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Town hosts public hearing
By Frank Ruggiero
In lieu of chocolates, the town of Boone celebrated Valentine’s
Day with a quarterly public hearing.
The first case at the Feb. 14 hearing concerned council-initiated
amendments to the Unified Development Ordinance table of permissible
uses to allow emergency shelter housing, long-term traditional
housing and permanent housing for the homeless in the M-1 (light
industrial) district. The table of permissible uses would be amended
The request comes after a Boone homeless shelter, the Hospitality
House, leased county land in the Bamboo area to relocate from
downtown.
“That property is zoned for light manufacturing,” Boone
Development Services director John Spear said, “and in order
to take another step forward in the provision for new facilities
for the Hospitality House … zoning change was needed.”
Planning commissioner Bunk Spann asked why the decision was made
to amend the table of permissible uses, rather than rezone the
property, and Spear said rezoning would have proven more difficult
and time-consuming, while a text change provided a simpler approach.
Council member Janet Pepin asked how many other areas in town
would be affected by the change, and Spear said it would allow
such uses in all M-1 property, examples of which include the old
Shadowline manufacturing plant and TT Electronics (formerly IRC).
Planning commissioner Patrick Heavner expressed concern about
adding the use, asking why other types of housing were not included
apart from homeless shelters.
“To me, this is almost like environmental racism, to have
it zoned by right,” he said. “We’re putting our
homeless where we don’t want them… We’re sort of
putting them on the outskirts. Why is this?”
Spear explained that development services’ scope of research
did not expand beyond evaluating the use’s compatibility
with the M-1 zone, and council member Janet Pepin said that other
uses were not relevant at the time, since both boards were only
to focus on this particular amendment and use.
Spann noted that Heavner’s question was legitimate, and council
member Liz Aycock said she believed the forthcoming land use master
plan would likely address areas like that.
“We’re looking at this not for a specific project, but
for all M-1 districts,” Pepin said. “It would make sense
for us to be considering that the people in that M-1 district
have, at least, the opportunity to have a say before temporary
homeless shelter goes in.”
She asked if anyone had signed to speak on the matter, and Spear
said nobody had done so.
The second case saw another council-initiated UDO amendment, this
one concerning building setback requirements. The amendment would
reduce the minimum interior setback for U-1 (university) zoned
structures adjacent to B-1 (central business) properties from
10 feet to zero, while also reducing the 15-foot interior setback
to zero, where B-1 zoned properties abut U-1.
Dayton Cole, attorney for Appalachian State University, appeared
on behalf of the university, going on the record in support of
the proposal, saying the university feels it is in keeping with
recently adopted modifications for the U-1 zoning district, which
were developed jointly between the town and university. The modifications
concern setbacks, land-use intensity, building heights and parking
requirements.
Both Cole and Spann observed that the amendment seems to be in
keeping with the principles of smart growth.
The Boone Town Council will take action on both cases at its regular
meeting, scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 21, at 6:30 p.m. in council
chambers, located at 1500 Blowing Rock Road.
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