Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Burlington Council decides on Billbboards

City council to decide on billboard


April 24, 2007 - 10:34PM

The motion died for lack of a second but sprang back to life after a little discussion. Now it’s the Burlington City Council’s turn to decide whether an electronic billboard will spring up along the interstate just west of the county’s N.C. Highway Patrol office. On Monday, the Burlington Planning and Zoning Commission voted 3-2 to recommend a request from SDL Properties LLC to put a double-sided digital sign on the northeast corner of land it owns north of Hanford Road and east of Maple Avenue. Burlington attorney Charles Bateman made the request on behalf of SDL partners Mike Shoffner, Mike Davis and Barry Lowe. The wooded land just south of Interstate 85/40 is zoned industrial but is accessible only by traveling through a residential area on Lawndale Drive, Bateman said. A ravine cuts through the middle of the SDL property. That and its landlocked status makes a billboard the only practical use for the land, Bateman said. “Frankly, it’s a little bit difficult to come up with an appropriate use for this property,” Bateman said. “In our opinion, this is not an untimely intrusion in the neighborhood.” SDL also worked out a deal for an easement through property off Lawndale Drive to the SDL property, Bateman said. The United Pentecostal Church of Burlington will get a portion of the 5.5-acre property as part of the agreement. No residents, church members or officials spoke against the property. City Planning Director Bob Harkrader asked board members to reject the request. A favorable recommendation might set a bad precedent for the city, Harkrader said. “I don’t think that it’s good policy to establish a location for a billboard sign just in and of itself (for a rezoning). I’m afraid if you do this for signs only … I’m just not sure where it ends.” Responding to a question from board member Richard Franks, Harkrader said two other rezonings would allow a billboard on the property. Bateman, answering a question from board member Lynn Cowan, said SDL wasn’t opposed to an alternate industrial or business rezoning, but sought a conditional-use permit to limit other types of development on the property and “lessen the impact” on the neighborhood. The conditional-use permit is a good fit, Bateman added. Board member Gordon Millspaugh’s motion to recommend the request was met with silence from the rest of the board. Bateman reiterated the church’s support for the project and Millspaugh spoke in favor of it. The city doesn’t want the interstate corridor filled with billboards, but the request seems to be suitable given its landlocked status, Millspaugh reasoned. “I make a motion to get it out on the table so we can vote it down.” Board member John Black seconded the motion and the board approved it 3-2. Board Secretary Paul Cobb, Millspaugh and Black voted in favor. Cowan and member Greg Hargrave voted against.

Source: Burlington Times News

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