City Council met Tuesday for their regular session, voting to allow a number of projects, ranging from a new fire station to the Google Street View Trekker program, to move forward.
A joint hearing of with the Planning Commission was held to discuss a text change that would amend the public safety ordinance and zoning ordinance. The city attorney’s office and the fire department had requested the text change, as both dealt with duplications from the ordinances to other documents. It was referred to the Planning Commission for further deliberation.
A ladder truck
A project to build a fire station on Harden Road met council approval, after it had spent weeks in the public works committee. Councilor Gaylord, in whose district the fire station would be built, asked for more time and analysis on the project, saying “the neighborhood would appreciate [it].”
Councilor Weeks, who is the chairman for the public works committee, felt that it was time for the project to move on. “I think it’s time to move forward with this. It involves the safety of the citizens.”
The project was authorized to proceed in a 7-1 vote, with Councilor Gaylord dissenting.
Two items were pulled from the consent agenda.
For item 7.1, which involved an encroachment request for the installation of fiber optic cable, Councilor Weeks wanted clarification on the type of properties the encroachment would apply. City staff responded that both homes and businesses would be affected and the item was approved.
For item 9.1, which involved the Sandy Forks Widening Project, Councilor Stephenson stated that in the future he wanted more details on how much land would be taken during the widening and if that would cause any hardships to residents. The item was then approved.
The remaining items on the consent agenda were approved.
Rezoning case Z-33-14, which concerns a property on Tryon Road, was moved to the comprehensive planning committee after Councilor Crowder expressed that she wanted to see a traffic study included for the case.
Bing Maps
Tryon Road
A waiver to a 24-month waiting period was granted for rezoning case Z-35-13, a project which had been denied after residents of a nearby neighborhood voiced significant opposition. With the waiver, the applicant is allowed to present a new development idea without having to wait the mandatory 24 months.
“I appreciate that the applicant is bringing forth something substantially different,” Councilor Stephenson said.
A provisional special use permit to allow for outdoor amplified entertainment was granted for the owner of the Person Street Bar. The Raleigh Police Department stated that there had only been nine calls from January 2014 to March 2015 to the RPD about the bar and that none of them had been significant. The provisional special use permit is to last one year.
James Borden / Raleigh Public Record
The Person Street Bar
Seven sidewalk improvement projects were authorized to proceed with money available from the 2011 Transportation Bond. The projects include sections on Blount Street, Person Street, Millbrook Road, and Raleigh Boulevard.
Two traffic calming projects on Currituck Drive and Town and Country Road were held for two weeks as council directed staff to look more closely at the traffic circles. The Google Street View Trekker project was approved, as well as the RPD’s use of the Nextdoor Social Network to communicate with citizens.
