PITTSBORO — Pittsboro’s board of commissioners entertained conversation on several consequential topics in its regular meeting Monday, but only as discussion points without commensurate action.
Chuck Smith, vice president of planning at Preston Development Company — which is developing Chatham Park — and Robbie Oldham, vice president and principal consultant at Withers Ravenel, attended the meeting to give an informal presentation of the developer’s small area plan for 2,225 acres in northeast Pittsboro. Chatham Park’s master plan for about 7,068 acres was approved years ago, but more specific small area plans are required prior to development. Chatham Park will have submitted 27 small area plans for various sections of property before the development is complete.
“There’s been some question, and even within the comments that have been received that I’ve been aware of from the public, about just what this document does and what the point is,” Smith said. “... Basically the first seven chapters are to be used with the master plan and additional elements to assess development plans as they come in and help staff determine whether these plans are consistent with the intent of the master plan.”
Chapters eight and nine are a “forecasting tool” for the town and the county as they plan public infrastructure and facilities around Chatham Park. Finally, chapter 10 serves as an appendix.
“If you can imagine in the rest of Pittsboro, for example, if somebody came in and wanted to do a daycare, what are they going to do?” Smith said. “How do they go about that process? They start with a zoning map, they start with a land use plan, they get a copy of your UDO and then they work through all that information to see where it can be located ... So with the master plan and the elements, we’ve basically gone through the process of creating our UDO.”
The small area plan, then, works with the master plan and other regulation to facilitate a smoother and clearer development process.
For details of the more than 160-page document, visit pittsboronc.gov. The commissioners are expected to next address the small area plan proposal in their July 26 meeting where they can vote to adopt or send it back to Chatham Park for amendments.
The commissioners also discussed plans for new affordable housing ordinance and potential reinstatement of utility bill late fees and disconnects. Neither topic was up for decision and Town Manager Chris Kennedy assured the attendees that action would not be taken without sufficient advance warning.
Utility bill late fees have been suspended for more than a year since the pandemic began. Last July, Gov. Roy Cooper lifted the state-mandated moratorium on late fees and disconnects, but Pittsboro has maintained the forgiveness policy. Before fees are reinstated, Kennedy said, the town will give thorough notice.
The meeting began with some uncertainty following the launch of Pittsboro’s new website. The board of commissioners, which still meets only via Zoom, has routinely posted its agenda and meeting link online. Monday’s meeting followed the new site’s launch by only two hours, though, and town staff faced technical difficulties in posting the information needed for residents to attend virtually.
“It really is very concerning and I have to question moving forward,” Commissioner John Bonitz said. “...Through no one’s fault, it does appear the door is effectively locked.”
Other commissioners and Mayor Jim Nass echoed Bonitz’s sentiment, and they deliberated over whether to postpone the meeting. Ultimately, they decided to proceed. The program was live broadcast on YouTube, commissioners pointed out, and the agenda included no public hearings nor any topics on which the commissioners would make a decision. (The original document included a public hearing on a rezoning request, but the item was removed).
The technical blunder cast a pall over Kennedy’s introduction of the town’s new site.
“This certainly took the steam out of my new website excitement,” he said, laughing. “I was so excited to talk about how we’ve got a brand new website and how it’s going to be so great for the public ... Part of the big thing is touting the public engagement part of it, so I guess that’s probably the biggest irony of the whole thing.”
The commissioners commended Kennedy and his staff for the new site, despite some hiccups with its rollout. (For more on Pittsboro’s new website, see related story in this edition.)
• The board voted unanimously to approve a special request permit application for Triple A Homes to develop a two-unit townhouse on Thompson Street. The project was originally permitted as a duplex, but the applicant requested permission to convert the units to townhouses “so that a subdivision of land may occur,” according to the Planning Director Theresa Thompson’s presentation. The structure will sit on .23 acres of land.
• Pittsboro’s annual Summer Fest will be held this Sunday, July 4.
“We have Summer Fest in downtown so we’re excited about that,” Kennedy said. “This year, Summer Fest will be occurring at the future town hall lot” on West Salisbury Street.
The festival has been on Hillsboro Street in years past, but ongoing road construction at the traffic circle prevented such arrangements.
“I also encourage everyone to attend Summer Fest on July 4,” Nass said. “I will be a judge in the pie contest, so if I gain some pounds by next meeting you’ll understand where it came from. So I’m looking forward to that, and I think it’ll be a great event for us given what we’ve been through for the last while.”
• Kennedy announced two new town staff members Monday: Katy Keller, the new parks director, who previously worked in Indian Trail; and Morgan DeWit, a project engineer.
Keller didn’t attend the meeting, but DeWit attended and expressed her thanks to the board and town staff.
“I’m really excited to be here and join the team at the Town of Pittsboro,” she said.
Reporter D. Lars Dolder can be reached at dldolder@chathamnr.com and on Twitter @dldolder.