Blythewood Online 691

Category: Government

  • WTC OKs Teacher Village zoning

    WINNSBORO – A request for R-3 zoning for property for a once controversial Teacher Village, sailed just as smoothly through the second and final reading as it did the first reading.

    Winnsboro Town Council unanimously approved of the rezoning with a 5-0 vote. As during the first reading, there was no discussion except for Councilman John McMeekin assuring those attending that the Planning Commission had thoroughly researched the request before recommending it to Town Council last month.

    No one spoke in support of the rezoning and only one person spoke against it.

    “I am representing my family as adjoining land owners. We have some concerns. What can we do?” Benjamin Clowney asked the council.

    “It seems like the only thing being considered is whether the proposed use meets the R-3 zoning that has been requested, not whether R-3 zoning is appropriate for the area where the subject property lies,” Clowney read from a prepared statement.

    “While the proposed use may meet R-3 zoning, I don’t believe the area is suitable for R-3,” Clowney said. “You’re talking about three or four houses to the acre. It shouldn’t be in that rural location. That is not where it belongs.”

    Mayor Gaddy thanked Clowney for his comments, but no one addressed the information he presented.

    The request is to rezone 22 acres behind the district office from C-2 Commercial to R-3 Residential. The project is expected to cost $3.6 million.

    School Superintendent Dr. J. R. Green said the District plans to give the property to the Fairfield County Education Foundation who will, in turn, turn it over to the developer who will own it and rent out the homes, but only to teachers in the district and to law enforcement and first responders, according to Sue Rex, Chair of the Education Foundation.

    The district is asking for a multi-county business park agreement and a seven-year $600,000 property tax abatement for the developer. Both require County Council approval.

  • Mayor Ross: ‘No one rides that bus’

    BLYTHEWOOD – After being asked to appoint a member of the Blythewood Chamber of Commerce to the COMET bus board, Mayor J. Michael Ross didn’t mince words about whether the bus service is needed in Blythewood.

    “Nobody ever sees anybody on that bus,” Ross said. “Initially we had some riders, but for me to vote to put someone on that board, I need to know how many people catch the COMET in Blythewood and come back on it to Blythewood.”

    Ross told COMET executive director/CEO John Andoh that Council needed some real ridership data for the Blythewood route.

    “We need to be clear,” Ross said to Andoh. “We have been asking for this data way before your time, but we get data that tells us about the bus, the 52-X Express. That’s wonderful. But that bus stays in service after it runs its routes here in the morning – two buses going into Columbia and two going out [back to Blythewood.] We as a council want to see how many people from Blythewood have used the services of the COMET this year,” Ross said.

    “We’re not sure that money is being spent in the best way if no one is riding the bus,” he said. “I believe a vote to appoint a board member should be postponed until the March 16 council retreat, until we get actual data that shows how many [Blythewood] people ride that bus.”

    Andoh explained that each boarding is recorded as a person boarding.

    “If you board 3 times in a day,” Andeau said, “we treat that as three people boarding.”

    Again Ross pressed for Blythewood rider data.

    After looking at data on his laptop from May through November 2018, Andoh agreed with Ross.

    “I can tell you that I’m not impressed with the numbers of 52-X,” Andoh said. “It is one of our lower performing routes and I believe that when this pilot program ends in May, we may need to look at doing something else with this service, maybe have two or three routes from Blythewood to Killian Road/Walmart and back and maybe priced for low-income residents and seniors.”

    Looking further at the data on his laptop, Andoh said 52-X carried 1 passenger per trip on average and that the subsidy was $67.97 with a fair box recovery ratio of 1.5 percent.

    “When you measure that to the rest of the system, that is very poor,” Andoh said.

    Ross repeated his desire to postpone the vote for the appointment of a COMET board member until the March 16 town council retreat. Council agreed with a unanimous vote.

  • State board honors R2 board members

    Change of Venue for Elkins-Johnson’s Day in Court

    COLUMBIA – As Richland Two school leaders grapple with ethical and legal challenges, three of them are being feted with statewide awards and distinctions.

    Board chair Amelia McKie, who’s facing nearly $52,000 in fines over previously unfiled ethics forms, has been elected Region 8 Director of the South Carolina School Boards Association (SCSBA).

    McKie was elected at the association’s annual business meeting in December. Voting consisted of delegates from most of the state’s 81 school boards, according to a news release.

    Region 8 includes Richland One and Richland Two school districts.
    The meeting was held Dec. 7-9, several days after The Voice published a story that said McKie hadn’t filed required Statements of Economic Interest, or SEI, forms from 2015-2018.

    Additionally, in July 2018, the S.C. Ethics Commission had already fined McKie $41,000 for failing to file multiple quarterly campaign disclosure reports. That fine increased to $51,750 on Jan. 1.

    Several Richland Two parents and at least one school board member have called on McKie to either step down as chair or resign from the board altogether.

    Monica Elkins-Johnson

    Also receiving accolades in the wake of legal challenges is Monica Elkins-Johnson, board vice-chair.

    At the Feb. 26 board meeting, she was recognized for achieving Level 6 board certification through the S.C. School Board Association Boardsmanship Institute, the highest level.

    The institute “offers a year-round training curriculum focused on leadership skills for board members on state and national educational issues,” according to the group’s website.

    The SCSBA awarded the Level 6 certification nearly a month after Elkins-Johnson was charged with disorderly conduct in relation to an altercation after the Jan. 22 board meeting, where tensions flared following a discussion of board member ethics.
    A police report filed after the meeting states that Elkins-Johnson was cursing loudly and threatened the husband of board chairwoman Amelia McKie in the foyer of the Richland Two Institute for Technology.
    A second report states that Elkins-Johnson shoved Erica Davis, state Sen. Mia McLeod’s sister, during the altercation.

    Change of Venue

    Pontiac Magistrate Andy Surles was originally assigned to preside over the  Elkins-Johnson case, but it has since been transferred to the Hopkins office and reassigned to Hopkins Magistrate Valerie Stroman.
    A Richland County magistrate office representative told The Voice that Judge Surles requested the recusal, prompting the change of venue.
    An exact reason for the transfer wasn’t provided, though one explanation would be to avoid a conflict of interest since one of the victims is Davis, sister of state Sen. Mia McLeod.
    McLeod’s senate district includes Pontiac, and state senators play a significant role in selecting magistrates.
    In South Carolina, governors appoint magistrates “upon the advice and consent of the Senate,” according to the S.C. Judicial Department website.

    In addition to the disorderly conduct charge, Elkins-Johnson also didn’t file several quarterly campaign disclosure reports due in 2016 and 2017 until Dec. 27, 2018, ethics commission records state.

    Reports due in April 2018 and October 2018 were also filed late, ethics records show.

    Dr. Baron Davis

    Though not as serious as the penalties McKie and Elkins-Johnson presently face, Dr. Davis paid a $200 fine to the ethics commission after self-reporting late filings, namely his Statements of Economic Interest, or SEI, forms.

    Davis disclosed the ethics fine during the Feb. 12 board meeting.

    Eight days later, at the 5th Annual Columbia Impact Awards, Davis received The Cathy Novinger Trailblazer Award, which “honors an individual who has shown exemplary leadership in his/her industry, advocates for business, and positively impacts our community” according to a news release.

    “In Richland Two, we talk about the pursuit of premier being relentless and unflinching. Trailblazers dare to chart their own paths even against conventional wisdom. But through challenging ourselves we often discover our purpose,” Davis said in prepared remarks.

  • PC Oks Abney Hill Phase 3

    BLYTHEWOOD – Although it was not specifically an agenda item, the agreeable response by a builder to a request made by members of the Mt. Valley Road area at the February Planning Commission meeting was a highlight at Monday night’s meeting.

    Last month, residents asked that public access onto Valley Estates Drive from Mt. Valley Road be closed. The heavy construction traffic was destroying the only entrance to their homes, residents told Commissioners. Resident Charles Bayne made the request during public comment time in February and appeared again at the March meeting.

    Frank Berry, on behalf of Essex homes, presented a plan Monday evening that designated the secondary access onto Valley Estates Drive from Mt. Valley Road as an “Emergency Only” access point to be secured by a double-swing gate, supplied with a Supra Lock Box for key access by emergency vehicles. The E911 has updated GIS in CAD for future response of emergency vehicles. Otherwise, secondary access onto Valley Estates Drive from Mt. Valley Road will be stopped by the yet-to-be installed gate.

    In the meantime, Berry said a ‘No Entrance’ sign has been placed at the emergency entrance. Berry said the gate has been ordered and that he is awaiting delivery.

    “I anticipate it will arrive within 45 days,” Berry said.

    The main item on the agenda was the request for approval of the Abney Hills subdivision Phase 3 sketch plan. Phase 3 totals 17.39 acres with 31 lots averaging 16,027 square feet.

    With 33 single family homes, Phase 3 is expected to be built out by 2021, Berry said. It will have access on Valley Estates Drive in Phase 1 which is built out with 90 lots. In Phase 2, construction on 52 lots is underway. Future phases across the creek have the potential for 192 lots and a build out date of 2024.  The remaining phases of Ashley Oaks (across Fulmer Road) are known as Phases 8 and 9 and include 159 lots.

    The findings of a traffic impact study conducted in November 2018 indicate that no road improvements need to be considered for Phase 3 (2022 build) Berry said.

    The sketch plan was approved unanimously as presented but contingent on the gate being installed as described at the secondary access on to Valley Estates Drive from Mt. Valley Drive.

    Chairman Donald Brock announced that Planning Commission member Michelle Kiedrowski has resigned from the Commission.

  • Crickentree working toward Council votes

    COLUMBIA – When a room full of Crickentree neighborhood residents appeared Tuesday night at Richland County Council to speak out against Texas investment company ECapital’s request to rezone the neighborhood’s golf course from TROS to medium density residential, several Council members pushed back, saying it was not the practice of Council to allow residents to speak twice on an item for which a public hearing would be held.

    When sixteen residents were called forward to speak during citizen’s input on a section of the agenda allowing input that ‘Must Pertain to Richland County Matters Not on the Agenda,’ Councilwoman Gwen Kennedy, who represents the Rimer Pond Road area of Blythewood, leaned over to whisper to Chairman Paul Livingston who nodded in response.

    Following the first speaker, House Representative for District 77 Kambrell Garvin, Council Vice Chair Dahli Meyers warned speakers that, “If you speak tonight, you will not be allowed to speak at the public hearing. You cannot speak twice [on a public hearing item].”

    Councilwoman Joyce Dickerson, who represents the Crickentree neighborhood, quickly agreed.

    “If you speak tonight, then when this item comes before us on the fourth Tuesday in April [for a public hearing], you will forfeit your opportunity to speak a second time,” Dickerson told the Crickentree neighbors.

    Councilman Bill Malinowski, however, who does not represent the district, asked the parliamentarian to clarify the agenda item.

    “It says, ‘Must pertain to Richland County matters not on the agenda,” Malinowski pointed out. “It doesn’t say, ‘…and not on something that in the future would require a public hearing.’ It says if it’s not on the agenda, so why can’t they speak tonight and again at the public hearing? This doesn’t prohibit them from speaking both times,” Malinowski said.

    At that point, Dickerson switched her stand in favor of the residents, but called on the county attorney, Larry Smith to clarify the agenda language.

    Smith avoided clarifying the language, instead stating what Council had done in the past.

    “If they speak to an item that may not be on the agenda, but that does require a public hearing, you usually don’t allow them to speak twice,” Smith said.

    Malinowski pushed back.

    “That has been the practice but for the sake of the public, we need to clarify our wording a little better so when they see the agenda, they know their options,” Malinowski said.

    Meyers then called on Crickentree resident Michael Koska to speak.

    “I was advised by staff that we would be able to speak at all the meetings. We’re here. We should be allowed to speak [both times],” Koska said. “I’m begging you to let us speak.”

    Meyers said he could speak but did not make it clear whether he could speak again at the public hearing. When Koska sought clarification, Livingston interrupted.

    “Thank you for your input,” dismissing Koska who then sat down.

    Malinowski interceded, making a motion to wave the rules, since the people, he said, were advised by a County staff person that they could speak at all the meetings.

    “They took the time to come down here today. If they wish to come speak a second time, I ask that we allow them to speak tonight and again at the public hearing.

    Councilman Jim Manning agreed.

    “If the public walks in, looks at the agenda and reads that, they should be able to speak.”

    After Malinowski’s motion was seconded, it passed with all voting for the measure except Kennedy, who did not vote, and the speakers were allowed to proceed.

    In addition to neighborhood speakers that included former NBA player Xavier McDaniel, Garvin reminded Council that the zoning request for medium density would allow up to 900 homes on 183 acres.

    “That would not fit within the character of the Crickentree neighborhood or the surrounding community,” Garvin said. “That would be detrimental to the community.”

    A public hearing will be held in Council Chambers at 2020 Hampton Street in downtown Columbia on April 23 at 6 p.m. For information about the rezoning, call Michael Koska (803-719-1242) or Richland County Planning (803-576-2190).

  • County considering A-Tax, H-Tax

    WINNSBORO – New taxes and fees aimed at sprucing up Fairfield County’s tourism and business image received unanimous support at Monday night’s county council meeting.

    Council members approved 5-0 the first reading of three draft ordinances which if approved, would institute a tourism development fee, a hospitality fee and a business registration fee.

    Council members Bertha Goins and Mikel Trapp were absent for the vote. Two more readings are required before the fees take effect.

    “If you don’t have an attractive town, if you don’t have an attractive community, it is hard to attract tourists,” County Administrator Jason Taylor said.

    Tourism Development Fee

    If enacted, the tourism development fee would add a three-cent tax on hotels, motels and lodging.

    Fairfield County attorney Tommy Morgan said funds could be used for a variety of purposes, including promoting the arts, music, farmer’s markets, agro-business tours and construction of facilities used in tourism.

    “Some parts of the state have used it for waterfront erosion [control],” he said. “They can use it in a lot of different ways.”

    Asked later about the tourism development fee, Morgan said the county’s proposed fee is more accurately defined as a local accommodations tax.
    “The Council may wish to change the title of the Ordinance to reference ‘accommodation tax’ instead of ‘tourism development fee’ in order to minimize any future confusion,” he said.

    Hospitality Fee

    The hospitality fee would add two cents on prepared meals and beverages in the county.

    Funds would be spent on “improving services and facilities for tourists,” according to the ordinance. Examples include everything from advertising and promoting tourism to building and upgrading roads used by tourists or for tourism-related purposes.

    Business Registration Fee

    Fairfield County is also looking at a $15 flat fee that would be levied to businesses operating in the unincorporated areas of Fairfield County. Municipal businesses would not pay the fee. The fee is not designed to be a major revenue generator.

    Rather, it’s designed to make it easier for the county to identify and regulate existing businesses, and also police illegal business activity, Morgan said.

     

    Infrastructure tax update

    The three fees are separate from county plans to pursue a local option sales tax to help fund infrastructure.

    Unlike the three county fees, which only require two more council readings, the local option sales tax would require approval in a voter referendum.

    Taylor said the proposed tax is still several months away.

    “What we are looking at are targeted taxes to invest in the county as far as water and sewer services,” Jason Taylor said. “That could fund crucially needed, critically needed water and sewer infrastructure, which would support future growth.”

    Fairfield County is primarily focused on the mega site off I-77, which lacks sufficient sewer capacity. The county was recently awarded a $2 million grant from the state to help, but several more millions are needed.

    Taylor said the county isn’t looking at increasing property taxes.

    “Without water and sewer we cannot have future growth,” Taylor said. “That’s just foundational infrastructure.”

    At the Feb. 11 meeting, Councilman Jimmy Ray Douglas proposed re-evaluating state tax breaks awarded to properties classified for agricultural use.

    In South Carolina, agricultural real property is taxed at 4 percent of its fair market value. Non-agricultural property is taxed at 6 percent.

    “I have ag land that I own and I’m paying next to nothing,” he said. “Everyone else who has less than five acres is paying a lot more taxes. I feel like every acre in Fairfield County needs to have an extra dollar in taxes on it.”

    Taylor said Douglas’ idea has potential, but he also said it presents legal challenges that must first be ironed out.

  • Council eyes fee for county businesses

    WINNSBORO – Fairfield County leaders say that a proposed business registration fee is about getting a more accurate count of businesses operating in the unincorporated areas of Fairfield County.

    “It’s not based on the revenue of the business. It’s not based upon the sales, income or number of employees, whether you have one employee or 5,000 employees,” county attorney Tommy Morgan said during an Administration and Finance Committee meeting Monday.

    “Now you know what businesses are doing what in the unincorporated parts of the county,” he said.

    Later, council members voted 5-0 for first reading by title only of the business registration fee. Council members Mikel Trapp and Bertha Goins were absent.

    Two more readings are required for passage.

    The proposal was among several fees the county is considering. Unlike the others, which consist of various sales taxes or fees, the business registration fee would institute a flat $15 fee per business.

    “It’s not a business license fee, it’s a business registration fee,” Morgan said, noting business licenses have more administrative requirements and usually more costly than registration fees.

    Council members voiced support for the business fee.

    Councilman Douglas Pauley said the fee would help the county to eliminate blight. He also proposed charging transient businesses, such as food trucks, a higher fee as a means of promoting local businesses.

    “It is not about making money,” Pauley said. “This information can greatly help us market ourselves, market our businesses and can also come into consideration for grants and other opportunities for assistance,” Pauley said.

    Council chairman Neil Robinson agreed.

    “It’s definitely a regulation that we need,” Robinson said. “We don’t have a count of businesses that we have [operating] now. It would help with the clean up of blight. Blight is a big issue in this county.”

    Two members of the public addressed the fee during public input, each expressing opposing viewpoints.

    Jeff Schaffer thought the fee should be a referendum decided by voters.

    “Whose bright idea was it to have this ordinance put on the books and have the taxpayers implement this. Who thought of this?” Schaffer asked. “Why is this so damned important to get this on the books? Ultimately where will this lead us?”

    Randy Bright of Ridgeway backed the fee, but cautioned council members not to exceed $15.

    “Blight is holding us back. Blight is holding us back from getting new residents and new industry. Let’s make a good first impression and move forward,” Bright said. “Let’s make this a prudent investment, not a blind investment. The $15 is no big deal.”

  • Council bankrolls fundraiser for Chamber

    BLYTHEWOOD – Town Council voted Tuesday night to award $14,000 of Hospitality Tax revenue for a fundraiser for the Chamber of Commerce.

    In an application requesting the funding, Sarah Ballard, an event manager hired for the event – a Bavarian Oktoberfest – noted that it was being held to raise funds for the Greater Blythewood Chamber of Commerce.

    She added that it will also provide an opportunity for residents of Blythewood and the surrounding areas to gather to build community and learn about Bavarian culture.

    The request said the total project cost would be $37,394 and would be partially funded by the proceeds from food, merchandise and beer sales ($14,500), cow paddy bingo ($18,450) and sponsorships ($10,000) plus $1,520 in in-kind services.

    According to the request, the Chamber expects a total net profit of $21,125.12.

    Council unanimously approved the Chamber’s budget for the event which includes $1,800 for advertising in The County Chronicle, $1,600 in The Free Times and no advertising in The Voice.

    The German Octoberfest-style event will be held on Saturday, Oct. 5 from noon to 10 p.m. at the Doko Meadows Park. According to the request, the theme of the event will be based on the traditional Bavarian beer and folk festival with eating, live traditional German music, drinking, dancing, children’s activities and games.

    Hutto Golf Tournament

    Council also awarded $2,500 for the Parks Hutto Bengal Invitational Golf Tournament set for March 11-12 at the Columbia Country Club. Jason Minkel, golf coach for the tournament, said the funds would be used to pay for gifts, snacks and drinks for the players.

    Now in its tenth year, Minkel said the tournament is the premier high school golf tournament in South Carolina. Formerly named the Bengal Invitational, the tournament was renamed in 2015 in memory of former team member Parks Hutto who died June 11, 2015, after a short battle with myocarditis. He was 14 and a rising freshman at Blythewood High School at the time of his death. Hutto had been on the Bengal varsity golf team since seventh grade.

    Minkel said the tournament has become so popular that he now has to turn teams away.

    “This year we will host state champions from 2A to 5A schools as well as SCISA champions and many other top state golf teams,” Minkel said. “Last year we had 26 teams from all over South Carolina.”

    After learning that the annual tournament brings in almost 200 players, coaches and visitors that stay in Blythewood hotels and eat at the towns restaurants, Mayor J. Michael Ross suggested the tournament might also be eligible for Accommodation Tax (A-Tax) funds and encouraged Minkel and Hutto’s mother, Ginny, who was present at the meeting, to apply for the funds.

  • New calls for R2 Chair’s resignation

    Parent Asks Board If Daughter Can Ignore Her Detention

    COLUMBIA – Calls for Richland Two board chair Amelia McKie to step down continued Tuesday night, with three residents saying she should step down, citing nearly $52,000 in ethics fines she owes.

    Local Realtor Gary Dennis also criticized the board for shooting down a policy revision that, with cause, could have stripped board members of officer positions, such as chair or vice chair.

    Dennis called the board a “laughing stock” in the state, likening recent events to a “comic strip.” He said one homebuyer interested in moving to Richland County now wants to move to Lexington or Chapin instead.

    “As parents we must hold school board members to strict rules and regulations,” Dennis said. “I call on the chair to resign over the public issues that face her. Nothing is gained and everything is lost by staying on the board.”

    Richland Two parent Dennis Rabon asked the board if his daughter could ignore the detention she received as punishment for a dress code violation as McKie ignored her ethics fines. He, too, called for McKie to step down.

    “Character and accountability are just as important as GPAs and SATs,” Rabon said. “How can you hold your superintendent accountable when you can’t hold your board members accountable?

    “In a county so rife with corruption and mismanagement, you had an opportunity to rise up and say enough,” Rabon continued.

    Richland Two parent Rhonda Meisner not only called for McKie to step down, but she also accused the chair of manipulating the public input schedule in her (McKie’s) favor. She also said some of McKie’s supporters have harassed her for speaking out.

    “After the [Jan. 22] meeting, several people supporting Ms. McKie verbally attacked me on several occasions,” Meisner said.

    McKie did not respond to calls for her resignation, and during board member comments, she and other board members generally thanked each other and staff for their hard work.

    Ethics did not get raised specifically by board members, though Lindsay Agostini thanked residents who have come to board meetings to voice their concerns. She urged others to do the same instead of resorting to posting on social media.

    McKie has faced intense political pressure amid revelations in a series of investigative reports by The Voice that she owes $51,750 in unpaid ethics fines.

    The S.C. Ethics Commission fined McKie for failing to file several campaign disclosure reports and statements of economic interest, or SEI, forms.

    At the Feb. 12 meeting, the board voted 4-3 against a policy that would make it easier for the board to boot the chair, vice-chair or secretary from their board officer positions, but not from the board itself.

    McKie would have potentially been impacted by the policy. She, Holmes, Cheryl Caution-Parker and James Shadd voted against it.  Agostoni, Monica Elkins-Johnson and James Manning voted for the policy.

    Earlier in the meeting, the board spent 20 minutes debating an agenda item concerning board policy about adding agenda items.

    Board member Agostini asked the board to table discussion of the policy, which empowers the superintendent and board chair to develop the agenda. Her motion failed 5-2 after substantial debate.

    Agostini and board member Teresa Holmes voted for tabling the discussion. However, only Agostini voted against approving the agenda with the board policy discussion left intact.

    Superintendent Dr. Baron Davis said the new policy is designed so agendas aren’t unilaterally decided. He also said nothing prevents board members from suggesting agenda items.

    According to the policy, other board members and the public can suggest agenda items, but ultimately the work of crafting the agenda rests with the superintendent and board chair.

    “This removes one person from driving the agenda. It also removes the superintendent having complete autonomy over the agenda,” he said.

    Holmes, however, said the policy was unclear.

    “I’m concerned, like Ms. Agostini, because I don’t see where it says we can vote to put a policy in. As it stands right now, it does not say that,” Holmes said.

    Later in the meeting, board member Monica Elkins-Johnson tried to amend the motion to approve the policy.

    She wanted board members to have the ability to help craft the agenda, but her proposed amendment wasn’t taken up. The board voted 4-3 for the policy, with Agostini, Holmes and Elkins-Johnson voting against.

  • BAR approves COA for electrical substation

    BLYTHEWOOD – With the blessing of the town’s Board of Architectural Review (BAR), a new electrical substation will soon be going up on Community Road, across from Midlands Storage.

    While the property at 861 Community Road is in the Town Center District and requires a special exception for an electrical substation, Thomas Black, Vice President of Engineering for Fairfield Electric Cooperative, made the case for the need for a new substation before the Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) earlier this month and again Tuesday evening before the BAR.

    “We currently have a substation at Blythewood Road and 321 and at Hardscrabble and on Langford Road, and they are all coming to capacity,” Black told the board.  He said projects, both industrial and residential, slated for the area will further increase the need.

    The Board of Zoning Appeals met last week to approve a special exception to the TCD zoning for the substation property contingent on the town’s planning staff and BAR’s approval of a landscaping plan for the site.

    While the Town Center District zoning calls for a 10-foot perimeter landscaping buffer zone and other specific landscaping requirements, Black said his company has other plans.

    “We are planning an 8 to 10-foot stone buffer along the outside of the fence and possibly adding some small bushes. We want to be good neighbors,” Black said.

    The stones would create a patio effect around the substation, however, rather than privacy screening.

    In addition, Black said it would be necessary to cut all of the trees on the site to protect the substation.

    “This may happen,” Cook said, “but is yet to be determined until we receive a plan from a civil engineer. We will work to keep any that we can.

    Fairfield Electric’s other plans for security include surrounding the entire 1.93 acre property with an 8-foot-high, heavy gage, black steel louvered fence that is bulletproof and not climbable.

    “With today’s terrorism and kids going by and shooting transformers, protecting our assets is very important,” Black said. “It (the fence) is another source of security and acts as a shield.”

    Without requiring the 10-foot landscaping buffer zone and other landscaping requirements of the Town Center District, the BAR approved a Certificate of Occupancy unanimously, saying the Town’s administration would work with Fairfield Electric on a landscaping plan at a later time.

    In other business, officers for the board are scheduled to be elected at the next scheduled meeting.