Council to plan retreat topics
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on January 2, 2016 11:47 PM
The Goldsboro City Council will hold its work session Monday night at 5:30 p.m. in room 206 of the City Hall addition to determine what topics will be the focus of this year's City Council retreat.
Last year's retreat was held on March 24 and 25 at the Wayne County Museum. The dates and location for this year's retreat have not yet been announced.
The previous City Council decided to focus their efforts on reducing crime in Goldsboro, investing in downtown, making efforts to improve and expand the city's greenway system and improving blight throughout the community.
There will be four new council members presiding on the council at this year's retreat, and the new council will decide whether or not to refocus efforts towards other concerns or maintain the previous list of issues to focus on.
During the council's regular meeting at 7 p.m. in the council chambers of City Hall, the first item of discussion from the council's consent agenda will be authorizing the city to be reimbursed $7,778.19 of money from the federal property forfeiture state controlled substance tax remittance program.
The United States Department of Justice uses this program to allow the transfer of seized property from the federal government to local law enforcement agencies.
The Goldsboro Police Department recently assisted federal authorities with several drug operations, and is eligible to receive $7,458.75 of forfeited money from the operations.
North Carolina also has a program in which unlicensed individuals involved in the arrests made during these operations have a tax levied on them. From this program, the city is eligible to receive $319.44.
This total of $7,778.19 is expected to be reimbursed to the GPD and authorized by the City Council and will be put into the city's general fund balance.
Next on the consent agenda are two items authorizing additional funds for ongoing sewer rehabilitation projects in the city.
The first is an item authorizing $114,500 for an amendment to the engineering services agreement the city has with the Wooten Company for the Stoney Creek Sanitary Sewer Outfall Rehabilitation project.
The city entered the agreement on April 15, 2015, and the additional funds are to be used for advertising, bidding and awarding portions of the project, construction administration and to pay for a resident project representative. Resident project representatives are persons assigned to be a project engineer's eyes and ears for a given project.
The next item is authorizing an additional $53,100 for an amendment to the engineering services agreement for phase three of the city's Priority Sewer Rehabilitation Project.
These funds will be used for gathering additional information on existing underground utility issues in areas that have been proposed for rehabilitation work.
Last on the council's agenda for Monday night is an item that would deny a rezoning request for a mobile home park on the south side of U.S. 70 West.
This site is currently where the Green Valley Mobile Estates are, and has been operated as a mobile home park since 1972. The city expanded its extra-territorial jurisdiction to include the site in 1994, and properties are allowed to continue operating as they are without being forced to switch zoning classifications after this occurs. At the time, the city designated the area as a general business zoning classification and the mobile home park was allowed to continue operating.
Manufactured mobile home parks included in the city's ETJ are allowed to continue operating even though they do not fit the general business zoning classification, as long as the number of lots does not increase and the city's removal and replacement guidelines are followed.
The mobile home lot had 49 mobile homes on the site when it was constructed in 1972, but there are only 19 remaining lots. Under city ordinances, mobile homes can be replaced within six months of one being removed. If a mobile home is not replaced after it is removed within that six-month timeframe, the lot loses its legal status allowing it to exist in the non-conforming zoning area and it can no longer be replaced.
The 30 vacant lots have been vacant for more than six months and therefore cannot be replaced. The applicant wished to purchase and upgrade the mobile home park and also utilize all 49 lots on the site. Therefore, rezoning the property to allow mobile homes to exist in the area is required.
The city's planning commission has recommended that the City Council deny this rezoning request without prejudice at Monday night's meeting. This is because the planning commission felt that too many modifications to the property would be required to bring it up to satisfactory standards, and that a mobile home park should be required to meet specific requirements set forth in the RM-8 Residential Mobile Home Park Ordinance of the city.
By denying the rezoning request without prejudice, the applicant will be able to reapply within six months of the denial date and provide a revised site plan.