Planning Board has to delay effort to rename road
By Steve Herring
Published in News on March 9, 2011 1:46 PM
A deadline requirement in the county's secondary road naming ordinance has, at least for the time being, halted efforts to have a northern Wayne County road renamed.
It could get back on track, however, if county commissioners agree to amend the ordinance by removing the deadline.
The county had been asked to rename Harper-Ham Road located off of U.S. 13 North near the Greene County line to Dyke Smith Road -- the road's Greene County name.
However, the county ordinance provides that road name changes be made once a year in March. There is not enough time to follow the process to change the name before the deadline expires.
The Planning Board Tuesday night tabled the request and agreed to ask commissioners to remove the March deadline. The proposal could be discussed by commissioners when they meet next Tuesday.
Commissioners would first have to hold a public hearing before amending the ordinance.
In other business Tuesday, the Planning Board approved three final minor subdivision plats:
* Wesley T. Thornton, owner/developer, two lots on U.S. 13 South in Grantham Township
* Jason T. Mitchell, owner/developer, two lots on Stevens Mills Road in Grantham Township
* John M. Bulla, owner/developer, two lots on Hooks Road in Great Swamp Township.
The board tabled a property line setback variance request by David Harper for his lot in the Chestnut Manor subdivision near Eastern Wayne High School.
A setback requirement means that structures must be a certain distance from the property line.
Harper asked for the variance to add a garage at his home. The variance is needed because of setback requirements in the subdivision and county zoning in that area.
The county can grant variances for those two requirements. However, the plat for the subdivision has a third setback requirement. Once recorded, the plats cannot be changed without the approval of all of the property owners in the subdivision, said County Planner Connie Price.
Price said he planned to talk with Harper and that the request could be back on the Planning Board's agenda for April.