Wayne County Planning Board holds rare special meeting
By Steve Herring
Published in News on March 24, 2010 1:50 PM
Meeting in a rare special session, the Wayne County Planning Board Friday afternoon took less than 15 minutes to handle its one-item agenda -- a two-lot family subdivision plat final.
The board agreed to recommend that county commissioners approve the plat for property on True Vine Road just off U.S. 13, north of Goldsboro when they meet on April 6.
The recommendation also including allowing a variance on the width of the road frontage and suggests a way that the driveway for the property might be aligned.
The plat for Steven and Robin T. Lancaster was on the Planning Board's March 9 agenda. However, that meeting was canceled because the board lacked enough members to have the quorum required in order to have a meeting. The next Planning Board meeting is not until April 13.
Members Chris Cox and Steve Keen were unable to attend Friday's meeting that was held in the third floor conference room at the Jeffreys Building on North John Street.
The Lancasters were trying to get the first-time homebuyer's tax credit and the subdivision map has be recorded so they can get a deed in their name, County Planner Connie Price said.
The property is being divided between the Lancasters' two daughters.
The special session was held in order to get the request before commissioners' in early April so that the Lancasters could meet the deadline to earn that tax credit.
Along with asking for plat approval, the family asked for a variance on the county requirement of 100-foot wide frontage on secondary roads.
The reasoning for the 100-foot requirement is to eliminate having so many driveways close together on a stretch of road, Price said.
Price said the frontage for the two lots was 95 feet each.
Board Chairman Jo Ann Summerlin asked Price if the state Department of Transportation would have a problem with the reduced frontage.
"No. They might if it got smaller," he said.
Board member David Quick suggested a shared driveway.
Bobby Rex Kornegay, the surveyor for the project, asked if that was a decision best left to the DOT.
Price said that the DOT probably would prefer the shared driveway. Kornegay suggested approving the variance by adding that stipulation to allow time to check with DOT to see what it preferred.
Price agreed.
The plat and variance were approved by a 4-0 vote and the brief meeting was adjourned.
The Lancaster family thanked the Planning Board for holding the special session.