[00:00:01]
CAPTIONING PROVIDED BY BUFORT COUNTY.OKAY, WE'RE READY, UH, TO PROCEED.
[1. Call to Order]
OKAY.LET ME THEN CALL THE MEETING OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION, THE SPECIAL MEETING OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION, UH, TO ORDER, AND A COUPLE OF COMMENTS BEFORE WE BEGIN.
FIRST OF ALL, I'D LIKE TO THANK THE TOWN STAFF FOR THIS ACCOMMODATION TO, UH, HAVE A HYBRID MEETING, SOME IN PERSON AND SOME REMOTELY.
YOUR CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR ARE BOTH OUT OF TOWN.
ONE OF US IS 350 MILES AWAY, THE OTHER ONE IS 850 MILES AWAY.
AND SO THIS WAS, UH, A GREAT ACCOMMODATION FOR US.
THE, THE REASON WE'RE HAVING THIS SPECIAL MEETING TODAY IS THERE'S A NUMBER OF THE, THE TWO ITEMS THAT WE'RE GONNA TAKE UP REGARDING THE AMENDMENTS TO THE LMO, UH, ARE STAGED IN ORDER OF VARIOUS PUBLIC GROUPS ARE ADDRESSING THIS.
SO IF WE DIDN'T MEET TODAY, IT WOULD THROW THE SCHEDULE OFF.
SO THANKS FOR EVERYBODY TO, UH, ACCOMMODATE THAT.
UM, ALSO WANTED TO, UH, THANK THE COMMISSIONERS AND ANY PUBLIC PEOPLE THAT MIGHT, UH, BE PRESENT THERE FOR, UH, UH, MANAGING US THROUGH THIS, UH, TECHNOLOGY CHALLENGE.
WE'RE DOING THE BEST WE CAN REMOTELY, BUT, UH, THANK YOU FOR ACCOMMODATING THIS.
REMIND THE COMMISSIONERS TO TURN ON THE SPEAKERS IN FRONT OF YOU THE LITTLE BIT.
THE LIGHT SHOULD BE ROLLING AND THE SPEAKERS ARE ON THAT WE WILL ALL BE ABLE TO COMMUNICATE, UH, UH, EFFECTIVELY.
SO, SO LET'S GO AHEAD AND, AND BEGIN, AS WE USUALLY DO WITH THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE, IF YOU WOULD PLEASE SEND AND FACE THE FLAG PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE LAW.
[2. FOIA Compliance]
WE IN COMPLIANCE TODAY WITH THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT.[4. Swearing in Ceremony of New Commissioner]
HAVE A SPECIAL SWEARING IN CEREMONY FOR NEW COMMISSIONER JOSEPH DEIS AND A REAPPOINTED COMMISSIONER ALBERT MEER.IF YOU TWO GENTLEMEN WOULD PLEASE, UH, UH, MEET SEAN COLON AT THE PODIUM.
AND SEAN, WILL YOU PROCEED WHEN THE, WHEN YOU'RE READY? YES, SIR.
THANK, WHO WANTS TO GO FIRST? ALBERT, WE'LL GO.
HOW'S UP? UH, PLEASE RAISE YOUR RIGHT HAND AND REPEAT AFTER ME.
I DO SOLEMNLY SWEAR MY COMMITTEE.
I SOLEMNLY SWEAR THAT I'M DULY QUALIFIED, THAT I'M DULY QUALIFIED ACCORDING TO THE CONSTITUTION OF THIS STATE.
I, ACCORDING TO THE CONSTITUTION OF THIS STATE, YOU EXERCISE THE DUTIES OF THE OFFICE.
YOU EXERCISE THE DUTIES OF THE OFFICE TO WHICH I HAVE BEEN APPOINTED TO WHICH I HAVE BEEN APPOINTED, AND THAT I WILL, THAT I WILL TO THE BEST OF MY ABILITY, TO MY BEST OF MY ABILITY.
DISCHARGE THE DUTIES THEREOF, DISCHARGE THE DUTIES THAT THEREOF AND PRESERVE, PROTECT, AND DEFEND AND PRESERVE, PROTECT AND DEFEND THE CONSTITUTION OF THIS STATE, THE CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE.
UH, JOSEPH, UH, REPEAT, RAISE YOUR RIGHT HAND AND REPEAT AFTER ME PLEASE.
I DO SOLEMNLY SWEAR THAT I'M DULY QUALIFIED, THAT I'M DULY QUALIFIED ACCORDING TO THE CONSTITUTION OF THIS STATE, ACCORDING TO THE CONSTITUTION OF THIS STATE, TO EXERCISE THE DUTIES OF THE OFFICE, TO EXERCISE THE DUTIES OF THE OFFICE, WHICH I HAVE BEEN APPOINTED TO, WHICH I HAVE BEEN APPOINTED.
AND THAT I WILL I'LL TO THE BEST OF MY ABILITY, TO THE BEST OF MY ABILITY.
DISCHARGE THE DUTIES THEREOF, DISCHARGE THE DUTIES THEREOF, AND PRESERVE, PROTECT AND DEFEND AND PRESERVE, PROTECT AND DEFEND THE CONSTITUTION OF THIS STATE, CONSTITUTION OF THIS STATE.
OF THE UNITED STATES TO HELP ME.
WELL WELCOME COMMISSIONER DUBOIS AND, AND WELCOME BACK, COMMISSIONER MELY.
WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU IN THE NEXT FEW YEARS.
UM, UH, KAREN, WOULD YOU CALL THE ROLE PLEASE? CERTAINLY.
[6. Approval of Agenda]
UH, YOU'VE ALL HAD A CHANCE TO REVIEW THE AGENDA THAT'S BEEN POSTED OUT FOR THE LAST THREE OR FOUR DAYS.UM, UH, FIRST OF ALL, DOES STAFF HAVE ANY CHANGES TO THAT AGENDA TODAY? NO, SIR.
THEN MAY I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE AGENDA AS STANDS? SO MOVED.
UH, COMMISSIONER HENS MOVES SECOND.
UH, UH, BUT WE HAVE A MOTION A SECOND.
IS THERE, UH, UH, ALL IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY AYE.
[00:05:01]
OPPOSED THE SAME.UH, THE MINUTES FROM OUR, UM, JUNE 21ST MEETING WILL NOT BE REVIEWED UNTIL, UH, WE ARE REGULARLY SCHEDULED MEETING IN AUGUST.
SO WE HAVE NO, UH, MINUTES TO APPROVE TODAY.
[8. Appearance by Citizens]
I WOULD ASK THAT, UH, IF THERE ARE ANY CITIZENS PRESENT WHO WOULD LIKE TO MAKE, UH, AN APPEARANCE BEFORE US, ITEMS THAT ARE NOT ON TODAY'S AGENDA, UH, THIS WOULD BE THE TIME TO DO THAT.CHAIRMAN SEABOLD, THIS IS SEAN COLE, ASSISTANT TOWN MANAGER.
CAN I JUST MAKE A, MAKE A STATEMENT RELATED TO THE AGENDA? UM, CERTAINLY SOMETHING THAT'S NOT ON THE AGENDA, BUT WANT TO CLARIFY FOR THE FOLKS THAT ARE HERE.
UH, THE ISLANDERS MIXED USE TEXT AMENDMENT, THAT PLANNING COMMISSION REVIEWED A WHILE BACK, UH, YES.
HAS BEEN GOING THROUGH PUBLIC PLANNING COMMITTEE AND IT WENT TO TOWN COUNCIL, UM, LAST WEEK.
UM, HAD TOWN COUNCIL APPROVED IT AS WRITTEN.
IT WOULD'VE COME BACK TO PLANNING COMMISSION FOR REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATION ON ANY CHANGES THAT WERE MADE FROM THE TIME THE PLANNING COMMISSION HELD ITS PUBLIC HEARING.
AND, AND THE PLANNING COMMISSION MADE ITS RECOMMENDATION SINCE THE TOWN COUNCIL SUGGESTED AMENDMENTS.
UM, IT WILL HAVE TO GO BACK TO TOWN COUNCIL FOR A, A REVISED FIRST READING.
UM, AND, UM, BASED ON ACTION FROM COUNCIL, IF IT'S AN, AN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION, UH, FROM COUNCIL TO, TO, UM, ADOPT BY ORDINANCE, THEN IT WILL COME BACK TO PLANNING COMMISSION AT A SUBSEQUENT MEETING.
UH, AND THAT'S WHY IT'S NOT ON TODAY'S MEETING.
UM, BUT WE WOULD ANTICIPATE, UH, PENDING COUNCIL ACTION THAT IT COME BACK TO PLANNING COMMISSION HERE, UH, UH, AT ONE OF YOUR, UH, UPCOMING MEETINGS.
SO I WANNA MAKE THAT CLARIFICATION.
ARE, ARE THERE ANY CITIZENS, UH, THERE THAT ARE STILL WANTING TO HAVE COMMENT? WE HAVE ONE.
IF YOU COULD PLEASE COME FORWARD AND, UH, STATE YOUR NAME AT THE PODIUM.
I LIVE IN THE, UH, BROAD POINT SECTION OF INDIGO RUN.
UH, I'M COMING TO YOU FOLKS TO, UH, KIND OF APPEAL TO SENSE OF PRESERVATION OF THE ISLAND.
UH, THERE ARE A COUPLE OF PLANNED OR, OR PROJECTED DEVELOPMENTS IN OUR AREA.
UH, ONE IS A, UH, DEVELOPMENT ON LEG OF MUTTON.
AND, UH, THE OTHER IS A PROPOSED TENNIS WHATEVER STADIUM OR SOMETHING.
BOTH OF THOSE WOULD, UH, BE BUILT ON WHAT IS NOW CURRENTLY VIRGIN FOREST, AND I THINK KIND OF WILDLIFE PRESERVES.
UM, I NOTICED KIND OF A TREND THAT, UM, THERE ARE, UH, PROJECTS BEING PROJECTED AND, AND PROPOSED THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, ARE, ARE MORE PARKS AND MORE PLAY THINGS AND MORE TOURIST ATTRACTIONS.
BUT I WOULD ASK YOU AS THE PLANNING COMMISSION TO REALLY HAVE IN THE FOREFRONT OF YOUR MIND.
UH, WE DON'T HAVE THAT MUCH, UH, WILDLIFE PRESERVE, UH, PROPERTIES EITHER OWNED BY THE TOWN OR EVEN EXISTING ON OUR ISLAND NOW.
AND I WOULD ASK, PARTICULARLY IN THIS TENNIS THING, THAT'S A BEAUTIFUL MULTI ACRE PLACE WHERE I'M, I'M, AND IT'S RIGHT BY BROAD CREEK.
SO I'M SURE THERE'S A LOT OF BIRD LIFE AND EVERYTHING.
JUST TO BE COGNIZANT, UM, AS YOU GET APPROACHED FOR PLANS BY DEVELOPERS AND SUCH THAT YOU JUST KIND OF, UH, KEEP IN, IN THE FOREFRONT OF YOUR MIND THAT WE REALLY NEED TO PRESERVE THE BEAUTY OF OUR ISLAND.
UH, I SPENT MANY, MANY YEARS IN, UH, THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, AND WHILE THERE'S A LOT NOT SO GREAT TO BE SAID ABOUT THAT STATE, THERE WAS ONE THING.
THEY HAD FOREST PRESERVES, THEY CALLED THEM.
AND, UM, EVEN IN COOK COUNTY, I LIVED IN NORTHWEST COOK COUNTY, THERE WERE PLENTY OF THESE FOREST PRESERVES.
AND, UH, THEY HAD MI THEY HAD PARKING LOTS AND MINIMAL TRAILS SO THAT PEOPLE COULD ENJOY THEM.
BUT THEY WERE PREDOMINANTLY FOR, UH, THE PRESERVATION OF WILDLIFE.
AND I, I WOULD AGAIN, JUST, UH, ASK MAY, MAYBE HILTON HAD STARTS, UH, UH, DESIGNATING SOME AND RESERVING SOME PROPERTY AS FOREST PRESERVES.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS, MR. SMITH.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER CITIZENS TO SPEAK? JAY? YES, SIR.
NOBODY ELSE? NO, THERE ARE WE DO WE DO SEVERAL.
I'VE WORKED VERY HARD TO PROTECT MY NEIGHBORHOOD, MY STREET, AND MY COMMUNITY, BUT I HAVE NOT WORKED ALONE.
MANY OF THE RESIDENTS HAVE WORKED WITH ME.
WE HAVE CONTINUOUSLY CONVEYED OUR CONCERNS AND QUESTIONS TO TOWN STAFF, TOWN OFFICIALS.
WE'VE BEEN ENGAGED BECAUSE OF THE FEAR THAT IF WE DON'T, OUR NEIGHBORHOODS WILL BE OVERRUN BY DEVELOPMENT, DEVELOPMENT THAT WE DON'T NEED AND DEVELOPMENT THAT WE DON'T WANT.
AND WE HAVE SHARED, WE HAVE DISCOVERED THAT OTHER RESIDENTS IN OTHER COMMUNITIES FEEL THE SAME WAY.
I'M UNDER THE IMPRESSION THAT TODAY'S L M O AMENDMENTS
[00:10:01]
ARE DESIGNED TO PROTECT US.I HAVE STUDIED AND READ THIS LITERATURE.
MANY QUESTIONS STILL REMAIN UNANSWERED.
WHAT IS CONSIDERED A PARKING SPACE? WHAT IS THE LENGTH AND WIDTH OF THIS PARKING SPACE? WHAT IS THIS PARKING SPACE TO BE CONSTRUCTED OUT OF PERVIOUS OR IMPERVIOUS MATERIAL? OUR DRIVE UNDER GARAGES GOING TO BE HIGH ENOUGH, WIDE ENOUGH, LONG ENOUGH TO ACCOMMODATE A FULL SIZE PICKUP OR A LARGER SS U V ARE THE PARKING SPACES TO BE CONSTRUCTED ON THE BUILDABLE LOT SIZE QUESTIONS ABOUT THE FAR THE CALCULATION OF AVERAGE FAR INCLUDES THE OLDER HOMES THAT WERE BUILT IN THE SEVENTIES AND EIGHTIES.
THESE HOMES HAVE A MUCH LOWER FAR THAN WHAT IS PROPOSED IN THIS AMENDMENT.
SOME HALF AS MUCH WHEN THOSE HOMES ARE TORN DOWN AND NEW HOMES CONSTRUCTED, WANT THAT INCREASE THE OVERALL FAR? HOW DOES INCREASING THE FAR IN SINGLE FAMILY NEIGHBORHOODS PROTECT THESE COMMUNITIES? I'VE BEEN TOLD THAT THIS ISSUE WILL BE ADDRESSED AT DISTRICT PLANNING.
HOWEVER, UNTIL THEN, THESE NEIGHBORHOODS, THESE NEIGHBORHOODS WILL BE UNDER EVEN MORE VULNERABILITY TO DEVELOPMENT.
I JUST CAN'T SEE HOW THIS AMENDMENT AS WRITTEN, IS OFFERING ANY PROTECTION TO THESE COMMUNITIES.
AND IT IS THESE COMMUNITIES, THEY'RE AT THE HIGHEST RISK OF DEVELOPMENT.
THESE ARE VALID AND DEFINITE QUESTIONS AND CONCERNS.
THEY DESERVE DEFINITIVE ANSWERS.
TOWN STAFF AND TOWN OFFICIALS HAVE ASKED US TO TREAT, TREAT THEM WITH RESPECT AND TO HAVE PATIENCE.
I TRULY HOPE THAT THROUGH THE COURSE OF TODAY'S PRESENTATION, THAT THESE QUESTIONS AND CONCERNS ARE ANSWERED.
AND ON A SIDE NOTE, I DO TOTALLY APPRECIATE ALL THAT STAFF HAS DONE.
I TALK TO 'EM ALL THE TIME, SO I'M NOT BADGERING THEM.
I JUST WANT THE ANSWERS IN LAYMAN'S TERMS THAT THE RESIDENTS CAN UNDERSTAND.
OTHER COMMENT, UH, MR. CHAIRMAN, WE DO, I WOULD LIKE TO CLARIFY THAT, UM, RIGHT NOW IS A GENERAL, UM, APPEARANCE BY CITIZENS.
IF YOU'RE SPEAKING RELATIVE TO THE AGENDA ITEM FOR THE L M O AMENDMENTS, THAT PUBLIC, UM, HEARING WILL BE HELD AFTER THE PRESENTATION BY STAFF.
SO THIS IS FOR COMMENTS UNRELATED TO ITEMS ON TODAY'S AGENDA.
THANK YOU FOR THAT CLARIFICATION.
ARE THERE OTHER CITIZENS WHO WOULD WISH TO ADDRESS THE GROUP, UH, ON ITEMS THAT ARE NOT ON TODAY'S AGENDA? NO, SIR.
WE'RE, WE'RE, UH, WE CAN CLOSE THE, UH, PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD.
WE CAN CLOSE THAT PUBLIC, UH, COMMENT AT TIME.
UH, THERE IS NO UNFINISHED BUSINESS THAT I'M AWARE OF FROM THE LAST MEETING UNDER NEW
[10. New Business]
BUSINESS.UH, WE HAVE THE ANNUAL TASK OF, UH, ELECTING, UH, OFFICERS FOR THE YEAR ENDING JUNE 30TH, 2024.
UH, THE, UH, RECENT CHANGES TO THIS PROCEDURE, UH, ELIMINATED THE NEED FOR NOMINATING COMMITTEE, BUT I DID ASK THE THREE MOST TENURED COMMISSIONERS, UH, COMMISSIONER, HENCE, UH, CAMPBELL AND GARY ENZO, IF THEY WOULD HAVE A DISCUSSION ABOUT THIS, TODAY'S MEETINGS THAT WOULDN'T BE STARTING FROM SCRATCH.
AND I DID REMIND THEM THAT THE RULES AND PROCEDURE ALSO STATE THAT PERSON SERVING IN THEIR FIRST TERM, IN THEIR FIRST YEAR TERM ON COMMISSION, NOT ELIGIBLE TO BE CONSIDERED THAT, UM, IT'S WIDE OPEN.
SO COMMISSIONER HENS, ARE YOU WILLING, ARE YOU ABLE TO GIVE A REPORT ON YOUR MEETING? YEAH, I WOULD LIKE TO NOMINATE BRUCE SIEBOLD, UH, TO, UH, REELECT HIM AS CHAIR OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION.
AND MARK O'NEILL REELECT HIM AS VICE CHAIR.
IS THERE A SECOND TO THAT? UH, MOTION THAT I WILL SECOND THAT MOTION.
ARE THERE OTHER NOMINATIONS FROM THE FLOOR? ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS THAT WOULD LIKE TO MAKE UNDER A, A DIFFERENT NOMINATION? OKAY, THEN I'LL DECLARE THE NOMINATIONS CLOSED.
ALL IN FAVOR? MOTION, UH, THAT WAS GRANTED BY MR. HENS.
WE APPRECIATE, UH, YOUR CONFIDENCE AND WE'LL STRIVE TO DO THE BEST JOB WE CAN TO INFORMED AND ENGAGED AS WE MOVE AHEAD.
UH, NOW WE WILL OPEN THE, UM, PUBLIC HEARING CONCERNING THE AGENDA ITEMS ON TODAY'S AGENDA FOR THE L M O AMENDMENTS, AND, UH, ASK FOR STAFF, MAKE THE PRESENTATION.
HAVE, UH, WHO'S GONNA BE DOING THAT STAFF REPORT TODAY.
UH, THANK YOU CHAIRMAN SEABOLD.
UM, I'VE ONLY BEEN HERE ABOUT SIX WEEKS AND I'VE MET MOST OF YOU, BUT IT'S NICE TO OFFICIALLY MEET YOU ALL HERE AT THIS PUBLIC HEARING TODAY.
[00:15:01]
AND AS CHAIRMAN SIEBEL DID STATE, WE ARE HERE TO DISCUSS, UM, THE L AMENDMENT PLAN FOR PHASE FOUR A.UM, WE DO HAVE OUR ELEMENT CYCLE PATH HERE.
YOU CAN SEE THAT WE'VE ALREADY APPROVED PHASES ONE, TWO, AND THREE.
AND CURRENTLY WE'RE ON PHASE FOUR A, WHICH WAS BEFORE YOU ALL TODAY, AND IS ANTICIPATED TO BE VOTED ON BY TOWN COUNCIL ON OCTOBER 3RD, ASSUMING THERE ARE NO OTHER AMENDMENTS.
UM, AND WE ARE ANTICIPATING TO HAVE PHASE FOUR COMPLETE AND FOR A VOTE TO TOWN COUNCIL BY THE END OF THE YEAR.
A RECOMMENDATION HERE, UH, IS THAT THE PLANNING COMMISSION HOLD A PUBLIC HEARING TO CONSIDER AN AMENDMENT TO TITLE 16 OF THE MUNICIPAL CODE OF THE TOWN OF HITTEN HU ISLANDS, THE LAND MANAGEMENT ORDINANCE TO AMEND SINGLE FAMILY DWELLING PARKING REQUIREMENTS AND TO ESTABLISH SINGLE-FAMILY, FAMILY DWELLING FLOOR AREA RATIOS.
UM, AND WE ARE REQUESTING THAT AN ACTION BE TAKEN TODAY TO SEND A RECOMMENDATION TO TOWN COUNCIL.
THE PLANNING COMMISSION MAY WEIGH THE RELEVANCE OF AND CONSIDER WHETHER THE TEXT AMENDMENTS ARE IN LINE WITH THESE ITEMS LISTED HERE THAT ARE FOUND IN SECTION 16 DASH TWO DASH 1 0 3 POINT B 0.3 OF OUR MUNICIPAL CODE.
UH, AND THE PURPOSE OF FOUR A, UH, ONE AMEND SINGLE FAMILY DWELLING PARKING REQUIREMENTS TO BETTER ALIGN THE SINGLE FAMILY USE TYPE TO THE SIZE OF THE DWELLING UNIT STRUCTURE.
AND TWO, TO ESTABLISH REGULATIONS FOR SINGLE FAMILY DWELLING FLOOR AREA RATIO, F A R REQUIREMENTS TO MORE EFFECTIVELY REGULATE THE VOLUME AND PLACEMENT OF HOMES BASED ON THE STRUCTURE SIZE IN RELATION TO THE SIZE OF THE PROPERTY, UH, AND THE FOUR A PROPOSED PARKING CHANGES.
UM, AND THIS RIGHT HERE WE HAVE THE OVERLAY DISTRICTS AND THE CURRENT REGULATION STATE, TWO PARKING SPACES REQUIRED FOR UP TO 2000 SQUARE FEET OF GROSS FLOOR AREA.
AND ONE ADDITIONAL IS REQUIRED FOR EACH 1000 SQUARE FEET OF PORTION THERE OVER, OVER AND ABOVE 2000 SQUARE FEET.
AND STAFFERS RECOMMENDING CHANGING THAT TO KEEP THE TWO SPACES FOR UP TO 2000 SQUARE FEET OF GROSS FLOOR AREA AND REDUCING IT TO 750 SQUARE FEET OF GROSS FLOOR AREA TO ADD EACH ADDITIONAL, UM, PARKING SPACE.
UM, AND THEN WE'RE ALSO LOOKING TO AMEND THE SINGLE FAMILY PARKING REGULATIONS AS WELL, UM, FOR THE OVERLAY.
AND THIS IS HOW IT WOULD LOOK IN THE CODE.
UH, WE'RE STRIKING, UH, THE TWO DWELLING UNITS PER FOR SINGLE FAMILY.
AND IT'S ONE PER 750 SQUARE FEET OF GROSS FLOOR AREA FOR ANY SINGLE FAMILY USE OUTSIDE OF THE OVERLAY DISTRICTS.
UM, AND THESE ARE THE RESIDENTIAL ZONING DISTRICTS THAT WE ARE, UM, AMENDING HERE.
AND THE PARKING WILL BE INCLUDED IN ANY PD ZONING DISTRICT, AS WELL AS OUR PARKING REGULATIONS ARE BASED ON ALLOWABLE PRINCIPAL USE AND NOT SOLELY ON ZONING DISTRICT ALONE.
UH, AND THE PARKING CONSIDERATIONS HERE, UM, THESE ARE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE AMERICAN PLANNING ASSOCIATION, THAT GATHERING PARKING STANDARDS IS THE REVIEW IN A RANGE OF WHAT IS NECESSARY BY USE.
UM, OFF STREET PARKING REQUIREMENTS ARE AN ATTEMPT TO MINIMIZE SPILLOVER PARKING ON PUBLIC STREETS AND TO ENSURE A SAFE AND EFFICIENT SUPPLY OF PARKING IS ADEQUATE AT THE SITE OF DEVELOPMENT.
AND TO MEET AND SATISFIED DEMAND.
UH, PARKING CALCULATIONS ARE ROUTINELY SIMPLIFIED BY ACCOUNTING FOR GROSS FLOOR AREA OR SQUARE FOOTAGE.
HOWEVER, RESIDENTIAL PARKING HAS TRADITIONALLY REQUIRED A CERTAIN NUMBER OF SPACES PER DWELLING UNIT.
UM, AND MOVING FORWARD IN THE PRESENTATION HERE, WE'VE GOT SOME TABLES THAT SHOW THE PARKING CALCULATION REQUIREMENTS BASED ON SQUARE FOOTAGE OF THE HOMES AND NUMBER OF BEDROOMS. SO AS YOU SEE HERE, UH, PARKING FOR LESS THAN FOUR BEDROOMS. UM, OUR CURRENT REGULATIONS FOR SINGLE FAMILY USE FOR A 2,500 SQUARE FOOT HOME WOULD BE TWO PARKING SPACES.
UH, DOING THAT MATH WITH WHAT WE'RE PRESENTING NOW, WHICH IS THE ZONE CODE OPTION, WHO IS, UM, OUR CONSULTANT WORKING ON THIS? FOR US IT WOULD BE 3.3 PARKING SPACES BY THE MATH, BUT FOR PARKING REGULATIONS, STAFF WILL ROUND UP FOR ANY OF THAT.
SO THIS WOULD REQUIRE FOUR PARKING SPACES.
UM, AND HYPOTHETICALLY GOING UP, IF IT WAS A 4,000 SQUARE FOOT HOME, THE CURRENT CODE ONLY REQUIRES TWO SPACES AND STAFF WOULD BE REQUIRING SIX.
UH, AND IF YOU LOOK TO THE BOTTOM OF THAT SAME TABLE, WE'VE GOT THOSE DISTRICTS, UM, EVEN FOR THE OVERLAY DISTRICTS LAID OUT, WHERE FOR 2,500 IT'S TWO, AND FOR 4,000 IT WOULD BE THREE.
SO IT'S SLIGHTLY INCREASE IN THE OVERLAY DISTRICT AS WELL.
AND I WON'T RUN THROUGH ALL THESE TABLES.
UM, BUT PLEASE STOP ME AND LET ME KNOW IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ON ANY OF THESE TABLES HERE.
UM, AND MOST OF THESE ARE PRETTY CONSISTENT.
UM, ONCE AGAIN, 2,500 FOR SIX BEDROOMS IS FOUR, AND 4,000 WOULD BE SIX.
UM, SAME THING'S GONNA BE FOR, UM, SEVEN BEDROOMS. EIGHT BEDROOMS HAS THE SAME CALCULATIONS AS WELL, UM, BASED ON THE CURRENT CODE AND INCREASING FROM THE REQUIRED TWO THAT ARE ACROSS THE TABLE ON CURRENT CODES.
CAN YOU, UM, CAN YOU, UH, EXPLAIN OR DEFINE WHAT A PARKING SPACE IS? YES.
FOR A SINGLE FAMILY USE OF PARKING SPACE
[00:20:01]
COULD BE UTILIZED FOR YOUR GARAGE SPACE.SO IF YOU GET A TWO CAR GARAGE, THAT'S TWO PARKING SPACES, AND THEN IT WOULD NEED TO BE ON THE LOT, UH, FOR PARKING REQUIREMENT THERE.
SO IF YOU HAVE A GARAGE LAUNCH ENOUGH TO GARAGE FOR TWO AND THEN A DRIVEWAY FOR TWO, YOU COULD MEET THE FOUR PARKING REQUIREMENTS FOR HOMES THAT WAY AS WELL.
BUT IT WOULD HAVE TO BE ON THE LOT AND THEY WOULD STILL HAVE TO MEET ALL THE REGULATIONS OF THE CODE IN INCLUDING NOT BLOCKING PUBLIC ACCESS AND OR SIDEWALKS IF THEY'RE IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
AND IT'S IN THE PUBLIC RIGHT OF WAY.
SO ON STREET PARKING DOESN'T, DOESN'T COUNT.
IT WOULD NOT, IS MY UNDERSTANDING.
YOU CAN BLOCK YOUR GARAGE WITH TWO ADDITIONAL PARKING SPACES WITH A TWO CAR GARAGE IF IT IS WITHIN THE LOT AND DOES NOT BLOCK PUBLIC ACCESS IN ANY RIGHT OF WAY.
AND IT'S NOT WITHIN ANY REQUIRED BUFFER.
THAT IS ALSO A REQUIREMENT THERE, BUT THERE ARE ALSO SECTIONS IN THE CODE THAT WOULD ALLOW ALTERNATIVES FOR NEWER DEVELOPMENTS COMING IN TO WHERE THEY COULD APPLY FOR VARIANCES ON PARKING IF THEY COULDN'T DO IT TO WHERE YOU COULD GET PARKING LOTS.
SO THERE ARE ALTERNATIVES IN THE CODE THAT COULD POTENTIALLY ALLOW FOR DIFFERENT REGULATIONS AS WELL.
I HAVE A, I UNDERSTAND THIS SPECIFICALLY FOR AN INDIVIDUAL, WHATEVER
IT IS MY UNDERSTANDING THAT IN OUR CODE, UM, MOST STUFF FOR, UH, GUEST PARKING AND STUFF, FOR LARGER NEW DEVELOPMENTS, THAT IS CONSIDERED DURING THE PLATTING PROCESS.
SO THAT'S ST THINGS THAT STAFF WOULD WORK WITH TO MAKE SURE ANY TYPE OF GUEST PARKING IS REQUIRED WITHIN ANY NEW DEVELOPMENT THROUGH THE PLATTING PROCESS BEFORE THE HOMES ARE BEING BUILT.
AND MR. EBER, WHO MANAGES ALL THAT CAN SPEAK MORE TO THAT THAN I COULD.
AND, AND, UM, AS DISCUSSED LAST TIME THOUGH, THE DEVELOPMENT ON LEGO MUTTON, WE DID LISTEN TO YOU MM-HMM.
I'LL READ THEM ALL OFF AND THEN YOU CAN ZOOM 'EM IN ANY ORDER YOU'D LIKE.
YOU MENTIONED THAT THE AMERICAN PLANNING ASSOCIATION STANDARDS WERE APPLIED TO THIS, I'M NOT FAMILIAR WITH THEM, WHICH IS NOT SURPRISING, BUT DO THEY DEVELOP THEIR STANDARDS BASED ON A GENERAL AVERAGE OR DO THEY DELINEATE THOSE BY TYPE OF COMMUNITY? AND MY OTHER QUESTION IS, UM, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT PARKING, CAN YOU BE A LITTLE CLEARER ON, FOR EXAMPLE, YOU SAY TWO CARS IN A GARAGE.
WHAT NEEDS TO BE THE SIZE OF THAT GARAGE? WHAT KIND OF VEHICLE MUST IT ACCOMMODATE IN PARKING SURFACES? MUST THEY, CAN THEY PARK ON PINE STRAW? CAN THEY PARK ON GRAVEL? UM, SO WOULD YOU COUNT, IF THEY DIDN'T HAVE A GARAGE AND THEY NEEDED FOUR PARKING SPACES, DOES IT HAVE TO BE A, UM, FINISHED SURFACE OR CAN THEY JUST PUT SOME GRAVEL OFF TO THE SIDE? SO IF YOU COULD TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THOSE THREE THINGS, THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL.
YEAH, SO THE A P A RECOMMENDATIONS, THEY'RE JUST GENERAL GUIDING PRINCIPLES.
THEY DON'T HAVE ANY SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS AS HOW ANY SPECIFIC COMMUNITY SHOULD DO IT.
SO IT'S STILL LEFT UP FOR OP OPEN, UM, INTERPRETATION THERE.
AND IT'S JUST GUIDING DOCUMENTS.
AND I WILL DEFER BACK TO MR. EBER ON EXACTLY THE PARKING SERVICES THAT WOULD BE ALLOWED.
CAN I JUST CLARIFY, THE REASON I ASK THIS QUESTION IS 'CAUSE WE ARE A BARRIER ISLAND AND, UM, MOST PARKING SURFACES, MY UNDERSTANDING I'M, UM, ARE IMPERVIOUS SPACES.
SO THEY ARE, UH, TAKING THEM UP.
SO USING SORT OF A NATIONAL AVERAGE, YOU KNOW, IS DEFENSIBLE, BUT IS IT A USEFUL FOR US? SO I JUST SORT OF LEAVE THAT THERE NOW.
THOSE ARE ALL THE REALLY, REALLY GOOD QUESTIONS.
IT KIND OF DEPENDS UPON WHERE THE, THE, THE APPLICANT, YOU KNOW, IS GONNA PUT THE HOUSE.
THEY HAVE DIFFERENT STANDARDS FOR PUDS VERSUS DIFFERENT STANDARDS FOR THAT WITHIN DIFFERENT OVERLAY DISTRICTS.
SO WE DO HAVE DIFFERENT, UH, STANDARDS FOR, UH, IMPERVIOUS VERSUS PERVIOUS, UM, OVERLAY.
SO A PERVIOUS PARKING IS USED AND IT'S USUALLY A COMBINATION OF A DIFFERENT MIX OF MATERIALS WITH STONE THAT'S INVOLVED TO ALLOW THE WATER TO PERCOLATE.
SO WE HAVE A THRESHOLD ON IMPERVIOUS RATIO THAT WE DISCUSS.
[00:25:01]
THAT PERVIOUS RATIO, THEN YOU HAVE TO, UM, PUT IN ESSENTIALLY GRAVEL OR PAVERS, UH, THAT CAN FILTER AND INFILTRATE THE WATER.SO IT DEPENDS UPON THE THRESHOLD.
WE LOOK AT EACH CASE AND EACH CALCULATION BEFORE MAKING THOSE ASSIGNMENTS.
BUT YOU'RE LIMITED TO THE AMOUNT OF PARKING THAT YOU CAN DO.
AND WE FOLLOW THIS GUIDE, WE'RE LOOKING TO CHANGE, UM, TO REDUCE, ESSENTIALLY AT THE END OF THE DAY TO REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF, UH, IMPERVIOUS MATERIAL THAT'S HITTING OUR LAND.
SO TO ENCOURAGE MORE PERVIOUS MATERIAL.
UM, SO NO PINE STRAW WOULD NOT BE SOMETHING THAT WE PERMITTED FOR PEOPLE TO PARK ON.
SO INSIDE THE HOUSE IT'S NINE FOOT WIDE BY 18 FOOT LONG.
SO WHEN WE DO THE MEASUREMENTS, WE LOOK FOR SOMETHING THAT'S NINE FOOT WIDE AND 18 FOOT LONG TO ENSURE THERE'S ADEQUATE PARKING AT THAT TIME.
SO A TWO CAR GARAGE WOULD BE DOUBLE THAT.
YEAH, TWO CAR GARAGE DOES FULFILL THAT.
WHAT ABOUT THE HEIGHT? IS THERE A DEFINED HEIGHT FOR A, UH, GARAGE? I KNOW THAT WE WERE LOOKING INTO THAT.
I'M NOT SURE WHERE WE LANDED WITH THE L M O PHASE FOUR A.
DID WE GET A HEIGHT RESTRICTION ON THAT? THERE WAS NOT A HEIGHT.
THERE'S NO BUILDING CODE RESTRICTION ON THE HEIGHT ON THAT.
THAT'S SOMETHING YOU'RE LOOKING AT? YEAH, IT'S SOMETHING WE'RE ACTIVELY LOOKING AT.
SO I'M STILL A LITTLE CONFUSED.
THE, IF WE'RE LOOKING AT A PARKING SURFACE TO SATISFY PARKING REQUIREMENT, MUST IT BE IMPERVIOUS OR CAN IT BE ANOTHER MATERIAL TO SATISFY, YOU KNOW, THE 3, 4, 5? YEAH, THERE'S KIND OF A CHECK.
IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE IMPERVIOUS TO WATER RAINFALL.
IT CAN BE PERVIOUS TO RAINFALL.
IT KIND OF DEPENDS WHEN IS IT REQUIRED, WHEN IS THE TRIGGER MET? SO THE MAXIMUM IMPERVIOUS AMOUNT, WE HAVE A RATIO THAT WE APPLY ON DIFFERENT, UM, OVERLAYS.
SO 55% OF THE LOT CAN BE IMPERVIOUS TO RAIN.
ONCE YOU'VE, IF YOU'RE GONNA DO 56% OR HIGHER, EVERYTHING'S GONNA HAVE TO BE IMPERVIOUS AND ALLOW THE RAIN RAINWATER TO INFILTRATE.
SO HYPOTHETICALLY, IF THE LIVING STRUCTURE ITSELF STARTS TO LIKE TAKE UP MOST OF THE IMPERVIOUS STRUCTURE YEAH.
THEN ALL THE PARKING WOULD HAVE TO BE PERVIOUS.
SO IS THERE, I'LL HAVE TO THINK ABOUT THAT.
NOT UNDER THE GARAGE, BUT OBVIOUSLY OUTSIDE.
AND YOU SAID THEY COULDN'T PARK ON PINE STRAW, BUT CAN THEY PARK IN THEIR GRASS YARDS OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT? GRASS OR GRAVEL? NO, THEY'RE LIMITED TO THE PARKING SPACES.
THE GRAVEL, THEY'RE LIMITED EVEN ON THE GRAVEL.
THEY CAN ONLY HAVE FOUR PARKING SPACES ON THE SCENARIO THAT YOU, YOU HAD, THEY CAN'T HAVE FIVE OR 10 OR SAY I HAVE A NARROW LOT.
AND THE NARROW LOT IT TAKES UP, UH, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE FAR WAS AGAIN, 40 45, YOU'RE PROPOSING FOUR, FIVE OR 4,000.
AND THEN THE RATIO OF THE IMPERVIOUS TO THE LOT.
AM I, AM I DOING, I'M TRYING TO UNDERSTAND.
IT'S THE RATIO OF THE IMPERVIOUS TO THE FAR UP TO OR UP TO THE MAXIMUM 4,000 SQUARE FOOT.
IF THEY CAN'T SAT, IF THEY CAN ONLY SATISFY THAT BY AN INSTRUCTURED GARAGE, BUT THEY NEEDED FOUR SPACES, THEN THE ADDITIONAL TWO SPACES HAD TO BE INSIDE INSIDE, OR YOU JUST SAID THEY COULD DO GRAVEL.
WELL, THEY, THEY CAN, I GUESS I DIDN'T LET, DIDN'T LET YOU FINISH YOUR ASKING YOUR QUESTION.
SEAN COLE, ASSISTANT TOWN MANAGER.
IF, UM, SOMEONE BUILT A, A SINGLE FAMILY HOME AND THEY WERE TRYING TO MAXIMIZE THE SQUARE FOOTAGE, WHETHER IT'S MEETING THE 0.45 F A R OR THE 4,000 SQUARE FOOT MAX, UM, AND AS THEY DESIGNED IT, THEY REALIZED THEY COULDN'T MEET THE PARKING REQUIREMENT THAT'S NEEDED.
THE HOUSE WOULD'VE TO BE SMALLER.
SO THE FLOOR AIR RATIO, THE SETBACK, THE BUFFERS, IMPERVIOUS SURFACE, UM, ALL OF THOSE ARE SITE DESIGN FEATURES THAT ARE GOING TO DEVELOP AN AREA THAT CAN BE DEVELOPED.
UM, IF SOMEONE WAS BUILDING A SINGLE STORY, SINGLE FAMILY HOME THAT WAS 3000 SQUARE FEET AND HAD ISSUES WITH ACCOMMODATING PARKING, WELL THEY MIGHT GO HAVE HALF THE, UM, SQUARE FOOTAGE AT A SECOND STORY OR CHANGE THE FOOTPRINT OF, OF THE STRUCTURE.
SO THE 0.45 OR THE 4,000 ARE, ARE MAXIMUMS, RIGHT? SO IF YOU BUILT A SINGLE FAMILY STRUCTURE THAT WAS A FLURRY RATIO OF 0.35 BECAUSE THAT'S ALL YOU COULD REALLY FIT AND ACCOMMODATE PARKING AND, UH, IMPERVIOUS, IMPERVIOUS SETBACKS, BUFFERS, AND OTHER SITE DEVELOPMENT
[00:30:01]
STANDARDS, THEN THAT'S WHAT YOUR YIELD WOULD BE.IT'S NOT, THESE AREN'T GUARANTEES THAT YOU GET 0.45, UM, IF YOU CANNOT PRO PROVIDE THE, THE, UH, PARKING THAT YOU NEED.
UH, I THINK RIGHT NOW IN OUR CODE WE'VE HAD, UM, PROBABLY OVER PARKING IN NON-RESIDENTIAL AREAS AND UNDER PARKING, UM, IN RESIDENTIAL AREAS.
AND THIS HELPS TO CALIBRATE THAT AND IT TRIES TO TRANSLATE IT IN A WAY WHERE IT'S NOT CALCULUS, IT'S IT'S SIMPLE MATH, RIGHT? ONE SPACE PER SEVEN 50 AND THE OVERLAY DISTRICTS, BECAUSE THEY'VE BEEN ESTABLISHED FOR SOME TIME, UM, THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF KEEPING, UH, WITH THOSE STANDARDS WITH A MINOR ADJUSTMENT.
BUT, BUT EVERYTHING GETS, EVERYTHING GETS MODIFIED BASED ON SQUARE FOOTAGE, A RELATIONSHIP TO THE LOT SIZE, THE PARKING REQUIREMENTS THAT ARE NEEDED.
AND IT'S GONNA HAVE TO BE A BALANCE OF THOSE THINGS.
AND THAT'S WHAT A, A GOOD CODE, UM, AIMS TO, TO PROVIDE IS, UH, AS AN OUTCOME, AS A BALANCED SITE DEVELOPMENT THAT MANAGES ALL OF THOSE IMPORTANT FEATURES, UM, IN A WAY THAT PROVIDES AN OPPORTUNITY TO BUILD, UH, BUT ISN'T SO RESTRICTIVE THAT IT'S, YOU KNOW, THAT'S, YOU'RE UNABLE TO, TO, TO BUILD AND BE CONSISTENT WITH THAT CHARACTER YOU WANT.
AND SO JUST TO BE CLEAR,
AND I FOLLOWED IT, IT, SO IF THEY HAVE TO MEET A PARKING REQUIREMENT, LET'S JUST AGAIN SAY IT'S FIVE SPOTS.
IT'S A 4,000 SQUARE FOOT HOUSE.
OKAY? AND, UM, THEY'VE GOT TWO IN THE GARAGE, THEY'VE GOT ENOUGH SPACE IN IMPERVIOUS DRIVEWAY OR TWO, BUT BECAUSE THE IMPERVIOUS RATIO, YOU CAN'T PUT ANY MORE PAVED DRIVEWAY IN, THEY COULD PUT GRAVEL OFF TO THE SIDE.
IF THEY HAVE ENOUGH LOT SPACE, THEY COULD PUT IMPERVIOUS SURFACE.
NOT IMPERVIOUS, PERVIOUS SURFACE.
THEY COULD PUT PERVIOUS SERVICE SURFACE IF THEY WERE GET TO THE FILE.
JUST SO LONG AS THEIR STATE, JUST SO LONG THEY, THAT THEY STAY WITHIN THEIR CORRECT.
UM, HAS TO BE THE RIGHT DIMENSIONS, UH, THAT WE TALKED ABOUT.
AND WE ARE LOOKING AT THE HEIGHT OF THE GARAGE DOORS.
UH, THERE IS NO BUILDING CODE AS, AS MR. EBER HAD MENTIONED.
UM, BUT ADDING A REASONABLE EXPECTATION FOR DEVELOPMENT THAT ACCOMMODATES THESE LARGER VEHICLES AS PART OF WHAT WE, UH, ARE EVALUATING IN THE NEXT PHASE.
I DO HAVE ONE LAST QUESTION THAT, UM, THE ROUNDING, UH, SEEMS TO GO IN DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS.
UH, 3.3 WENT TO FOUR, BUT 5.3 WENT TO FIVE, 7.3 WENT TO SEVEN.
THAT WOULD ROUND UP ALL OF THEM.
3.3 WOULD BE FOUR, 5.3 WOULD BE SIX.
UM, YEAH, WE THOUGHT YOU SAID, WE THOUGHT WE HEARD THE, LITERALLY THEY ALL ROUNDED UP, SO OH YES.
MY APOLOGIES IF I STATED THAT WRONG.
SINCE ANY MINIMUM WOULD ROUND UP IN PRETTY MUCH ALL SECTIONS OF THE CODE.
SO THE CHART IS NOT, THE CHART IS
WHERE IS THAT AT 5.3? YEAH, THE ACTUAL LANGUAGE, THE CHARTS ARE, ARE GREAT.
UM, AND THEN THOSE, TO GIVE YOU THE CALCULATION, HERE'S WHAT THE, THE CODE SAYS FOR EVERY 750 SQUARE FEET OR PORTION THEREOF.
SO IF YOU'RE AT 1,501 SQUARE FEET, YOU'VE JUST GONE FROM TWO TO THREE, RIGHT? BECAUSE IT, THAT ONE FOOT OR THE 750TH FOOT, ANY, ANY, ANY PORTION OF THAT NEXT INTERVAL IS ANOTHER PARKING SPACE.
OKAY? SO 3001, YOU GO FROM FOUR TO FIVE.
IF YOU BUILD A, AND SO SOMEONE MIGHT SAY, WELL, I'M NOT, WELL, WHY WOULD WE BUILD A 3001 SQUARE FOOT HOME, RIGHT? WHEN I, I BUILD 3000, I ONLY NEED FOUR.
UM, BUT THAT'S, THAT'S THE, THE LANGUAGE IS CLEAR.
UH, THE TABLES ARE MEANT TO SHOW THE, THE MATH AND THEN, YOU KNOW, THE, THE DECIMALS, THE ANYTHING BEYOND THE DECIMAL POINT, IF IT'S GREATER THAN ZERO, IS ANOTHER SPACE.
SO I DUNNO IF THE TABLES ARE WRONG, BUT IT'S, UM, BUT, BUT WE COULD HAVE BEEN CLEAR.
RIGHT? SO THAT MEANS THAT IT'S, THAT'S 4, 5, 6 ON AND ON.
SO SEAN, SEAN, BEFORE YOU, BEFORE YOU RUN OFF THIS, THIS, THIS EXAMPLE HERE WITH AN EIGHT BEDROOM HOME, UM, LET'S LOOK AT THE PROPOSALS PROPOSAL.
4,000 SQUARE FEET, WE'RE LOOKING AT THREE PARKING SPOTS REQUIRED IN AN OVERLAY DISTRICT.
OVERLAY DISTRICT NOW EIGHT BEDROOMS. THIS IS A SHORT-TERM RENTAL SITUATION WHERE WE'RE PROBABLY LOOKING AT OVERFLOW PARKING BEYOND THE, THE BUILDING CONFINES ONTO THE STREET, PROBABLY SEE IN MANY SPOTS.
ARE WE TRYING TO JUST, SO WITH THIS PARTICULAR PROPOSAL, ARE WE TRYING TO DISCOURAGE SHORT TERM RENTALS IN ANY, ANY, ANY WAY FASHION OR FORM? OR
[00:35:01]
IS THAT A CONSIDERATION? WELL, I THINK WE'RE TRYING TO DEVELOP A BETTER BALANCE OF DEVELOPMENT AND, UM, BUILT, BUILT, UM, ENVIRONMENT VERSUS LAND AREA.SO I DON'T KNOW IF WE'RE TRYING TO DISCOURAGE IT.
WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT IF YOU BUILD A LARGER HOME, OKAY, YOU HAVE PARKING, ADEQUATE PARKING 'CAUSE WHAT, WHAT WE'VE SEEN NOW WITH THE, WITH UNDER PARKED RESIDENTIAL, AND WE DON'T, AND OUR DEFINITION OF DWELLING UNIT WE KNOW IS AN ISSUE THAT NEEDS TO BE SOLVED.
A DWELLING UNIT COULD BE 500 SQUARE FEET, IT COULD BE 8,000 SQUARE FEET.
AND OTHER THAN THIS, UM, PARKING CALCULATION THAT DOESN'T PROVIDE ENOUGH MANDATORY MINIMUM PARKING TO ACCOMMODATE WHAT'S BEING BUILT ON THE SITE, UM, IT'S, IT'S DIFFICULT.
AND IT CREATES THOSE, UM, THOSE CONFLICTS, RIGHT? WHERE IF YOU'VE GOT AN 8,000 SQUARE FOOT HOME, UH, OR EIGHT, EIGHT BEDROOM HOME, DEPENDING ON HOW BIG IT IS, FIVE, SIX, 7,000 SQUARE FEET, THE PARKING REQUIREMENTS ARE, IT'S AN ARCHAIC, UH, REQUIREMENT.
AND SO BY REQUIRING MORE PARKING, IT SHOULD DO A COUPLE OF THINGS.
ONE, IT SHOULD REDUCE THE AREA THAT YOU CAN BUILD, RIGHT? YOUR, YOUR STRUCTURE ON.
'CAUSE RIGHT NOW WE'RE SEEING MAXIMIZING HEIGHT WIDTH, UM, MAXIMIZING BUILDING ENVELOPE, AND THEN A SMALL ATTENTION GIVEN TO PARKING.
AND WE KNOW THAT THEY CAN ACCOMMODATE PARKING OR DEVELOPERS OR BUILDERS CAN ACCOMMODATE PARKING IN THE GARAGES, BUT A LOT OF TIMES NO ONE PARKS IN THE GARAGE.
RIGHT? UM, AND SO THIS IS A BALANCE THAT SAYS IF YOU'RE GONNA BUILD AT THIS LEVEL WITH, UM, AT THIS SQUARE FOOTAGE, YOU HAVE TO MAKE SURE YOU'VE GOT A, A ADEQUATE PARKING OR MORE ADEQUATE PARKING.
UM, AND WHAT IT DOES ALSO IS WITH OUR SHORT-TERM RENTAL, UM, OUR APPLICATION OF PERMIT FOR SHORT-TERM RENTALS, THERE'S A REQUIREMENT THAT, UM, THAT THE LISTINGS FOR THOSE SHORT-TERM RENTALS HAVE TO HAVE TO PROVIDE HOW MANY COMPLIANT PARKING SPACES THEY HAVE.
THEY CAN'T BE ANY, UM, OFFSITE PARKING.
AND SO THIS HELPS TO, IT HELPS THE FUTURE BUILT, UM, ENVIRONMENT.
IF SOMEONE'S BUILDING PROPERTIES THAT THEY'RE GONNA RENT IN THE FUTURE, IT, IT WILL, UH, IT WILL ENSURE THAT AT LEAST THERE'S A LITTLE BIT MORE PARKING THAT IT'S COMPLIANT.
UM, AND WITH THE FLOOR AREA RATIO AND THE PARKING REQUIREMENTS, I THINK WE'RE TRYING TO, TRYING TO SHRINK THE, THE BUILDING ENVELOPE A LITTLE BIT.
SO, BUT IT, IT SEEMS LIKE THE, UM, THE PROPOSAL IS REALLY GEARED MORE TOWARD OWNER OCCUPIED RESIDENTIAL UNITS RATHER THAN SHORT TERM RENTALS.
WELL, I THINK WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, THAT RESIDENTS ARE MORE PROTECTED AND THE DEVELOPMENT THEY'RE SEEING AROUND THEM.
UM, BECAUSE SINGLE FAMILY, WHAT WHAT WE'VE SEEN IS SINGLE FAMILY DEVELOPMENTS OR, OR PROJECTS, UH, ARE BEING BUILT OR BEING PERMITTED SINGLE FAMILY STRUCTURES, BUT MANY ARE THEN GOING INTO THE RENTAL MARKET.
AND SO TRYING TO PROVIDE THAT BALANCE.
SO THERE SHOULD BE LESS DISTINCTION BETWEEN A SINGLE FAMILY HOME AND ONE THAT'S, UM, BEING RENTED OR, OR, OR USED PART, PART OF THE YEAR SHOULD BE LESS DISTINCTION IF IN THE ZONING DISTRICTS THAT ALLOW BOTH.
AND SO I THINK THIS PROVIDES SOME BETTER, UM, BALANCE ON SITE DEVELOPMENT AND PLANNING FROM A PARKING FROM A LOT COVERAGE FROM IMPERVIOUS, IMPERVIOUS SETBACKS, BUFFERS, UM, THAT WILL, THAT WILL PROVIDE SOME BENEFIT.
IS IT PERFECT? NO, WE KNOW WE'VE GOT SOME MORE AMENDMENTS THAT NEED TO GET THERE.
WE TALK ABOUT, UM, THE MATERIALS ON DRIVEWAYS, THE HEIGHTS OF, OF, UM, GARAGES AND SOME OTHER THINGS.
BUT WE'RE TRYING TO GET THESE TWO PROTECTIONS IN PLACE KNOWING THAT THIS WILL PROVIDE SOME LEVEL OF BALANCE UNTIL WE'VE COMPLETE THE FOUR AND ULTIMATELY THE OVERALL PROJECT WITH DISTRICT PLANNING AND A NEW L M O.
TEAR DOWNS, THEY GET GRANDFATHERED TO THE OLD PARKING REQUIREMENTS OR IF THEY TEAR DOWN AND BUILT THE, THE NEW PARKING REQUIREMENTS ON A RESIDENTIAL LADDER APPLICABLE.
I CAN ANSWER THAT ONE IF YOU WANT ME TO.
SO ON THAT ONE, UM, ANY CHANGE IN USE, INCREASE IN DWELLING UNITS, INCREASE IN SQUARE FOOTAGE, INCREASE, INCREASE IN BEDROOMS, UM, TEAR DOWNS WOULD BE, HAVE TO COME BACK AND GO BASED ON THE NEW CODE.
OH, SO LET'S JUST SAY THEY LEAVE THE FOUNDATION IN PLACE AND BUILD UP.
SO THE SQUARE FOOTAGE WENT UP, SO THEY'D HAVE TO COMPLY WITH THE NEW PARK.
MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT WOULD, HOW IT WOULD WORK SINCE IT WOULD BE A NEW STRUCTURE AND IF YOU TEAR DOWN, TECHNICALLY YOU LOSE YOUR GRANDFATHERING IF YOU TEAR DOWN THE WHOLE STRUCTURE, BUT YOU LEAVE THE FOUNDATION IN PLACE.
SO, SO WE HAVE ON THE ISLAND IT USED TO BE CALLED THE 50% RULE.
SO IF, IF THE HOUSE IS IMPROVED, UH, 49% OR GREATER, THE, THE ENTIRE STRUCTURE NEEDS TO BE BROUGHT INTO COMPLIANCE, WHICH WOULD
[00:40:01]
BRING INTO THESE, THESE RULES INTO PLAY.AND THAT'S IN COMPLIANCE WITH ALL CODE.
THEN INCLUDING THIS, YOU HAVE TO BRING IT INTO COMPLIANCE WITH ALL CODE.
ALL CORRECT CODE, WHICH IS NORMAL.
SEEING NO MORE QUESTIONS ON PARKING, WE WILL CONTINUE ON TO THE F A R CHANGES.
UM, AND THIS MIGHT BE A QUESTION FOR BRUCE.
COULD, COULD WE VOTE ON THIS SINCE WE'VE TALKED ABOUT PARKING BEFORE WE CHANGE OUR THOUGHTS TO AR, BUT WE STILL HAVE TO HAVE A PUBLIC HEARING, CORRECT OR NOT? YES.
PUBLIC HEARING, YOU WOULD HAVE TO OPEN UP TO THE PUBLIC HEARING BEFORE YOU COULD TAKE ANY VOTE, RIGHT? THAT WOULD BE MY, THAT'D BE MY PREFERENCE IS LET'S FINISH THE, THE PARKING DISCUSSION BEFORE MOVING ON TO THINKING ABOUT SOMETHING ELSE.
LET'S, UM, UH, ARE THERE ANY OTHER COMMISSIONER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS AT THIS TIME BEFORE WE ASK, UH, MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC TO AND CAN MAY STAFF ASK THE CITY ATTORNEY TO WEIGH IN ON THE LEGALITY OF HOW THAT WOULD WORK QUICKLY IF THEY WERE TO BREAK THESE UP INTO TWO DIFFERENT ITEMS FOR PUBLIC, TWO PUBLIC HEARINGS AND TWO VOTES.
IT HAS NOT BEEN NOTICED IN THAT FASHION.
IT'S BEEN NOTICED AS A WHOLE, AND SO I THINK YOU NEED TO PURSUE IT AS A WHOLE.
THEY'RE, THEY'RE NOT BROKEN APART IN, IN NOTICE OR, OR THE PRESENTATION OR ANYTHING.
SO OUR LEGAL ADVISOR IS TELLING US THAT WE NEED TO CONSIDER BOTH OF THESE AT THE SAME TIME AND NOT SEPARATELY.
DOES THAT MEAN WE COULD VOTE YES ON ONE AND NO ON THE OTHER? UH, SO SINCE YOU'RE MAKING A RECOMMENDATION, YOUR RECOMMENDATION COULD BE ANY OF THAT.
IT COULD MEAN TO ACCEPT EVERYTHING IS WRITTEN BY STAFF.
IT COULD MEAN TO ACCEPT PARTS OF F A R EXCEPT PARTS OF PARKING.
YOUR RECOMMENDATION CONCLUDE, INCLUDE ANY TYPE OF RECOMMENDATION THAT YOU WISH.
GIVEN, GIVEN THAT, UH, ADVICE, THEN, UH, RICHARD, GO AHEAD AND PROCEED WITH THE, UH, FLOOR AREA RATIO, MR. UH RIGHT.
UM, AND HERE ON THE FLOOR AREA RATIO, WE'RE LOOKING TO CREATE A NEW SECTION UNDER THE DEVELOPMENT FORM STANDARDS CALLED SINGLE FAMILY FLUOR ARRAY RATIO.
AND THE NEW SECTION WILL BE SECTION 16 DASH FIVE DASH 18.
SO HERE WE WOULD BE ESTABLISHING THE FLORA AREA RATIO.
UM, IT'D BE THE MAXIMUM GROSS FLUOR ARRAY OF A SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL DWELLING IS LIMITED TO 0.45 TIMES THE AREA OF THE LOT ON WHICH THE SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENCE IS LOCATED.
PROVIDED HOWEVER, THAT THE MAXIMUM GROSS FLOOR OF A SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENCE SHALL NOT EXCEED 4,000 SQUARE FEET.
UM, AND ON THIS ONE, UH, PD IS NOT INCLUDED IN THESE REGULATIONS.
THE ZONING DISTRICTS THAT THIS WOULD FALL UNDER ARE SSS R SF FOUR THREE, SORRY.
UM, R S F FIVE, R S F SIX, R M FOUR R M EIGHT R M 12 L C M F N V N C R D S AND W M U.
SO ON THIS PAGE HERE, WE'RE CREATING THE NEW SECTION 16 DASH FIVE DASH 18 AND DEFINING FLOOR RATIO AS THE MEASUREMENT OF A BUILDING'S GROSS FLOOR AREA IN RELATION TO THE SIZE OF THE LOT ON WHICH THE BUILDING IS LOCATED.
F A R IS EXPRESSED AS A DECIMAL NUMBER AND IS DERIVED BY DIVIDING THE TOTAL GROSS FLORIA OF THE BUILDABLE AREA BY THE NET ACREAGE OF THE LOT.
SO HERE FOR F A R CONSIDERATIONS, WE BROKE DOWN THE SINGLE FAMILY LOTS THAT WE HAD INFORMATION ON.
UM, AND RIGHT NOW IT LOOKS LIKE THE AVERAGE BUILDING IN ALL ZONING DISTRICTS THAT THIS WOULD AFFECT WOULD BE 2,322 SQUARE FEET APPROXIMATELY, AND THE AVERAGE LOT SIZE IS GONNA BE 10,312 FEET APPROXIMATELY.
SO THE AVERAGE F A R FOR THESE DISTRICTS IS 0.32.
UM, AND WE REVIEWED 2,450 PARCELS ON THIS.
UH, AND IF WE LOOK AT THE EXISTING F A R REQUIREMENTS THAT ARE ONLY IN THE OVERLAY DISTRICTS, UH, FOREST BEACH HAS A 0.55 F A R AND FOLLY FIELD AND HOLIDAY HOMES HAS A 0.45.
UM, BUT IN THOSE DISTRICTS WE ALSO HAVE A MAXIMUM HOUSE SIZE.
SO FOR FOREST BEACH, IT'S 5,000 SQUARE FEET.
FOLLY FILLED IS 4,500 SQUARE FEET AND HOLIDAY HOMES IS 4,000 SQUARE FEET.
AND SO WE KIND OF DERIVES MOST OF OUR INFORMATION OFF THE EXISTING F A, UM, AND THAT'S WHAT YOU SEE IN OUR PROPOSAL.
UM, AND THESE ARE THE 2022 BUILDING PERMITS THAT STAFF RECEIVED AND PERMITTED.
[00:45:01]
F A R IS BETWEEN 0.03 AND 0.07.AND WITH ONE, ONE OUTLIER OF 0.58, UH, THE AVERAGE IS 0.32 F A R BELOW, AND THE SUGGESTED IS 0.45.
SO ON THERE, WE'RE TRYING TO BALANCE, UM, SOME OF THE LARGER F A R LOTS WITH THE SMALLER F A R LOTS TO TRY TO FIND A MEDIUM.
UM, AND ON HERE, MOST OF THIS WILL BE BROKEN DOWN IN THE DISTRICT PLANNING.
UM, WE'RE TRYING TO CREATE A FRAMEWORK SO ONCE WE REACH OUT TO ALL THE DIFFERENT DISTRICTS, WE CAN GET SPECIFIC NUMBERS FOR SPECIFIC ZONING DISTRICTS, AND THAT'LL BE A MUCH QUICKER PROCESS TO AMEND ONCE WE HAVE THIS FRAMEWORK IN PLACE.
MY APOLOGIES, THIS IS THE 22 2 BILLING PERMIT.
UM, WE HAD 156 TOTAL PROPERTIES, UM, ON THERE.
UH, AND THE AVERAGE HOME SIZE WAS 4,775 SQUARE FEET.
UM, THE MINIMUM HOUSE SIZE WAS 1,216, AND THE MAXIMUM SQUARE FOOTAGE OF A LOT WAS 8,328.
UH, SO WE ARE STARTING TO SEE LARGER HOMES BEING BUILT THAN THE LAST SLIDES THAT SHOWED THE EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE.
UM, SO ON THIS ONE, THE MINIMUM WAS 1216, WHICH WAS IN THE RM FOUR, WHICH IS LOW TO MODERATE DENSITY RESIDENTIAL.
AND THE MAXIMUM BEING 8,328 SQUARE FEET WAS IN R M EIGHT MODERATE DENSITY.
AND THE MEDIAN FOR ALL 156 PROPERTIES WAS 5,290 SQUARE FEET.
UH, SO ON THIS, UM, WE ARE LOOKING AT THE DIFFERENT THINGS IN OUR PLAN, WHICH IS OUR COMPREHENSIVE PLAN THAT, UH, ARE IN LINE WITH THIS AND THE PURSUIT OF EXCELLENT, UH, CONNECTED, CONNECTED STRATEGIES INCLUDING PROVIDING APPROPRIATE MODIFICATIONS TO THE ZONING DESIGNATIONS AND LAND USE REGULATIONS TO MEET COMMUNITIES WHILE MAINTAINING ISLAND CHARACTER, UH, AND THE ENVIRONMENTAL AND SUSTAINABILITY SECTION.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR ENVIRONMENT TO INCLUDE, ANTICIPATE, ANTICIPATE THE FUTURE CLIMATE OR ENVIRONMENT THAT COULD IMPACT THE HUMAN FOOTPRINT AND PRESENCE ON THE ISLAND.
THOSE ARE SOME OF THE BIG ONES WE'VE PULLED OUT OF, UH, OUR PLAN TO JUSTIFY BRINGING THESE RECOMMENDATIONS FORWARD.
AND JUST TO REITERATE, UM, THE RECOMMENDATION HERE IS FOR PLANNING COMMISSION TO HOLD THIS PUBLIC HEARING AND CONSIDER AN AMENDMENT TO TITLE 16 OF THE MUNICIPAL CODE OF THE TOWN OF HILTON HEAD ISLAND, THE LAND MANAGEMENT ORDINANCE TO AMEND SINGLE FAMILY DWELLING PARKING REQUIREMENTS AND TO ESTABLISH SINGLE FAMILY DWELLING FLOOR AREA RATIO.
AND STEPH IS RECOMMENDING THAT, UM, ACTION BE TAKEN TO SEND A RECOMMENDATION TO TOWN COUNCIL AT THIS MEETING.
AND, UH, THAT'S ALL FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UM, I'M HAPPY TO OPEN IT UP TO ANY QUESTIONS FROM THE COMMISSIONERS.
LET'S START WITH, UH, COMMISSIONER QUESTIONS.
ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? RICHARD? UH, RICHARD, COULD YOU GO BACK A FEW SLIDES TO, TO THE AVERAGE SQUARE FOOT? TELL, TELL ME IN YOUR WORDS WHAT, WHAT THIS SAYS.
UH, YEAH, SO THE AVERAGE HOME SIZE RIGHT NOW BEING BUILT IS 4,775 SQUARE FEET.
THAT'S HARD TO BELIEVE IS, IS THAT, AND THAT'S JUST FROM BUILDING PERMITS FROM LAST YEAR ALONE.
AND THESE ARE SINGLE FAMILY DETACHED HOMES.
THE AVERAGE IS ABOUT 5,000 SQUARE FEET BEING BUILT NOW ACCORDING TO PERMIT DATA FROM LAST YEAR.
IS THAT TELLING US THAT ALL THESE HOUSES ARE SHORT TERM RENTALS, OR DOES THAT TELL US THAT COUPLES MOVING DOWN HERE ARE LOOKING FOR BIG HOUSES? UM, IT SOUNDS LIKE THAT DEVELOPERS ARE COMING IN AND MAXIMIZING ALL THE DIFFERENT SETBACKS, UM, AND BEING ABLE TO BUILD AS HIGH AND AS WIDE AS THEY CAN CURRENTLY.
AND, AND THE REASON FOR THAT WOULD CLEARLY BE FOR SHORT TERM RENTALS.
I WOULD THINK, UH, WELL, FOR MIND IF I JUMP IN SEAN COLE, IT'S TELLING US THAT THE CODE'S WRONG, RIGHT? FOR OUR CODE NEEDS TO BE CHANGED.
UM, I DO THINK MORE WE'VE SEEN A HIGHER PERCENTAGE OF DEVELOPMENT THAT IS NOT FOR OWNER OCCUPIED SINGLE FAMILY, UH, CONDITION.
AND, UM, OUR SHORT-TERM RENTAL DATA WOULD SUPPORT, SUPPORT THAT.
AND YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU BREAK DOWN THIS TABLE, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE RD DISTRICT, YOU CAN BUILD 16 UNITS PER ACRE.
SO NOW THINK ABOUT THAT AT, AT AN AVERAGE HOME SIZE OF 5,100 SQUARE FEET AND YOU GET THESE REALLY TALL TOWERS, NOT A LOT OF PARKING AREA FOR PARKING, UM, YOU KNOW, R M EIGHT EIGHT UNITS PER ACRE, 6,180 SQUARE FEET WE'RE, I DON'T WANNA SAY THAT THERE AREN'T, UM, PEOPLE THAT WANT TO LIVE HERE AS THEIR PERMANENT SINGLE FAMILY HOME AND WANT A, A LARGER, A LARGER HOUSE.
UM, BUT I WOULD SAY THE MAJORITY OF WHAT WE'RE SEEING IS INVESTMENT AND RENTAL DEVELOPMENT.
AND I'M CONFIDENT IN SAYING THAT BASED
[00:50:01]
ON OUR SHORT-TERM RENTAL NUMBERS, WHAT WE'VE SEEN, UM, OUR OBSERVATIONS AND CODE ENFORCEMENT AND OUR, UM, OUR DEVELOPMENT SERVICES TEAM AND INSPECTIONS.UM, SO I WANTED JUST TO MAKE THAT CLARIFICATION, I DIDN'T MEAN TO KEEP INTERRUPTING, RICH.
BUT YEAH, SO YOU'RE DOING A GREAT JOB.
UM, SO WHAT THESE NEW CODES WILL DO, HOPEFULLY IS NOT LIMIT SHORT TERM RENTALS, BUT RATHER LIMIT THE SCALE.
SO WHEN YOU GET A NEW HOUSE NEXT TO YOU OCCUPIED NORMAL, WHAT YOU CONSIDER SINGLE FAMILY DWELLING, THE HOUSE THAT'S GOING NEXT TO YOU IS TYPICALLY NOW BASED ON 2022, UM, NUMBERS THAT I'M SEEING IN FRONT OF YOU.
IT'S GONNA BE TYPICAL THAT THE HOUSE NEXT TO YOU, IT'S A NEW HOUSE THAT'S GOING TO BE A SHORT TERM RENTAL.
WHAT WE'RE DOING HERE TODAY IS TRYING TO LIMIT THE, THE MASS OF, OF THAT RENTAL.
AND WITH SEEING THAT NUMBER OF THE AVERAGE HOME BEING 4,775 SQUARE FEET, THE REGULATIONS WE HAVE IN PLACE THAT WE'RE RECOMMENDING AND BEFORE YOU TODAY WOULD BE EITHER 0.45 F A R OR 4,000 SQUARE FEET OF GROSS FLOOR AREA, WHICHEVER IS LESS.
SO IF, IF YOUR 0.45 IS GREATER THAN 4,000, WE WOULDN'T LET YOU GO GREATER THAN 4,000.
SO ON, ON THIS SLIDE, I DON'T SEE THE, UH, THE FAR RATIO, BUT THAT WAS ON THE PREVIOUS SLIDE I THINK.
BUT, BUT THIS IS, SO THIS IS TOTAL DATA THAT THIS IS TOTAL DATA AND THE THE SLIDE WE JUST CAME FROM IS 2022, BUT 2022, IT SEEMS LIKE THE FAR RATIO IS GOING WAY UP ACCORDING TO THIS SLIDE.
BASED ON THE HOME SIZE AND, UH, YEAH, THE LOT SIZE.
IT WOULD BE SAFE TO PRESUME THAT, ARE WE TRACKING, DO WE HAVE ANY DATA THAT TRACKS 20 21, 20 22, THE GROWTH IN PERMANENT REMODELS OR TEAR DOWNS THAT LATER ON GO FROM A SECOND HOME, SINGLE FAMILY HOME, A RESIDENT TWO THAT ENTERS THE, THE, UM, RENTAL MARKET.
DO WE HAVE THAT WHERE WE CAN TRACK THAT, WE CAN SEE IT, WE CAN SHOW IT, TOUCH IT, FEEL IT.
SEAN USES ALL OF THOSE SOFTWARES A LITTLE MORE THAN I DO.
I NEED NEW SHOES WEARING 'EM OUT,
UM, SO WE'VE JUST THIS YEAR BEGAN, UH, WORKING WITH GO, UM, GOBOS AS A SOFTWARE VENDOR TO TRACK SHORT-TERM RENTALS.
UM, WE, BECAUSE HOMES ARE BUILT AND PERMITTED A SINGLE FAMILY AND EVEN THE RENOVATIONS, IT'S DIFFICULT TO, TO UNDERSTAND WHEN THAT TRANSITION TO RENTAL IS.
UNTIL NOW, I GUESS NOW WE KNOW WHERE THEY EXIST BECAUSE OF THE PERMIT REQUIREMENT.
YOU KNOW, ALL SHORT-TERM RENTALS ARE REQUIRED TO HAVE A BUSINESS LICENSE AND TO APPLY FOR THIS PERMIT TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE MANAGING TRASH, THEY'RE COM COMPLIANT WITH NOISE, THE INFORMATION TO OWNERS OR TO, UH, TO RENTERS, UM, AND, AND THE PARKING REQUIREMENTS.
SO WE'LL BE ABLE TO TRACK THIS OVER TIME TO UNDERSTAND HOW THERE'S A TRANSITION.
UH, WE DID PRESENT TO, UH, A COUNCIL COMMITTEE A MONTH OR SO AGO, THE FIRST BATCH OF INFORMATION, AND IT SHOWED KIND OF A, A SCATTER PLOT OF ALL OF THE SHORT TERM RENTALS.
AND WE, WE WILL BE ABLE TO ZOOM IN TO UNDERSTAND THAT.
AND I THINK GOING FORWARD WE'LL BE ABLE TO TRACK THAT CHANGE OVER TIME.
SO ARE WE SEEING TRANSITION IN THESE AREAS TO MORE SHORT-TERM RENTALS? IS THE TREND KIND OF HOLDING FIRM? UM, BUT IT'S, IT'S DIFFICULT BECAUSE THEY'RE PERMITTED ONE WAY AND THEN THE USE COULD CHANGE.
UM, AND BEFORE THIS YEAR IT COULD CHANGE WITHOUT REALLY ANY REQUIREMENT THAT THE TOWN HAD IN PLACE TO TO, TO MANAGE OR AT LEAST UNDERSTAND THE IMPLICATIONS.
SO A LOT OF SHORT TERM RENTAL, GETTING BUSINESS LICENSE NOW.
UM, I THINK OUR, I THINK THE PROGRAM THAT COUNCIL SUPPORTED HAS BEEN FABULOUS.
UM, AND ALLOWING US TO HAVE THE RESOURCES TO BE ABLE TO IMPLEMENT THE POLICY THAT THEY PUT IN PLACE.
UH, WE HAVE SEEN AN INCREASE IN BUSINESS LICENSES FOR, UM, IT USED TO BE YOU HAD TO HAVE TWO OR MORE OR, UM, BUT NOW IF YOU HAVE ONE RENTAL PROPERTY, YOU HAVE TO HAVE A BUSINESS LICENSE.
SO WE'VE SEEN AN INCREASE IN BUSINESS LICENSES FOR THE RENTALS AND UH, WE HAVE AROUND 7,000 SHORT-TERM RENTALS THAT HAVE BEEN PERMITTED THROUGH THE NEW REQUIREMENT.
UM, AND OUR BUSINESS LICENSE AND, UM, SHORT-TERM RENTAL TEAM HAS BEEN DOING A FABULOUS JOB TO DO THAT.
AND SO WE'VE IDENTIFIED OTHER RENTALS.
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THINK WE'LL HAVE A REALLY GOOD PICTURE AS WE GET THROUGH THE SUMMER SEASON AND WE GET THE NEXT DATA SET TO LOOK AT.UM, SO YES, IT'S, IT'S BEEN AN UP UPTICK IN BUSINESS LICENSES AND THE PERMIT, UH, SHORT-TERM.
OTHER QUESTIONS FROM COMMISSIONERS, RICHARD? UM, I KNOW THAT THE, THE PUDS ARE THAT THIS RULE DOES NOT APPLY TO THE PUDS.
A LARGE LARGE PORTION OF THE RESIDENTIAL AREA OF THIS ISLAND IS UNDER A P U D.
DOES THIS SLIDE AND THE PREVIOUS SLIDE EXCLUDE THE PUDS OR THEY INCLUDED IN THESE NUMBERS? YEAH, SINCE PUDS ITS OWN SEPARATE ZONING DISTRICT, UH, THIS ONLY INCLUDES THE ZONING DISTRICTS THAT ARE LISTED THERE, WHICH LOOKS LIKE THERE'S ONLY FIVE ZONING DISTRICTS THERE THAT WERE INCLUDED IN THIS ANALYSIS.
SO DOES, SO THE SQUARE FOOTAGE WOULD BE MUCH HIGHER IN THOSE PUDS, MOST LIKELY.
UH, I'VE NOT REVIEWED ANY OF THOSE PERMITS, SO I CAN'T SPEAK TO THAT.
UM, BUT THE PUDS ARE BOUND TO THEIR DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENTS THAT THEY HAD AT PLATTING AND PRIOR TO DEVELOPMENT AND I, WE, WE HAD FOR DISCUSSION PURPOSES, I'M HOPING WE SEE THESE RULES SUPPLIED, YOU KNOW, ISLAND WIDE, UM, AT SOME POINT IN TIME.
BUT THAT'S, I KNOW THAT'S A FOOTNOTE FOR A FUTURE AMENDMENT, BUT I JUST WANTED TO BE CLEAR FOR MY PURPOSES WHETHER THOSE WERE INCLUDED IN THE, THESE SLIDES AND I DID NOT THINK THAT THEY WERE.
OTHER COMMENTS? COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS FROM COMMISSIONERS? YES, THIS IS, UH, ELLEN.
SO IF WE TAKE, IF WE GO BACK TO THE SLIDE WHERE YOU HAD ALL THE ZONING DISTRICTS AND THE AVERAGE BUILDING AND THE AVERAGE LOT SIZE, IT SORT OF HAS THE OVERLAY DISTRICTS ON THE BOTTOM, YEAH.
SO IF YOU TAKE OUT, UH, THE MV DISTRICT AND THE RM EIGHT DISTRICT, IT WOULD EVEN DRAW DOWN THE AVERAGE FAR BELOW 0.32.
HOW DO WE GET TO 0.45? SO IF I TAKE THOSE TWO OUTLIERS OUT, OKAY, WHY ARE WE, IT WOULD BE LOWER THAN 0.32, IT WOULD BE THE AVERAGE.
I'M JUST GONNA TAKE A NUMBER 0.30 0.28.
SO HOW ARE WE GOING FROM POINT, AGAIN, I DIDN'T DO THE MATH, JUST LOOKING AT IT FROM 0.28 TO 0.45.
AND WHAT DO OTHER BARRIER ISLANDS IN THIS AREA, WHERE ARE THEY HEADED OR WHERE ARE THEY NOW? FIRST, LEMME SAY I LOVE THE PLANNING COMMISSION, MAN, THESE ARE GREAT QUESTIONS.
UM, SO THIS SLIDE LOOKS AT EVERY, EVERY LIKE BUILT, BUILT ENVIRONMENT OVER TIME.
AND SO THERE WAS A TIME EARLY, EARLY ON WHEN THERE WERE MUCH MORE MODEST HOMES THAT WERE BEING BUILT ON HILTON HEAD.
AND SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE 0.32, THAT'S REALLY A MORE OF THE HISTORIC VIEW.
AND THEN THE 2022 REALLY SHOWS YOU WHAT THE DEVELOPMENT ENVIRONMENT IS, UM, HERE RECENTLY WHERE, UM, FOLKS ARE BUILDING TO 0.5, 6, 7, 8, SOME OF THESE DISTRICTS.
UM, IF YOU LOOK AT IT, UM, WHEN I DID THE MATH ONE WAS AT 0.97, I THINK IN R M EIGHT WHEN I, WHEN I TOOK THE ACREAGE DIVIDED BY EIGHT.
AND, UM, AND THEN USED THAT AS A FACTOR BASED ON THE WHATEVER, 6,000 SQUARE FOOT HOME, 5,700 SQUARE FOOT HOMES.
SO IF YOU LOOK AT DEVELOPMENT PATTERNS OVER TIME, RIGHT? AND IF YOU LOOK AT UH, FOREST BEACH COMMUNITY, UH, MUCH SMALLER LIKE LITTLE BUNGALOW STYLE HOMES, YOU KNOW, THEY'VE TRANSITIONED.
SO THE F A R FROM HISTORIC, THE, THE WHOLE PICTURE OF THE ISLAND IS GONNA BE LOWER THAN WHAT WE'VE SEEN HERE IN THE LAST FIVE YEARS AND CERTAINLY THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS.
SO BASED ON THAT, AND YOU CAN LOOK, THERE'S SOME, WE CAN SEE WHERE THERE'S SOME DEVELOPMENT PRESSURE.
IF LOOK AT R M A, YOU KNOW, AT 0.5, UM, AND, AND THEN THAT'S WHEN I DID THE CALCULATION, THAT'S 0.97.
WHEN I LOOK AT THE NEXT SLIDE, WE TRIED TO BALANCE IT USING EXISTING OVERLAYS.
UM, AND WE HAVE THREE, THEY WERE ADOPTED MANY YEARS AGO.
UM, THE FOREST BEACH FOLLY FIELD AND HOLIDAY HOMES HAVE THAT RATIO OF 0.45 OR 0.5 IN FOREST BEACH, THEY HAVE MAXIMUM HOME SIZES.
I THINK THE OVERLAYS WITH THE ADJUSTMENT TO PARKING WILL PROVIDE SOME IMPROVEMENT TO THE CONDITIONS THERE.
YOU KNOW, ZONING IS, WAS ORIGINALLY ESTABLISHED TO TRY TO KEEP INCOMPATIBLE USES SEPARATED.
AND WHAT WE SEE NOW IS WITHIN ZONING DISTRICTS THAT ALLOW A SINGLE FAMILY, IF YOU'RE PERMITTING IT, BUILDING IT A SINGLE FAMILY AND IT'S NOT BEING USED AS SINGLE FAMILY, WE'RE NOT REALLY PROVIDING THAT PROTECTION.
SO TO HAVE THAT BALANCE TO NOT NECESSARILY KNOW FROM LOOKING AT IT, RIGHT? YOU'RE, YOU'RE OUT THE STREET LOOKING AT THE TWO HOMES AND YOU, AND YOU KIND OF DO THIS, UM, THERE'S AN IMBALANCE RIGHT WITHIN THAT DISTRICT.
THE POINT, THE 0.45 WAS A BALANCE BASED ON THE OVERLAY DISTRICTS AND IF YOU LOOK AT HISTORIC DEVELOPMENT VERSUS THE, UM, THE CURRENT TRENDS WITH DEVELOPMENT TO FIND SOME, UH, BEGINNING POINT FOR DISCUSSION.
AND SO 0.5, 0.45 WAS THE, THE PLACE WE
[01:00:01]
LANDED ON.UM, WHEN, WHEN LOOKING AT THAT, WE DID RECEIVE SOME IN INPUT FROM SOME COMMUNITIES ABOUT HAVING A 0.35 F A R AND IN AN RM FOUR DISTRICT, IF YOU HAVE A 0.35 F A R AND UM, AND A QUARTER ACRE LOT 'CAUSE FOUR UNITS PER ACRE, YOU COULD BUILD A 3,811 SQUARE FOOT HOME, RIGHT? AND SO WE THOUGHT HAVING THE CAP OF 4,000 MADE SOME SENSE, RIGHT? YOU'RE GETTING THE PROTECTION OF THAT LOWER F A R, UM, WHEN YOU HAVE THOSE LARGER, UM, THOSE LARGER SIZE LOTS, UM, AND IT'S MATERIALLY CONSISTENT.
IT'S WHERE YOU GET INTO THOSE, UM, WHERE YOU GET INTO THOSE MUCH LARGER, UM, OR, OR THOSE HIGHER DENSITY AREAS WHERE YOU'RE GETTING MORE OF THAT PROTECTION.
SO I THOUGHT IT WAS A GOOD POINT, A GOOD STARTING POINT BASED ON CODES WE HAD ON THE BOOKS, HISTORIC DEVELOPMENT PATTERNS, AND MORE RECENT DEVELOPMENT PATTERNS, FINDING THAT BALANCE THAT, THAT MET THAT CONDITION.
SO WELL, I'M GONNA SORT OF PARAPHRASE IN MY OWN WORDS, AND YOU CAN CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG.
SO THE GUIDING PRINCIPLE HERE WAS NOT TO NECESSARILY PRESERVE THE HISTORIC TREND, BUT TO START TO PULL TOWARDS THE EXISTING TREND OR THE DEVELOPMENT PRESSURE THAT WE'VE BEEN PLACED ON.
IS THAT A FAIR STATEMENT? WHAT IS THAT? THE GUIDING PRINCIPLE HERE? UM, I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S, UM, RE RELENTING TO CURRENT DEVELOPMENT PRESSURE.
UM, I THINK IF YOU LOOKED AT, THERE'S PROBABLY, WELL, THERE'S BEEN SOME, SOME HIGH QUALITY DEVELOPMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN BUILT AT A, UM, AT A HIGHER F A R THAN 0.2 OR THREE.
AND SO IT, IT'S ALL, IT'S ALL A BALANCE.
YOU HAVE TO BALANCE ALL THOSE SITE DEVELOPMENT FEATURES, UH, THOSE DESIGN ELEMENTS AND, UM, AND THAT RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STRUCTURE AND LOT SIZE TO MAKE SURE YOU'RE GETTING THAT BALANCE.
I THINK 0.5, 0.45 IS A GOOD PLACE TO START THE DISCUSSION.
AND I GUESS THE ONLY THING I WOULD SORT OF SUMMARIZE BY SAYING IS WHEN I'VE LISTENED OVER THE PAST YEAR TO CONCERNS FROM FOREST BEACH AND FOLLY FIELD, THEY'RE UNHAPPY WITH THOSE EXISTING FAR REQUIREMENTS.
AND IT LOOKS LIKE WHAT YOU'RE PROPOSING IS MORE IN LINE WITH THAT.
SO, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, THAT'S WHY I ASKED THE QUESTION, YOU KNOW, WHAT WAS THE GUIDING PRINCIPLE HERE, UH, IS TO MAKE THE REST OF THE ISLAND THAT HAS DEVELOPMENT LOOK MORE LIKE WHAT'S HAPPENING, MORE SPEECH AND FOLLY FIELD, OR TO PRESERVE WHERE WE ARE.
SO, UH, AS AN INDIVIDUAL AND I, I'M CONCERNED THAT WE'VE, UM, LEANED TOO HEAVILY ON THE SIDE OF LARGER DEVELOPMENTS AND SO I'LL JUST LEAVE IT THERE.
AND TO KIND OF GO WHAT SEAN WAS SAYING ALSO, UM, OUR F A R REQUIREMENTS ARE ON GROSS FLOOR AREA.
SO THAT INCLUDES MORE THAN JUST YOUR FOUR WALLS IN YOUR HOME.
IT INCLUDES ANY ACCESSORY STRUCTURE, YOUR GARAGE AS WELL.
UM, AND I BELIEVE THIS DATA WAS BASED ON JUST THE SINGLE FAMILY STRUCTURE BEING BUILT.
SO I WOULD REACH TO SAY THAT SOME OF THESE FAR MAY BE SLIGHTLY HIGHER THAN WHAT'S PRESENTED HERE.
'CAUSE WE DID IT BASED ON THE FOOTPRINT OF THE SINGLE FAMILY HOME, NOT IF THEY'VE GOT A SHED IN THE BACK OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
UM, AND TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION ON NEIGHBORING COMMUNITIES, NOT A LOT OF COMMO COMMERCIAL COMMUNITIES, UM, COASTAL COMMUNITIES USE F A R.
UM, I LOOKED AT KIAWAH ISLAND.
THEY ONLY USE F A R FOR COMMERCIAL AND RESORT FOR RESIDENT RESIDENTIAL.
UH, FOLLY BEACH IS ONE DWELLING UNIT PER 10,500 SQUARE FEET.
UM, THEY DON'T USE F A R THERE.
UH, ISLE OF PALMS IS 0.4 F A R OR 3,200 SQUARE FEET, WHICHEVER IS GREATER.
BUT THEY ALSO HAVE A MAXIMUM LOT AREA OF 7,000 SQUARE FEET.
SO THERE ARE LOTS ARE SMALLER THAN WHAT A LOT OF OUR EXISTING LOTS HERE ARE.
UH, AND FERIDA BEACH, FLORIDA, WHICH I WOULD SAY IS PROBABLY THE COMMUNITY WITH THAT'S MORE SIMILAR TO US.
THEY'VE GOT A 0.5 F A R FOR SINGLE FAMILY DUPLEX AND TRIPLEX LOTS.
UM, AND THEN I PULLED THE MORE URBAN ONE JUST TO SEE WHAT THEY WOULD DO.
AND IT WAS WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH, NORTH CAROLINA, AND THEY HAVE A 0.7 F A R, BUT THEY'RE ALSO MUCH SMALLER LOTS AS WELL.
SO KIND OF A RANGE OF DIFFERENT COASTAL COMMUNITIES USING F A R.
OTHER QUESTIONS BY COMMISSIONERS? RICHARD OR STATE? OKAY.
COMMISSIONERS, WE, I DO HAVE A QUESTION.
SO, YES, I THINK YOU, ELLEN, YOU BROUGHT UP THE, THE POINT ABOUT FAR SPEECH AND FOLLY FIELD, AND I THINK ONE OF THE CONCERNS THERE IS THAT YOU WIND UP WITH A AMASSING ISSUE WHERE YOU HAVE THE ORIGINAL BUNGALOWS AND NOW NEXT DOOR TO THOSE BUNGALOWS, YOU HAVE BUILT THESE 0.55 FAR FACILITIES THAT ARE MCMANSIONS.
SO YOU'VE LOST THAT SENSE OF SCALE AND IT'S BECOME INCOMPATIBLE OVER TIME.
BUT, UH, I, I LIKE SEAN'S IDEA OF, FIRST OF ALL, I LIKE THE FACT THAT YOU'RE DOING YOUR RESEARCH, YOU'RE DOING, LOOKING AT CASE
[01:05:01]
STUDIES AND EXPLORING OTHER SIMILAR COMMUNITIES.THAT'S WHERE IT NEEDS TO START.
BUT IT SEEMS LIKE WHEN YOU LOOK AT 0.35 FAR, AND YOU LOOK AT THE PAST DATA HERE THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT ON THIS PARTICULAR SLIDE, THAT'S MORE IN KEEPING WITH THE HISTORIC, UH, DEVELOPMENT OF THIS ISLAND.
AND UNTIL RECENTLY WE'VE GOTTEN MUCH LARGER HOMES THAT HAVE, UH, HAVE BROUGHT THINGS OUTTA PROPORTION IN MANY CASES.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S ONE CONCERN.
I I, MY GUT FEELING IS THAT 0.45 IS TOO HIGH FOR OUR CURRENT SITUATION.
AND MY SECOND CONCERN IS THAT, UH, MAXING, MAXING OUT AT 4,000 SQUARE FEET COULD BE A PROBLEM, PARTICULARLY IN, IN THE, IN THE, UH, WHEN YOU LOOK AT LAST YEAR'S ANALYSIS AND LAST YEAR'S BUILDING DATA OR NEAR 5,000, WHICH ISN'T BAD IF WE'RE LOOKING AT A HALF ACRE OR A ONE ACRE OR TWO ACRE LUT, THAT CHANGES THE SCALE DRAMATICALLY.
SO MAYBE, MAYBE IT'S A MATTER OF JUST THINKING ABOUT HERE, IF YOU LOOK AT A LARGER MAX SIZE AND START WITH A SMALLER FAR RATIO, BUT HAVE SOME KIND OF A, A SLIDING SCALE.
AND I THINK IT NEEDS MORE EXPLORATION IS MY, IS MY COMMENT, IS WHAT IT COMES DOWN TO.
RICHARD, ONE SMALL CLARIFICATION.
THIS SLIDE WE'RE LOOKING AT RIGHT NOW, THIS HOME SQUARE FOOTAGE, IS THAT CONDITION SQUARE FOOTAGE EXCLUDING THE GARAGE AND THE ANCILLARY STRUCTURES? UM, I WOULD THINK FOR NEW PERMITS IT WOULD INCLUDE EVERYTHING, BUT I CAN DEFER TO ASHLEY.
SHE DID THE RESEARCH, THIS TABLE WAS PULLED OUT OF OUR BUILDING PERMIT INFORMATION THAT WE HOLD IN HOUSE, AND IT WOULD BE THE TOTAL SQUARE FOOTAGE OF THE PERMIT BASED UPON, UM, THE COMPUTER SYSTEM AND WHAT THAT COMPUTER SYSTEM HOLD EACH OF THE RECORDS.
YEAH, SO WOULD, I WOULD SAY THE 2022 DATE IS PROBABLY THAT IS THE MOST SIMILAR, UH, TO WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT TODAY.
WHEREAS FOR THIS SECTION WE JUST HAD TO MOSTLY PULL FROM BUFORD COUNTY RECORDS OF EXISTING PERMITS THAT WERE PULLED.
THANK YOU FOR THAT CLARIFICATION.
OKAY, COMMISSIONERS, WE WILL HAVE A CHANCE TO DISCUSS THIS AGAIN, BUT I'D LIKE TO OPEN IT UP FOR CITIZEN COMMENT ON THE TWO ITEMS BEFORE TODAY, THE, UH, FLOOR AREA RATIO AND PARKING REQUIREMENTS.
UH, UH, MR. CHAIRMAN, COULD YOU PLEASE OPEN IT AS A PUBLIC HEARING? I THOUGHT I DID, BUT OKAY.
WE'LL OPEN IT UP AS A PUBLIC HEARING, PUBLIC HEARING OPEN.
AND WE DO HAVE, WE DO HAVE COMMENTS.
BUT PLEASE STATE YOUR NAME FOR THE RECORD, PLEASE.
UH, GOOD MORNING LADIES AND GENTLEMEN OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION.
MY NAME IS LORI SLAC AND I LIVE ON JONESVILLE ROAD.
I'M HERE IMPLORING YOU TO TAKE A VERY CLOSE LOOK AT THE PROPOSED L M O AMENDMENT RECOMMENDATION TO PASS, PASS A FLOOR AREA RATIO OF 0.45 ISLAND WIDE.
OUR ROAD HAS BEEN THE TOPIC OF MANY CONVERSATIONS OVER THE PAST YEAR.
WE HAVE HAD TO FIGHT FOR EVERY INCH OF LAND PRESERVATION AND RESIDENTIAL QUALITY OF LIFE, LIFE THAT WE HAVE MAINTAINED.
OUR NEIGHBORS HAVE ATTENDED NEARLY EVERY PUBLIC MEETING THIS YEAR, NOT BECAUSE WE'RE SO INTERESTED IN WHAT IT IS YOU DO HERE, BUT BECAUSE THIS IS IMPACTING OUR DAY-TO-DAY LIVES, THIS COMMUNITY IS ON PUBLIC RECORD ASKING FOR A MORATORIUM.
WE HAVE BEEN REASSURED THAT THE UPCOMING DISTRICT PLANS AND L M O REVISIONS WOULD PROTECT US FROM FUTURE OVERDEVELOPMENT.
WE HAVE BEEN ASKED TO TRUST THE PROCESS AND WE HAVE DONE THAT.
BUT NOW WE FIND THAT THE ISLAND WIDE PROPOSED FLOOR AREA RATIO IS 0.45.
THAT IS DOUBLE THE F A R THAT WE CURRENTLY AVERAGE IN R M FOUR NEIGHBORHOODS, EVEN WITH THE SLIDING DENSITY SCALE, WHICH WE VEHEMENTLY OPPOSE ISLAND WIDE TODAY, THE AVERAGE F A R IS 0.32.
WHY IN THE WORLD SHOULD THE TOWN SUPPORT 0.45? WE HAVE ALL AGREED THAT WE HAVE SOME BAD DEVELOPMENT ON THIS ISLAND THAT HAS SNUCK IN UNDER LOOPHOLES IN OUR CURRENT L M O.
AND EVEN WITH THAT BAD DEVELOPMENT FACTORED INTO THE EQUATION, WE ARE AT AN ISLAND AVERAGE OF 0.32, YET WE'RE PROPOSING 0.45.
THE TOWN HAS IDENTIFIED OUR MARSHES DISTRICT IS EXTREMELY VULNERABLE TO IMMINENT OVERDEVELOPMENT AND DIMINISHED QUALITY OF LIFE FOR ITS RESIDENTS.
I CANNOT SEE HOW AN F A R OF 0.45 DOES ANYTHING BUT MAKE US SITTING DUCKS, ESPECIALLY WHEN THE SLIDING DENSITY SCALE STILL EXISTS.
I TRULY APPRECIATE ALL THE WORK THE TOWN STAFF IS PUTTING INTO DISTRICT PLANS, BUT THE REALITY IS NONE OF THIS WILL BE IN EFFECT UNTIL IT IS WRITTEN INTO CODE.
THEREFORE, FROM THE PASSING OF THIS PROPOSED ORDINANCE UNTIL THE REWRITE OF THE CODE APPROXIMATELY 2025, THE RESIDENTS OF THE MARSHES AND MANY OTHER OUTSIDE OF THE GATES RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOODS WILL BE MADE MORE VULNERABLE TO AN F A R THAT IS EVEN GREATER THAN THE CURRENT ISLAND AVERAGE.
WHY ARE WE STARTING WITH SUCH A HIGH NUMBER? I UNDERSTAND THAT WE HAVE TO START SOMEWHERE AND THAT THIS WILL FIX SOME OF THE MEGA MANSION SHORT-TERM RENTAL ISSUES, BUT IT PUTS US AT MORE RISK.
[01:10:01]
BACKING INTO REALISTIC NUMBERS HAS NEVER WORKED FOR US IN THE PAST.WE NEED TO START LOWER, WHICH WILL BOTH ADDRESS THE MEGA MANSION SHORT-TERM RENTAL ISSUE, AND PROTECT THE VULNERABLE.
WOULDN'T WE RATHER HAVE A FEW PUBLICLY DEEMED OVERCROWDED NEIGHBORHOODS SIT IN NON-CONFORMING STATUS UNTIL THE DISTRICT PLANS ARE COMPLETED? AND WE CAN LOOK AT INDIVIDUAL DISTRICTS RATHER THAN ALLOWING FOR MORE OF OUR ISLAND TO BE OVERDEVELOPED, WHICH ONCE DONE CAN BE UNDONE.
YOUR PROTECTION, WE EITHER NEED TO START LOWER, SAY 0.35, OR THERE NEEDS TO BE SOMETHING SIMULTANEOUSLY PRESENTED THAT PROTECTS THE MOST VULNERABLE, LIKE REMOVING THE SLIDING DENSITY SCALE OR REZONING RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOODS MADE MOST VULNERABLE BY THIS SWEEPING AND HIGH RESIDENTIAL F A R.
WE WANTED TO ASK APPRECIATE COMMENTS ON THE YESTERDAY TOO, A CHANCE TO READ THOSE OTHER CITIZEN COMMENTS.
HI, I AM JOCELYN STEIGER FROM THE HILTON HEAD AREA REALTORS.
I'M THE GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS DIRECTOR.
I WANNA THANK YOU ALL FOR ALL YOUR WORK AND EVERYTHING THAT YOU DO AND ALLOWING ME TO SPEAK TODAY.
UH, WANTED TO ASK YOU ALL, COULD WE PLEASE SLOW DOWN? UM, THESE PROPOSALS WILL HAVE AN EFFECT ON THE REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY, WHICH ABSOLUTELY IS A MAINSTAY OF OUR ECONOMY.
I THINK THESE ISSUES SHOULD BE TAKEN SEPARATELY, IF THAT'S POSSIBLE.
THEY'RE VERY DIFFERENT IN NATURE.
LIKE TO LOOK AT FLOOR AREA RATIO SEPARATELY FROM PARKING.
UM, WANT TO KNOW ANSWERS JUST OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD TO QUESTIONS LIKE, IF I OWN A 5,500 SQUARE FOOT HOME AND I HAVE AN ELECTRICAL FIRE, ARE YOU STILL GONNA LET ME REBUILD MY HOME TO 5,500 SQUARE FEET? UM, PEOPLE THAT HAVE INVESTED IN THEIR HOMES AND KNOW THEY CAN ADD A THOUSAND SQUARE FEET ONTO THEIR HOMES IN THE FUTURE TO ACCOMMODATE GROWTH IN THEIR FAMILIES, WHAT HAPPENS TO THEM WHEN THEY GO TO DO THAT IF THEY'RE ALREADY IN A 4,000 SQUARE FOOT HOME? UM, I THINK WE NEED TO REMEMBER THAT A LOT OF OUR PROPERTIES ON HILTON HEAD ISLAND THAT HAVE BEEN PRESERVED, HAVE BEEN PRESERVED 'CAUSE OF A REAL ESTATE TRANSFER FEE.
UM, THAT'S WHAT'S HELPING US PRESERVE A LOT OF LAND ON HILTON HEAD ISLAND.
UM, OUR SCHOOLS ARE NOT PAID FOR BY PRIMARY RESIDENTS OF HILTON HEAD ISLAND THROUGH PROPERTY TAXES, THE OPERATIONS, THEY'RE PAID BY THE INVESTOR, THE SECOND HOMEOWNER, THAT'S WHO IS PAYING THE OPERATIONS OF OUR SCHOOLS.
SO I ONLY BRING THESE THINGS UP TO ASK THAT WE PLEASE BE CAREFUL THAT WE SLOW DOWN AND WE TAKE A LOOK AT THIS.
SOME OF THESE PROPOSALS WERE THINGS THAT WERE BROUGHT UP DURING THE FIRST PHASE OF THE INITIATIVE OF THE SHORT-TERM RENTAL ORDINANCE.
WHAT WE HAVE FOUND SINCE THEN IS, AND WHAT WE HAD DETERMINED AT THAT POINT WAS TO COLLECT DATA FOR AT LEAST A YEAR.
LET'S SEE IF WE REALLY HAVE AS BIG A PROBLEM AS PEOPLE SAY, WE CAN COLLECT ACCURATE DATA, I'VE HEARD THAT WE ONLY HAVE 6,000 SHORT-TERM RENTALS WHEN 10,000 WAS THE NUMBER THEY WERE SPOUTING LAST YEAR.
SO I'M JUST ASKING FOR US TO SLOW DOWN, REALLY TAKE A LOOK AT THESE THINGS AND HOW THEY'RE GONNA AFFECT.
SO WE DON'T HAVE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES.
WE'RE NOT CREATING NONCONFORMITIES ALL OVER THE ISLAND.
UM, I THINK THERE'S A LOT TO THINK ABOUT HERE.
A LOT OF THIS DISCUSSION IS AROUND SHORT-TERM RENTALS, AND THAT'S ONE OF THE DRIVING FORCES OF WHY WE'RE TRYING TO PUT F A R AND PARKING SPACES INTO, INTO PLACE.
BUT WE'RE ADDRESSING IT FROM A SINGLE FAMILY HOME PERSPECTIVE.
SO WE NEED TO, UH, YOU KNOW, DEFINITELY WE DON'T HAVE ANY MINIMUMS AND MAXIMUMS. WE DON'T HAVE A MAXIMUM FAR, WHICH WE NEED IN ORDER TO PROTECT US IMMEDIATELY BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE A MORATORIUM TO, WE, WE, WE PLAN ON PUTTING THE FAR IN PLACE AND THEN READDRESSING IT WITH DISTRICT PLANS, BUT WE DON'T HAVE ANY PROTECTION NOW.
SO IS 0.45 THE NUMBER THAT WE WANT? PROBABLY NOT.
MAYBE WE COULD, UH, LOOK AT THESE AVERAGES AND MAYBE A PERCENTAGE MORE BASED ON EACH DISTRICT, SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, THE PARKING, PARKING SPACES WE HAVEN'T ADDRESSED, UM, THE PARKING SPACES.
WE'RE LOOKING AT IT FROM THE WHAT ARE THE NEEDS FOR A SINGLE FAMILY HOME RATHER THAN WHAT ARE THE NEEDS FOR A SHORT-TERM RENTAL.
SO THE SHORT TERM RENTAL ORDINANCE, AND IT SHOULDN'T, THIS SHOULDN'T BE AN ORDINANCE, UH, REQUIREMENT SHOULD BE A ZONING ISSUE THAT THE INTERVAL OCCUPANCY, WHICH I GUESS IS, I'M NOT SURE WHETHER THAT'S DEFINED IN THE ZONING LAWS.
AND THAT'S ANOTHER THING THAT WE NEED TO DEFINE.
WE DON'T HAVE A DEFINITION IN THE ZONING LAWS THAT DEFINE SHORT, UH, SINGLE FAMILY HOME OR SHORT-TERM RENTAL OR INTER INTERVAL OCCUPANCY.
SO THE DEFINITIONS NEED TO BE FLESHED OUT, UH, UNLESS I JUST COULDN'T FIND IT, WHICH IS AN ISSUE TOO, THAT IF I COULDN'T FIND IT.
BUT, YOU KNOW, FOR A SHORT-TERM RENTAL THAT'S IN
[01:15:01]
A SINGLE FAMILY HOME, WE NEED TO SET A MAXIMUM, MAXIMUM, MAXIMUM OCCUPANCY.YOU HAVE AN EIGHT BEDROOM HOME WITH 30 PEOPLE IN IT, THEN, UH, SIX PARKING PLACES IS NOT GOING TO DO IT.
AND YOU'RE STILL, YOU'RE, YOU'RE TRYING TO SOLVE THE, THE PROBLEMS OF SHORT-TERM RENTALS OVERFLOWING INTO THE STREET OR PARKING ON OTHER PEOPLE'S PROPERTY.
AND, UH, YOU'RE, THIS IS NOT DOING THAT.
SO WE NEED TO YES, PUT SOME IMMEDIATE PROTECTIONS IN PLACE, MINIMUM AND MAXIMUM, MAXIMUM FAR AND MINIMUM, UH, PARKING SPACES.
BUT WE ALSO NEED TO, WHEN WE HAVE A CHANCE, GO BACK AND ADDRESS THE, THE SHORT TERM RENTAL ZONING ISSUES DIRECTLY.
OTHER CITIZENS, IF I MAY, MR. CHAIRMAN, GOOD MORNING.
MY NAME IS CHESTER WILLIAMS. I'M A LOCAL ATTORNEY HERE.
UM, THERE ARE A NUMBER OF THINGS I THINK YOU NEED TO TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION AS YOU GO THROUGH THIS.
AND IN GOING THROUGH IT, I'VE NOTICED SOME OTHER TYPOS IN THE CODE THAT THE STAFF MAY WANT TO TAKE A LOOK AT ADDRESSING.
AND LET ME, LET ME GET TO ONE OF THOSE FIRST.
UM, ON THE PROPOSED AMENDMENTS FOR FLOOR AREA RATIO, THIS GETS INCORPORATED IN WITH RESPECT TO SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENCES, WHICH ARE TYPICALLY EXEMPT FROM THE DEVELOPMENT PLAN REVIEW APPROVAL.
BUT THERE ARE CERTAIN THINGS THAT YOU HAVE TO COMPLY WITH THAT DO APPLY TO DEVELOPMENT PLAN REVIEW APPROVAL.
SO IT'S SORT OF LIKE A, A, YOU GOTTA, YOU DON'T HAVE TO COMPLY WITH IT, BUT YOU HAVE TO COMPLY WITH IT.
BUT THERE IS A TYPO IN ONE OF THOSE.
IF YOU LOOK AT, FOR THE CODES, FOR THE STAFF'S BENEFIT, IF YOU LOOK AT 16 2 1 0 3 G THREE, LEMME FIND THAT TWO DASH 25.
THE CODE RIGHT NOW IS, UH, SECTION SUB SEVEN REFERS TO SECTION 16 5 1 0 5, I'M SORRY, 7 16 5 1 0 6, PARKING AND LOADING STANDARDS.
THAT SHOULD ACTUALLY READ 16 5 1 0 7.
SO NEXT TIME YOU COME BACK WITH SOME AMENDMENTS, YOU NEED TO ADDRESS THAT.
UH, ON PAGE THREE OF THE FLORIDA AREA RATIO PROPOSALS PURPOSE AND INTENT, THE INTENT OF THIS SECTION IS TO ESTABLISH A FLOOR AREA RATIO DEVELOPMENT STANDARD TO BE APPLIED TO PARCELS UTILIZED FOR SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL DWELLING CONSTRUCTION.
I'D SUGGEST THAT YOU CHANGE THE WORD CONSTRUCTION TO USE BECAUSE THE PARCEL'S NOT BEING UTILIZED FOR CONSTRUCTION.
IT'S BEING UTILIZED FOR SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL.
SO I THINK YOU, YOU NEED TO TAKE A LOOK AT THAT.
UH, IN THE NEXT DOWN, UH, FLORIDA AREA RATIO, SUB E IT REFERS TO 0.45 TIMES THE AREA OF THE LOT.
NOW, AREA OF THE LOT IS NOT DEFINED ANYWHERE.
SO THERE THERE IS A DEFINITION YOU CAN USE, AND I SUGGEST YOU CHANGE THE WORD AREA TO READ NET ACREAGE BECAUSE THAT'S A DEFINED TERM.
EVERYBODY KNOWS WHAT THAT IS UNDER THE CODE.
UM, ON THE PARKING ISSUES, UH, SOME REFERENCE HAS BEEN MADE TO THE EXISTING PARKING REQUIREMENTS FOR THE NEIGHBORHOOD CHARACTER OVERLAY DISTRICTS.
AND THERE'S A, THERE WAS A CURIOUS LITTLE ANOMALY THERE BECAUSE IN THE FOREST BEACH NEIGHBORHOOD CHARACTER OVERLAY DISTRICT AND IN THE FOLLY FIELD NEIGHBORHOOD CHARACTER OVERLAY DISTRICT DRIVEWAY AREA IS NOT LOCATED WITH ANY REQUIRED BUFFERS CAN BE COUNTED FOR PARKING, BUT THAT'S NOT APPLICABLE TO THE HOLIDAY HOMES NEIGHBORHOOD.
NOW I DON'T KNOW WHY THAT DISTINCTION IS THERE, BUT SOME OF WHAT'S BEING PRESENTED DOESN'T TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THAT DISTINCTION.
AND THEN ON THE CHARTS THAT WERE PRESENTED, THE PARKING CONSIDERATIONS, THIS, IT'S AN OUTNUMBERED PAGE, BUT STAFF, STAFF NEEDS TO TAKE A LOOK AT THE NUMBERS AGAIN.
AND I'M LOOKING RIGHT NOW AT PARKING LESS THAN FOUR BEDROOMS. AND WHEN YOU START TYING THE PARKING TO THE SQUARE FOOTAGE, THEN IT DOESN'T MATTER HOW MANY BEDROOMS THERE ARE, BUT THE, THE BOTTOM TWO LINES, H H I OVERLAY EXISTING, TWO DWELLING UNIT PLUS ONE PER THOUSAND GROSS FLOOR AREA OVER 2000 GROSS FLOOR AREA, THE NUMBERS THERE AREN'T CORRECT.
'CAUSE IF YOU GOTTA START OFF WITH TWO, REGARDLESS OF HOW MANY, FOR THE FIRST LINE THERE, IF YOU GOTTA START OFF WITH TWO PARKING SPACES AND THEN, AND THAT TAKES YOU UP TO 2000 FOR THE NEXT
[01:20:01]
1000, YOU GOTTA ADD AN ADDITIONAL.SO FOR 2,500, YOU'RE IN THAT ADDITIONAL.
SO INSTEAD OF THE TWO THAT'S THERE, IT NEEDS TO SAY THREE.
SO THOSE FIGURES IN THAT LINE ARE ALL WRONG.
SAME THING IS APPLICABLE TO THE ONE BELOW.
AND IT IS CURIOUS HOW IT SAYS THAT WHEN YOU GO FROM 2,500 TO 3,500 SQUARE FEET, YOUR PARKING REQUIREMENTS ACTUALLY REDUCE.
SO YOU NEED TO TAKE A LOOK AT THOSE.
BUT OTHERWISE, I'M NOT SURE I'D UNDERSTAND WHAT'S TRYING TO BE FIXED HERE.
AND THAT'S ALWAYS A QUESTION I ASK IN THESE SORTS OF SITUATIONS.
I MEAN, WHAT I, WHAT'S THE ROOT PROBLEM THAT YOU'RE TRYING TO FIX? AND IF IT'S SHORT TERM RENTALS AND ADDRESS IT AS SHORT TERM RENTALS, BUT WITH RESPECT TO THE PARKING, ALSO, IF YOU ADOPT, IF ALL OF THIS IS ADOPTED, THEN YOU'RE NEVER GONNA HAVE ANOTHER NEW HOME OUTSIDE THE PD ONE.
SO IT'S OVER 4,000 SQUARE FEET.
SO THE PARKING REQUIREMENTS ABOVE 4,000 SQUARE FEET ARE GONNA APPLY ONLY INSIDE THE PD ONES.
AND IF YOU HAVE A 6,000 SQUARE FOOT HOUSE IN SEA PINES, WHICH IS NOT UNUSUAL, THIS IS GONNA REQUIRE EIGHT PARKING SPACES.
AND I WOULD SUGGEST TO YOU THAT THERE IS NO WAY THAT THE SEA PINES A R B IS EVER GONNA APPROVE A SITE PLAN THAT HAS EIGHT PARKING SPACES.
SO YOU DON'T WANT TO, YOU DON'T WANT TO PUT PROPERTY OWNERS IN THE SITUATION WHERE TO COMPLY WITH THE CODE.
THEY CAN'T COMPLY WITH THE A R B REQUIREMENTS AND VICE VERSA.
THEN, THEN THEY'RE STUCK IN A, IN A BIND THAT THEY CAN'T GET OUT OF.
SO THAT'S SOMETIMES ONE OF THE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES THAT MAY FLOW FROM THINGS LIKE THIS.
THANK YOU, MR. WILLIAMS. OTHER CITIZEN COMMENT, DANIEL ANTHONY, AGAIN, UM, I LIVE ON JONESVILLE.
I'M ALSO PRESIDENT OF JONESVILLE PRESERVATION SOCIETY, AND I'VE BEEN DEALING BACK AND FORTH TALKING WITH SEAN ABOUT THIS STUFF FOR I DON'T KNOW HOW LONG, BUT I TELL YOU WHAT, SEAN, I'LL MAKE YOU A DEAL.
YOU DROP IT DOWN TO 0.35 F A F A R.
I WON'T SAY ANYTHING ABOUT THE CAPLAN SQUARE FOOTAGE, AND WE CAN GO FROM THERE.
SO I WORK IN THE BOND BUSINESS, SO I I RUN NUMBERS A LOT.
AND, UM, WELL, BEFORE I GET TO, TO THAT CALCULATION, I JUST WANNA SAY, UH, I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF RESIDENTS ON THIS ISLAND THAT, UM, WOULD APPRECIATE, UH, AS I UNDERSTAND IT, UH, BACK PRIOR TO 2014, THE, UH, ZONING MAXIMUM DENSITY ON THE ISLAND.
I THINK FOR MOST, MOST AREAS THE ISLAND WAS RMM FOUR, WHICH ALLOWS FOUR UNITS PER ACRE.
AND THEN, UM, THERE WERE SOME MORE, UH, PRO DEVELOPMENT, UH, MEMBERS OF TOWN COUNCIL, UH, POSSIBLY TOWN MAYOR WHO, UH, GOT GOT THIS CHANGED TO THIS ESCALATING UP TO, UH, RMM SIX AND RM EIGHT, AND ACTUALLY EVEN UP TO RMM 12 IF YOU HAD A BIG ENOUGH PARCEL JUST TO CRAM, YOU KNOW, 12 UNITS IN PER ACRE.
AND I THINK WHAT WE WOULD REALLY LIKE TO SEE, UH, AS, AS RESIDENTS WHO CARE ABOUT THE, UH, LONG-TERM ASPECTS OF OUR COMMUNITY IS A, AS FAST AS POSSIBLE, UH, EVEN IF IT'S JUST INTERIM, A RETURN TO RMM FOUR RESTRICTIONS ON FURTHER DEVELOPMENT, UH, YOU KNOW, UN UNTIL ALL OF THIS CAN BE HASHED OUT BY YOU FOLKS AND THE TOWN COUNCIL.
REASON BEING, I THINK THERE ARE, WELL, I I KNOW THERE ARE DEVELOPERS NOW THAT ARE LOOKING TO SQUEAK IN UNDER THE WIRE AND CRAM A LOT OF, UH, UM, UH, HOUSES INTO A VERY, VERY SMALL SPACE.
I'M THINKING SPECIFICALLY ON LEG MUTTON.
AND, UH, SO I THINK IF, IF YOU FOLKS COULD PUSH FOR, LET'S, LET'S HAVE, IF NOT A COMPLETE MORATORIUM ON RESIDENTIAL BUILDING, UH, HOW ABOUT AT LEAST A RETURN TO THE RMM FOUR LEVEL UNTIL WE CAN KIND OF HASH OUT ALL THESE, UH, FLOOR AREA RATIOS AND, AND PARKING SPOTS AND, AND EVERYTHING LIKE THAT.
AND I, I WASN'T REAL HAPPY TO HEAR THAT, UH, THE TOWN COUNCIL ISN'T EVEN GOING TO BE CONSIDERING ALL OF THESE, UH, CHANGES AND DENSITY, UM, CONSIDERATIONS TILL OCTOBER.
WELL, THAT LEAVES A LOT OF TIME FOR A LOT OF DEVELOPERS TO SQUEAK IN AND, YOU KNOW, DO WHAT THEY'VE BEEN DOING FOR THE LAST COUPLE
[01:25:01]
OF YEARS.UM, OKAY, SO THAT'S, THAT'S MY POINT.
I WOULD LOVE TO SEE, JUST LET'S GO TO RMM FOUR MAX AND THEN, UM, YOU KNOW, TAKE THE TIME TO LOOK AT THE OTHER THINGS.
NOW, HERE'S WHERE MY CALCULATIONS CAME IN.
I DON'T, I CAN'T EVEN COMPREHEND THIS.
UM, ON THAT PHASE FOUR F A R CONSIDERATIONS, 2022 BUILDING PERMIT, F A R RATIOS ON THE RMM EIGHT, IT SAID THE AVERAGE HOME SQUARE FOOT WAS SIX 6,184.
WELL, AN ACRE IS 43,600 SQUARE FEET.
AND I DID THE MATH AND YOU DIVIDE THAT BY EIGHT AND YOU GET A LOT SIZE OF 5,450.
SO I, IT DOESN'T EVEN COMPUTE TO ME.
WHY, IF, IF THE LOT SIZE AVERAGE ON R M EIGHT IS 5,450, HOW COULD THE HOUSES HAVE BEEN 6,154 AVERAGE? AND, UH, I, I JUST BRING THAT UP BECAUSE SOMETHING, YOU KNOW, DOES THAT, DOES THAT EMPHASIZE HOW OVERBUILT A LOT OF THESE LOTS HAVE BEEN? AND THE WAY I SEE IT, WE'VE GOT TWO PROBLEMS. WE'VE GOT MCMANSIONS BEING BUILT ON TWO SMALL, YOU KNOW, GIANT HOUSE ON TWO SMALL OF A LOT.
AND THEN THE OTHER IS YOU HAVE THESE RM EIGHTS WHERE YOU HAVE, YOU KNOW, A BUNCH OF HOUSES CRAMMED ONTO, UM, YOU KNOW, NOT, NOT TOO LARGE OF A LOT.
SO I, I THINK BOTH OF THOSE, I WOULD LOVE IF, UH, YOU FOLKS WOULD ADDRESS THOSE AND, UH, AND THAT WE DON'T ALLOW A LOT OF DEVELOPMENT TO SLIDE IN BEFORE THAT IS ADDRESSED.
SO AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.
I WANT TO THANK THE MEMBERS FOR, UH, PLANNING COMMISSION FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK TO YOU THIS MORNING.
MY NAME'S KEITH SLEDGE AND I LIVE IN THE BRADLEY CIRCLE COMMUNITY.
WE'RE A SMALL NEIGHBORHOOD OFF OF BERKS BEACH ROAD, OVER BEHIND THE SURF WATCH.
WE ARE NOT PROTECTED BY GATED ACCESS.
WE'RE NOT PROTECTED BY AN OVERLAY.
WE'RE NOT PROTECTED BY HOMEOWNER'S ASSOCIATION.
I'M SPEAKING WITH THE PERMISSION OF OVER A DOZEN OF OUR PROPERTY OWNERS.
WE NEED TO BRING OUR CONCERNS TO YOU.
WE ARE FAST BECOMING THE ARMPIT OF THE ISLAND.
WHEN I LOOK OUT MY BACK DOOR, I SEE THREE 10,000 SQUARE FOOT, 10 BEDROOM ATTACHED UNITS THAT WERE ALLOWED TO BE BUILT RIGHT BEHIND ME.
I HAVE PEOPLE ASK ME IF THAT'S A NEW SURF WATCH DEVELOPMENT.
THE SAME DEVELOPER DOWN THE STREET BUILT TWO MORE THAT ARE AROUND 8,000 SQUARE FEET AND EIGHT OR NINE BEDROOMS. SO THIS ONE DEVELOPER ON LESS THAN AN ACRE HAS PUT FIVE BUILDINGS WITH 48 I THINK BEDROOMS AND INADEQUATE PARKING.
UNDER THE PARKING RESTRICTIONS.
THERE'S NOT NEARLY ENOUGH PARKING.
THEY'RE PARKING IN A VACANT LOT THAT THIS BUILDER OWNS ACROSS THE STREET.
OUR NEIGHBORHOOD LOOKS LIKE CRAP.
THESE OTHER PEOPLE HAVE VERY, VERY GOOD CONCERNS ABOUT HAVING A 5,000 SQUARE FOOT HOME PUT NEXT TO THEIR 3000 SQUARE FOOT, BEAUTIFUL HOME THAT'S OVERLOOKING AND LOOKING IN THEIR BATHROOMS AND EVERYTHING ELSE.
I UNDERSTAND THAT WE HAVE 10,000 SQUARE FOOT HOMES, THREE OF THEM DIRECTLY BEHIND ME.
BRADLEY CIRCLE WAS ORIGINALLY OWNED AND SUBDIVIDED BY NATIVE ISLANDERS TODAY.
ONLY ONE OF THOSE FAMILY MEMBERS REMAINS, BUT THEY DIDN'T SEE THE NEED FOR HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION.
IF YOU WANT TO SELL YOUR PROPERTY, THEY WERE SUBDIVIDED, SUBDIVIDED, SUBDIVIDED.
WE EVEN HAVE SOME RD PROPERTIES.
SO I'M HERE TODAY TO IMPLORE YOU TO APPROVE AND PASS THESE TOWN COUNCIL PHASE FOUR PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE LAND MANAGEMENT ORDINANCE FOR OUR PROTECTION.
YOU KNOW, WE DON'T LIVE IN NIRVANA.
WE CAN'T TAKE CARE OF EVERYBODY'S CONCERN TO THE NTH DEGREE.
POINT FOUR FIVE IS PROBABLY NOT RIGHT, BUT WE HAVE HOUSES BUILT BEHIND US THAT ARE THREE OR 400% OF F A R.
IMAGINE THESE PEOPLE THAT ARE COMPLAINING ABOUT THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN 0.35 AND 0.45.
HAD TO WAKE UP TO 300 OR 400 F A R BEHIND THEM.
I DON'T THINK THEY'D BE HAPPY.
I THINK WE DESERVE PROTECTION.
YOU CAN ALWAYS COME BACK AND PERFECT SOMETHING.
THE TOWN STAFF AND LEGAL COUNSEL HAVE SPENT AN INORDINATE AMOUNT OF TIME IN CONSIDERATION AND EFFORT BRINGING THESE TO YOU TODAY.
THEY'RE WELL THOUGHT OUT AND THEY'RE BALANCED.
[01:30:01]
WAS A LETTER WRITTEN BY THE FORMER LAND MANAGEMENT, OFFICIAL LAND MANAGEMENT ORDINANCE OFFICIAL THREE YEARS AGO STATING IN THE TITLE OF THE, UH, DOCUMENT WAS LESSONS LEARNED IN BRADLEY CIRCLE ABOUT THESE 10,000 SQUARE FOOT BUSINESSES THAT WERE SUPPOSEDLY SINGLE FAMILY HOMES.SO, UM, THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS, THEY'RE NOW THREE YEARS OLD AND THEY INCLUDED FLOOR AREA RATIO AND THEY INCLUDED REASONABLE PARKING.
THAT'S WHAT WE'RE HERE 37, 38 MONTHS LATER LOOKING AT.
REALTORS ARE GONNA MAKE MORE MONEY SELLING BIGGER HOUSES.
WE KNOW THAT OF COURSE THEY WANNA SELL MONSTER HOUSES.
DEVELOPERS MAKE MORE MONEY WHEN THEY DEVELOP BIGGER HOUSES.
AND PEOPLE THAT OWN RENTAL HOUSES ARE GONNA MAKE MORE MONEY IF THEY HAVE A TOWER WITH MORE BEDROOMS IN IT.
THAT'S NOT WHAT WE'RE HERE TO DO.
YOU MAY HEAR FROM THE DEVELOPER IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD 'CAUSE HE OWNS SIX MORE LOTS.
WHEN YOU ENTER BRADLEY CIRCLE AT THE END OF SANDY BEACH TRAIL, YOU LOOK AT FOUR LOTS THAT OUR DEVELOPER OWNS.
HE MAY DIVIDE 'EM INTO FIVE LOTS 'CAUSE HE'S GOT EXACTLY ENOUGH TO MAKE 5.12, FIVE ACRE LOTS.
IF HE COMES WITH BUILDING PLANS TO THE TOWN, AND Y'ALL DON'T MAKE CHANGES YOU NEED TO MAKE, TODAY, WE CAN HAVE FIVE MORE 10,000 SQUARE FOOT HOUSES PUT IN THE ENTRANCE TO OUR SUBDIVISION.
IT'LL BE A SOLID WALL OF HOMES, NOT HOMES, RENTAL UNITS, TOWERS.
SO ALL THESE THINGS THAT YOU HEAR ABOUT, DON'T MOVE SO FAST AND DON'T TAKE AWAY MY RIGHTS.
ALL THOSE HAVE BEEN HEARD BEFORE BY NOT APPROVING THIS TODAY, YOU'RE TAKING AWAY THE REST OF OUR RIGHTS.
SO AT SOME POINT, PEOPLE'S RIGHTS HAVE TO END WHERE THE OTHER PEOPLE'S RIGHTS BEGIN.
I WOULD APPRECIATE IF Y'ALL WOULD GIVE EVERY CONSIDERATION TO PASSING THESE TODAY.
AND IF YOU NEED TO TWEAK IT LATER, TWEAK IT.
OTHER PUBLIC COMMENTS? YEAH, I WANTED TO, UH, AGREE WITH KEITH THAT WE NEED EMERGENCY MEASURES.
IN OTHER WORDS, MINIMUM MAXIMUM FAR AND, UH, AND, UH, AND PARKING.
AND THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE A S A P BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE A MORATORIUM.
THIS IS MORE OF A QUESTION BECAUSE, UH, A LOT OF THESE, UH, REQUIREMENTS ARE BASED ON SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL.
AND WHAT ABOUT IF IT'S NOT SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL, IF IT'S A CONDO OR A TOWNHOUSE, A DUPLEX? UH, SO ARE THERE FAR REQUIREMENTS FOR NONS SINGLE FAMILY, UH, RESIDENTIAL? THANKS.
SOMEBODY FROM TOWN CAN ANSWER THAT.
MY NAME'S CARL BRADEN, UH, CHAPLAIN RESIDENT, 25 YEARS AND AN RD LANDOWNER.
THANK YOU, UH, FOR LETTING ME SPEAK.
SO, UH, THE HOME THAT MR. SLEDGE WAS REFERRING TO BEHIND HIS WAS BUILT ON RESORT DEVELOPMENT LAND.
AND THAT'S WHY IT'S SO TALL SINCE THEN.
THEY'VE LIMITED IT FROM 75 FEET TO 45 FEET FOR ANY HOME.
SO THAT'LL NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN.
THAT'S, UH, THAT'S MISDIRECTED.
SO, UM, THE PEOPLE WHO ARE RENTING THOSE HOMES, BY THE WAY, I NEVER THOUGHT THEY'D BE RENTED, BUT THEY'RE ENJOYED, UH, GREATLY BY THE FAMILIES THAT ARE RENTING 'EM.
'CAUSE SINCE COVID, MULTIPLE FAMILIES ARE RENTING TOGETHER AND IT ACCOMMODATES THEM, AND IT'S A BEAUTIFUL THING TO SEE.
UM, EVERYBODY HATES 'EM BECAUSE THEY'RE TALL, BUT THEY'RE WONDERFUL FOR THAT PURPOSE.
THEY'LL NEVER BE THAT TALL AGAIN.
BUT AGAIN, THEY'RE BUILT ON RESORT DEVELOPMENT LAND.
OKAY? UM, PLEASE KNOW THAT THESE, UH, THESE NEW RULES WOULD ONLY AFFECT OFF PLANTATION LANDOWNERS.
OKAY? THIS ISN'T PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENTS WHERE THEY CAN DO ANYTHING.
SO THIS IS MOSTLY NATIVE ISLANDERS AND IT'S GONNA RESTRICT THEIR RIGHTS AND TAKE VALUE.
AND HOW CAN YOU DO THAT TO JUST A, YOU KNOW, A MAJORITY OF, OF, UH, NATIVE ISLANDERS WHO OWN THAT LAND? AND THAT'S, I CAN'T EVEN SAY HOW UN UNFAIR THAT SEEMS TO ME ANY RATE.
MOST OF LOTS IN BERKS AND BRADLEY ARE NOT 0.25, BUT 0.11 OR 0.12.
AND THEY BUILT, OR THEY BOUGHT THEM WITH AN L M O IN PLACE AND THEY HAD PLANS TO BUILD A CERTAIN SIZE HOME AND EVERYTHING.
AND NOW THIS JUST COMES IN AND WAX THAT IN HALF, LITERALLY.
UH, AND THERE'S ALREADY RESTRICTIONS THAT HAVE BEEN BEEN PUT IN PLACE.
HEIGHT LIMITS, LIKE I SAID, 45 IS THE, IS IT NOW SETBACKS, SETBACK ANGLES, LOT COVERAGE RATIOS, ALL THAT STUFF IS THERE.
AND, UH, LIKE I SAY, WHAT'S PARTICULARLY WORSE IS IT MOSTLY AFFECTS THESE OFF PLANTATION LANDOWNERS.
AND, UH, UM, BRADLEY CIRCLE AND BURCH BEACH, FOR EXAMPLE, THE BEACHFRONT VACATION NEIGHBORHOODS.
[01:35:01]
VACATION HOMES AND ARE CURRENTLY 85% SECOND HOMES AND BEACH RENTALS.THERE'S ONLY ABOUT 10 LOTS LEFT TO BUILD IN BRADLEY CIRCLE AND 10 IN BERKS BEACH, THAT'S WHO WOULD BE AFFECTED.
SO YOU'RE SAYING, UH, EVERYBODY ELSE CAN HAVE A LARGE HOME, BUT NOW YOUR YOURS CAN ONLY BE 2,500 SQUARE FOOT, LITERALLY.
AND, UH, THESE PROPOSED CHANGES WILL DEPRECIATE THE VALUES OF UNIMPROVED PROPERTIES WITH NO COMPENSATION TO THE OWNERS FOR PRESENT OR FUTURE VALUE.
AND, UH, I THINK YOU SHOULD REALLY TAKE YOUR TIME AND CONSIDER THESE THINGS BEFORE JUST RUSHING INTO IT.
THEY'VE BEEN TRYING TO RESTRICT OUR RIGHTS EVER SINCE.
UH, COUNCILPERSON BECKER MOVED INTO BRADLEY CIRCLE.
SHE'S VERY UNHAPPY THAT, UH, WE LIVE NEXT TO A RESORT AND SHE WANTS US TO BE COMPLETELY SEPARATE.
BUT ALL OF THE HOMES IN THERE ARE, BESIDES HERS AND A FEW OTHER, A COUPLE OTHERS ARE RENTALS.
THIS IS A, A BEACH ORIENTED NEIGHBORHOOD.
AND SO SHE'S TRYING TO RESTRICT THE RIGHTS OF THESE REMAINING FEW LOT OWNERS, BUT IT'S GONNA AFFECT EVERYBODY OFF PLANTATION, NOT PUBES, EVERYWHERE ELSE OFF PLANTATION.
OTHER PUBLIC COMMENTS? UM, YES, SIR.
UM, WE'VE ALREADY SPOKEN TWICE.
UM, MR. CHAIRMAN, I JUST WANT TO WENT THAT OUT FOR YOU.
SO, UH, IN ADDITION TO THE, THE QUESTION THAT I HAD ABOUT THE, THE SINGLE FAMILY, UH, WHY IS THIS ONLY A SINGLE FAMILY? AND MAYBE THE STAFF CAN ADDRESS THAT.
AND THIS HAS COME UP A COUPLE OF TIMES AND I MAYBE THE STAFF CAN ALSO ADDRESS WHY, UH, OR HOW WE CAN PROTECT PEOPLE THAT ARE IN, UH, PDS.
BECAUSE THERE ARE A LOT OF RESIDENTS THAT ARE IN PDS THAT ARE REALLY AFFECTED BY SHORT-TERM RENTALS.
AND, UH, THEIR BOARDS ARE BEING TAKEN OVER BY INVESTMENT INTERESTS.
SO THE RESIDENTS ARE NOT BEING TAKEN CARE OF.
SO WHAT CAN THE TOWN DO FOR RESIDENTS OF PDS TO RESTRICT, UM, INVESTOR INTEREST? UH, THE, THE RESORT, UH, DENSITY IN, IN MY, UH, PERSONAL OPINION SHOULD BE JUST COMPLETELY TO GET GOTTEN RID OF.
THEY, THEY'VE, UH, CONVERTED RESIDENTIAL COMMUNITIES TO, TO A RESORT DENSITY.
AND, UM, THAT WAS IN INAPPROPRIATE.
I JUST, I JUST WANNA MAKE ONE SIMPLE COMMENT.
HI, TAMRA BECKER, I WAS REFERRED TO BEFORE.
I REPRESENT WARD FOUR FOR THE TOWN, HILTON HEAD ISLAND.
MY JOB, THE HAT I WEAR, IS TO PROTECT THIS ISLAND.
AND I DO THAT ACROSS THE ISLAND FOR EVERY RESIDENT IN EVERY COMMUNITY WITH EVERY PART OF MY HEART AND SOUL AND LOVE FOR THIS ISLAND.
MR. BRADEN CHOSE TO EVOKE, INVOKE MY NAME, SO I WOULD APPRECIATE A MOMENT MORE OF YOUR TIME.
HE MENTIONED THAT THE THREE HOUSES BEHIND ME, UH, WERE ZONED RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT, UH, RESORT DEVELOPMENT.
PLEASE DON'T CORRECT ME, CARL, WOULD Y'ALL PLEASE ASK HIM TO BE SILENT WHILE I TALK? I DIDN'T SAY A FREAKING WORD WHILE HE WAS TALKING.
HE'S, HE'S TAKEN THIS THING TO A PERSONAL LEVEL WITH TAMMY AND WITH THE REST OF US.
NOW, HE, YOU NOTICE HE TOLD YOU THAT SHE IS DOING THINGS TO HIM.
SHE HASN'T DONE A THING TO HIM.
HE SOLD HIS PROPERTY TO THIS DEVELOPER.
HE IS NO LONGER A PROPERTY OWNER IN THE BRADLEY CIRCLE COMMUNITY.
HE OWNS ANOTHER PIECE OF PROPERTY SOMEWHERE ELSE.
IF HE WANTS TO SPEAK ABOUT THAT, THAT'S ENTIRELY APPROPRIATE.
HE HAS NO BUSINESS TALKING ABOUT OUR COMMUNITY.
THE OTHER TWO HOUSES THAT THE SAME DEVELOPER THAT HE SOLD HIS LAND TO BUILT, WERE ON R M EIGHT.
THEY'RE ALMOST EXACTLY AN EIGHTH OF AN ACRE.
THEY'RE BUILT OUTSIDE THE BUILDING CODE.
THEY RECEIVED VARIOUS, NUMEROUS VARIANCES.
ONE OF 'EM IS BUILT ONE FOOT OFF OF THE EASEMENT WHERE PEOPLE HAVE TO CROSS OVER THE BRIDGE TO GET TO THEIR PROPERTIES.
THE TOWN GAVE THEM EVERY CONSIDERATION.
HE HAD MORE THAN ONE WORK STOPPAGE ORDER.
THERE WERE, THAT'S THE REASON THE LESSONS LEARNED AT BRADLEY'S CIRCLE DOCUMENT WAS DRAWN UP BY TERRY LEWIS BECAUSE OF THE EGREGIOUS THINGS THAT HAVE HAPPENED IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
I CAN'T THINK OF ANY REASON TO STAND UP HERE AND SAY THE THINGS THAT WERE SAID OTHER THAN THE FACT THAT YOU REPRESENT THAT DEVELOPER.
WE DON'T NEED MORE DEVELOPMENT.
HE'S MADE A SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENT IN OUR COMMUNITY, AND THERE'S RISK WITH ALL INVESTMENT.
WE CANNOT DESTROY OUR COMMUNITY TO PREVENT HIM HAVING A BUSINESS LOSS.
[01:40:04]
ANY COMMENTS? UH, MR. CHAIRMAN SEAN COLE, ASSISTANT TOWN MANAGER.THIS REALLY NEEDS TO BE A PUBLIC HEARING ON THE AMENDMENTS THAT ARE BEFORE US.
UM, I CERTAINLY DON'T WANT THIS TO BE A BACK AND FORTH.
UH, FOLKS THAT HAVE PUBLIC COMMENT SHOULD BE GIVEN ONE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK ON THE AMENDMENTS AND NOT IN THE AMENDMENTS ONLY.
UM, AND SO 'CAUSE WE NEED CLARIFICATION FROM THE PLANNING COMMISSION WHAT IT IS THEY'D LIKE US TO ADVANCE.
UM, MR. ANTHONY MENTIONED, UM, HEY SEAN, I'LL AGREE TO THIS.
IF YOU, I'LL SUPPORT WHATEVER THE PLANNING COMMISSION RECOMMENDS AND WE'LL ADVANCE THAT TO COUNCIL COMMITTEE AND THEN ULTIMATELY TOWN COUNCIL.
UM, I THINK WE'RE MAYBE GETTING A LITTLE SIDEWAYS WITH, UM, MULTIPLE COMMENTS.
AND IT'S, AND THIS CERTAINLY ISN'T ABOUT A PROPERTY OR TWO.
UM, I THINK WE DEMONSTRATED THROUGH THE RESEARCH ALL OF THE DISTRICTS WHERE WE'VE SEEN INCREASE IN DEVELOPMENT SIZE IN RELATIONSHIP TO THE LOT SIZE.
WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THE IMBALANCE WITH PARKING.
AND SO WE'VE GOT TWO AMENDMENTS I THINK THAT ARE, THAT ARE BEFORE YOU THAT WE'D LIKE TO GET YOUR INPUT, FEEDBACK, AND RECOMMENDATION ON.
SO I WOULD REQUEST MR. CHAIRMAN THAT NO MORE REPEAT COMMENTS FROM, FROM CITIZENS UNLESS THEY'RE SPECIFIC TO THIS AMENDMENT.
ANDRE WHITE, UH, VILLE RESIDENT NATIVE ISLANDER.
UM, SO I HAVE A COUPLE KIND OF QUESTIONS, COMMENTS.
I WOULD SAY ONE, I THINK THE 0.45 F A R PROPOSED IS TOO HIGH.
I THINK THE 4,000 SQUARE FOOT CAP, UM, CAN BE ONEROUS TO FOLKS THAT, LIKE MYSELF, THAT OWN OVER AN ACRE.
UM, AND WOULD LIKE TO BE, I HAVE MULTIPLE CHILDREN, RIGHT? SO I DON'T PLAN TO SUBDIVIDE IT, BUT I PLAN TO, YOU KNOW, DO THINGS WITH MY LAND.
ONE, UM, HOW DOES THIS IMPACT THE FAMILY COMPOUND, UM, ORDINANCES WHERE YOU CAN ADD ADDITIONAL BUILD STRUCTURES TO YOUR PROPERTY, UM, TO A SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENT.
IT DOESN'T REALLY IMPACT A LOT OF THE, THE SUBDIVISIONS BECAUSE THE LOTS ARE TOO SMALL AND THEY DON'T HAVE THAT TYPE OF SPACE.
SO I THINK THERE'S A KEY DISTINCTION AS MR. DIRENZO WAS REFERRING TO THAT, UM, LARGER, LARGER ACREAGE PARCELS HAVE DIFFERENT DISTINCTIONS THAN A LOT OF THE SMALLER SUBDIVISIONS THAT ARE BEING BUILT WITH SMALL LOTS, RIGHT? SO, UM, I DO LIKE THE 0.32 TO 0.35 THAT FOLKS HAVE MENTIONED.
UM, BECAUSE, UH, I THINK THE CHARACTER OF THE NATIVE ISLANDER COMMUNITIES ARE MOST AT THREAT WHEN IT COMES TO LAND THAT'S DEVELOPED FOR NEW PROJECTS, RIGHT? AND WE CAN SEE, AT LEAST TO ME, LIKE, I THINK THERE'S SOME DISPLEASURE WITH THE HOME BUILDERS COMING IN AND WHAT THEY'RE BUILDING AND SORT OF HOW THEY'RE SORT OF TAKING AWAY FROM THE CHARACTER.
UH, SO I LIKE THE IDEA OF AT LEAST SMALLER HOMES, LESS LOT, LESS LOT, UH, AREA BEING USED.
UM, SO JUST, I DON'T THINK IT ALSO WILL TAKE AWAY FROM THE VALUE OF NATIVE ISLANDER LAND BECAUSE WE STILL HAVE THE DENSITY, BUT IT CAN DEFINITELY ADD TO THE CHARACTER OF WHAT'S BEING BUILT IN THE FUTURE, IF ANYTHING IS GOING TO BE BUILT ON THAT LAND.
UM, SO APPRECIATE YOU GUYS' COMMENTS, APPRECIATE THE EVERYONE'S COMMENTS.
UH, DEFINITELY THE JONESVILLE AREA.
I I DEAL WITH YOU GUYS AS YOU'RE UNDER THREAT FOR SURE.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, UH, YEAH, IT'S NICE TO SOMETIMES HAVE A, YOU KNOW, A LANDOWNER THAT ISN'T SORT OF LIVING IN A SUBDIVISION PER SE, UM, RIGHT.
SO, 'CAUSE A LOT OF THESE THINGS DO IMPACT US.
UM, BUT A LOT OF THE VOICES ARE FOLKS THAT LIVE IN SUBDIVISIONS, WHICH I RESPECT.
UM, SO JUST WANTED TO ADD THOSE 2 CENTS.
ARE THERE OTHER CITIZEN COMMENTS? UH, NO SIR.
IT LOOKS LIKE WE DON'T HAVE ANY, UM, FURTHER COMMENTS FROM CITIZENS.
WE DID RECEIVE A WRITTEN, UM, SET OF COMMENTS FROM SIERRA STOREN, WHICH WE WILL DISTRIBUTE TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION, UM, AS WELL.
LET'S GO BACK TO COMMISSIONERS FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION.
YOU'VE HEARD PUBLIC COMMENT AND STAFF PRESENTATIONS.
LET'S, UH, GO ONE BY ONE STATE.
UM, MR. UH, MR. SIBEL, PLEASE, UH, CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING.
OKAY, I'LL, YEAH, LET'S CONSIDER THE PUBLIC HEARING CLOSE AT THIS POINT AND RETURN TO THE COMMISSION AND WE'LL GO ONE BY ONE, STARTING WITH COMMISSIONER ZO.
ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? WELL, I'D LIKE TO ECHO WHAT I SAID EARLIER ABOUT, UM, A NEED TO, UH, TO REEVALUATE THE FAR,
[01:45:02]
UH, AND TO THINK THAT 4.45 IS, IS HIGH.AND I DO LIKE THE IDEA THAT, UH, SOMEBODY BROUGHT UP ABOUT LOOKING AT A FAR BY DISTRICT.
THAT SEEMS TO MAKE A LOT OF SENSE TO ME.
'CAUSE EVERY DISTRICT HAS ITS OWN INDIVIDUAL CHARACTER.
AND, UH, LOOKING AT IT A FAR BY DISTRICT WOULD SEEM TO MAKE A LOT OF SENSE.
AND THIRDLY, THE MAXIMUM SIZE, I THINK WE CAN USE FAR AND A MAX SIZE TO OUR ADVANTAGE.
UH, SO AS THE SIZE OF THE, THE NET ACREAGE INCREASES, THE FAR CAN BE REDUCED.
WE CAN HAVE AN OVERALL, WE DON'T EVEN NEED A MAX SIZE ACTUALLY, IF YOU HAVE THE, THE FAR CALCULATED RIGHT, YOU COULD HAVE, UH, FAR BY DISTRICT AT THE APPROPRIATE RATIO TO CONTROL DEVELOPMENT AT THE, UH, AT THE APPROPRIATE SIZE AND MASSING.
COMMISSIONER CAMPBELL? YEAH, I HAD A QUESTION.
HOW WOULD THIS REFLECT THE FAMILY COMPOUND SUBDIVISION? UM, SO ANY SINGLE FAMILY HOME THAT'S BUILT WITHIN THAT AREA WOULD, UH, BE REQUIRED IN THOSE ZONING DISTRICTS WOULD BE REQUIRED TO MEET THE FLOOR AREA RATIO AND PARKING THAT WE'RE PROPOSING.
UH, ANYTHING ELSE, CAMPBELL? ANYTHING ELSE? COMMISSIONER CAMPBELL, ANYTHING ELSE? UH, NO.
COMMISSIONER MEER, I'D LIKE TO ECHO, UM, WHAT OTHER COMMISSIONERS HAVE TALKED ABOUT? THE, THE, I THINK THAT WE NEED TO REVISIT THE 0.45 FAR, UM, AND WHAT THE CITIZEN FEEDBACK SEEMS TO BE WITH IT BEING POSSIBLY TOO HIGH.
UM, I I, I THINK THE OVERDEVELOPMENT OR THE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT, LET'S PUT IT THAT WAY, UM, IS A LITTLE SHOCKING MAINLY WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE NUMBERS AND, UM, THERE IS A SENSE OF URGENCY.
BUT, YOU KNOW, I THINK THE 0.45 IS A LITTLE HIGH FOR ME.
COMMISSIONER WHALEY? UM, YEAH, I HAVE A QUESTION.
I KNOW THAT YOU GUYS ARE WORKING, THIS IS FOR SEAN
I KNOW YOU GUYS ARE WORKING LIKE ON A, ON DISTRICT PLANTS AND THEN YOU HAVE A PRIORITY.
SO WHEN I LOOK AT THE PRESSURE, YOU KNOW, YOU SHOWED THOSE, UM, 2002 PERMITS, IF I'M NOT WRONG, MOST OF IT'S THE PRESSURE'S IN R M EIGHT, WHICH SORT OF ON THE NORTHERN END OF THE ISLAND.
IS THAT A FAIR, WELL, WELL, I THINK IT'S, UM, IN MOST RESIDENTIAL AREAS, WE DO HAVE SOME R S F DISTRICTS IN THE FOREST BEACH AREA, WE'RE SEEING SOME, UM, LAR LAR, YOU KNOW, MAXIMIZING LOT SIZE, NOT MEANING THE PARKING THAT WE'RE PROPOSING, BUT YES, IN OUR, OUR DISTRICTS, AND BECAUSE RMM FOUR HAS A SLIDING SCALE THAT CAN YIELD SIX OR EIGHT UNITS PER ACRE, UM, WE'VE SEEN LARGER TRACKS AND THE RMM FOUR DISTRICT HAVE THE SAME ISSUES THAT R M EIGHT IS EXPERIENCING.
SO, OKAY, SO IF WE ADOPT, IF WE, WE DON'T ADOPT ANYTHING, IT'S AN ELECTED OFFICIAL ADOPTS.
IF WE MAKE A RECOMMENDATION, UH, AROUND EITHER ACCEPTING THIS FAR IN PARTICULAR, OR EX OR SUGGESTING THE TOWN STAFF REVIEW IT, TO PUT IT IN CONTEXT FOR ME, WHAT I HEARD BEING SAID WAS THAT 0.45 COULD BE A STOP GAP MEASURE UNTIL WE DO THESE, THESE DISTRICT PLANNING.
BUT FOR THE DISTRICTS THAT ARE ALMOST UNDER PRESSURE, THE FIRST ONE OR TWO PRIORITIES, AND WHEN WILL THAT HAPPEN? WHEN'S THE EXPECTATION THAT WOULD HAPPEN? SO WE HAVE, THERE'S EIGHT DISTRICTS TOTAL.
ONE WAS MID ISLAND DISTRICT, WHICH WAS ADOPTED BY COUNCIL IN NOVEMBER OF LAST YEAR.
UH, WE'RE CURRENTLY THE NUMBER, THE FIRST DISTRICT IS MARSHES, SO IT INCLUDES JONESVILLE, UH, SPANISH WELLS ROAD, MOST OF MARSHLAND ROAD.
AND THEN THE THIRD ONE IS BRIDGE TO THE BEACH, WHICH IS PALMETTO BAY ROAD THROUGH SEA PINE CIRCLE, UM, DOWN TO CORDO, THAT AREA.
UM, WE HAVE A MEETING WITH THE PUBLIC PLANNING COMMITTEE SCHEDULED FOR AUGUST, I THINK IT'S AUGUST 10TH, WHERE WE'LL TALK ABOUT THE PRIORITIZATION OF THE REMAINING FIVE DISTRICTS AND ASK FOR THEIR DIRECTION ON THAT.
UM, SO I, ONE AREA THAT WE CERTAINLY HAVE SEEN SOME PRESSURE IS THE, THE DISTRICT THAT WE'RE CURRENTLY WORKING ON, AND WE PRESENTED A DRAFT, WHICH IS WHAT AGAIN, I'M SORRY, IT'S CALLED
[01:50:01]
MARSH'S DISTRICT, BUT JONESVILLE SPANISH WELLS MARSHLAND.AND WE PRESENTED A DRAFT TO THE, TO THE PUBLIC PLANNING COMMITTEE, HAD THE SAME F A R, UM, FOR REACTION, AGAIN, THIS DRAFT, AND THEN WE'LL HAVE SOME ADDITIONAL OUTREACH.
UM, I DO WANNA CLARIFY THAT THE 0.45 RECOMMENDATION AND THE 4,000 SQUARE FOOT MAXIMUM WE'RE, WE'RE REALLY BASED ON THE EVALUATION, LOOKING AT ALL THE COMMUNITIES, HISTORIC DEVELOPMENT, RECENT DEVELOPMENT, AND COMING UP WITH WHAT WE THOUGHT WAS A GOOD STARTING POINT FOR DISCUSSION.
IF THE COMMISSION FEELS THAT THE F A R IS TOO HIGH, YOU CAN MAKE A RECOMMENDATION TODAY RATHER THAN STAFF GO BACK.
AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT OTHER INFORMATION WE WOULD BE ABLE TO PROVIDE THAT WOULD CLARIFY A NUMBER FOR YOU, UH, THAT WE HAVEN'T PRESENTED TODAY.
THERE'S, THERE'S MAYBE A LITTLE BIT, BUT, BUT IF YOU ARE MORE COMFORTABLE WITH A DIFFERENT NUMBER, A 0.4 A 0.35, THEN THE PLANNING COMMISSION CAN MAKE THAT RECOMMENDATION.
UM, MR. UH, ZOS, UH, COMMENT ABOUT NOT HAVING A MAXIMUM FLOOR AREA RATIO DOES PROVIDE A CAP BASED ON THE, LET'S GO BACK TO CHE'S DEFINITION.
THE A, UH, THE A THE NET ACREAGE OF THE PROPERTY, UM, YOU KNOW, IF IT'S 10,000 SQUARE FEET TIMES A 0.35, IT'S A 3,500 SQUARE FOOT HOME THAT CAN BE BUILT.
SO YOU DON'T NEED A CAP IF YOU'RE COMFORTABLE WITH A FLOOR AREA RATIO LIMITATION.
AND THEN ONE ACRE OR TWO ACRE LOTS COULD BUILD BIGGER HOMES.
SO, UM, I KNOW IT'S AN AWFUL LONG ANSWER, BUT WE ARE PRIORITIZING THE MARSH'S DISTRICT.
I DON'T KNOW YET QUITE THE PRIORITY.
I KNOW WHAT MY PRIORITIZATION WOULD BE, BUT WE NEED TO SHARE WITH THE COUNCIL COMMITTEE FOR DIRECTION, UM, IN A WEEK OR SO.
UM, WE WON'T GET THROUGH AND ADOPT ALL THE DISTRICT PLANS UNTIL EARLY NEXT YEAR.
SO THIS IS A, A MEASURE TO PUT IN PLACE THAT WAS REQUESTED BY COMMITTEE, UM, IN ADVANCE OF THE, THE AMENDMENTS THAT'LL COME HERE IN THE NEXT MONTH OR SO TO PROVIDE THIS PROTECTION, UH, PROVIDE THIS CALIBRATION REESTABLISH MORE OF A BALANCE OF THE DEVELOPMENT THAT WE'RE SEEING ON SINGLE FAMILY LOTS.
AND SO THAT'S, THAT'S MY ANSWER FOR THAT.
SO FROM A PROCESS PERSPECTIVE, MAYBE ON, ON THE ATTORNEY LEFT.
SO FROM PROCESS PERSPECTIVE, AGAIN, I JUST WANNA SORT OF RECAP WHAT I HEARD.
IF WE MAKE A RECOMMENDATION THAT 0.45 IS TOO HIGH, AND I'M JUST GONNA PICK A NUMBER, GUYS, UH, THAT, BUT WE WANT 0.32, IT DOESN'T HAVE TO COME BACK HERE.
THE PLAN COMMITTEE CAN MAKE THAT DECISION AND THE PROCESS CAN MOVE FORWARD.
IT'S NOT SLOWING DOWN THE PROCESS, CORRECT? YES, SIR.
THIS WAS PART OF THE PUBLIC HEARING, RIGHT? BASED ON THE INPUT THAT YOU'VE RECEIVED HERE, EVALUATION OF THE PRESENTATION AND THE STAFF REPORT, IF YOU FEEL THAT BASED ON THAT INFORMATION, A FLORIA RATIO OF SOMETHING DIFFERENT THAN WHAT'S PROPOSED, A 0.3, 2.35, IF YOU THINK THAT IS THE, THAT'S THE WILL OF THE COMMISSION, THAT THEY FEEL THAT THAT IS THE RIGHT NUMBER, UM, THEN THAT RECOMMENDATION WOULD ADVANCE ON TO TOWN COUNCIL, UM, RELATED TO FLORIA RATIO.
AND THE SAME IF YOU MAKE A RECOMMENDATION ON THE PARKING, SO YOU CAN MAKE A RECOMMENDATION ON WHAT WAS PRESENTED, YES OR NO, YOU CAN MAKE A RECOMMENDATION TO ADVANCE WITH REVISIONS THAT YOU THINK ARE APPROPRIATE AND THAT WHATEVER YOU RECOMMEND WILL BE FORWARDED TO TOWN COUNCIL.
IT DOESN'T NEED TO COME BACK HERE.
THE ONLY WAY IT COMES BACK HERE IS IF COUNCIL CHANGES.
IF THEY SAY, WELL, YOU KNOW, WE THINK FLORIDA AREA RATIO OF A DIFFERENT NUMBER, WE'D COME BACK FOR YOUR REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATION.
UM, BECAUSE IF IT DEVIATES SUBSTANTIALLY FROM WHAT WAS DISCUSSED AT THE PUBLIC HEARING AND RECOMMEND A PLAN BY THE PLANNING COMMISSION, IT, IT WILL HAVE TO COME BACK.
COMMISSIONER LOBO, ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? I JUST HAVE SOME ADDITIONAL COMMENTS THAT I JUST WANT ON THE RECORD FOR, UH, FOR FUTURE CONSIDERATION, NOT IN THIS PARTICULAR ITEM, AND THAT IT RELATES TO PARKING.
AND I APPRECIATE THAT MR. EBERT SAID THAT THE, THE COMMUNITY ON LEG OF MUTTON HAD TAKEN SOME THINGS INTO CONSIDERATION AND MADE SOME CHANGES.
UM, I WOULD LIKE FOR FUTURE CONSIDERATION THAT WE CONSIDER CHANGING GARAGE HEIGHT REQUIREMENTS ON HOMES, BECAUSE I THINK THE CURRENT STANDARD IS SEVEN FEET, AND WITH THE VEHICLES THAT PEOPLE FOR THE GARAGE DOOR, GARAGE DOOR SIZE IS SEVEN FEET.
I THINK THAT VEHICLES TODAY ARE, ARE SO MUCH LARGER THAT, UH, WHETHER YOU'RE DRIVING UNDERNEATH THE, THE HOME OR YOU ARE PARKING IN A GARAGE, UH, IT'S AMAZING HOW MANY VEHICLES IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD WON'T FIT IN PEOPLE'S GARAGES BECAUSE OF THE SEVEN FOOT GARAGE HEIGHT, UH, FOR THE GARAGE DOOR.
UM, I THINK THAT THERE SHOULD SECONDARILY BE SOME REQUIREMENTS FOR DEVELOPERS WHEN THEY ARE DEVELOPING A NEW COMMUNITY THAT THERE BE SOME CONSIDERATION FOR GUEST PARKING, NOT JUST THE HOME OWNER PARKING, BUT GUEST PARKING AND THOSE, I I'M NOT ASKING THAT THOSE BE TACKED ONTO THIS CURRENT CONSIDERATION, BUT THEY JUST BE CONSIDERED FOR FUTURE ITEMS. AND THAT'S ALL I HAVE.
[01:55:02]
THANK YOU COMMISSIONER DEIS.I APPRECIATE THE, UH, THE ISSUE ABOUT THE PARKING.
AND I SOMEWHAT RESOLVED IN MY MIND THAT THAT APPROVAL IS SATISFACTORY, AND I WOULD RECOMMEND THAT.
I DON'T THINK THERE'S MUCH DISAGREEMENT THAT I'VE HEARD TODAY ABOUT THE PARKING MORE SO THE FAR AND THE SIZE OF THE HOMES THAT COULD BE BUILT ON PEOPLE'S LAND.
THAT SEEMS TO BE A TENSION BETWEEN WHAT PEOPLE WANT TO DO WITH THEIR LAND, WHETHER THE BUILD, SELL, OR MAXIMIZE THE VALUE OR QUALITY OF LIFE.
AND THERE'S JUST ALWAYS GONNA BE A TENSION THERE BETWEEN THOSE TWO THINGS.
I'M LOOKING AT PAGE TWO TO MAKE THE PROBLEM FURTHER COMPLEX.
THERE'S SUCH A, A, A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE DIFFERENT AREAS OF, OF THE ISLAND, THE EXISTING FARS, THAT IT JUST SEEMS LIKE IT'S ALWAYS GONNA BE HALF THE ISLAND UNHAPPY.
I UNDERSTAND THAT, THAT THE STAFF HAS DONE A, A LOT OF WORK TO COME UP WITH THESE PROPOSED NUMBERS OF 4,000 AND 0.45, AND I APPRECIATE THE EFFORT AND THE THOUGHT THAT WENT INTO THOSE THINGS, AND THE CONSIDERING THE OTHER BEAR ISLANDS, OTHER AREAS OF THE COUNTRY AND WITH FACING SIMILAR PARKING AND SIZE RESTRICTIONS.
AND I THINK THAT STAFF'S RECOMMENDATIONS ON THESE REGARDS ARE REASONABLE AND I THINK THEY'RE WELL THOUGHT OUT, SO I'M LIKELY TO APPROVE THAT AS WELL.
JUST A COUPLE OF QUICK COMMENTS.
ONE IS, IN ALL OF THE DISCUSSION WE'VE HAD IN THIS MEETING AND IN THE BRIEFINGS THAT WE'VE HAD LEADING UP TO THIS, THE WORD BALANCE IS USED QUITE A BIT.
AND I THINK THAT'S REALLY WHAT WE AS A COMMISSIONER ARE STRUGGLING WITH A LITTLE BIT HERE IS, IS WHAT IS THE BALANCE THAT'S BEING STRUCK? AND I FEEL AS THOUGH THE PLANNING STAFF DONE A MARVELOUS JOB, AT LEAST GIVING US THE INFORMATION, UH, THE ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS AND, UM, HAVE DONE THEIR BEST TO STRIKE THE BALANCE AND HAVE SAID THAT THIS IS, THIS IS A POINT IN TIME THAT, UM, GO FORWARD WITH.
SO I TOO AM
AND, UM, I WOULD THIS AT THIS POINT.
WELL, IT'S COME TIME FOR US TO TAKE SOME ACTION.
YOU'VE HEARD SEAN DESCRIBE WHAT OUR OPTIONS ARE.
WE CAN FORWARD THIS ON TO TOWN COUNCIL, UH, AS, AS PROPOSED WITH OUR RECOMMENDATION AND RECOMMEND, UH, SOME ASPECT OF THIS BEING ADOPTED OR CHANGED OR SENT ON WITH MODIFICATIONS OR WE CAN DENY IT ALL TOGETHER.
SO, UH, IS THERE SOMEONE WILLING TO MAKE A MOTION TO GET US TO DISCUSSION POINT? I'D LIKE TO MOVE THAT WE ACCEPT TOWN'S RECOMMENDATION AS PRESENTED.
IS THERE A SECOND TO THE MOTION? I WOULD SECOND COMMISSIONER, HENCE VICE CHAIR O'NEILL.
FOR NOW, LET'S HAVE DISCUSSION.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR DISCUSSION OR WE THE VOTE? I I WILL JUST MAKE THE COMMENT THAT I THINK THAT THAT IS A GOOD PROPOSAL BECAUSE I THINK WE HAVE TO HAVE PROTECTIONS TO START AND, UH, THAT, THAT AS, UH, HAVE NOTED WE CAN, WE CAN TWEAK THIS NUMBER, UM, IN THE FUTURE, BUT IF WE WANT PROTECTIONS NOW, UH, WE NEED TO TAKE, TAKE ACTION.
THE MOTION THEN IS TO, UH, RECOMMEND THE TOWN COUNCIL PROPOSAL THAT'S IN FROM TOWN STAFF.
YOU READY? UH, SEAN, YOU COMMENT? YEAH.
UM, MR. CHAIRMAN, IF, IF I COULD, UM, UH, MR. WILLIAMS POINTED OUT A, A, UH, A CHANGE I'D LIKE THE COMMISSION TO CONSIDER IN THE DEFINITION HOW FAR RATIO IS DEFINED IN THE DEFINITION SECTION.
IT DOES TALK ABOUT, UM, DIVIDING BY THE GROSS FLARE OF A BUILDING BY THE NET ACREAGE OF THE LAW.
BUT IN, UH, SECTION 16 5 118 E IT HAS 0.45 TIMES THE AREA OF THE LAW.
AND SO I THINK HAVING THAT, UH, CHANGE TO NET ACREAGE OF THE LAW IN THAT ONE SECTION WOULD BE, UM, A, A, A APPROPRIATE UPGRADE.
BUT AS THIS MOVES FORWARD TO TOWN COUNCIL, SO JUST ASK THE COMMISSION TO CONSIDER THAT MINOR ADJUSTMENT.
UM, AS THIS MOVES FORWARD, I, I DON'T UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE.
UNDERSTAND IT'S THE, THE NET ACREAGE, UM, OF THE LOT, UH, UH, IS A DEFINED TERM AND AN AREA ISN'T.
SO I THINK JUST HAVING THE CONSISTENCY WITH THAT DEFINED TERM WOULD MAKE SENSE.
SO WE HAVE TO MAKE A MOTION ON THAT FIRST BEFORE WE CAN VOTE ON THE WHOLE THING, WOULD MAKE MOTION ON THE MODIFICATION.
[02:00:01]
THAT SOMEONE, UM, MAKE A MOTION TO AMEND THE MOTION TO INCLUDE THAT CHANGE.I'LL MAKE A MOTION THAT WE, UM, AMEND THE CURRENT MOTION TO CHANGE THE LANGUAGE, UH, IN THE SO NOTED POINT FROM AREA TO NET ACREAGE.
A SECOND, UH, DOES THAT HAVE, UH, YOU'LL HAVE TO VOTE ON, YOU'LL HAVE TO VOTE ON THAT AMENDMENT.
UH, DO WE NEED A SECOND? I SECOND ALREADY.
SO THAT'S ONE SIX, THAT'S 16 5 1 18 E AND THAT'S CHANGING THE LANGUAGE FROM AREA TO NET ACREAGE, IS THAT CORRECT? UH, YES SIR.
UH, ANY DISCUSSION, UH, THEN ALL IN FAVOR, SMALL CHANGE IN THE LANGUAGE.
NOW BACK TO THE MAIN MOTION, MR. PENCE.
IS, IS, UH, YOUR MOTION STILL IN EFFECT WITH THAT SMALL CHANGE TO IT? YES.
MR. CHAIRMAN AND THE VICE CHAIR O'NEILL'S NAME FOR THE SECOND.
ANY ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? YES.
MR. WHALEY? YEAH, IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING, EVEN THOUGH WE WANNA MOVE IT FORWARD, THAT I THINK I WOULD LIKE TO URGE MY FELLOW, UH, THAT SEAN POINTED OUT THAT WE COULD RECOMMEND A DIFFERENT FAR AND IT WOULDN'T SLOW THE PROCESS DOWN.
SO I, WHILE I AGREE, WE SHOULD AGREE ON A FAR TODAY, I'M NOT SURE WHAT THE RATIONALE STILL IS FOR THE 0.45.
SO, UM, I DON'T SEE ANY HARM IN, IN LOWERING IT A BIT TO 0.40 OR 0.35 TO MAKE SURE THE ELECTED OFFICIALS UNDERSTAND THE DEPTH OF THE PASSION AROUND THIS ISSUE.
YEAH, I CAN'T IMAGINE THAT THIS, THAT WE HAVE ENOUGH INFORMATION TO CHANGE IT TO 0.43 OR 0.42.
I, I THINK THAT, UM, IF YOU MAKE IT SO LOW, YOU REALLY GOTTA, YOU, YOU'RE GONNA REALLY IMPACT VALUE OF, OF LOTS.
AND, AND I, I THINK I WOULD MUCH PREFER GOING WITH THE WISDOM OF, OF THE TOWN, UH, STAFF THAT'S BEEN STUDYING THIS FOR QUITE A WHILE VERSUS US JUST COMING UP WITH A NUMBER OUT OF, OUT OF THE YEAR BASED ON WHAT WE'VE HEARD THE LAST TWO HOURS.
CO COMMISSIONER DAREL, YOU HAVE A COMMENT? I DO HAVE A COMMENT.
SO JUST, JUST FOR COMPARISON'S SAKE, UM, LET'S TAKE A TYPICAL QUARTER, QUARTER ACRE LOT, NET SIZE, QUARTER ACRE, UM, AT A FAR OF 0.45.
THAT WOULD BE A HOME 4,900 SQUARE FEET.
TAKE THE SAME LOT ONE QUARTER ACRE WITH A FAR OF 0.35.
YOU STILL HAVE A HOME 3,811 SQUARE FEET.
I THINK EVERYBODY WOULD AGREE IS A FAIRLY GOOD SIZED HOME.
SO THAT, THAT JUST GIVES YOU AN ON A ORDER OF ORDER OF MAGNITUDE.
THE KIND OF DIFFERENCE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT WHEN WE REDUCE THE FAR BY JUST 1.1%.
ANY OTHER COMMENT? COULD WE GET A LITTLE BIT MORE EXPLANATION FROM THE TOWN EITHER MISSY OR THE MAN WITH THE SHOES? SURE.
ON, ON THE FAR AND YOUR RATIONALE BEHIND THE 0.45? I MEAN, 'CAUSE WHEN, WHEN I LOOKED AT SOME OF THE DIFFERENT OTHER AREAS, IT IT DID, THERE WAS SOME VARIANCE IN, IN, IN BARS.
AND SO AS YOU GET HIGHER DENSITY DISTRICTS THAT ALLOW SINGLE FAMILY, UM, BECAUSE THE MUCH SMALLER LOT SIZES, THAT'S WHERE YOU SEE, I KNOW THERE'S A COMMENT THAT THE, THE, UH, FLORIA RATIO WAS, WELL, 300, I THINK IT'S THREE OR FOUR, BUT IT, UM, THE, SO THE RATIONALE BEHIND HOW WE, HOW THE RECOMMENDATION AND THE DRAFT LANGUAGE WAS REACHED WAS AGAIN LOOKING AT HISTORIC DEVELOPMENT PATTERNS, UNDERSTANDING THE DEVELOPMENT STYLE THAT EXISTED, UM, UP HERE UNTIL RECENTLY.
UM, AND THEN LOOKING AT THE RECENT DEVELOPMENT PATTERNS, AND YOU CAN SEE LIKE 0.32 IS THAT AVERAGE OVER A LONG, LONG PERIOD.
AND WHAT WE'VE SEEN HERE RECENTLY ARE A, AT A MUCH HIGHER RATE, UM, AS I MENTIONED IN THAT R M EIGHT DISTRICT, I THINK WE HAD 0.5 AS THE F A R.
AND THEN WHEN I DID THE CALCULATION ON THE MORE RECENT AT 5,290 SQUARE FEET AVERAGE HOME AT 5,445 SQUARE FOOT LOTS, IT'S A 0.97 F A R.
LOOKING AT THE OVERLAY DISTRICTS THAT WE HAVE IN PLACE, UH, AND FOREST BEACH, FOLLY FIELD AND HOLIDAY HOMES THAT HAVE AN F A R BETWEEN 0.45 AND
[02:05:01]
0.55 PROVIDED SOME CONFIDENCE THAT THERE HAS BEEN SOME CODE IN PLACE THAT PROVIDES SOME OF THAT PART OR THAT SOME OF THAT PROTECTION.UM, IF THE PLANNING COMMISSION THINKS, AGAIN, THAT WORD BALANCE, THE BALANCE IS STILL NOT QUITE RIGHT.
IT'S UP TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION TO MAKE THAT RECOMMENDATION TO, TO, TO MODIFY THE F A R.
UM, BUT I THINK BASED ON WHAT WE LOOKED AT, THE 0.45 WAS A DECENT STARTING POINT.
I ANTICIPATE, I ANTICIPATED THAT THE REQUEST WOULD NOT BE TO INCREASE, RIGHT? NO, NO ONE WAS GONNA COME IN AND SAY WE NEED TO MAKE IT LIKE FOUR SPEECH AT 0.55.
I CERTAINLY EXPECTED THE REQUEST TO BE 0.32 BETWEEN SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 0.32 AND 0.45.
AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S UP TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION.
DO THEY TO UNDER FOR TODAY IN THIS, IN THIS SET OF AMENDMENTS, DECIDE, DECIDE WHAT LEVEL OF PROTECTION THEY THINK IS APPROPRIATE.
WE WILL DO DISTRICT PLANNING THAT WILL IDENTIFY FLORIA RATIOS THAT ARE COMPATIBLE AND CONSISTENT WITHIN THOSE DISTRICTS AND, AND, AND ESTABLISH THOSE.
AND SO THIS IS THE MEASURE WE'RE TRYING TO TAKE HERE IN THE SHORTER TERM TO PROVIDE THAT.
WE HAVE A MOTION ON ADVANCE TO TOWN COUNCIL.
UH, KAREN, WOULD YOU CALL ROLL? YES, SIR.
MR. MEER? AYE MS. MR. LOBO APPROVE.
MS. WHALEY A MR. DUBBO APPROVE.
UM, I COULDN'T SEE ALL THE VOTES.
IT SOUNDS LIKE IT MAY HAVE BEEN UNANIMOUS, BUT I COULDN'T SEE EVERYBODY.
SO, UM, I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANY OTHER COMMISSION BUSINESS, BUT WE DO HAVE, WE DO
[13. Staff Reports]
HAVE A STAFF REPORT.I THINK SHAY WAS GONNA MENTION SOMETHING.
UM, I JUST WANTED TO SHARE WITH THE COMMISSION THAT WE HAVE THE LOCAL OFFICIALS GUIDE TO COMPREHENSIVE PLANNING AVAILABLE.
WE COULDN'T FIND ADDITIONAL COPIES, BUT HAPPY TO LEND THIS OUT IF YOU'RE INTERESTED.
UM, AND THAT'S ALL FROM STAFF.
IF THERE'S NO OTHER BUSINESSES, ANYBODY HAVE ANYTHING ELSE WE NEED TO TAKE UP TODAY? IF NOT, WE'LL DECLARE THIS MEETING ADJOURNED AND THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
GO TO BEAUFORT COUNTY SC.GOV, SCROLL DOWN TO PUBLIC MEETINGS, CLICK WATCH NOW, AND THEN CLICK THE VIDEO ON DEMAND BUTTON AND SELECT YOUR PROGRAM FROM THE LIST.
CALL THE MEETING TO, UH, ORDER.
IF YOU'D LIKE A D V D OF THIS PROGRAM, CLICK ON THE LINK ON THE RIGHT AND FILL OUT THE ORDER FORM.
AND THANK YOU FOR WATCHING THE COUNTY CHANNEL, DR.
TELL ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE TIMELINESS OF THE RECONSTRUCTION SERIES.
WHY NOW? 12 YEARS OF BLACK FREEDOM FOLLOWED BY AN ALT-RIGHT ROLLBACK, A PRESIDENT IMMEDIATELY, UM, FOLLOWING ABRAHAM LINCOLN, WHO REFUSED TO RENOUNCE WHITE SUPREMACY THE CONSERVATIVE SUPREME COURT THAT EFFECTIVELY UNDID THE POWER OF THE 14TH AND 15TH AMENDMENTS.
WHAT'S THAT SOUND LIKE? CONTEMPORARY TIMES.
SO IT WAS OBVIOUS THAT WE COULD TEACH OUR FELLOW CITIZENS IN AMERICA ABOUT THE PERILOUS MOMENT IN WHICH WE WERE LIVING BY ANALOGY THROUGH TELLING THE STORY OF
[02:10:01]
RECONSTRUCTION AND ITS ROLLBACK.AND I FIRST STARTED THINKING ABOUT IT AFTER, UH, THE HORRIBLE MURDERS OF, UH, REVEREND CLEMENTA PINCKNEY AND THE OTHER INNOCENCE AT MOTHER EMANUEL CHURCH BECAUSE THE JUSTIFICATIONS THAT DYLAN ROOF, UH, SUMMONED FOR HIS ACTIONS, UM, WERE VERY REMINISCENT OF RACIST RHETORIC ABOUT BLACK PEOPLE IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE CIVIL WAR AND FOLLOWING RECONSTRUCTION.
IT'S ALMOST LIKE A HORROR MOVIE WHEN YOU THINK THAT THE VAMPIRES DEAD AND ALL OF A SUDDEN THEY COME UP OUTTA THE CASKET AND YOU THINK, DAMN, I THOUGHT I'D PUT A STAKE IN YOUR HEART.
I THOUGHT THAT THE WORST AND MOST PERNICIOUS, HEINOUS ASPECTS OF ANTI-BLACK WHITE SUPREMACY WERE LONG GONE.
AND THAT I WAS NAIVE ABOUT THAT.
AND WE'VE SEEN A RISE IN HATE SPEECH, ANTI-SEMITISM, ANTI-GAY ATTITUDES.
AND PEOPLE, WHEN PEOPLE BECOME FRIGHTENED, PARTICULARLY ABOUT THEIR ECONOMIC FUTURE, THEY LOOK FOR SCAPEGOATS.
AND THE SCAPEGOATS TRADITIONALLY HAVE BEEN JEWISH PEOPLE, WOMEN, GAY PEOPLE, AND OF COURSE IN THIS COUNTRY, PEOPLE OF COLOR.
UM, LET'S DON'T GO BACK TO WHAT HAPPENED WITH THE ROLLBACK TO RECONSTRUCTION.
RECONSTRUCTION IS SUCH AN IMPORTANT PART OF AMERICAN HISTORY, AND YET IT IS SO MISUNDERSTOOD.
WHY IS THAT? WHY IS IT THAT WE DON'T HAVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THIS PERIOD AND WHAT IT ACTUALLY MEANT? WELL, WE, WE, DU BOIS WROTE A BOOK IN 1935 CALLED BLACK RECONSTRUCTION, AND ONE CHAPTER'S CALLED THE PROPAGANDA OF HISTORY.
AND HE ANALYZES HOW WHITE HISTORIANS HAD WRITTEN ABOUT RECONSTRUCTION, AND THAT WAS PART OF THE ROLLBACK TO CREATE A MYTH MYTHOLOGY OF BLACK INCOMPETENCE THAT BLACK MEN HAD BEEN ELECTED TO OFFICE AND COULDN'T PROPERLY SERVE.
THAT BLACK VOTERS HAD BEEN MANIPULATED BY NORTHERN SCALLYWAGS AND CARPET BAGGERS, THAT BASICALLY THEY WERE TOOLS AND PAWNS THAT THEY WERE DISHONEST.
UH, ROBERT SMALLS WAS ONE OF THE GREATEST, UM, HEROES OF THE CIVIL WAR.
AND RECONSTRUCTION SERVED FIVE NON-CONSECUTIVE TERMS IN CONGRESS BECAUSE HE WAS CONSTANTLY BEING ACCUSED YET OF STEALING MONEY AND MISAPPROPRIATING FUNDS.
THEY WERE, UM, THERE WAS A MYTHOLOGY SANCTIONED BY THE DISCIPLINE OF HISTORY LOCATED AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY CALLED THE DUNNING SCHOOL, LED BY HISTORIAN, PROFESSOR DUNNING.
AND THEY FOUND EVERY WAY TO INTRODUCE THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF BLACK PEOPLE.
AND THAT HAS ONLY BEEN UNDONE BY HISTORIANS SINCE DU BOIS PUBLISHED BLACK RECONSTRUCTION.
AND MOST NOTABLY UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF ANOTHER COLUMBIA PROFESSOR, PROFESSOR ERIC FONER, WITH WHOM, UH, WE MADE OUR RECONSTRUCTION SERIES.
PLUS WE HAVE OVER 40 HISTORIANS DOING MODERN, UM, CUTTING EDGE SCHOLARSHIP ON RECONSTRUCTION THAT WHOM WE FEATURE IN THE SERIES.
SO IT'S VERY MUCH A COLLECTIVE, UM, SERIES AND IT'S VERY MUCH A COUNTERPOINT TO THE RECEIVED INTERPRETATIONS OF RECONSTRUCTION FABRICATED BY THE DUNNING SCHOOL.
WELL, FOR US, IT, THIS IS THE PHONER SCHOOL.
IT, IT HAS A VERY SPECIAL MEANING.
WHY IS THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA SO PIVOTAL TO AN UNDERSTANDING OF RECONSTRUCTION? SOUTH CAROLINA WAS GROUND ZERO FOR RECONSTRUCTION BECAUSE IT WAS A MAJORITY BLACK STATE.
THE, UM, THERE'S A FAMOUS 1872 LITHOGRAPH OF THE FIRST COLORED SENATOR AND MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, AND THREE OF THOSE MEN IN THAT LITHOGRAPH WERE FROM SOUTH CAROLINA.
WHEN RICHARD T GREENER GRADUATED FROM HARVARD, THE FIRST BLACK MAN TO GRADUATE FROM HARVARD IN THE CLASS OF 1870.
WHERE WAS THE LAND OF OPPORTUNITY? WAS IT IN NEW YORK? WAS IT IN BOSTON, WAS IT IN PHILADELPHIA? CHARLESTON CAME TO CHARLESTON AND WENT TO, UH, COLUMBIA AND SERVED ON THE FACULTY, UM, AND TOOK LAW CLASSES THERE.
THE, UM, A BLACK MAN FROM ENGLAND, FROM LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND, ROBERT BROWN ELLIOT CAME TO, TO BOSTON IN 1867.
THE BRITISH NAVY COULD SMELL THE OPPORTUNITY HEADED STRAIGHT TO SOUTH CAROLINA AND WORKED FOR RICHARD HARVEY CAIN'S NEWSPAPER, THEN WAS ELECTED TO, TO CONGRESS.
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AND UM, THIS WAS WHERE IT WAS AT, THIS IS WHERE IT WAS HAPPENING.AND WHEN I INTERVIEWED REPRESENTATIVE CLYBURN, HIS OFFICE IN THE, IN THE CONGRESS, WELL, HE'S LONG BEEN A STUDENT OF RECONSTRUCTION.
YEAH, I MEAN IT'S LIKE A MUSEUM.
YOU GO IN THERE AND ALL THESE BROTHERS ARE ON THE WALL.
AND WE TALKED ABOUT THE FACT THAT, UH, SOUTH CAROLINA HAD A BLACK MAJORITY IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
YOU CAN'T IMAGINE THAT NOW SOUTH CAROLINA, EVEN IN THE 18TH CENTURY IT WAS CALLED NEGRO COUNTRY.
UM, AND VERY SOON THAT WAS DISMANTLED.
SO IT'S NO SURPRISE THAT MANY OF THE MOST VICIOUS BATTLES OVER RACE OCCURRED HERE.
'CAUSE IT WAS AN ATTEMPT TO CONTROL THIS BLACK MAJORITY.
I WENT TO CALHOUN COLLEGE AT YALE UNIVERSITY, AND JOHN C. CALHOUN WAS AN INTELLECTUAL RACIST.
HE NOT ONLY WANTED SLAVERY TO CONTINUE, HE WANTED TO RESURRECT THE SLAVE TRADE
HE WAS A, HE WAS A ROUGH BROTHER.
THE, UM, THE TAKING OUT OF ADS IN NEWSPAPERS TO REUNITE FAMILIES.
AND THE FACT THAT 80% OF THE ELIGIBLE BLACK MEN IN THE SOUTH REGISTERED TO VOTE IN WHAT I CALL THE FIRST FREEDOM SUMMER, THE SUMMER OF 1867, AND 500,000 OF THEM CAST THEIR VOTES IN THE GENERAL ELECTION OF 1868 FOR ULYSSES S GRANT.
AND PEOPLE FORMED SCHOOLS HISTORICALLY BLACK, WHAT WE NOW CALL HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES LIKE SHAW AND HOWARD, BUT ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS AND IN SOUTH CAROLINA, ALLEN AND BENEDICT AND CLAFLIN.
AND YOU KNOW, JUST ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS THAT, THAT THE SLAVES HAD A HUNGER FOR LEARNING BECAUSE THEY KNEW THAT THE MOST VALUABLE THING THAT HAD BEEN KEPT FOR THEM WAS KNOWLEDGE OF READING AND WRITING.
AND THEY KNEW THAT WAS THE PATHWAY TO, TO SUCCESS.
ISN'T IT INTERESTING THAT PUBLIC EDUCATION GREW OUT OF THIS PERIOD? MM-HMM.
AND THAT'S BECAUSE BLACK PEOPLE UNDERSTOOD THE VALUE OF EDUCATION.
IT'S ALSO INTERESTING THOUGH THAT THINGS LIKE PUBLIC EDUCATION AND CERTAINLY, UH, ENFRANCHISEMENT AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, ALL THESE POSITIVES THAT GREW OUT OF THE RECONSTRUCTION PERIOD ARE STILL UNDER ASSAULT.
AND IT'S, WE HAVE TO, UM, ANY SOCIETY'S JUDGED BY THE QUALITY OF ITS PUBLIC EDUCATION.
AND WE AS AMERICANS SHOULD BE EMBARRASSED AT HOW WE'VE ALLOWED OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS, WHICH ARE POPULATED BY BRILLIANT TEACHERS WHO ARE SO MOTIVATED, BUT THEY'RE UNDERPAID AND UNDER-RESOURCED AND, UM, WE SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF THAT.
YOU KNOW, PEOPLE HAVE, UM, A GENERAL IDEA THAT THE COLLAPSE OF RECONSTRUCTION WAS SOLELY IN THE HANDS OF THE SOUTH.
THAT'S NOT TRUE, IS IT? NO, THE COLLAPSE OF RECONSTRUCTION WAS A CONSPIRACY BETWEEN ECONOMIC INTEREST AND POLITICAL INTEREST IN THE NORTH AND IN THE SOUTH.
THERE WAS A PAN ECONOMIC PANIC OF 1873, WHICH WAS CALLED THE FIRST GREAT DEPRESSION.
AND PEOPLE LOOKED AROUND AND SAID, WHY DON'T WE SPEND ALL THE MONEY ON THESE NEGROES IN THE SOUTH? LET 'EM THRIVE.
AND THEY ACTED BARREL AS IF 200 YEARS OF SLAVERY COULD BE WIPED OUT WITH NO REPARATIONS, WITH, WITH, WITH, UM, NO BENEFITS GIVEN NO 40 ACRES IN A MULE, NO HELP.
UM, THAT EACH, EACH OF THESE PEOPLE WERE ON THEIR OWN.
NOT ONLY THAT NEW FORMS OF OPPRESSION WERE INSTITUTIONALIZED DEBT, PEONAGE, SHARECROPPING, THE RISE OF THE KLAN, THE RISE OF THE KOOK TERRORISM.
AND SO VERY MUCH, UH, RECONSTRUCTION IS ABOUT ISSUES THAT STILL ROYAL OUR SOCIETY TODAY.
WHO HAS THE RIGHT TO BE A CITIZEN? WHO HAS THE RIGHT TO BE AN AMERICAN? WHAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC DEMOCRACY? AND WHAT IS THE ROLE OF TERRORISM IN THE HEALTHY
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FUNCTIONING OF, OF A DEMOCRACY? WHAT'S THE ROLE OF THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE IN, IN THE FACE OF THE MANIFESTATIONS OF TERRORISM? HOW CAN WE HAVE THIS VERY BLATANT REMINDER FROM 150 YEARS AGO AND NOT BE MINDFUL OF ITS IMPACT TODAY? THAT'S WHY DYLAN MCG, GEE AND I MADE THIS SERIES AND WITH P B S WE'LL GET, AND I AM ON THE ROAD, YOU KNOW, I FLEW DOWN TO BEAUFORT FROM HARVARD.I JUMPED ON JETBLUE AND CAME DOWN HERE 'CAUSE I'M WANTED A SOUTH CAROLINA SCREENING TO REMIND PEOPLE THAT THIS IS GROUND ZERO, THAT THEN IS NOW, AND I WANNA DO ONE IN CHARLESTON.
UH, AND I WANNA DO ONE AT THE PENN CENTER.
IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT THE COUNTRY UNDERSTAND THAT WE MADE THIS SERIES ABOUT THE CURRENT RACIAL CLIMATE IN THE UNITED STATES, THOUGH IT'S THROUGH THE MIRROR AND THE ANALOGY OF RECONSTRUCTION AND ITS ROLLBACK CALLED REDEMPTION.
WHAT IS THE MEASURE OF SUCCESS FOR YOU FOR THIS SERIES? UM, FIRST OF ALL, I WANT RECONSTRUCTION MODULES.
FIRST, I WANT RECONSTRUCTION MODULES TO BE CREATED IN THE CLASSROOM SO THAT RECONSTRUCTION IS AS CENTRAL TO A COURSE IN AMERICAN HISTORY AS THE CIVIL WAR IS, OR WORLD WAR I OR WORLD WAR II.
RECONSTRUCTION WAS OUR FIRST EXPERIMENT WITH INTERRACIAL DEMOCRACY AND IT WAS CRUSHED.
AND THE ONLY WAY THAT WE'RE GONNA SURVIVE AS A SOCIETY IS IF WE FASHION FORMS OF INTERRACIAL DEMOCRACY AND COLLABORATION THAT ALLOW MULTIPLICITY OF VOICES, SEXUAL ORIENTATIONS, RELIGIOUS BELIEFS, ET CETERA, GENDER IDENTITIES TO THRIVE AND LIVE IN HARMONY AND PEACE.
THAT'S MY GOAL IN CREATING THIS SERIES, AND I HOPE PEOPLE WILL WATCH IT.
WHEN YOU LOOK UP AT THE NIGHT SKY, JUST ABOUT EVERY POINT OF LIGHT YOU SEE ARE STARS LOCATED IN OUR MILKY WAY GALAXY, A GIANT SPIRAL DISC.
THERE ARE SOMEWHERE AROUND 200 BILLION STARS IN THE MILKY WAY, ALL ROTATING AROUND A SUPER MASSIVE BLACK HOLE AT THE CENTER.
BUT WHAT BINDS ALL THESE STARS TOGETHER, WHAT KEEPS THEM FROM SLINGSHOTTING OUT INTO SPACE? IT'S THE SAME FORCE THAT KEEPS THE EARTH IN ORBIT AROUND THE SUN, THE MOON, IN ORBIT AROUND THE EARTH, AND CAUSES THIS APPLE TO FALL TO THE GROUND GRAVITY.
IN THE LATE 16 HUNDREDS, SIR ISAAC NEWTON DISCOVERED AND DESCRIBED GRAVITY.
HE DEVELOPED THE LAW OF GRAVITATION TO EXPLAIN THE FORCE OF ATTRACTION BETWEEN TWO OBJECTS.
HE FOUND THAT THE CLOSER TWO OBJECTS ARE THE MORE FORCE THEY EXERT ON ONE ANOTHER, AND THE MORE MASSIVE AN OBJECT IS, THE MORE FORCE IT HAS.
HE CREATED A MATHEMATICAL FORMULA TO DESCRIBE THIS FORCE OF ATTRACTION AND SHOWED THAT THE SAME GRAVITY THAT PULLED THE APPLE TO THE GROUND WAS WHAT HELD THE MOON IN ORBIT AROUND THE EARTH.
GRAVITY IS THE FORCE THAT ORGANIZES ALL OF THE MATTER IN THE UNIVERSE.
EACH OF THESE STUDENTS REPRESENTS A CLUMP OF MATTER IN SPACE.
THEIR SIZE OR THEIR MASS IS BASED ON THE NUMBER OF LETTERS IN THEIR NAME.
SO THE MORE LETTERS THEY HAVE IN THEIR NAME, THE HIGHER THE FORCE THEY EXERT ON THEIR NEIGHBORS.
NOTICE THAT OVER TIME THE MATTER COLLIDES AND CLUMPS TOGETHER.
NEWTON'S LAW OF GRAVITATION WAS SO SUCCESSFUL AT DESCRIBING THE MOTIONS OF CELESTIAL BODIES THAT IT HELD UP FOR NEARLY 230 YEARS.
USING NEWTON'S MATH ASTRONOMERS WERE ABLE TO ACCURATELY PREDICT THE ORBITS OF ALL THE PLANETS, INCLUDING THE DISCOVERY OF NEPTUNE EXCEPT FOR MERCURY.
MERCURY SEEMED TO BE ZOOMING AROUND THE SUN SLIGHTLY FASTER THAN EXPECTED.
ENTER ALBERT EINSTEIN IN 1915, HE PUBLISHED HIS GENERAL THEORY OF RELATIVITY, WHICH IMPROVED UPON THE LIMITATIONS OF NEWTON'S WORK.
EINSTEIN'S THEORY BROUGHT SPACE AND TIME TOGETHER INTO AN ENTITY NOW
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CALLED SPACE TIME.IT'S ESSENTIALLY THE FABRIC OF THE UNIVERSE AND ANYTHING THAT HAS MASS DISTORTED SPACE TIME.
SO WE'RE GONNA USE THIS STRETCHY FABRIC TO REPRESENT SPACE TIME, AND YOU CAN SEE THAT MATTER CURVES SPACE TIME.
WHEN YOU HAVE A MORE MASSIVE OBJECT SPACE, TIME IS CURVED MORE SO THE LARGER OBJECT HAS A LARGER GRAVITATIONAL FORCE, AND YOU'LL NOTICE THAT THE CLOSER YOU GET TO THE OBJECT, THE MORE CURVED SPACE TIME IS.
WE CAN DEMONSTRATE HOW THE MORE MASSIVE OBJECT HAS A STRONGER GRAVITATIONAL FORCE BY THE RATE AT WHICH THE MARBLE FALLS INTO IT.
OBJECTS ARE NOT ALWAYS FALLING IN, SOMETIMES THEY'RE ORBITING IN SPACE.
JUST LIKE PLANETS ORBIT AROUND STARS, THEY'RE MOVING FAST ENOUGH NOT TO FALL INTO THE STAR, BUT SLOW ENOUGH THAT THEY DON'T ESCAPE OUT INTO OUTER SPACE.
NOW IN OUR DEMONSTRATION, THE MARBLES ARE EVENTUALLY FALLING INTO OUR STAR, BUT THAT'S BECAUSE THERE'S FRICTION IN THE VACUUM OF SPACE.
THERE'S NO FRICTION TO SLOW THEM DOWN, AND THEY JUST BASICALLY ORBIT INDEFINITELY.
WE CAN ALSO SEE THAT AS THE PLANETS GET CLOSER TO THE STAR, THEY ORBIT MORE QUICKLY BECAUSE SPACE TIME IS MORE STRETCHED THERE.
AND IF WE HAVE A REALLY MASSIVE PLANET GOING AROUND THE STAR, IT ACTUALLY CAUSES THE STAR TO WOBBLE.
AND THAT'S HOW ASTRONOMERS LOOK FOR PLANETS AROUND OTHER STARS.
EINSTEIN'S THEORY OF RELATIVITY ALSO SUCCESSFULLY PREDICTED GRAVITATIONAL WAVES ANY OBJECT MOVING THROUGH SPACE TIME CREATES SMALL RIPPLES IN THE FABRIC OF THE UNIVERSE.
DETECTING GRAVITATIONAL WAVES WOULD PROVIDE FURTHER EVIDENCE CONFIRMING EINSTEIN'S THEORY, AS WELL AS GIVE US DETAILS ABOUT MAJOR ASTRONOMICAL EVENTS.
THE PROBLEM IS ONLY MASSIVE EVENTS SUCH AS THE COLLISION BETWEEN TWO BLACK HOLES WOULD CREATE WAVES LARGE ENOUGH TO BE DETECTED, AND EVEN THEN WOULD ONLY CAUSE A DISTORTION, 1% OF THE DIAMETER OF AN ATOM BY THE TIME IT REACHED EARTH.
AMAZINGLY, GRAVITATIONAL WAVES WERE DETECTED FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 2016 IN AN EXPERIMENT CALLED LIGO, WHERE THE LASER INTERFEROMETER GRAVITATIONAL WAVE OBSERVATORY GRAVITATIONAL WAVES MIGHT HELP US UNDERSTAND SOME OF THE BIGGEST MYSTERIES OF THE UNIVERSE, SUCH AS DARK MATTER AND DARK ENERGY, WHICH MAKE UP THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE UNIVERSE, BUT HAVE NOT YET BEEN OBSERVED DIRECTLY.
THERE IS STILL MUCH TO UNDERSTAND ABOUT GRAVITY.
SCIENTISTS HAVE YET TO DEVELOP A THEORY THAT COMBINES OUR UNDERSTANDING OF GRAVITY WITH THE QUANTUM WORLD AT THE VERY SMALLEST SCALE.
BUT THE NEXT TIME YOU LOOK UP AT THE STARS, THINK ABOUT THE INVISIBLE FORCE ACCELERATING YOUR FEET INTO THE GROUND, THE EARTH AROUND THE SUN, AND ALL THE STARS IN OUR GALAXY AROUND THE SUPER MASSIVE BLACK HOLE AT ITS CORE.