees following the lead of Zoning Officer, Ken Tubbs. She stated she will do exactly what the City instructs her to do. She said she feels that Richardson’s concerns will be addressed in the Site Plan Review and after the City receives Stafford Engineering’s report on the storm water drainage.

Doug Forni with Thrasher Engineering, who prepared the storm water drainage report for Barnette, stated that his plan collects the storm water along the roadway moves it toward the retention pond. He stated the storm water plan ensures the watershed of the Hayes property is smaller post development than it was pre development because the direction of the flow has been changed and reduced. He noted that a super silt fence would be utilized during construction.

Criss Haynes, Chairman of the Lewisburg Stormwater Committee, distributed a summary of remarks he made at the March 7, 2013 Planning Commission meeting regarding the impact of storm water regarding the proposed Barnette Development:

“Dear John,

This letter is to follow up on the comments I made at the last Lewisburg Planning Commission meeting on March 7, 2013. At that time, I expressed concerns about the storm water impact of the proposed large-scale development located behind the Gateway Commons and Lowe’s Shopping Centers. Here is a summary of those comments:

• Development of a 10 to 15 acre complex including a movie theatre will add acres of impervious surfaces such as pavement, sidewalks and roofs. Runoff from these surfaces will occur immediately and over 90% of the rainfall striking the surfaces will contribute to runoff.
• Our Storm water ordinance addresses this problem by requiring the development of a comprehensive drainage plan including investigation of geology, the need for easements, storm water routing, and numerical analysis of system performance during 2, 10 and 100 year storms.
• Where does the water go? In our area, with its Karst geology, there are not surface streams. On natural undeveloped land, storm water flows to sink holes and seeps underground to solution cavities in the limestone below.
• Development of commercial sites in Lewisburg requires the use of improved sinkholes or other types of injection wells to route water from the surface to natural cavities in the limestone.
• Finding suitable candidates for injection wells is a trial and error process. There is no guarantee that an injection well with adequate capacity can be developed at a given site.
• Core borings and excavation work to find injection wells must be completed very early in the project planning process. The hydraulic flow capacity of a proposed well must also be verified.
• Once injection wells have been found and verified to be adequate, the drainage plan for the site can be designed. The location and capacity of the injection wells influence nearly all other elements of the site plan.

In the last few years projects submitted to the Planning Commission have been in the one acre to three acre size range. This project, because of its much greater size and resulting runoff volume, requires careful attention to the provisions of our storm water ordinance. This is especially true inthe fundamental area of injection well development, particularly since nearby existing injection wells have been shown low discharge capacity.

Sincerely,

Criss Haynes”

Planning Commission President Mark Etten asked Criss Haynes, if the City Stormwater regulations covered the pure velocity of water. Haynes answered no.

Haynes also noted that the retention ponds in the area have been slow to discharge. They work but they will need more storage capacity he said. He indicated the retention pond to the rear was slow. Mayor Manchester stated that Barnett’s Stormwater plan has divided the runoff into segments looking at the entire site not just the site of the proposed theatre.

Planning Commission President Etten closed the public hearing at 8:07 p.m.

Regarding a need for landscape screening, Manchester asked Barnette if it was her intent to put a big sign on top of the building. Barnette answered the sign would be placed above the door and not on top of the building.

Commission member Vickers made a motion to approve the Preliminary Plat for Barnette Development, LLC; Greenbrier County Route 219/74 Tax Map 12 Parcel P/O par 1 subject to the review and approval of the storm water calculations by the City’s engineering firm, Stafford Consultants and any recommendations the engineers may make and that screening be provided along the new road up to station 19 plus an additional 50’. Commission member Dawson seconded the motion. With five (5) in favor, four (4) absent (Adelman, Allman, Schlieff and Simpson) the motion carried.

Barnette Development, LLC/ Final Plat

Zoning Officer Ken Tubbs stated Barnette Development, LLC was seeking approval of a final plat for the parcel which will contain the proposed movie theatre. He noted that if the Planning Commission approves the final plat it will be placed on the April City Council agenda for consideration. If Council approves the final plat, it can then be recorded at the Greenbrier County Courthouse as a platted parcel. Mayor Manchester asked Tubbs if the final plat met all the requirements as set forth in the Codied Ordinances of the City of Lewisburg. Tubbs answered yes.

Planning Commission President Etten called a public hearing to order at 8:41 p.m. on the matter of the Final Plat for Barnette Development, LLC, Greenbrier County Route 219/74 Tax map 12 Parcel P/O par 1. Hearing no comments from the public he closed the hearing at 8:42 p.m.

Commission member Manchester made a motion to approve the final plat for Barnette Development, LLC; Greenbrier County Route 219/74 Tax Map 12 Parcel P/O par 1 conditional on approval of the Preliminary Plat by City Council. Commission member Vickers seconded the motion. With five (5) in favor, four (4) absent (Adelman, Allman, Schlieff and Simpson) the motion carried.

Site Plan Review Barnette Development, LLC

Commission member Manchester made a motion to table the Site Plan for Barnette Development of the lot for a proposed theatre, 3.26 acres, Greenbrier County Tax Map 12 P/O par 1, Deed Book 551 Page 400. Commission member Vickers seconded the motion. With five (5) in favor, four (4) absent (Adelman, Allman, Schlieff and Simpson) the motion carried.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES:

March 7, 2013

Commission member Manchester made a motion to table approval of the March 7, 2013 minutes as presented. Commission member Vickers seconded the motion. With five (5) in favor, four (4) absent (Adelman, Allman, Schlieff and Simpson) the motion carried.

COMMUNICATIONS FROM MEMBERS:

President Etten stated that the next meeting would be held on May 2, 2013 with a deadline of April 12, 2013. He also noted that Zoning Officer Ken Tubbs is retiring on May 8, 2013. Mayor Manchester thanked Ken for his years of service and attention to detail. He introduced Tony Hinkle who will be serving as the Zoning Officer and Building Inspector. He noted that Tony had been acting as the backup Building Inspector for about six months.

ADJOURNMENT:

Commission member Manchester made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:55 p.m. . .Commission member Vickers seconded the motion. With five (5) in favor, four (4) absent (Adelman, Allman, Schlieff and Simpson) the motion carried.