Council delays vote on rezoning
By Ty Johnson
Published in News on July 10, 2012 1:46 PM
A contentious rezoning request was tabled at Monday's Goldsboro City Council meeting due to the absence of Mayor Al King, who was unable to attend the first meeting of the 2012-13 fiscal year due to a scheduling conflict.
Citizens around the property due to be rezoned had filed a protest petition, which required six out of seven votes in the affirmative for the measure to pass. The developer requested the council defer its action on the item as King's absence would mean the measure would not pass without a unanimous vote of the six remaining council members.
The request is for the property at the northeast corner of the intersection of Berkeley Boulevard and Ridgecrest Drive to be rezoned from office and institutional to neighborhood business conditional district to allow the development of a retail store or a retail store combined with a sit-down restaurant.
Residents from the nearby neighborhood have insisted the rezoning change would have an adverse effect on traffic, which they said was already congested due to other development along the corridor.
The item is expected to be taken care of at the council's next meeting on July 23.
The council's consent agenda included a conditional use permit for the Steven Matthews property on the east side of North Berkeley Boulevard between Graves Drive and East Ash Street which will allow the business there, which formerly operated as Matthews Motors, to operate once again as a used car lot.
Site plans for the Wayne Water District Office on Commercial Drive, Wayne Country Day School on Country Day Road and Strickland Law Firm on William Street were also approved by consent, although Wayne Country Day was ordered to pay the sidewalk fee in lieu with the understanding that money may be allocated for an eventual turn lane into the school.
The conversion of the Center Street electrical facilities, as well as an agreement with NCDOT concerning the city's computerized signal system, were also approved by consent, along with a contract award for the 2012 sanitary sewer rehabilitation project, which went to Missouri-based Insituform Technologies for $842,102.20.
The council also approved the loaning of 11 police officers to the city of Charlotte to increase law enforcement presence at the Democratic National Convention which is scheduled to be held in September.
Charlotte will be liable for any insurance issues on behalf of the officers while they are on duty and it was revealed that the move would not affect the city's patrols back home.
A petition for annexation of the southeast corner of Buck Swamp Road and Huntington Drive was also received and approved, although no action will be taken until after the public hearing on the matter.
During the council's work session, Parks and Recreation Director Scott Barnard discussed the conversion of 14 of the golf course's sand bunkers to grass bunkers, which would save the course in maintenance costs.
City Manager Scott Stevens also asked for the initial approval of the selling of 40 acres of farmland on Arrington Bridge Road near John Street to Goldsboro Farms.
The council also discussed a draft of an ordinance concerning the keeping of chickens within the city limits. The draft would allow for up to 10 chickens to be kept in enclosures in the city, but the council asked for that limit to be decreased to six.
Two citizens spoke out during the public comment period concerning violent crime in the aftermath of a large demonstration at the previous council meeting and a petition was handed in with the signatures of 330 people saying that a 10 p.m. curfew should be imposed within the city.