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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-11-25 Planning Commission & Town Council Joint Meeting Planning Commission/ Town Council Joint Meeting Agenda Monday, August 11, 2025 6:00 p.m. Council Chambers 1. Planning Commission Meeting Called to Order- Chairman Meyer a. Motion & Vote to move into joint meeting with Town Council 2. Town Council Meeting Called to Order- Mayor Collins a. Motion & Vote to move into joint meeting with Planning Commission 3. Roll Call of Planning Commission- Clerk of Council 4. Roll Call of Town Council- Clerk of Council 5. Review and Approval of Minutes- Chairman Meyer a. June 9, 2025 Planning Commission Meeting Minutes 6. Public Hearing (NA) 7. Presentation(s) a. Project Plans & Zoning Discussions for Proposed Housing Development project on Memorial Drive- Steve Semones, Senior Director, Land Development Balzer & Associates and SHAH Development 8. Planning Commission vote on rezoning recommendation on 177 acres 9. Town Council vote on rezoning recommendation on 177 acres 10. Planning Commission vote on Public Hearing date- September 8, 2025 11. Town Council vote on Public Hearing date- September 8, 2025 12. Staff Report (NA) 13. Commissioner Comments 14. Town Council Comments 15. Reminder of Next Meeting a. Planning Commission Meeting- September 8, 2025 at 6:00 p.m. b. Town Council Meeting- August 15, 2025, Closed Session at 6:00 p.m.; Open Session 7:00 p.m. 16. Adjournment from Planning Commission Meeting- Chairman Meyer 17. Adjournment from Town Council Meeting- Mayor Collins Town of Pulaski Planning Commission Municipal Building, Council Chambers June 9, 2025 Present: Van Taylor, Conner Compton, Chairman Meyer, Brandon Turcotte, Jeremy Clark Absent: AJ Schrantz, Terry Hale Guests: None Staff: Todd Day, Town Manager, Olivia Hale, Clerk of Council Call to Order Chairman Meyer called the meeting to order at 6:03 p.m. and asked for a roll call. Ms. Hale took the roll, and a quorum was determined with the members present at the time of the roll call. Review and Approval of Minutes Chairman Meyer noted that there was a mention of the comprehensive plan needing to include the 177 acres development and that we don't have to include it in the comprehensive plan. The Comprehensive plan categorizes the property as both residential and business, which is essentially what we're discussing, and it aligns with the comprehensive plan from that perspective. But if we were to rezone the property, that should be reflected on the zoning map. The motion was made by Mr. Clark and seconded by Mr. Turcotte to adopt the minutes as written. Mr. Taylor abstained from voting as he was absent at the previous meeting and the motion passed with the voting members. Public Hearing (NA) No public hearings were scheduled. New Business- Discussions a. 177 Acres Rezoning- Manager Day Chairman Meyer asked if SHAH Development has had an option to purchase the property. Manager Day stated yes. Chairman Meyer commented that that could be deemed adequate control if they wanted to come to speak for the property as well according to the regulations. Manager Day stated according to the code book, the owner is the only one that can change the zoning but the town is working in conjunction with SHAH. Chairman Meyer asked for an update on the property. Manager Day stated, “Every locality seems to have a different process when it comes to how they rezone and zone, and some spot zone some don't spot zone. There are particular purposes where spot zoning can come into play and you'll hear a lot of people say that it's illegal to spot zone. It's not illegal. It's not preferred. It sets yourself up for a lot of people making assumptions especially if you're dealing with somebody you know. Zoning is a legal practice of local government that's recognized by Virginia legislation for the governing body to do in conjunction with the Planning Commission. It includes public hearings, notifying all neighbors, etc. So, both of them are a legitimate process. The drawings that are against the wall over there have been proposed by SHAH Development and they've also been viewed by the Council for a number of months, and there's been a lot of planning. If you look at those drawings and once construction breaks ground, you might come back and say, well, that's not what the drawings look like. Well, it's an idea of what he wants to do. Needless to say, when you get in there and you hit terrain, that’s got rock, you go around and reroute the roads. I don't have it with me tonight, but there is a list of structures that he wants to put in there. Again, the Council and I have been working on that project for a number of months, along with SHAH, for almost a year. So, the zoning map over there to the left is a requested rezoning to accomplish what you see against the wall over there. And you can challenge that and say, well, some of that information is not accurate and it has changed and I will agree with you. And it will be a moving target even after that rezoning takes place. One thing you'll notice on there is you still have the area that Hagan presently owns, and I don't know what y'all would call that building. It's just right beside the hospital. You don't see the zoning included in that, but I've got it in front of me, and I'm not bringing it to you formally tonight, a request for rezoning and a special exemption request to include in that building. So, my conversation with David Hagan has rolled into the mass development of this project and trying to figure out what's in the best use of that building that he's got, and he's trying to trade or move or sell, however, you want to do that. So, it just made sense while we were in the zoning discussion or zoning process to include any of that property up there. It could potentially be an asset to the development. One of the requests he's got here is to take that building to a B2. He's also negotiating right now with the hospital. On top of the B2, he's also requesting that the RO be in place as a continued exemption of that B2, which will allow the hospital. Ironically, the B2 does not recognize the hospitals, not in this situation anyway. So, again, I'm bringing it to the board tonight. I'm not looking for any action. However, I will next week. But I know that I'm anxious to work with the Planning Commission, even if you've got to have special call meetings. I know the Council's anxious to get it off the ground and get that project started. I know the community's excited about it. Some are excited in a positive way. Some are excited in a negative way. I do want to work with this board in order to proceed forward. I'll try to answer any questions that you may have.” Chairman Meyer and Mr. Taylor discussed where hospitals are allowed in the different zoning districts and if action was taken by the Town Council to allow or restrict them in certain zoning districts. Chairman Meyer stated, “The zoning looked more like a PUD, which would be more appropriate. I did look at the Virginia code or local code as well. If the town sees it as in its best interest to allow this type of development, then it is fine for us to rezone it as long as we've got the right reasons. It's beneficial. I have concerns about R3 on something like swapping land knowing that the town has a contract with SHAH that wouldn't allow somebody to come in and just purchase the land from SHAH and then throw up three-story apartment buildings all over the property. It's our duty to look at what the best way to zone it is. I'm seeing elements that fit with PUD. Actually, after reading it over again today, it doesn't look to me like there's anything that would be a problem because the businesses are fine in PUD. You have the requirement of 30% green space, which obviously they'll have. They can't have more than 10.5 living units per acre. That would be 1,875 living spaces, which they're not going to be anywhere close to that, so that's not a problem. I think about 15% of it would have be activity space. What they're doing fits under PUD. That would give flexibility, one, to the developer to choose what needed to be where. The downside to them is we've got a preliminary plan. We know that's subject to change. They don't have information from VDOT yet about the entrances and those kinds of things. The PUD requires a development plan. That would come to us to recommend either approve it and send it to the Council for their approval or request changes that they could agree to or not. In the end, it gives the town a little bit of control as you go through that process of having to make changes because we know there's rock, there's the waterway that runs through their dry bed most of the time unless we get big rain. They've got challenges with the site. We know some of what they conceptualize may change. If we say this is R3 and that's B2, they're limited to anything that is by-right for B2 and R3 in those areas. I think R3 could be appropriate for where they're planning to put the townhouses over here and over there if that's what they do. We don't know what exactly they're going to build anywhere. I think when they get their official plan together, I think it'll be more apparent. I think it's cleaner and easier to visualize for the public if you do it as PUD. I think it fits. That would be my suggestion to consider that.” Manage Day referenced the contract between SHAH and the town stating, “The town has a clause or section in the contract with them that it comes back to the town as long as the town can afford to pay off the improvements they've made. If they build a road and there are 15 houses on there and then they decide to pull it out, there's nothing owed. Maybe there was a road built to get to the road that they built. Reimbursement for that portion of the road and utilities, there's a portion of that that would be paid back. There won't be giving or selling the property to any other entities unless, of course, the Town Council, reverses that contractual understanding. It stays with the town. There's also language in there that allows SHAH, if he has an opportunity to capitalize on another developer, for example, he may work something out with Clayton Holmes with modular, or the definition of modular and prefab depends on the figure. He may build one road with that. He's got the flexibility to develop it under Boca Code.” Manager Day asked how the board would like to proceed and questioned the R3 zoning. Chairman Meyer stated, “The R3 just gives him the flexibility to move anything he wants within the R3. Housing-wise. It also limits where he can decide whether he wants B2 or B1 or type of businesses. With the PUD, he may make the decision that he wants an L down here of B2 surrounding townhouses. As long as they put it in the plan and the council thinks it's okay, then it's fine. The PUD designation incorporates the residential and business all as one. It just has those steps to do that. It's just they have to have a plan for where they're going to put things. If the plan changes, they bring it back. Right. That means they don't have to rezone anything again, but they would have to get permission to change the plan. That would be a council decision. Although there could be exceptions where the zoning administrator could say it's okay. I think that would be pretty limited. Mr. Taylor stated he agreed with PUD zoning. Mr. Clark stated the definition of PUD is exactly what the town wants for this project, from what the zoning ordinance book stated and it makes Mr. Hagan more structural. Chairman Meyer stated, “I think it makes sense for the citizens of the town. Because, R3 butting up against R1, existing homes from the 70s or 60s, whenever they were built, you may get some pushback. The PUD also allows the commission and council to insist that the plans have a buffer if that's what you think is right for a situation like that.” Manager Day stated if the Planning Commission and/or Town Council is going to require each area to be looked at and require expenses that we haven’t acknowledged, that’ll be a game changer. He asked if the PUD zoning is restricting the development of the property to fit what the Planning Commission and/or Town Council deems necessary. Chairman Meyer stated, “It gives you the right to negotiate with them if there are contentious issues with the neighbors potentially. Basically, they come up with their plan, their development plans. They bring it to us. We have the right to review it and discuss it with them. If there are things that concern us, and of course, we have to have a public hearing, that's when you're going to hear any concerns from the neighbors. At that point, they've got the opportunity to change the plan to add whatever it is that would make people happy or not, and then we would vote on it. Normally, we've never reviewed a project where we just say, okay, we've got all this property, and we're in a zone that R3 and you have at it because that eliminates the opportunity for the neighbors to have any say about how that particular property adjacent to theirs is developed as long as it is by right in R3. By being able to review the plan and the development plan, hopefully, we can head off any kind of neighborhood squabbles or other issues that could come up. That's one advantage of it. I don't think that's considered their plan, their final plan. They didn't present it as though it was because it doesn't include the roadways, the entrances, and that kind of thing. They even said the roadway language under PUD talks about trying to route the roads so that it doesn't encourage people to drive through the neighborhood. That was part of their design anyway. Everything I look at seems to fit the PUD. Having seen what they've done in the past, I don't imagine we'll have too many issues with what they come up with. That's just where I think it fits best. I'm not saying if they say, no, we want R3 and B2, that's what we review.” Manager Day stated Mr. Hagan is going to follow the setbacks per code, so he's not going to be building on any property line. He'll never get it through zoning, so he's going to follow everything and the PUD would open up more opportunity for SHAH, and also give the locality some control over growth, which Town Council’s constituents would appreciate, but if something needs to be asked of from the developer, it needs to be talked about upfront. Chairman Meyer mentioned reserving a space for an emergency substation with additional housing and business headed in that direction, as it would cut down on response times. Manager Day reported that VDOT is waiting to hear back from the Town on the project, the Health Department and DEQ are also involved. He stated, “Getting it in the comprehensive plan is very important just for planning purposes for VDOT also. There's quite a significant amount of money that comes back to the town. We get so much money per lane mile. Every locality in the commonwealth with a population of 3,500 they do. A population of under 3,500, the streets are maintained by VDOT. So it's got a big return. When it comes to the building of the project, it's in the contract. But SHAH has also agreed to do his own building inspections. What you'll have is, we've got about $7,200 per structure that we spend when it comes to a house. My inspector will go up there when the footers are done. My inspector will go up there when the rebar is put in. They'll go up there after it's poured and on average we've got about $7,200 per home. Mr. Hagan has agreed to do that in-house and obviously avoid a conflict of interest by subbing it out to a third party. They'll also be doing their own E&S inspections. You'll have that professional come through the town with a certified letter, a PE stamp, etc. and then they'll get an occupancy permit from the code enforcement officer. He's also I think it was a $260 thousand dollar value on the building that's housing the fire truck. He's given that to us in return. It's a far cry from the $1.4 million but the project return just on taxes alone has got about three and a half, four-year return once it's built out. So obviously it'll pay for itself a little quicker than that because there'll be a lot of taxes paid before it’s built out. But if you were to have the entire development built out as proposed it would have a three-and-a-half-year return on investment for the locality. And that will go on obviously for generations. So, it's absolutely an amazing project. A great project. It's probably the biggest project, a housing development project in the NRV right now. So, we're excited about it. Plus, it answers the outcry about the housing on the site that was done by NRV, Virginia Tech, and Radford. Old Business (NA) No old business was discussed. Staff Report No staff report was discussed. Commissioner Comments Chairman Meyer asked if everyone was sworn into office. Mr. Taylor stated it’s been a pleasure working with the board. Reminder of Next Meeting July 14, 2025 at 6:00 p.m. Adjournment The motion was made by Mr. Clark and seconded by Mr. Turcotte to adjourn the meeting at 6:58 p.m. The motion passed unanimously. LEE HIGHWAY (HW Y 1 1 ) W I N D S O R A V E . C A M P E R S T . G R O V E D R . H O P K I N S D R . PEPPERS FERRY ROAD P H E A S A N T L N . RED FOX LN. Q U A I L L N . SUNSET DR . MARSHALL S T . LEWISGALE HOSPITAL M E M O R I A L D R . PE P P E R S F E R R Y R O A D CROSSOVER SWM SWM SWM SWM SWM SWM SWM SWM SWM SWM SWM GAZEBO NATURE TRAIL PROJECT NO. REVISIONS SCALE DATE CHECKED BY DESIGNED BY DRAWN BY www.balzer.cc Roanoke / Richmond New River Valley Shenandoah Valley PLANNERS / A R C HITE C TS ENGINEERS / SURVEYORS N: \ _ B A L \ P r o j e c t s \ 2 4 \ 2 0 \ 2 4 \ 2 4 2 4 0 4 0 5 . 0 0 S H A H - 1 7 0 A C M A S T E R P L A N P U L A S K I R F P \ C I V I L \ d w g \ P U L A S K I 1 7 0 A C R e z o n i n g D r a w i n g 6 - 2 - 2 0 2 5 . d w g P L O T T E D : 6/3 / 2 0 2 5 1 0 : 4 8 : 3 1 A M 80 College Street Suite H Christiansburg, VA 24073 540.381.4290 SMS SMS SMS 6-2-2025 NTS PU L A S K I R E Z O N I N G LE E H I G H W A Y PR O P O S E D Z O N I N G M A P TO W N O F P U L A S K I , V I R G I N I A 24240405.00 PR E L I M I N A R Y NO T F O R C O N S T R U C T I O N B2 ±10.00 AC B2 ±8.30 AC R3 ±151.70 AC © 2024 Microsoft Corporation © 2024 Maxar ©CNES (2024) Distribution Airbus DS LEE HIGHWAY (HWY 11 ) W I N D S O R A V E . C A M P E R S T . G R O V E D R . H O P K I N S D R . PEPPERS FERRY ROAD P H E A S A N T L N . RED FOX LN. Q U A I L L N . SUNSET DR . MARSHALL S T . LEWISGALE HOSPITAL M E M O R I A L D R . PE P P E R S F E R R Y R O A D CROSSOVER SWM SWM SWM SWM SWM SWM SWM SWM SWM SWM SWM GAZEBO NATURE TRAIL PROJECT NO. REVISIONS SCALE DATE CHECKED BY DESIGNED BY DRAWN BY www.balzer.cc Roanoke / Richmond New River Valley Shenandoah Valley PLANNERS / ARCHITECTS ENGINEERS / SURVEYORS N:\ _ B A L \ P r o j e c t s \ 2 4 \ 2 0 \ 2 4 \ 2 4 2 4 0 4 0 5 . 0 0 S H A H - 1 7 0 A C M A S T E R P L A N P U L A S K I R F P \ C I V I L \ d w g \ P U L A S K I 1 7 0 A C R e z o n i n g D r a w i n g 6 - 2 - 2 0 2 5 . d w g P L O T T E D : 7/3 0 / 2 0 2 5 2 : 0 5 : 3 5 P M 80 College Street Suite H Christiansburg, VA 24073 540.381.4290 JJH SMS JRT 7/30/2025 NTS PU L A S K I R E Z O N I N G LE E H I G H W A Y CO N C E P T U A L M A S T E R P L A N PU L A S K I C O U N T Y TO W N O F P U L A S K I , V I R G I N I A Z2 24240405.00 PR E L I M I N A R Y NO T F O R C O N S T R U C T I O N PARCEL ID: 63-1-219, 63-42-1, 63-42-1 DEVELOPMENT AREA: ±174.0 ACRES CURRENT ZONING: RO, R1, AND B2 PROPOSED ZONING: B2 AND R3 COMMERCIAL AREA: 18.29 AC OPEN SPACE / PARK LAND AREA: 72.00 AC ROW AREA: 13.55 AC TOWNHOME UNITS: 102 SINGLE-FAMILY LOTS: 187 PROPERTY SUMMARY LEGEND COMMERCIAL TOWNHOMES OPEN SPACE/ PARK LAND 1 TOWN OF PULASKI REZONING PROFFER STATEMENT July 30, 2025 Proffer Statement for a requested rezoning application of Tax Parcel ID#’s 63-1-219, 63-1-220 and 63-42-1 located on Lee Highway, Memorial Drive and Peppers Ferry Road. (Reference Town of Pulaski Zoning Ordinance effective date March 4, 2003, updated with all amendments as of March 16, 2022) Pursuant to Section 7.3 of the Town of Pulaski Zoning Ordinance, the owner hereby voluntarily proffers that this property will be developed in accordance with the following conditions if and only if, approval of the proposed rezoning is granted. These proffers will be included in all future transactions of the property to all owners, their successors and assigns. Any requested variance or amendment to these proffers would require future action by the Town of Pulaski Town Council. We hereby proffer the development of the subject property of this application shall be in strict accordance with the conditions set forth in this submission. 1) The property shall be developed in general conformance with the Conceptual Masterplan by Balzer and Associates dated July 30, 2025. Owner Town of Pulaski __________________________________________________________________________________ Date Commonwealth of Virginia County of ___________________ The foregoing instrument was acknowledged before me this _________ day of ______________ 2025 by: ______________________________________ of __________________ County. ______________________________________ Notary Public My commission expires ______________________ 2 Applicant SHAH Development, LLC __________________________________________________________________________________ Date Commonwealth of Virginia County of ___________________ The foregoing instrument was acknowledged before me this _________ day of ______________ 2025 by: ______________________________________ of __________________ County. ______________________________________ Notary Public My commission expires ______________________