Holly Springs Town Council Minutes

 

Special Meeting – Comprehensive Plan

Sept. 20, 2007

 

The Holly Springs Town Council met in a duly-called special session on Thursday, Sept. 20, 2007, in the Bass Lake Retreat Center, 980 Bass Lake Road.  The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the draft 10-Year Comprehensive Plan.  Mayor Dick Sears presided, calling the meeting to order at 5:45 p.m.  A quorum was established as the mayor and three council members were present as the meeting opened. 

 

Council Members Present:  Councilmen Vinnie DeBenedetto, Parrish Womble (arrived at 6:50 p.m.), Hank Dickson and Chet VanFossen and Mayor Sears.

 

Council Members Absent:  Councilman Peter Atwell arrived later in the meeting.

 

Others Present:  Planning Board members and members of the Comprehensive Plan steering committee:  Joe Signoretti, Joe Fanjoy, Jimmy Cobb, Rob Goldfinger, Brenda Compton, Bill Shankle, Ken Jarvis, George Sharpe and Tim Sack.

 

Staff Members Present: Carl Dean, town manager; Charles Simmons, assistant town manager; John Schifano, town attorney; Joni Powell, town clerk (recording the minutes); Gina Clapp, director of planning and zoning; Jeff Jones, Planner II; Mark Zawadski, Planner I; Alison Huffman, Planner I; Cheryl O’Hara of the planning department; Daniel Weeks, project analyst; Stephanie Sudano, director of engineering; and Jenny Mizelle, economic development director.

 

            Mr. Jones and Ms. Clapp reviewed the draft planning document, providing highlights of the blueprint that will be used to guide development and planning for the town during the next decade.

            In discussions following, the Town Council and others assembled requested that the following items be given further consideration:

  • update the Thoroughfare Plan and add transportation information;
  • set out in the document the process that went along in creating the plan and how it will be modified as time goes on.
  • that staff be mindful of developer requirements and to avoid regulations that would result in a negative bottom line
  • that staff be mindful of placing too much residential development too close to non-residential... to encourage more transitional uses between the two.
  • UDO modifications/evolutions may be needed to reflect the Comprehensive Plan
  • It would be helpful to add an introduction that provides a “human element.”  Who did this plan, what was the process, address the audience of citizens very personally.
  • Keep Apex at bay to the town’s north and west.

 

      In closing, Mr. Jones reminded the council that a workshop open house was scheduled for Oct. 11; the draft would be reviewed by the Planning Board in October and then would be scheduled for a public hearing and action on Nov. 6.

 

Adjournment:  There being no further business for the evening, the Sept. 20, 2007, special meeting of the Holly Springs Town Council was adjourned.

 

Respectfully Submitted on Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2008,

           

 

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Joni Powell, CMC, Town Clerk