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Columbia City Council has set up an 2 year interim plan for neighborhoods to opt in to which provides for a review of proposed demolitions, subdivisions and removals. The plan also addresses the size of new construction in relation to the existing homes in the neighborhood. City kills change in 'McMansion' proposal By JEFF WILKINSON - jwilkinson@thestate.com Posted on Thu, Jan. 24, 2008 "Columbia City Council on Wednesday unanimously turned back a push by home builders and real estate agents to weaken the city's proposed 'neighborhood character protection' ordinance. The ordinance is intended to prevent developers from tearing down historic homes, radically subdividing lots or building 'McMansions' - houses that are out of scale with the lot they sit on and the homes around them." Read more from The State... City Council will have a first reading and public hearing of the Interim Measures on Wednesday, January 23, 2008. This meeting promises to be packed and contentious, as a direct mail and telemarketing campaign from the "Builder and REALTOR® Community Education and Outreach Committee". The fine print shows the mailing was paid for and sent by the Home Builders Association of Greater Columbia and the Greater Columbia Association of REALTORS®. Read more about the direct mail disinformation campaign... At the December 3, 2007 meeting, the Planning Commission recommended an amended Interim Measures for Community Character Protection. The Planning Commission did not recommend allowing the protection for Cottonwood, Heathwood, Hollywood/Rosehill, Shandon and Sherwood Forest. Wales Gardens was recommended since they have made a presentation to the DDRC regarding their request for historic recognition. Instead, the Commission recommended to City Council that neighborhoods must gather signatures from at least 50% of property owners to receive protection. City Council can choose to accept this recommendation or stay with the originally outlined opt in procedures. Our view is that the pre-prepared amendment offered by Bob Anderson was a transparent attempt to derail the procedures prescribed in the Interim Measures ordinance proposal. There was a presentation and a public hearing on "Interim Measures RE: Subdivisions, McMansions, and Demolitions" at the September 19 City Council Meeting. Read the entire City Council Meeting Agenda... Marc Mylott, Director of Development Services, prepared a Memorandum which was considered at the meeting: "At the direction of City Council, Amy Moore and I have fine-tuned the outline presented to Council on September 5, 2007, such that Council may direct it to the Planning Commission for recommendation. The changes to the outline are shown in strikeout/strikeout and underline/underline. Also, please recall that I highlighted policy items that could be varied in yellow. To continue to allow easier comparison between the two memos, these markings remain but have not been expanded. First, we defined the geography as the five neighborhood associations 'in line' - Cottontown, Heathwood, Hollywood/Rose Hill, Shandon, and Wales Garden - and added a process whereby other neighborhood associations or areas outside of neighborhood associations could request that the same interim measures be applied. We clarified the that the 2-year sunset provision would apply neighborhood by neighborhood; in other words, a neighborhood 'opting-in' at the 18th month would be afforded a full 2 years of protection, not just six months. Second, we changed the age of structures for review of demolition from 80 years to 50 years and included relocations (or moving) of structures within that review. We added the principles and guidelines currently employed by the DDRC to review relocations, and we added language to ensure that the interim measures route appeals regarding decisions to relocate structures to City Council." Third, we tweaked and expanded the section regarding new construction on newly created (subdivided) lots, especially corner lots. Upon further reflection and as mentioned during the public hearing, we recognized that we needed language that would respond to the many different corner configurations that could be before staff. More importantly, I recall at the end of the public hearing that several council members correctly noted that these interim measures would not apply to the subdivision of property outside of the specified geographies. We believe that, with the tweaked and expanded language, these concepts could be applied City wide, but that would certainly require specific direction from City Council. Lastly, overarching these measures, I remain convinced that staff for the Preservation Office of the Planning Department must be increased by at least two senior-level persons with historic and/or design preservation experience. Read the entire Memorandum... Another issue being considered at the meeting will be re-zoning 1312, 1318, 1320 thru 1324 Brennen Road, (TMS# 13913-08-21, -22 and -23) from RG-1 to PUD-R Proposal: Rezone to build 14 two-story townhouse style condominiums. Applicant: Premier Investment Properties, Inc; Billy Gray. PC Recommendation: Approve, 7-0 (7/9/07), provided: (1) The applicant comply with items 1 and 4-8 of the 7/9/07 letter from Brook Moore; (2) The applicant provides porches on all units and wrap-around porches along the Brennan Road units; (3) The City will not enforce any claims within the PUD regarding the up fits on interiors; (4) Where the PUD is silent, RG-1 zoning shall apply; and (5) Major and minor changes shall be in accordance with Section 17-305 (10) that may be amended from time to time. Staff Recommendation: Approve subject to conditions recommended by the Planning Commission. There was a presentation and a public hearing on "Interim Measures regarding the Subdivisions, McMansions and Demolitions" at the September 5 City Council Meeting. Read the entire City Council Meeting Agenda... Marc Mylott, Director of Development Services, prepared a Memorandum to be considered at the meeting: "At the request of Mayor Coble, I have prepared the following outline to serve as talking points for the City Council on September 5, 2007. As I have communicated before, these points reflect policy that can only be established by City Council and, as such, they do not constitute a recommendation from staff. I have highlighted the policy items that could be even further varied in yellow. I have reviewed these points with legal counsel, and Mr. Meggs is prepared to provide City Council with his opinion. As an aside, I reviewed the August 21, 2007 Dorsey-Lewis proposal and found that it could not be implemented for two fundamental reasons. First, the proposal lacked any criteria upon which the new committee would make its decisions. Second, and more importantly, State Statute only allows City Council to delegate these types of decisions to a board of zoning appeals or a board of architectural review. Next, please be advised that implementing interim measures can only be done so as a text amendment to the Zoning Ordinance, and that process requires a recommendation from the Planning Commission, a public hearing at City Council, and by two readings of an ordinance. Lastly, overarching any of these measures, I remain convinced that staff for the Preservation Office of the Planning Department must be increased by at least two senior-level persons with historic and/or design preservation experience." Read the entire Memorandum... Read an email response from Mary Baskin Waters, Co-President along with Sam Waters, of the Heathwood Neighborhood Association... City needs clear rules to protect old homes, structures An Editorial in The State Newspaper, Thu, Aug. 30, 2007 COLUMBIA CITY Council has wisely agreed to consider new development rules to protect historic homes and structures as well as preserve the character of older communities. It's important for the city to have adequate rules that not only preserve older structures and communities, but also give developers a clear understanding of what they can do with property they own or intend to purchase and develop. While the council pledges to review development rules, neighborhood leaders understandably are concerned about their communities being left unprotected in the meantime. Their request for temporary protections is a reasonable one. Read more from The State... Public Hearing - 1pm Tuesday, August 21 The proposed committee to determine interim measures about subdivisions, demolitions, and McMansions was unable to be organized before the September 5th City Council meeting. Instead, a public meeting on Tuesday, August 21, 2007 at 1 pm in City Council Chambers will be open for any and all persons to express their opinion about interim measures regarding subdivisions, demolitions, and McMansions, or any other related topic, and Mayor Coble will be present. Then, at the regular City Council meeting on September 5, 2007, the City Council will conduct a public hearing and discuss interim measures as well as the formation of a task force to work on permanent solutions to the above issues. Marc Mylott wrote in an email on Fri, 17 Aug 2007: Good evening . . . it has become apparent that we could not get a committee organized to determine interim measures about subdivisions, demolitions, and McMansions before the September 5th City Council meeting. As such, the meeting on Tuesday, August 21, 2007 at 1 p.m. in City Council Chambers will be open for any and all persons to express their opinion about interim measures regarding subdivisions, demolitions, and McMansions, or any other related topic, and Mayor Coble will be present. Then, at the regular City Council meeting on September 5, 2007, the City Council will conduct a public hearing and discuss interim measures as well as the formation of a task force to work on permanent solutions to the above issues. To those persons who responded after the initial announcement about the August 21st meeting, we thank you for your feedback. While we apologize for any inconvenience this shift in process may cause, it is most important that the process provides opportunity for as many people as possible to express their opinions. Committee To Address Infill Issues Formation August 16, 2007 Those interested parties who attended the August 15 City Council meeting were given an opportunity to sign up for a committee to develop recommendations regarding infill development guidelines for Columbia's neighborhoods. Marc Mylott, Director of Development Services, was designated to organize the committee. His email regarding the committee follows: Greetings . . . thank you for expressing interest in the matters that most impact existing neighborhood character -- subdivisions, demolitions, and McMansions -- currently being discussed at City Council. As directed by City Council, a committee has been formed to provide an opportunity for the stakeholders to reach a consensus on these issues both long term and in the period during a which a neighborhood may be waiting for designation as a historic district. This committee will convene on Tuesday, August 21, 2007 at 1 p.m. The meeting will be held at the City Council Chambers, 3rd Floor, City Hall. Please understand that the charge of this committee is great, and the turn-around time is very short. As such, we hope you can appreciate that a committee of 60+ persons will not succeed. In other words, not every person on this email list can be a formal member. Therefore, to ensure that every person on this email list has a voice on the committee -- and we certainly invite you to attend the committee meeting -- we ask that the following groups "convene amongst themselves" and appoint two committee members. With the blessing of Mayor Coble, those groups are: The Home Builders Association (appointments to be selected by Earl McLeod); Columbia Council of Neighborhoods; Historic Preservationists; Realtors; and City Staff. Again, we thank you for your interest in these very important issues, and we very much appreciate your cooperation as we work to put a structure in place that will allow us to reach the goals set out by City Council. Yours in service, Marc S. Mylott, AICP Director of Development Services / Zoning Administrator City of Columbia 1136 Washington Street, 2nd Floor PO Box 147 Columbia, SC 29217 803.545.3333 voice 803.255.8935 fax msmylott@columbiasc.net www.columbiadevelopmentservices.net Memorandum Regarding Subdivisions, MacMansions, and Demolitions Marc Mylott, Director of Development Services, August 9, 2007 "On August 1, 2007, City Council asked me to prepare a list of suggestions that they could use to address three issues: 1. The practice of subdividing new residential lots from existing residential lots where the existing lot is at least twice the size of the minimum lot size for the underlying zoning district; 2. The practice of constructing houses that exceed the size of houses within the surrounding neighborhood; and 3. The practice of demolishing a large house upon a large lot, and the resulting subdivision of that lot into many new residential lots. Read the entire memo... Columbia City Council Addresses Infill Controversy August 15, 2007 At a packed City Council meeting today, the council voted to have a Public Hearing on September 5 where an interim plan to address neighborhood concerns about inappropriate infill development. Marc Mylott was scheduled to make a presentation on the current zoning laws and remedies to the undesirable developments, but because of the obvious concern about the issue as shown by the standing room only crowd, Council decided to take action. After some discussion, Council voted to establish a working committee to conduct an open meeting at a time to be determined, organized by Marc Mylott (Director of Development Services) to include representatives from home builders, neighborhood councils, city officials and others. This committee is tasked with developing interim guidelines for dealing with infill development plans. A general hearing will be held at the regularly scheduled City Council meeting on September 5 for recommendations from the committee and public comment. City to fine-tune development rules Council says new process is needed to address concerns By GINA SMITH - gnsmith@thestate.com "It might become more difficult for Columbia developers to demolish old homes, subdivide a lot to build multiple homes or build homes that don't fit into the character of the surrounding neighborhood." Read more from the follow up article in The State, August 2, 2007. Historic - or just plain old? Backlog of 'historic' requests deepens tension over what can be built, torn down By DAWN HINSHAW - dhinshaw@thestate.com "The surprise destruction of a 78-year-old farmhouse - sitting on more than two acres in one of Columbia's most affluent and historic areas - has renewed debate over the value of preserving old neighborhoods. Read more from the initial article in The State, August 1, 2007. |