On Monday night, January 12 City Council will meet for the first time in 2009. We have a rather large agenda with items that impact our entire community. I will highlight only a few of importance in this email. Everyone is welcome to attend City Council meetings and I urge you to do so.
WORK SESSION – During a very brief Work Session, Council will be briefed on the “Juilliard in Aiken – 2009 Festival” Over 20 individuals from Juilliard will arrive during the week of March 8. They will provide outreach for various schools Monday through Friday. On Tuesday, they will provide a free concert at USAA for all K through 12th grade students. There will be other performances throughout the week which I am sure will be publicized in the Aiken Standard. The City of Aiken will provide logistical support of the Juilliard visit. This is a continuing effort on the part of the City to support art programs in Aiken.
HORSE DISTRICT ACCESSORY BUILDINGS ORDINANCE – The current ordinance for accessory buildings in the horse district limits the size of the accessory building to 50% of the heated gross floor area of the principal building. Approval of any variances was the responsibility of the Board of Zoning Appeals. Last year the BZA approved one application and disapproved another. While they considered each case individually, there are some in the community who prefer more consistency. Hence the request to amend the existing ordinance to remove the 50% limit and to approve requests on a case-by-case basis. Council requested input from the Equine Committee which recommended that the current ordinance not be changed to remove the size limit on accessory buildings in the HD zone and lots in the RSS zone in the Historic Overlay District.
ABANDONED VEHICLES ORDINANCE – In an effort to improve visual blight in our community, we will have second reading on an ordinance to deal with abandoned vehicles. This ordinance will give the City authority to deal with abandoned vehicles.
MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. MEMORIAL HIGHWAY DESIGNATION – At our last Council meeting, we approved placement of memorial sighs honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The signs were to be placed within the city limits on Highway 19. We have since discovered that part of Whiskey Road on the south side of Aiken has already been designated to honor another individual. Monday night, we will discuss and hopefully resolve concerns with placement of memorial signs.
SILVER BLUFF MEDICAL COMPLEX – University Health Services is asking for approval of a concept plan for a medical office complex to be located on Silver Bluff road across from the Center South Shopping Center. This project consists of three medical buildings totaling 72,000 square feet to be built in two phases. The first phase will consist of a one-story building with 17,000 square feet close to Silver Bluff Road. Entrance to the complex will be from Silver Bluff Road, but entrance to the first building will be from an internal parking lot within the complex. The proposed entrance does not comply with three provisions of the access management section of the Zoning Ordinance and the applicant has asked for a waiver of these three areas. The Planning Staff has reviewed the applicant’s request for waiver and feels that it is not a concern due to the gradients and location of other driveways in the area. Due to the fact that Silver Bluff Road is a five-lane roadway and to preserve trees, staff is recommending that these waivers be accepted. This application was approved unanimously by the Planning Commission.
There are some significant traffic issues with this project. First, it may increase exit time from Town Creek Road onto Silver Bluff Road, but staff feels that any increase delay is not considered excessive and a traffic signal is not warranted at this time. Second, there are questions regarding waivers to the Access Management Ordinance which will be discussed at the first reading.
CITY COUNCIL AGENDA – Keep in mind that City Council agendas are available on line. There are many additional issues, beyond those mentioned above, that the Council will discuss on Monday night. The complete agenda includes supporting documents that we review to determine a course of action. The link for Monday’s City Council agenda is http://www.aiken.net/weblink7/docview.aspx?id=97637
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