Summerfi eld Town Council meeting

SUMMERFIELD town council WHAT they voted on, June 8 / MEETING HIGHLIGHTS and HOW they voted:

as reported by CHRIS BURRITT

Mayor BJ Barnes called the monthly meeting to order, with Mayor Pro Tem Tim Sessoms and council members Lynne W. DeVaney, Teresa W. Perryman, John O’Day and Reece Walker present.

Sessoms offered the invocation, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.

Walker recognized Jenna Daniels, assistant chief for Summerfield Fire District, for recently being named 2021 Fire Officer of the Year by the North Carolina Association of Fire Chiefs. Daniels, the first firefighter in Summerfield to win the award, received a standing ovation from the audience.

PUBLIC SAFETY

Summerfield Fire District. The district reported it ran 71 medical-related calls, 15 fire-related calls and 20 other calls in May. Firefighters installed 17 child safety seats. Sheriff’s Office. The sheriff’s District 1 office reported it responded to 120 incidents in Summerfield last month; details about the incidents were not provided.

PUBLIC COMMENTS

 For the second time since March, Dwayne Crawford asked town staff to provide a financial audit trail for a $1,500 check paid to Summerfield three years ago by a group of residents seeking to amend the town’s comprehensive plan.

In 2017, the town wrote a $1,500 refund check to Crawford and Perryman, who were co-chairs of the Save our Summerfield Committee. However, the pair refused to accept the refund, saying that doing so would indicate they were rescinding their request for the council to amend the comprehensive plan.

Crawford requested the audit trail during the March 9 council meeting.

After that meeting, Dee Hall, the town’s finance officer, emailed Crawford providing the audit trail; she resent the email to him after last week’s (June 8) meeting. In addition, after Crawford’s request in March, Town Manager Scott Whitaker posted a memo addressing the situation on the town’s website.  Kim McCaskill said she was pleased to see the rewrite of the town’s UDO (unified development ordinance) requires that short-term rental property, such as Airbnb listings, mandates the home be operated by an individual who lives on the property.

McCaskill said a house next to her Pleasant Ridge Road home is operated as an Airbnb where guests are occasionally loud until late in the night and her attempts to reach the owner of the house, who lives in Florida, have been unsuccessful.

Mayor Pro Tem Tim Sessoms and council members Lynne W. DeVaney, Teresa W. Perryman, John O’Day and Reece Walker voted on the following items during the June 8 council meeting. Mayor BJ Barnes was present, but in Summerfield the mayor votes only to break a tie.  5  0: Amend the zoning of property at 7211 Summerfield Road to allow for the overnight storage of up to 10 vehicles  4  1: Approve (Perryman opposed) the $4.67 million budget for the fiscal year starting July 1  4  1: Adopt (Perryman opposed) the rewrite of the UDO (unified development ordinance), the town’s rules for residential and commercial development  5  0: Adopt a resolution saying Summerfield will comply with state and federal guidelines for spending COVID-19 relief funds from the American Rescue Plan Act  5  0: Approve the extension of Summerfield’s agreement with Guilford County for tax collections for three years, through June 2024  4  1: Increase (Perryman opposed) Town Manager Scott Whitaker’s annual pay by 8%

Saturday, June 19, 6:30p–9:00p

Summerfield Community Park Amphitheater (5404 Centerfield Rd.) Special Occasion Band

beach, oldies, top 40 ... free concert free concert brought to you by:

Marty’s BBQ food truck and Kona Ice on site! and Kona Ice on site! Free parking. Bring your blankets, chairs, friends.

www.summerfieldnc.gov

Check the town’s Facebook page for weather updates.

Zoning amendment

 5  0 to amend the zoning of property at 7211 Summerfield Road where owners A.J. and Dora Rose rent a building and parking lot to Ronnie Hedrick for selling used cars.

The property was zoned CU-GB (conditional use – general business) and allowed two vehicles to be stored on the premises at night. The lot typically contains more than a half dozen cars and trucks, putting it in violation of zoning rules, according to Chris York, the town’s planning manager.

As a result, the Roses sought to amend the property’s zoning to allow the storage of more vehicles at night. Following the recommendation of the town’s Planning and Zoning Board, the council voted to allow as many as 10 vehicles to be parked there overnight.

The owners agreed to the town’s request for granting an easement on the property for construction of a 10-foot-wide sidewalk along Summerfield Road. The easement gives the town the right to build a sidewalk in that location; however, there are no current plans for doing so, according to Town Manager Scott Whitaker. Budget, FY2021-22

 4  1 (Perryman opposed) to approve the $4.67 million budget for the fiscal year starting July 1, including an appropriation of $3.32 million from the fund balance to cover the cost of the new town hall. (See related article on FC.)

The property tax rate will remain unchanged at 2.75 cents per $100 of property valuation. UDO

 4  1 (Perryman opposed) to adopt a rewrite of the unified development ordinance, the town’s rules for residential and commercial development. (See related article on p. 3.)

The council approved several provisions proposed by Walker and DeVaney to allow higher-density residential housing. As an example, increasing the overall density from 0.73 to 1 unit per acre in all residential districts will allow for development on smaller lots (average lot size of 1 acre versus 1.37 acres).

MANAGER’S REPORT

American Rescue Plan Act funds

 5  0 to adopt a resolution saying the town will comply with state and federal guidelines for spending COVID-19 relief funds from the American Rescue Plan Act. Tax collections agreement

 5  0 to approve the extension of Summerfield’s agreement with Guilford County for tax collections for three years, through June 2024. Town hall update. In response to a question by Perryman, Whitaker said town staff is “very close” to reducing projected costs for the new town hall to $3.5 million, the amount budgeted for the project.

“We’re working through site costs,” the manager said. In April, staff proposed to rein in costs by reducing the size of the facility, originally proposed at 9,000 square feet.

The project’s architect, Creech & Associates, plans to provide a project update during the council’s meeting July 13, according to Whitaker.

CLOSED SESSION

The council recessed the meeting and went into closed session to discuss Whitaker’s annual employment contract.

After reconvening, the council voted 4-1 to increase Whitaker’s pay by 8%. Council members didn’t explain the pay raise, which Perryman voted against.

With no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 10:36 p.m. ...continued from p. 6

in the UDO, Couch told Town Manager Scott Whitaker in a letter June 9, a day after the council adopted the revised development regulations in a 4-1 vote. (See related article on p. 3.)

The new district “is needed to address changes in the housing and development markets that cannot be adequately addressed with the recently adopted UDO ordinance,” Couch said. “It addresses a need for a variety of housing types across a wide range of ages, income, lifestyle preferences and price points.”

Couch, CEO of Blue Ridge Cos., unveiled his plans for Summerfield Farms Village last September. He proposed a mix of commercial and residential development where a network of public trails would bisect open space and pastures where he raises cattle and operates a wedding venue and marketplace store. He said construction of a variety of housing – from townhouses to luxury homes – would avoid repeating the pattern of cul-de-sac subdivisions common in Summerfield.

Couch reiterated that point in the proposed text amendment he submitted to the town last week. Establishing the new district would “regulate the orderly mixed-use development of large areas with a comprehensive and cohesive design and avoid a saturation of large tracts used for disconnected, large-lot, cul-de-sac subdivisions,” it said.

Couch’s proposal would rely on extending water and sewer services from the city of Greensboro to his development. The prospect of bringing public utilities to Summerfield has drawn objections from some residents, including council member Teresa W. Perryman, who say higher density development would overcrowd roads and schools and threaten the town’s rural character.

make sure you’re properly COVERED

all summer long

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