Blythewood Online 691

Tag: Blythewood Board of Architectural Review

  • COA for pediatric clinic delayed

    Palmetto Pediatric has this semi-circular structure in front of some offices.

    BLYTHEWOOD – A 16-foot tall free-standing, semi-circular wall that is the feature of the front entrance to a medical building proposed on Blythewood Road did not get a warm welcome from the town’s Board of Architectural Review (BAR) Monday evening. One board member called it overpowering.

    Matt Davis, the architect representing the applicant, Palmetto Pediatric and Adolescent Center, defended the giant curved front entrance structure, explaining that it has become something of a symbol of the Center which has several locations.

    “It is used to break up the perception of a non-descript, rectangular hip roof,” Davis said.

    While the board generally agreed that the hip roof was ‘plain’ and ‘ugly,’ they had difficulty seeing the curved wall as a solution to the problem.

    “The board’s job is not to accommodate the doctors as to how it (the building) looks, but to determine how it looks in our community,” board member Cindy Nord said.

    Board members also expressed their dismay with the proposed facility’s landscaping plan that would require taking down all but one of the trees on the property.

    The plan, Davis said, is to leave a 24-inch heritage tree in the front and plant 10 canopy trees to include five live oaks and five willow oaks. Dwarf shrubs, crepe myrtle and nandina would round out the landscaping.

    Board member Jim McLean shared his concern regarding the proliferation of black asphalt proposed in a front parking lot.

    “We need to be careful not to throw away the look of the front to asphalt,” McLean said. “We don’t want to set a precedent we might regret down the road.” He cited other Town Center District (TCD) businesses that were able to design parking accommodations that were to the side or to the rear of their building locations.

    “Palmetto is a wonderful group,” McLean assured the applicant, “and we want to work with you.”

    Davis explained that the S.C. Department of Transportation (SCDOT) requirement for the position of the driveway entrance made parking in the front a necessity since they needed to maintain a 25-foot aisle to allow for cars to pull in and out of spaces. He said Palmetto Pediatric & Adolescent clinics are especially high users of parking due to the large number of staff members required to serve this niche of care.

    The board’s architectural advisor, Ralph Walden, made some suggestions for Palmetto Pediatric to consider for rear parking arrangements and for enhancements to the general appearance of the building. He suggested that they consider adding some articulation, additional elevation, dormers or perhaps a gable end to the roof.

    After further discussion, a motion was made and passed to remand the application consideration back to the Cohn design team for potential adjustments as a result of the board’s feedback. Board member Alan George, manager of Community Bank in Blythewood, recused himself since Community Bank is financing the project.

    This request will be on the agenda for the August 20 BAR meeting.

    Related: Pediatric clinic eyes Blythewood

  • Pediatric clinic eyes Blythewood

    BLYTHEWOOD – The Board of Architectural Review (BAR) is expected to hear a request Monday evening for a certificate of occupancy for a pediatric and adolescent clinic.

    The proposed 5,408 square foot building is to be constructed on a vacant parcel at 121 Blythewood Road, across from Companion Animal Hospital.

    Cohn construction has posted a sign on the property and The Voice has been told that HB Engineering of Lexington will do the engineering for the construction.

    In 2015, the BAR gave conditional approval for a COA to a pediatrician for a 6,500 square foot medical building on the same location. That approval was conditional on plans for lighting, landscape and signage being presented and approved. But that approval never materialized because the applicant never came back to the BAR.

    The BAR meeting will be held at 6 p.m., Monday, July 16 at The Manor.

    Location proposed for pediatric clinic on Blythewood Road.

  • Surprise! Grace Coffee complies with zoning

    BLYTHEWOOD – While it may come as a surprise to the owners of brick and mortar commercial buildings in downtown Blythewood, Grace Coffee, a small turquoise and white mobile home housed on a parking lot in downtown Blythewood, is now a business in good standing and is in compliance with the necessary zoning approvals from the Town of Blythewood, according to an interpretation of the Town’s Zoning Administrator Brian Cook.

    How that came about is confusing to many and being questioned by some who run businesses out of brick and mortar buildings and have spent years adhering to the Town’s zoning and architectural review standards or face stiff daily fines.

    But Grace Coffee is apparently not required to meet the Town’s standards for materials, landscape, paint color, sign and other things, yet is not fined for not doing so.

    As the Town’s Planning Consultant Michael Criss, explained to the BAR Board Monday evening, Grace Coffee’s owner was initially removing the trailer every night as it had agreed to do when it was allowed to set up shop. But as the business became successful, the owner, Matt Beyer, balked at removing the trailer at night, Criss said.

    Next, Grace Coffee wanted a Certificate of Appropriateness (COA).

    The BAR met on April 17, 2017 to consider Grace Coffee’s request for a COA for its location in the parking lot of 208 Main Street.

    Under what one board member described to The Voice as ‘pressure’ from Town Hall, the BAR reluctantly granted Grace Coffee a temporary COA for a period of one year. According to the Town’s former administrator, Gary Parker, the Town had no ordinance in place to address the vending stand, but Criss interpreted it to be a structure.

    The temporary COA was supposed to allow the Town time to review and create regulations to address vending stands.

    Adding another layer of confusion, Council was then presented Ordinance 2017.002 for consideration. The passage of that ordinance on April 24, superseded the temporary COA issued by the BAR a week earlier, and made Grace Coffee a non-conforming use, Cook wrote in a memo to the BAR. This also gave Grace Coffee the same zoning protections of other brick and mortar buildings. However there was no announcement at the time to that effect and former Councilman Tom Utroska, who voted for the ordinance, told The Voice that he had not been aware that, when passed, the ordinance would supersede the temporary COA.

    Section 155.276 of the ordinance offers definitions of itinerant merchants and vending stands. Item B of the ordinance says that vending stands are to be removed daily and cannot be stored on property within the TC District – but that does not apply to Grace Coffee. Item C addresses nonconforming uses.

    “Any vending stand in lawful operation upon the date of first reading of this section may continue to operate without regard to the daily removal requirement…” That, according to Town Hall, is Grace Coffee. It can now operate as a nonconforming vending stand in the Town Center District, according to the interpretation of the Town’s zoning administrator. And while Grace Coffee’s one-year COA has expired, the issue is moot if, indeed, Ordinance 2017.002 superseded it.

    Cook drafted a version of the City of Columbia’s Temporary Vending Ordinance that has the Blythewood Chamber’s backing and presented it to the BAR Monday night for information. It will next go to the Planning Commission’s June 4 meeting for a vote.

    Jim McLean, Co-Chair of the Board of Architectural Review, expressed his concern that the proposed ordinance will allow a temporary food truck vendor the potential to set up 365 days a year in Blythewood.  As long as they meet the zoning district requirement, locate at least 100 feet from the door of a lawfully established eating place, maintain within the food truck proof of written permission from the private property owner, receives annually a zoning permit to operate a food truck, move the food truck off the property each evening and operates for no more than 10 consecutive hours within a calendar day, does not operate between 9 pm and 9 am and the parcel on which the vendor operates is more than 400 feet from a parcel zoned residential., they would be eligible.

    “I really have a struggle with the fairness of this,” McLean said.  “Are the brick and mortar stores being undercut?  They have made a hard investment in the town and are abiding by the regulations and restrictions.  The caveat of unfair competition needs to be addressed.”

    There was general consensus that food trucks and temporary vendors associated with events would continue to be acceptable.  And there appears to be no problem with concessionaires and persons selling only seasonal merchandise, such as fireworks, pumpkin stands and Christmas trees are also permitted under the ordinance.

    BAR member Alan George brought a “what if” to the discussion regarding the possibility of a tattoo truck setting up shop.  Cook said that if the vendor met all other criteria he would be eligible.  The question was raised regarding sexually oriented businesses (SOBs) being eligible under this ordinance.  Criss confirmed that the TC (Town Center) zoning would not have to accommodate the SOB use.

    The BAR committee asked that there be some criteria addressed for mobile vending and standards dealing with the appropriateness of the vendors.

    Criss said there are several options including adopting an ordinance to accommodate vendors, go back to only allowing them for special events or seasonal sales or something in between.

  • BAR hears bakery proposal

    BLYTHEWOOD – A bakery/café business may be coming soon to downtown Blythewood in the Bookhart-Blume House at the corner of Langford and Sandfield Roads in the Town Center District.

    The Bookhart-Blume house may soon become a bakery-café. | Barbara Ball

    The Board of Architectural Review (BAR) held a preliminary discussion Monday evening at the request of Keefer and White Enterprises, LLC, whose members are Blythewood residents Jay and Christine Keefer, Charles White and Chanin White. They have a sales agreement with the sellers which is contingent in part on obtaining a Certificate of Appropriateness from the BAR. The building, owned by former longtime resident Dorothy Blume is a designated historical site located in the commercial district, the Town’s Planning Consultant Michael Criss said.

    Jay Keefer presented the plans for the property, noting that the potential buyers want to make few changes to the structure other than adding an ADA ramp to the side of the front porch and other necessary maintenance and repairs.

    “We want to preserve as much of the current building as possible,” Keefer said. “We will repaint and clean but won’t change any colors. The roof is the original tin roof and it’s in good shape. It had been painted and we plan to go back over it with a silverfish color.”

    BAR Chairman Pam Dukes said the town architectural consultant, Ralph Walden, would work with the purchasers, “from the perspective of the building being something we can approve.”

    Keefer said the maximum occupancy of the bakery/café would be about 15-30 people.

    “We plan to be open from 6 a.m. – 4 p.m., Tuesdays through Sundays, or maybe all week. We’ll have to see,” Keefer said. He told the BAR members that he expects the bakery-café to be open by late June or earlier if possible, and gave them a sneak peak at a possible name for the business – You Bake Me Happy.

    The Keefers and Whites say they expect to work out the details with Walden and be back before the BAR soon to request a Certificate of Appearance.