Hickory By Choice Workshop: 5th meeting (2/9/2010 )

Tonight's meeting was about residential Types and Densities. Bill Grimes of Studio Cascade addressed the attendees about the process and past workshops that have taken place during the past year. He stated that the overriding planning principle is walkability to services that they need. It isn't feasible for walkability to be universal.

Bill went over the aspects of the past workshops
WS 1) Evaluation of walkability and walkable centers
WS 2) Corridor and Core Management and Development
WS 3) Policy Alternatives
WS 4) Applying Zoning Districts to Cores and Corridors

The Advisory Committe has been looking into
Industrial Districts - Reduction of industrial land in the community. We have more than we need.

Revitalization Areas - Brownfield assessments mostly in areas along the railroad tracks. Classic Industrial area. much of it is environmentally challenged

Residential Districts and Densities - Lowest (Single Family Housing/1 unit per acre) to highest (High Rise Apartments)

***Bill stated that we have been looking at policy and land use direction in the abstract, but a principle objective in this process is to update the zoning map to tie the Land Development Code will reflect and embody the concepts that the comprehensive plan is promoting.

The idea of this meeting is to manage the zoning map so that it is consistent with what the community wants. The existing zoning map and the Hickory by Choice land use map are totally inconsistent. The HBC map shows 15+ pod developments while the actual zoning map does not show that this has occurred. The commercial centers have become elongated strips.

Bill went over what happened at the October Workshop. The issue of commercial development with a where and how context.

The Land Development Code will be simplified
Residential Districts - Looking to have 3 or 4 types
Mixed-Use Development - Retail and Residence mixed often in the same building. Community Commercial designed to serve significant portions of Hickory and Neighborhood Commercial looking to serve a 1/2 mile radius around the center.
Commercial Use - Right now there are around 100 possible uses. This will be simplified to administer and understand.

Residential Character - People live here because they like the area. What they are really trying to nail down is what makes the neighborhoods work and how do we keep the characteristics in place.

Residential Zoning Districts (Simplified)
Low Density - Suburban - Ultra Low density = diverse housing options, buts requires abundant land. Small and Large lots are both available. Detached and attached housing can both be located here. Automobile oriented. Opportunities for common open space. Cluster subdivision principles are encouraged to maintain natural resources and recreational opportunities.

Medium Density - Variety in Type = allows accommodation of many types of housing. Area will offer smaller lot sizes. Allows for attached and detached houses. Small scale multi-family development. Increase access to commercial/retail services in addition to greater availability to cultural and civic resources.

High Density - Pedestrian District = High Rise apartments. Offer a variety of housing choices. Smaller building lots for more compact development types. Roads should be pedestrian friendly. Provisions for open space. Neighborhood services within a 1/4-mile walking distance. Larger scale multi-family residential will also be found in this area. Schools and public institutions should also be found in this area.

Mixed Use Centers (A real Challenge) - Rather dense core in the center and less dense surrounding the core. Want to have an economically viable core where citizens can walk or bike conveniently. People are worried about the character of the neighborhoods surrounding these mixed use centers. Don't want to compromise the integrity of the pleasant qualities of the neighborhoods, so they are trying to modify the transition from the core to the outlying neighborhoods.

Offers a combination of retail, commercial, and office uses with residential compatibility. Structure include residences on upper floors. Schools and other public assets found near these commercial centers. Public soaces found throughout this kind of development. Alternative transportation modes are encouraged by design, where the street network accomodates bikes, pedestrian travel and transit. Streets offer pedestrian-friendly atmosphere through curbside parking, landscaping, reduced traffic speeds, sidewalks and crosswalks.

The exercise tonight centered around where the participants would like to see residential development take place over the next 20 years. The population is expected to increase by 12,000 people during that time period, which would encompass 5,000 households.

The conceptual landuse map shows the challenges we face. The area around Highway 70 is utilized for commercial purposes, there is a lot of Industrial land, and there is also a lot of publicly held land. There is a lot of land that is off the table and can't be used for residential purposes.

A lady asked a question about the availability of plenty of commercial land? To which Bill stated that there was plenty of Industrial land available and it may not be suited to for that purpose any longer. It may be suited for professional offices and keeping with the town's economic future.

I asked about the rail corridor and if it played a role in their thought process. Did it enter into their equation about fuel prices going through the roof or did they just look at today's affordable fuel prices? Bill stated it definitely played a role, but they had to balance the market out over the 20 year horizon. Bill mentioned that the past uses around the rail corridor haven't necessarily been very clean. It can be very costly to clean up the areas that have been contaminated. so that these areas can support residential development along there. To make these areas residential, a lot of investment will likely have to go into that property. I asked if we were talking hundreds of millions of dollars? Brian Frazier answered that there have only been a half dozen Phase 1 Brownfield assessments that have taken place and there are a couple that are moving to Phase 2. The costs of the Phase 2 assessments are tens of thousands of dollars. Brian stated that they would know as soon as the Phase 2's are completed and the costs could be next to nothing up to millions of dollars. Bill stated that once targeted use becomes residential use, then the threshold goes up to the highest possible level. Brian also stated that the State can place deed restrictions on property that is severely contaminated. Right now they haven't found any that would preclude them from becoming residential, houses of worship, or playgrounds.

A question was asked about dense housing and are we going to make sure greenfield areas are designated for that property? She is worried that developers in the past haven't taken this into consideration. It's stick it in and get the most out of it and to Hell with what anyone else wants.
Bill stated that he was going to get to that.

The next question was asked about projected population growth and what is driving those numbers? It is based on population growth. He stated that he didn't know how much is jobs driven and how much is quality of life driven. These numbers came from the Western Piedmont Council of Governments.

Bill talked about the earlier question about Greenways. He stated that in the exercise he wants people to attach notes about what they would like to see done with these properties in their development.

The first group focused on areas that also have some potential for business development. The McDonald Parkway - Springs Road junction is already a small shopping area, so maybe someor moderately priced apartments or condos can come into this area along with It needs to maintain some area for parks or outdoor activities for growing families.

Along Lenoir-Rhyne and Hwy 127 mixed use would be more appropriate, because of the walkability function and the fact that less parking spaces will be necessary, available, and required. There need to be more apartments available to college students available to students who don't live on campus.

Along 29th ave NE around Lowe's grocery, the consensus more apartments (and townhouses) to expand upon already existing apartments. The highway is going to be expanded so medium density seems to be more appropriate. Industrial area will be more appropriate for apartments and more greenspace. The Springs Road area is more of a blank slate and will be easier to develop, such as the already mentioned Springs Road - McDonald parkway junction, the Kool Park - Springs Road junction, and the areas out and around Catawba Springs.

One of the ladies that was part of this group, Erin Seiling who is an Assistant Director from the Reese institute at L-R, talked about the Carolina Thread Trail and how it might be instituted as part of development in this area when it comes to the issue of walkability. This is a greenway system that works its way all the way down through Charlotte. She believe that there could be housing next to these greenways that take advantage of the walking path. higher priced single or smaller family dwellings.

The second group had similar ideas putting mixed use along the rail corridor in the Green Park area and out main Avenue to Hwy 321. Vacant space can be used for this purpose of High and Medium density to provide walkability to downtown near amenities. Medium density could go out in the Old lenoir Road area where the Y (road forks) is near Northwest Drywall near the Nursing home. medium Density would be great around the airport and there are some beautiful views out there. Along 29th ave NE, medium density. Cloninger mill would be good for low density and Downtown would be good for high density where the old warehouses are (could even be used for medium). They agreed with group 1 about the L-R are. They believe it is necessary to ensure that there is greenspace attached to any development. The group also addressed the area around CVCC and the need to expand housing options for that area near Catawba Valley Boulevard.

They stated that somewhere in the South section of the city investment must be made, but they couldn't place the dot, because it will be a risk. In addressing the demographics of this area, one needs to ask what can we do with that? Bill Grimes asked should the City Foster or Respond to facilitate development in this area? Sally Fox stated that the Police Department being located on 2nd ave SW and 4th street SW stabilized the Southwest area.

***Bill stated that Todd Hefner with the city addresses affordable housing as entry-level housing.

The third group consisted of mainly developers. They had single family focused on the Mountain View, River Road, and Star Town areas. The river down there is an underutilized area for canoeing and kayaking. They had single family placed along McDonald Parkway and one behind Cloninger Mill Road. They do have higher density along Sandy Ford and 29th ave. Over near the airport they see high density and medium density, because of the 321 corridor. And they also see availability for Medium density around the three drug stores at Mountain View. Mountain View needs to be tightened up, but they believe that is just market forces at work. There are medical services available in that area. In the Robinson Road area they would like to see some more development. In the Lenoir-Rhyne area, along 29th ave NW, and up Springs Road they see the need for medium density housing.

***Bill Grimes addressed the issue of energy costs and the cost of transportation and what was brought up about Springs Road. The strip development pattern is very land intensive and very sparsely developed commercial. This may or may not stand the test of time. At some point it may evolve into something other than what it is today. Spings Road, Hwy 127, and Tate Boulevard are hinting that something is going to change down the line. This plan is going to have to find a way to anticipate and plan for this now or help the city when it comes time to plan for its future.

Group 4 concurred with group 2 and 3 in many ways. They see opportunities available aroun CVCC. We need to proceed with what had been planned, but hasn't been built - "Just Build It."The student enrollment at CVCC is 20,000 so we need to see density in this area. Mountain View should be low density further out, but medium and high density should be incorporated here. The Lutheran Home west has been scrapped, but is prime for an alternate usage. Hwy 127 north where Belle Hollow is located should have the preapproved area behind Walgreens developed with buffer housing, between the low density housing and the Walgreen's project.

Cloninger Mill and beyond, if the infrastructure is there, then use it. Around Snow Creek Elementary further development of low density can take place all the way out to around Catawba Springs. We need to see Annexation and Consolidation of these areas take place by bringing these areas into the city boundaries and let the growth go where it is planned. The falls project, 250 units of housing are planned at the junction of Cloninger Mill and sandy Ridge Road. We are on the right course. We need to follow through. The old St. Stephens Elementary needs to be a mixed-use site with medium to high density housing. What they envision is high density, but sprinled with park and walking area and medium density.

*** Bill stated that it was great that the groups recognized that Hickory is not an island and we are influenced by what is going on around us. There is an opportunity in the outlying areas of the city to capitalize on. We need to find ways to Cluster residential uses into higher density of mixed uses in Centrallized Areas. One thing that we need to keep in mind is that a long range plan can't account for what is going to happen with transportation costs. What we must plan for is a more populated town must be better served by utilizing public transportation. We must accommodate people who choose other ways to get around than just a car. Concentrating development allows one to make walkability more viable and makes use of land more efficient. Just by default it makes public transportation more viable.

The targeted draft rollout of the HBC 2030 comprehensive plan will be in April along with the draft LDC. Hearings will take place soon thereafter. Then it will be passed off to the city. The planning commission will go over it and then pass it to the City Council hopefully for adoption shortly thereafter.

The Hound believes that we have to create our Future. I am not however saying that we need to micromanage our future. I think that many times the micromanaging issue has come from egos who are not willing to accept natural evolution, because they are vested in the original byproduct of planning. When that happens, then problems become magnified beyond any intended point.

What are the weak signals that are out there facing this community. Transportation and fuel costs, an aging populace, replacing our brand, re-assimilating towards new job skills, consolidation of the City of Hickory's boundaries into a viable community... Those are the issues that we face today, but how will the evolution of this world in 20 years effect each one of those subjects?

I like what Studio Cascade has talked about so far. I like that they aren't placing layers of gobblety-gook on what we already have. They are simplifying development so that it can be understood by everyone and thus won't be arbitrarily interpreted in the future. I truly believe that Hickory's Planning Department is utilizing Studio Cascade positively. The main objective in this plan is to not let vested interests take us off track, because this sort of forward thinking plan can be destroyed by the forces of those rooted and vested in the realities of today.

The world around us is changing. It is great to question how we as a community will change in the upcoming years, but it is not ok to create roadblocks towards change. In the end we have to have viable economic commerce in order to survive as a community. That creates jobs and thus sustainability. I love initiatives that are comprehensive in scope and take into account quality of life issues, but we will not have a good quality of life without quality, good paying jobs in this community.

I believe that I have espoused how we can move towards sustainable goals in this blog. Jumping all over quick fixes, like moving retirees in here, is not going to solve anything. The foundation for our future will come from sowing seeds. That does not mean that the outcome will be exactly as we intend today, but I like this plan, because it will give us the chance to sow positive seeds. I do believe that we will be closer to that goal, if we create this truly all encompassing plan.

Links to past meetings:
Hickory By Choice 2030 Workshop: 4th Meeting
Hickory By Choice 2030 Workshop: 3rd Meeting - (Unable to attend this meeting)
Hickory By Choice 2030 Workshop: 2nd Meeting
Why the original Hickory By Choice doesn't work
Hickory By Choice 2030 Workshop: 1st Meeting
Studio Cascade awarded contract at November 4, 2008 City Council meeting