News

Advisory panel: Exempt some development from Planning Board review

Planning Board member Ray Mundy listens to discussion of a regulation rollback.

By Bill Moss, Published: March 23, 2015

A business advisory committee looking to streamline development rules in Hendersonville recommended a change that would eliminate Planning Board review of some new developments.

Currently, city code requires Planning Board review of plans for buildings that are more than 10,000 square feet. The change would exempt from Planning Board review buildings up to 20,000 square feet. Any development that requires rezoning or a special use permit would still trigger a Planning Board review and a City Council vote.
In a joint meeting with the Planning Board, the Business Advisory Committee voted unanimously Monday to advance the proposal, which would go next to the Planning Board. Business advisory committee members said the change would save developers time.
Planning Board member Ray Mundy said the change could remove a number of development plans from public scrutiny. As a compromise, the business advisers agreed that the city would notify neighboring property owners of a new building by placing a sign on the property — though only after the city staff had OK'd the project.
"Do we have a process to notify people of what's going on up to 20,000 square feet, whether it's in the newspaper declaration, not to force a Planning Board meeting but to give people notice that something's going on?" asked Planning Board member Jay Thorndike. No, said Planning Director Sue Anderson. Thorndike asked whether the planning staff would communicate to the council "if there were some strong objections" to the project. No, Anderson said again, because projects under 20,000 square feet don't go to the City Council as long as the zoning fits the use.
"I fully understand the elimination of 30 days" in the review process, Mundy said. "And I agree 100 percent if there's a way we can let people know that this is going to be in their neighborhood, I'm all for it."
"As I understand it these are projects that don't require new zoning," advisory committee member Beau Waddell said. "So the people already know what could happen. Anything that requires a new zoning would require the whole process" of staff review, Planning Board recommendation and a council vote.