Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Planning And Development topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council defers Camellia Gardens rezoning after errors in traffic study prompt re-count and planning review
Summary
Council opened the Camellia Gardens rezoning hearing, heard that the original traffic-impact analysis was conducted over a holiday weekend and has been re-run, and voted to recess the public hearing to allow Planning & Zoning to review the updated TIA and materials.
The Town of Harrisburg council opened a public hearing on a conditional rezoning request for the Camellia Gardens development and recessed the hearing to allow a corrected traffic-impact analysis (TIA) and planning-board review.
Staff told the council that the original TIA for Camellia Gardens had been performed during a holiday weekend in May 2018, a practice the town’s Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) prohibits because it can distort traffic counts. The traffic-count exercise was repeated on the Tuesday after the Memorial Day holiday, and staff returned the materials to Planning & Zoning for review. Council’s staff presentation noted the UDO requires action within a 60‑day window but scheduling constraints mean the council will consider the application at a later meeting after the updated TIA is completed.
During council discussion, one member asked who signed off on the first study and whether meeting notes or an MOU documenting participants and decisions existed. Staff said historic records from the period were incomplete, that internal staffing changes had occurred, and that current practice now requires written affirmation from planning, engineering and NCDOT and that meeting minutes and sign-offs will be documented going forward.
A resident, Rodney Dellinger, asked about the timing of the new traffic counts and whether Planning & Zoning had the updated results; staff confirmed the re-count occurred the Tuesday after Memorial Day and that the new TIA is on the Planning Board packet and will be considered at their July meeting.
By motion and voice vote the council recessed the Camellia Gardens public hearing to the council’s August meeting to allow full review and posting of the corrected traffic study and related documents. Staff said the applicant would be asked to provide final documents for public posting before the council’s next hearing on the matter.
No rezoning decision was made; the item was deferred so the town can complete the TIA review and ensure required documentation and disclosures are available to the public.
