MEMBERS: Mike Ready, Chair; Jonathan Eady, Vice-Chair;
Penny England, Vivian Harris, and Ron Manson. Shawn Gaither, secretary was
absent.
STAFF:
Robert Jordan, city engineer; Bob Schwartz, city manager and zoning
administrator.
GUESTS:
Kendra Mayfield and Marguerite Abd El-Shahid with Oxford College. And Oxford College consultants: Travis Pruitt
with Travis Pruitt and Associates, surveyors; Debra Fritz with Lord, Aeck,
Sargent, architects; and Greg Maxey, Kimley Horn consultants. David Eady, city
councilmember.
OPENING:
Mr. Ready called the meeting to order and welcomed the guests.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Upon motion of Mr. Manson, seconded
by Ms. England, the minutes for the meeting of July 21, 2015 were approved.
OXFORD COLLEGE DINING HALL: Oxford College is submitting a
request for the approval of a development permit for the new Dining Hall. Mr.
Ready invited Kendra Mayfield to present the project. Kendra and Debbie Fritz
presented a rendering of the new building to the Planning Commission. Kendra
and Debbie noted that the Dining Hall will seat 400 in three separate rooms
along with 100 in the Dean’s dining room. There is a fireplace in one of the
rooms and a patio for the Dean’s dining hall. The kitchen will be open where
the students will be able to watch much of the food being prepared.
Ron Manson
asked about the roof. Debbie Fritz reported that it would be a dark charcoal
color shingle roof. The building itself will be stucco with a low base of
granite similar to the granite base on the science building and on other
buildings on campus. The new building will blend in with the other buildings on
campus. It will have lower eaves so that
appears to be shorter than it is. The drainage from the water collected from
the roof will be transported to the storm sewer system.
Kendra
Mayfield will submit a letter to the Tree Board for permission to remove the
trees that are proposed to be removed from the right-of-way. Ms. Harris asked
about the types of trees to be planted. These are listed in the plans on sheet
L-401.
Mr. Manson
asked about noise mitigation. Kendra Mayfield replied that the double-sided
fence will help reduce the noise. In addition, there will be shrubbery and
trees planted on the college side of the fence to further reduce the noise.
Mr. Ready
and Mr. Schwartz introduced a discussion about the survey for the property
where the dining call is proposed to be built. During the December 9, 2014
meeting of the Planning Commission when the setback variance was requested, Mr.
Ready and Mr. Eady had both asked the college to be sure about their survey.
The southeastern boundary on the survey presented had a bend in it. The
original survey for the city in 1837 had straight lines for the right-of-way.
This raised the question. Based on a request for Mr. David Eady, Mr. Schwartz
had asked Mr. Jordan last week to attempt to verify the survey.
Mr. Jordan
reported he had been working on this for the last week. What he had to present
was a preliminary opinion. The city had been surveyed by Mr. Lloyd Thomas in
1837. He was a famous surveyor. Mr. Jordan had attempted to reconstruct the
1837 grid and then the challenge was to locate it on the ground using GPS
points. Mr. Jordan found that the centers of most of the roads fit remarkably
well with the original plan. The centerline of the asphalt for Clark, George
and Hamill seem to be on exactly the right spot. In other words, usually, the
centerline of the asphalt is the centerline of the right-of-way as originally
laid out in 1837.
About a year
ago Mr. Jordan surveyed the George Street and Coke Street unopened
right-of-way. At that time based on other surveys he determined the centerline
of Wesley was about 20 feet to the west of the actual centerline of the
asphalt. This was incorrect based on current data. It turns out the physical
asphalt on Wesley is very much on the centerline according to the 1837 survey.
He has checked the survey from Emory to Hall and from Richardson to Hamill. He
is not completely finished but it would appear that the property shown on the
survey submitted by the College with the request for the development
application is incorrect by 14 to 10 feet on the west side and by 22 to 20 feet
on the east side in addition to being off by about 25 feet on the southern
side.
Mr. Eady
said he has some very old survey data which he would share with Mr. Jordan that
might verify some of his conclusions. Mr. Jordan noted that would help as this
is very much a work in progress. There is much more work that needs to be done.
Mr. Eady
asked if any of the right-of-way lines were bent as shown in the Oxford College
survey or were all the right-of-way lines straight. Mr. Jordan said on the
original survey they were all straight. Mr. Jordan noted there is a very, very
small chance that everything would shift to the west by 19 feet but that is
highly unlikely. Mr. Jordan noted that in a week or two he will know very much
more and be able to definitively give an opinion.
Kendra
Mayfield asked is it not the responsibility of the city to have the entire city
surveyed.
Mr. Eady
noted that the right-of-way is where it is once it can be verified.
Marguerite Abd
El-Shahid stated there were lots of monetary and scheduling impacts of this
change in the survey.
Mr. Ready
noted that the right-of-way is the right-of-way and that’s what the Planning
Commission has to work with.
Mr. Eady
noted he has talked to at least two other surveyors who have told them that the
pins in the ground in Oxford are regularly wrong.
Travis
Pruitt reported that he took the standard care in preparing his survey he did
not survey the city beyond the site of the new Dining Hall.
Mr. Eady
reported that the town of Oxford has always retained its wide right-of-way as
part of the character of the town.
Ms. Harris
noted that some people it had their property taken away when the original wide
rights-of-way were surveyed.
Kendra
Mayfield noted that Oxford College does not want to build a building on
property that is not owned by the college.
Mr. Eady
noted that the Planning Commission cannot approve the permit without being sure
that the college owns the underlining property. To be fair, we need to let Mr.
Jordan finish the survey.
Kendra
Mayfield noted that the architects had looked at the right-of-way lines as
shown by Mr. Jordan and think that the Dining Hall could fit although there
would be a great deal of work and time and money lost by making the change.
Mr. Maxey
asked whether it would be possible to do a property swap between the city and
the college. Mr. Eady noted that the historic nature of the right-of-way is an
important part of the town and it is unlikely although the decision would have
to be made by City Council and not by the Planning Commission.
Mr. Jordan
stated once again that his findings are preliminary and that he will work to
get more data so that he can be sure of his findings.
Mr. Eady
asked what the impact of this change would be on the college.
Kendra
Mayfield reported that the college had planned to begin to move dirt in
November. Marguerite Abd El-Shahid noted
that the college was taking price bids on September 24. It might well take at
least four weeks to redesign the building.
There
followed a discussion about whether or not it would be possible to ask the
county and the state to begin to review the plans without having a location
firmly decided. Debbie Fritz was going to look into that possibility.
Mr. Schwartz
noted that City Council had a work session scheduled for Monday, September 21
and wanted to know whether or not the college wanted to be on the agenda. Regardless
of the survey issue, the college needed to request permission from the city to
locate the two storm water drainage structures within the right-of-way on
Wesley Street. These structures would help the city with its storm water plan
but the request needed to be made to City Council for permission to use city
property for this purpose. Ms. Mayfield said that they did intend to submit a
request to be on the agenda for the work session.
After
further discussion Oxford College withdrew their request for the development
permit.
ADJOURNMENT: Mr. Ready adjourned the meeting at 8:35
PM.
Submitted
by:
Bob Schwartz,
zoning administrator