Davidson's Planning Ordinance Re-Write Leaves Some Holes

For two years, the Town of Davidson worked on rewriting its planning ordinance.  Consultants were hired.  Maps were drawn and re-drawn.  Multiple hearings were held..

In the end, it culminated in April when Davidson’s Board approved it with a 4-1 vote.

But after all that work, did the effort catch everything it should have?  Recent history would say “No. No, it did not.”

In fairness, that is no surprise considering the planning ordinance rewrite was also one of the largest rezoning efforts in the town’s history.  Rezonings and turmoil often go hand in hand.

The recent controversy over development in Davidson’s rural area would be one place where a lack of change in the ordinance may have contributed to the issues.  A rural area plan had been recommended years ago, but had not been completed.  The lack of that plan ultimately became the main issue in approving the Narrow Passage neighborhood.  While that work could have possibly been rolled into the ordinance rewrite, the Narrow Passage project forced the issue.   It got ugly before it was all over.

Another missed opportunity to address problems before they became issues is now unfolding on South Main.

In a column last February, readers learned of a proposed new development at the old Davidson Clinic site.

That project never came to fruition – falling apart this past summer.  However, as large as it was – at least 110 residential units plus retail housed in a four story building – it is likely small compared to what could go on the site if the parcels next to it are rezoned as well.

That potential rezoning of additional land should concern people, and not just because of the additional development it would allow.  It should concern people because land owners were put in the position of feeling they had to seek the rezonings in the first place.

After seeing the potential for what could be developed on the Davidson Clinic property next to their homes, the two adjacent homeowners on South Main recently sought to have their property rezoned to the same higher density designation.  To give you an understanding of why they would want this, the previously mentioned failed plans for the clinic site had that four story building just 12 feet from the property line – and one homeowner’s back porch.

In an August conversation with Jay Wade, the property owner immediately next to the site, Wade indicated that they had always intended on staying in the house where they have lived for over thirty years.  However, he felt they had no choice but to seek the rezonings after seeing what could potentially be built - literally right off their doorstep.

Frankly, regardless of how you feel about development in Davidson, any property owner put in that position would likely do the same thing.

So, when the recent deal for the clinic site fell apart, Wade and his neighbor went in with its owners to have all three properties advertised for sale as a package with a total acreage of 5.86 acres – making it a prime site for a very major development.

The add for the combined property even contained this line.  “Town of Davidson would look favorable on the rezoning of the property with the right parameters.”  Town records received from an earlier records request would seem to back up that optimism with planning department staff showing enthusiasm for the possibilities such a large parcel would provide.

However, this past week when this issue went before the town Planning Board, that optimism was certainly tempered.  Multiple people present at the meeting indicated the Planning Board did not think too highly of the idea.

The day after the meeting, the optimistic language was removed from the ad.  By the end of the week, the rezoning petitions had been withdrawn.

Where this one goes from here is anyone's guess, but it would sure seem Davidson’s planning ordinance rewrite missed another opportunity to influence development while also protecting existing land owners property rights.

This article first appeared in this week's Herald Weekly at huntersvilleherald.com

The public-private revolving door, small-town style

This post originally appeared in the Herald Weekly at HuntersvilleHerald.com

The two recent pieces on the intersections of government, business, and large projects have produced record numbers of pave views.  Those pieces were about the I77 HOT Lanes project generating a lot of recent controversy.

However, you do not have to look at just large projects involving hundreds of millions of dollars to see examples of the revolving door between the public sector and private sector.  Instead, you can see it on a smaller scale here locally by looking at the long-standing symbiotic relationship between the Planning Department in the town of Davidson and the local office of the St. Louis based architecture and design firm, The Lawrence Group.

The Lawrence Group local office was opened in 1997 by Dawn Blobaum and Brunson Russum, names that are familiar around town. Two years after helping open the new office Blobaum moved over to town hall becoming Davidson’s Assistant Town Manager – a position she has held for over 16 years.  Russum has since left the firm as well, but he has also remained heavily involved in town issues.  He currently sits on the town’s citizen-led Planning Board.

Beyond just Russum and Blobum, the revolving door between the town and  the firm has continued with other hires.  More recently, the two newest members of the town planning staff, Trey Akers and Chad Hall, also sport Lawrence Group alumni status on their resumes.

Over the years, the firm has become the go-to choice for town hall completing multiple small-area plans, helping with the recent planning ordinance re-write, converting the old pump house into offices for the Parks Department, as well as doing the design for the new pedestrian bridge at Roosevelt Wilson Park.  One could say the relationship goes back to before the firm’s local office even opened.  Another Lawrence Group alum, David Walters of UNCC, helped with the town’s original land plan back in 1995.

One could argue the merits of some of the projects, but it seems beyond debate the firm has had a lasting impact on the town.  For its part, the firm has benefited from the relationship beyond justthe fees generated over the years.  The firm’s work in Davidson features prominently in some of its sales literature as wells as on its website.

However, all of that hopping between the public and private sectors has also created gray areas in how the town does business and how business gets done in town.  Two examples come to mind.

Readers may remember the controversy when the Davidson Green School opened in town in late 2013 and early 2014.  The town staff clearly liked the idea of having the new school and supported its request to change a single-family home into a commercial use.  However, that proposed change was challenged by a neighbor saying it was not the kind of change that could simply be approved by staff.  The issue ended up before the Board of Adjustment.

In this situation, the architect on the project was Dave Malushizky of the Lawrence Group.  Malushizky is now the principal at firm’s local office.  On the Board of Adjustment for this quasi judicial hearing, sat Brunsun Russum.  Russum and Malushizky had previously worked together at the firm.  Under the rules governing conflict of interest in a hearing like a Board of a
Adjustment, Russum could have been recused from the panel, but he was not.  In the end, the vote was 3-2 in favor of the town with Russum voting in the majority.

Would a different panelist in that hearing have given a different result? Who knows?  However, when town staff, a related party to one side of a dispute, and a member of the jury are all former employees of the same firm, it certainly does not look good.

The second example is more recent.

At the recent Planning Board review of the Narrow Passage project proposed for Davidson’s ETJ, again both Russum and Malushizky were on the same side supporting what town staff wants – which is a delay (at a minimum) of the project.  Russum was one of the more outspoken board members opposing the project.  Malushizky actually spoke against the project or at least its timing during the public comment session.  While he did not mention he was speaking on behalf of the Lawrence Group, he did mention multiple times the need for a small-area plan for the area – the kind of plan the Lawrence Group has done for the town in the past.

Again, not something that looks good.

As is often the case in these kind of relationships, it may be as much about who gets what they want and who gets paid as anything else.

Bonus Observation #1

Tying in with the previous story on town attorney Rick Kline and his real estate law business, the Lawrence Group shows on their website the original design for Davidson East - before the lawsuit with CommunityOne Bank, before the current plan from Southern Pacific.  Rick Kline was involved in the Davidson East LLC, listed as the registered agent for the company in the NC Secretary of State website.

Bonus Observation #2

It was discussed at town hall this past Tuesday that the town may bring in Craig Lewis from Stantec on 7/28 to discuss the need for a rural small area plan.  Lewis was the main principle at the Lawrence Group local office prior to Dave Malushizky.  Pretty sure the opinion of  Stantec/Craig Lewis won't be much different than Lawrence Group/Craig Lewis.

Is it possible to have a fair Planning Board hearing on The Narrow Pasage? Doesn't seem likely.

Monday's Planning Board meeting is shaping up to be considerably more interesting than most - to say the least.  The main driver of interest is he Narrow Passage project.

As mentioned here, election related swirl and scare tactics have already spun up around the planned development.

That swirl continued on Thursday.  Only hours after the recent column in the Herald Weekly was published, a Facebook page calling itself  "Preserve Davidson" popped up.  It is a site launched specifically to oppose Narrow Passage - supposedly to "offset substantial lobbying by Narrow Passage LLC."

Coincidence?  Who knows?

The site is full of what Mayor John Woods likes to call "misinformation".  It appears more designed to mislead and scare people rather than to inform.

What is also clear is that the participants in the site make it unlikely Narrow Passage will get an unbiased hearing on Monday.  Planning Board members Brunson Russum, John Kennedy, and George Berger have all "liked" various postings on the site.

But that's neither all that surprising, nor is it too troubling.

On the other hand, this message sent by the town Planning Director , Jason Burdette, is both of those things.  Burdette sent the below mail Thursday evening to the entire Planning Board.

Subject: Planning Board  

All,

It’s come to my attention that the representative for Narrow Passage (Susan Irvin) has reached out to members of the Planning Board requesting individual meetings to address any concerns you might have about the project. As a legislative board, the applicant is permitted to do this. However, in fairness to other members of Planning Board, I would recommend against meeting with the applicant in advance of the meeting. It’s important that any conversations about this project with the developer be available to all members of the Planning Board.

Best,

          Jason Burdette, AICP

Planning Director

Town of Davidson

So, the town's official position is that it is OK for Planning Board members to actively participate in a clearly biased effort to stop a project, but it is not OK for Planning Board members to actually educate themselves on the actual details of the project.

Got that? Good!

Yes, Monday will be interesting.

Auto repair returns to Davidson with new Woodie's outlet

It has been 7 ½ years since you could get your oil changed in Davidson.  7 ½ years since you could get your car inspected.  7 ½  years since you could get a flat fixed or your car repaired without having to leave town limits.

The  days of being able to do all those things ended in Davidson with the closing of Stowe’s Exxon at the corner of Main and South Streets in December of 2007.  For decades, the service station at the site where Flatiron restaurant now sits in the Stowe Building provided these valuable services.  They are services that have been missed.

Even in Davidson, a town known for its focus on walkable design, bike lanes, and greenways, almost every household has at least one car.  For this past many years, residents have had to go elsewhere to take care of those needs.

Well, that long drought ended last week with the opening of the newest Woodie’s Auto in the Circles @ 30 area near the Harris Teeter.

When asked about the opening, Kim Flemming, the town’sEconomic Development Manager, said “we welcome Woodie’s Auto Service to Davidson’s business community and look forward to their providing a valuable service to our citizens.”

While Ms Flemming certainly is correct about this being a valuable service – one that has been sorely needed in town, it is hard to imagine how close this came to not being a reality.

This project only came to fruition because Davidson’s Board voted to grant a variance to a town ordinance requiring all new commercial buildings in town have two working floors.

Even though the new building looks like it is two floors, as an auto repair facility it really only has one.  In an attempt to show they were meeting the spirit of the ordinance, the running joke by those who supported the project at the time was that the cars pulled in on the firsts floor, and were repaired on the second – once they were hoisted on the lifts.  More seriously, the building was designed so that in the event Woodie’s ever left the location a second working floor could be installed.

Still, at the time in the Spring of 2013 that was not enough to sway the Davidson Planning Board or Town Planning Staff.  The citizen-led Planning Board voted 8-1 opposing the variance and the town staff opposed it as well.  Holding to the strict “letter of the law” outweighed allowing a needed business to open.

However, in April of that year the Town Board of Commissioners voted 3-2 in favor of granting the variance and letting the project go forward as proposed.

After a passionate and sometimes heated public hearing with several citizens speaking against the project, Commissioners Laurie Venzon, Brian Jenest, and Connie Wessner voted to approve the variance request.  Commissioners Rodney Graham and Jim Fuller voted against it.

Two years later now that the building is there, what do the Commissioners who opposed the variance request think?

Commissioner Graham said that he had actually run into the Woodie’s team after the vote and told them that even though he had voted against the variance request, he told them he'd certainly be a customer once they opened.

He also passed along some good news about employment opportunities for local residents.  Graham said “I had a conversation with the owner of Woodies a couple of weeks ago about their efforts to recruit Davidson residents to be employees at this new location.  In conversations with others who have been involved in this effort I am encouraged that Woodie’s has made a sincere effort to hire Davidson residents at this location, and am hopeful that Davidson residents will respond positively to these employment opportunities.  Having Davidson businesses hire Davidson residents is beneficial on many levels.”

Commissioner Jim Fuller echoed hose sentiments.  Saying “my answer doesn't differ greatly from Rodney's.  I voted as I did out of conscience, thinking about our commitment to preserving the small town character of Davidson, and, as well, a genuine concern for neighbors and trees--which I find go together nicely in our town.  Yet, respecting the majority's vote, I sincerely hope Woodie’s succeeds, becoming one of our corporate community leaders.”

Both comments are definitely good to hear.

As growth and development continue to pick back up in town, the town will certainly have many more opportunities to work with developers in search of common ground and compromise like they did with Woodie’s.  While one can expect the Planning Board and staff to stick to more doctrinaire positions, it ultimately comes down to the elected officials to make the decisions.

Let's hope those who vote do so on the basis of common sense realism.

Davidson Planning Ordinance Rewrite - Round 2

Davidson’s November monthly Town Board meeting saw one of the more spirited public hearings in recent memory.  Like a stunned boxer taking a flurry of punches in the opening round, the Town Board and Town Staff did not respond in real-time to citizen complaints about proposed changes to the town’s planning ordinance.  Per the town's own notes on the meeting fully 16 of 19 commenters opposed some aspect of what the town planners propose changing.


The public hearing is scheduled to continue at next week’s monthly meeting on December 9th, and it will be interesting to see if the Town comes out with a different strategy for Round 2.


The planning ordinance rewrite effort has gone on for two years already, and it’s costs have been adding up.


Initially, the Town brought in the Lawrence Group – a national planning and design firm whose local office was founded with the help of Davidson’s Assistant Town Manager, Dawn Blobaum, back in the 1990’s before she jumped from the private sector over to town hall.  The firm helped with an assessment and some of the initial work to the tune of roughly $75,000 for its efforts.


However, that represents just a small percentage of the overall cost.  As the project drug on, Town staff has taken direct control of the effort – spending an untold number of hours on the project.  A cost for all of that work was not available from the Town.


Finally, in this year’s budget there is an additional $25,000 for the Town Attorney, Rick Kline, to review the changes.  This covers his time spent in this fiscal year as well as back billing for work done last fiscal year.  It is a cost over and above the $50,000 budgeted annually for Mr Kline’s part-time work as Town Attorney


It is fair to say that a lot of time and expense has gone into the project, and to the town’s credit they have tried to get public input.  Part of the reason the first hearing was so well attended is that the Town spent $1300 sending 1400 letters to every household in the community impacted by the plan’s various rezonings.  It is unfortunate that after all that time and effort, the proposals produced seem to be taking the town in the wrong direction according to many.  It is a direction most residents and visitors to Davidson will be very surprised to see.


Some of the changes to the current ordinance will allow by-right development that might shock those who cherish Davidson’s small-town charm.  Normally, under the current rules these types of changes would have to go through a rezoning or some other action that would require specific approval – often from the Town Board – for changes of use for a given property.  If the proposed changes pass, that may not always occur.  Here are just a few examples that might surprise people:


1. The new Village Edge zoning designation allows 4-story buildings in town on certain specifically designated properties.  Several of these these are on or just off Main Street.  Does this sound like what you think if when you think of “Davidson”?


2. Retail would be allowed in the Village Infill area on any corner lot.  This will mix commercial uses into neighborhoods that have always been purely residential.  How would you like a bar or restaurant next door, or any other storefront for that matter replacing your neighbor’s front porch?


3. Developers will have more “offsite” options for meeting their affordable housing requirement.  In practice, this will allow high-end developments to potentially push their affordable housing requirement into other neighborhoods.  Does that sound like it's what middle-class residents want who already live in the town’s more moderately priced communities?

As was mentioned by Commissioner Graham after the hearing paused November 11th, the proposed changes impact more than just the 1400 property owners directly impacted by the rezonings.  Everyone who lives in Davidson will be impacted by these changes in some way.

Davidson officials were given a lot to think about at the November meeting.  Hopefully, they will come back with better answers than they did in Round 1, and hopefully they will once again  have a full house to hear them.

The bell rings for Round 2 at 6 PM on Tuesday December 9th at Davidson Town Hall.