STEELE CREEK NEWS
Ayrsley Developer
Requesting Site Plan Amendment
(December 28, 2006)
The developers of Ayrsley have submitted a rezoning application
for a site plan amendment. See
Rezoning Petition 2007-021.
As Gene Bodycott of
Cambridge Partners described at a community meeting on December 28,
the petition is requesting four changes:
1. Approval to add
more signage to the entertainment and corporate districts of Ayrsley,
Signs would be larger and have moving parts, color, and lights. The
Ayrsley Grand Cinema and other businesses have little visibility
from I-485 and S Tryon Street. Signage that would draw more
attention to businesses is not permitted under the current site
plan.
2. Approval to add
traffic calming on Ayrsley Town Boulevard, specifically a traffic
table (or long speed hump).
3. Approval of angled
parking instead of parallel parking on certain streets not yet
completed and open to traffic.
4. Removal of a
requirement that the developers of Ayrsley pay to widen Whitehall
Park Drive to add a right turn lane. This lane would be adjacent to
the Applebee's, which is across S Tryon Street and not a part of Ayrsley.
Mr. Bodycott also
said that parking will be prohibited on Ayrsley Town Boulevard once
the city takes over maintenance and it becomes a public street.
Parking is at a premium near many of the businesses near the Ayrsley
entrance. However, Mr. Bodycott said that the town center concept is
not like a strip shopping center. Patrons shouldn't expect to be
able to drive up to the front of a business. Ample parking in other
lots, including a new parking deck, will be available nearby.
Currently the only
access to Ayrsley is from S Tryon Street, but at least two roads
connecting to Pioneer Avenue and Westinghouse Boulevard should be
open in about a month.
Several residents
expressed dissatisfaction with the intensity of new lights that
recently were added to an office building near the townhouses. They
also were concerned about the noise made by garbage trucks in the
middle of the night.
The public hearing on
the rezoning petition is scheduled for the City Council's regular
zoning meeting on February 19 at the Meeting Chamber at the
Government Center.
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