Zoning/Planning Cleveland NC 2/27/23 - Goats, Pool, and Right-of-Way Concerns

 

 

 

The Cleveland, NC zoning/planning board met tonight 2-27-2023 for the scheduled monthly meeting. Two resident requests were heard; a request to subdivide property and request for an exception to a rule requiring pools to be in back yards. In addition, three residents signed up to address the issue of goats being allowed in town limits. The goat issue was brought up at the last town board meeting and was referred to zoning/planning at that time. 

Dividing Land with a Rowan County Right-away 

Robert Beck asked the board for a special use permit to divide his property lot SUP20230113. The land in question is located just off Old Hwy 70 around Young's Mountain. He said that he wanted his son and any future wife to have five acres of the land to build a house in the future. Beck and his son own a business on the property which was approved previously by Cleveland town board.

The concern with dividing the property as requested, per the town, was that the division appeared to leave the piece of property landlocked. 

Beck said that previous owners had used a county right-away as a "personal drive" but that it was a 20 foot wide right-away that could be used if needed in the future. He said that his family would just cut across from the driveway, but the right-away meant that the piece would not be landlocked. The roadway could be opened up later if needed.

The zoning board voted unanimously to approve the request so that Beck could go to the county and request the division. He had done the research to find the right-away and had contacted the county, but he was told to start with the town of Cleveland. 

Putting a Pool in the Front Yard (which is the back yard)

 

Kevin O'Brien of 120 Myers Street asked that the town approve a variance so that he could put a pool in what is considered his front yard. He said that the front yard is actually his back door and that he wants to put the pool at the back door. 

Ben Rileclin signed up to ask that the town not approve a variance. He said that the request was not, in fact, for a variance but rather it was for a change to the ordinance. He said that allowing a pool in a front yard as defined by the town would have an impact on others. He said that terms would need to be defined and the actual ordinance changed to allow the pool. 

Rileclin lives directly across from the "front yard" and noted that he and his family would be impacted by noisy pumps, outdoor speakers, and illumination. He said his bedrooms faced the "front yard" and that a pool would impact on his families "peace of mind." 

He further noted that Myers St. was very narrow, about half the width of other town streets. He estimacted the width at 12 feet and said that two trucks could not pass in the street without going onto private property. He noted that he had tire tracks on his property from trucks hauling logs out where O'Brien had started clearing for the proposed pool. 

O'Brien said, "I understand Ben's point totally." But, he said that moving the pool to the actual back yard was a problem, because there was a town fire hydrant and power lines in that area.

Zoning board member Jim Brown said that the map provided by O'Brien didn't tell him anything. It was not scaled and did not have measurements. He said that he suggested tabling until a detailed map could be provided including exact measurements and also the location of the hydrant and power lines. 

The issue was tabled until the next zoning board meeting scheduled for March 27, 2023. 

Goats in Town Limits

The final discussion at the Feb planning meeting was about goats.  

 

The Babcock family had asked Cleveland town board to allow goats on their property on Johnstone Road. The board had referred the issue to zoning/planning. Mr. Babcock signed up to address the planning board and repeated his request to allow his four miniature goats to stay on his 7.5 acres. The goats had been on the property for a number of years with no complaints. 

Babcock was accompanied by Jeremy Carter, a lawyer from Salisbury, who was willing to help the town draft a policy acceptable to the town. 

 

Town board member Richard Taylor signed up to speak to the issue and said that he had run into something similar previously with his chickens. He said the town had a policy that stated residents could own only one chicken. He said the town board changed that when the issue was brought to the town. 

"We're not in New York City," said Taylor. 

Taylor noted that other towns in the county allowed residents to shoot guns on Main  Street. He said "we had a terrible squirrel problem" and that there were rules in Cleveland that prevented shooting the squirrels on private property. He said that some of the rules on the books in town were "unnecessary." 

Taylor concluded his three minutes with, "I don't care if you have a cow." 

 

Another resident also signed up to speak. "I live in that neighborhood (the one with the goats)," said Donna Kesler. She said that she had spoken with most of the neighbors and that some were not even aware that the little goats were in the area. 

She said that the only specific concern she had heard was that the goats might contaminate the well water in the town. She asked if there any town wells in that area and said that if there were health concerns, she would want to know about those. 

Kesler thanked the board members and said that she had really good neighbors. 

"I love to hear a rooster crow," said Kesler.

There were no other people signed up prior to the meeting, and residents can't speak if they did not sign up. A couple of residents did attend who said they were opposed to the goats and also said that roosters in the area wake them up "night and day."