MEMBERS: Mike Ready, Chair; Jonathan Eady, Vice-Chair,
Penny England, Vivian Harris, and Ron Manson.
Shawn Gaither was absent.
STAFF:
Bob Schwartz, city manager and zoning administrator.
GUESTS:
Kendra Mayfield, Marguerite Abd El-Shahid, and James Johnson with Oxford
College; and Debbie Fritz, architect with Lord, Aeck, and Sargent.
OPENING:
Mr. Ready called the meeting to order and welcomed the guests.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Upon motion of Mr. Eady, seconded
by Ms. Harris, the minutes for the meeting of November 11, 2014 were approved.
OXFORD COLLEGE DINING HALL SETBACK
VARIANCE REQUESTS –
Oxford College has submitted two variance requests to accommodate the
construction of a new dining hall. The
property is at 801 Asbury. It is bounded by Asbury, Pierce, and Wesley with
private property to the north.
Mr. Ready
wanted to let the representatives of Oxford College know that the right-of-way
for Asbury as shown on their drawings is not straight. That is, it bends
halfway through their property. Based on the way the City of Oxford was laid
out that is incorrect. The right-of-way should be a straight line. There
followed a discussion between Mr. Eady and representatives of the college about
the deeds for the property and the correct right-of-way line. Finally, it was
noted by Mr. Ready that the college needed to be absolutely sure of the
right-of-way line before starting construction. This would not affect the
discussion of a variance of the setback requirements.
Ms. Abd El-Shahid reviewed the schematic
drawing with the Planning Commission. Miss Fritz reviewed several of the other
exhibits and then the two letters which she had prepared requesting the two
variances. She noted that the property in question is wedge-shaped and
trapezoidal and therefore is hard to build on. She reported that other
buildings and houses along Wesley and Asbury are also very close to the
right-of-way line.
Ms. Mayfield
reported that the programming required by the new dining hall will take every
inch available on this lot. Mr. Eady questioned whether or not a one foot
setback would work. Miss Abd El-Shahid stated that they may not use all of the
property up to the build to line, but they are trying to be realistic by requesting
a zero setback to give them flexibility in the final design of the building.
There was further discussion of the location of the loading dock and how
delivery trucks would access the new dining hall.
Upon motion of Mr. Manson, seconded
by Ms. Harris, the Planning Commission approved a zero setback on Asbury for
recommendation to City Council for a variance. All members voted in favor.
Mr. Manson
and Mr. Eady had a short discussion about the request on Wesley.
Upon motion of Mr. Manson, seconded
by Ms. Harris, the Planning Commission approved a zero setback on Wesley for
recommendation to City Council for a variance. All members voted in favor.
OXFORD COLLEGE SIGN REQUESTS - Oxford College submitted requests
for three signs. These include a single-sided sign on Wesley Circle behind the
current dining hall, a double-sided sign on Wesley Street at Wesley Circle
pointing toward the current dining hall and a double-sided sign on Wesley in
front of the current dining hall. The Planning Commission had reviewed the
requests in advance based on the written submittal from the College.
Upon motion of Mr. Manson, seconded
by Ms. England, all three signs were approved as requested. All members voted
in favor.
OXFORD
COLLEGE FUTURE DEVELOPMENT PLAN AMENDMENTS: Oxford
College requests the approval of several amendments to the future development
plan. Mr. Ready noted that this request
was discussed on a preliminary basis during the Planning Commission meeting on
November 11th. The proposed amendments are:
4a Existing and Proposed Land Use
4. Proposed Future Campus Life Center
5. Proposed
Future Campus Life Addition of approximately 10,000 square feet.
31. Proposed Dining Hall
approximately 20,600 square feet.
4c. Existing and proposed vehicular
circulation patterns, including deliveries
1.
West Moore Street will be the primary Campus entrance for
delivery traffic. The delivery traffic will then turn right onto the service
road to the west of Campus.
2.
Pierce Street will be the primary
Campus entrance for vehicular traffic.
3.
Pierce Street will be the entrance for
new dining delivery vehicles only.
4d. Existing and proposed pedestrian
circulation patterns
1.
Proposed Hamill Street closure to vehicular traffic to
become a pedestrian corridor with a pedestrian cross walk to the east across
Highway 81.
2.
Pedestrian traffic will approach new dining facility
crossing Pierce Street at Asbury Street and Wesley Street and will cross Wesley
Street at Pierce Street.
Mr. Johnson reviewed the changes in
the list of amendments. The big changes are the addition of a new dining hall
and the closing of Hamill Street. Ms. Mayfield discussed the other changes. Mr.
Manson asked whether there was any timetable for the closing of Hamill and what
would be the treatment of the closed street; that is, what would it look like?
Ms. Mayfield said that the college was planning to propose a project to close
Hamill and would be more specific at a later date. After further discussion,
Mr. Ready recommended that the College take the closing of Hamill Street out of
this list of amendments. We could return to that issue in a later time. The
representatives of Oxford College agreed to that request.
Upon
motion of Mr. Manson, seconded by Mr. Eady the list of proposed amendments to
the future development plan were approved for recommendation to City Council,
with the exception of 4d 1., which refers to Hamill Street. All members voted
in favor.
ADJOURNMENT: Mr. Ready reminded everyone that we
are required to have an organizational meeting in January. He then wished
everyone “Happy Holidays” and adjourned the meeting at 8:31 PM.
Submitted
by:
Bob
Schwartz, zoning administrator and city manager