Planning Commission tables Busco Beach discussion
By Matt Caulder
Published in News on August 4, 2013 1:50 AM
At the request of a lawyer representing Busco Beach and ATV Park, the Goldsboro Planning Commission voted unanimously Monday night to defer discussion and a recommendation on the request to re-zone almost 680 acres of land owned or controlled as part of the Busco Beach property.
The request came so that Glen Barfield and his client, Smart Investors, LLC, would have more time to prepare for the discussion, which will decide what restrictions, if any, the city will place on the properties being re-zoned.
Guthrie said that he had discussed the concerns of nearby residents with Busco Beach management and that those concerns would be part of the discussions going forward.
The commission is expected to make a recommendation at its Aug. 26 meeting to send to the City Council.
In other business, the Planning Commission voted not to recommend the approval of a conditional use permit for a boarding house operating in the 1600 block of East Edgerton Street at its meeting Monday night.
The commission cited the dwelling not being up to city code as the reason for not recommending approval for the permit.
Five of the six sleeping quarters in the house do not meet the minimum boarding house standard of 200 square-feet per bedroom.
The owners of the house also were seeking allowances to reduce the required six paved parking spaces for the six bedrooms to none and allow the occupants to continue parking in the dirt front yard area.
The dwelling's owner, Donna Gainey, said she and her family were seeking the permit to allow the three people already living in the house to stay there. Mrs. Gainey and her husband took over the boarding house earlier this year after they discovered their renter was running it as such.
A public hearing was held last month to hear proponents for and against the approval.
Lee Davis, a resident of Jefferson Avenue at the end of the block near the boarding house, spoke against approval, citing past incidents that he felt spoke to the type of people that had stayed in the house in the past. He noted the area is close to several schools and the Boys and Girls Club on Royall Avenue.
"We need to turn this area into a school zone, not a war zone," he said, adding that he heard what he believed were gun shots from the house, although he said he was told the sounds were fireworks.
"I was in law enforcement for years, I know the difference between a gunshot and fireworks," Davis said.
The owners rebutted, saying that they did not have questionable tenants anymore, but were hoping to allow the others to stay.
"We didn't have the heart to throw these people out," Mrs. Gainey said.
The Commission also recommended approval for Sugar Rush bakery's request to lease required parking spaces from Morgan's Bar on Ash Street for one year in order to build up capital to pave the required spaces in front of their business. Sugar Rush will be in Ivy Court off Ash Street.
Goldsboro Planning Director Randy Guthrie said that the hours of the bar and bakery would not overlap much, making it an ideal compromise to help a small business.