 Gene, whenever you're ready. Okay. Welcome to the Board of Zoning Appeals, members, staff, and guests. We ask for your patience during this virtual meeting. Multiple staff members are behind the scenes to make sure all applicants and citizens are able to communicate with the board at the appropriate times. Board members and applicants are participating via Zoom. Some are using video and all are using audio. I will unmute applicants when their case is called or ask them to unmute themselves. Everyone, please just be mindful of anything going on in your background, anything that could cause distractions. There are a number of ways that the public can participate in today's meeting so they can watch via City TV. Email, phone, or they can log in to publicinput.com. To watch, you can go to youtube.com. user slash Columbia SC government. You can also go to the main page of the City of Columbia website and there will be a ticker on the top that we are live streaming. You can click that and it will take you straight to YouTube. During the meeting, you can submit letters and statements via email to COC board meeting at Columbia SC.gov. You can submit during until the board goes into board discussion. Staff is monitoring and we'll make sure that the letter is read into the record. You can call in by calling into public input. It's 1-855-925-2801. When prompted, you'll enter the meeting code, which is 9-424. And you'll be given several options. If you just hit star one, that's gonna allow you to stay on the line and listen to the audio of the meeting. Star two allows you to record a voice message. So if you're unable to stay on for the whole meeting, you can hit star two and record a message that'll be played in. Just make sure to speak clearly so it transcribes for us and leave your name and the case information so we know which case you're calling on. And star three allows you to be placed in a queue to speak live. Please make sure that you don't hit star three until your specific case is called as that's our only way to know which case you're wanting to speak on. You can also stream the meeting at publicinput.com slash cocboza, that's January. And also just if you're participating by phone while streaming on your computer, just make sure to mute the audio on your computer so that there's not playback issues. There is an audio delay between Zoom and the live recording on city TV and public input. So if you notice that we're pausing certain times, it's to allow that audio to catch up and give citizens time to submit any comments. I'll go ahead and do roll call. Mr. Dinkins. Here. Mr. Gregory. Here. Mr. Primus is gonna be absent. Ms. Stevens. Here. Ms. Finner. Here. Mr. Gignard. I don't believe he's logged on. We have four members, so we do have a quorum. Okay, applicants with requests before the board of zoning appeals are allotted a presentation time of 10 minutes. This time should include but is not limited to an overview of the project, case history in any pertinent meetings held regarding the request. This time also includes all persons presenting information on behalf of the applicants such as attorneys, engineers and architects. This time limit does not include any questions asked by the board of zoning appeals or staff regarding requests. Any member of the general public may address the board in intervals of three minutes or five minutes if by a spokesperson for an established body or for a group of three or more. The applicant will then have five minutes for a battle. The board reserves the right to amend these procedures on a case-by-case basis. First up, we have the consent agenda. The board uses the consent agenda to approve non-controversial or routine matters by a single motion and vote. If a member of the board or the public wishes to discuss an item on the consent agenda, that item is removed and placed on regular agenda. The board then approves the remaining consent agenda items. Up first, we have the approval of the December 3rd, 2020 minutes. Case 2020-0079, special exception for 5408 and 5412 Minulton Street. This is a special exception to expand an existing religious organization. Case 2020-0080, also for 5408 and 5412 Minulton Street. This is a special exception to permit an alternative parking surface. In case 2020-0081 for 1110 Kenley Road, special exception to expand an existing religious organization. So, and it's also for, it's actually, sorry, that was a typo, it's for alternative surface. Does anyone wish to have a case removed from the consent agenda prior to the board vote? We'll see if Erica has any emails or anyone on the phone. Rachel, I'm good. Okay. Erica or Andrew, is there anyone on the line? Rachel? Yes. You hear me? Good. I can now. Okay, good. We have no callers at this time, no emails. All right, thank you. Okay. Okay. Do we have a motion for the consent agenda? I move that we approve the consent agenda. Second. Okay. Catherine, your motion for the consent agenda will subject any staff comments. Yes, but yeah. Okay. All right, we have a motion and a second. All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Aye. Anyone opposed? Okay, motion passes. Thank you. Mr. Dinkins, we will use the following outline for our regular agenda. So I will introduce the case. The applicants will have 10 minutes to make their presentation. I do have just because there were some issues with the previous timers we were using, I was able to find these timers. So I will have this up during presentations. So you all will, I'll have the beep on, it'll be minimal, but you'll be able to see the lights as well. And just for everyone, you'll get a caution beep. That just means that you have about 30 seconds left and then it will beep again when your time is up. The board may ask any questions during the presentations and the public will be allowed to participate via email, voicemail, or phone comment. The applicant will have an opportunity for a rebuttal as well after public comment and then it will go into board discussion and action by the board. The first matter on our regular agenda today, the case at 2020-0082 for 2200 Sumter Street. And this is a variance to the buffer transition yard for commercial redevelopment. So the applicant is present and is welcome to give us a brief overview of their application. Hello everyone, happy new year. Thank you for your time today. My name is Karen Yip and I am requesting a zoning variance for a property that my husband and I own at 2200 Sumter Street. I'm a native to the Columbia area and I've been practicing real estate in this city for 18 years. As a former board member for the Redland County Planning and Zoning Commission, I am acutely aware of the importance of balancing preservation of neighborhoods alongside responsible growth and development. My husband also owns Old Town Builders and has spent many years in preservation and renovation work of numerous homes in the downtown area. So we are also sensitive to careful planning and design. The subject property is formerly Freeze Automotive. In the several years that we have owned this property, some of the residents of Cotton Town have reached out to me and expressed concerns for the automotive garage and the challenges it brought in terms of traffic related parking issues. And according to some, it did not fit with the general feel of the neighborhood. We took some time to seriously consider these concerns as we also own a residential property in Cotton Town. As such, we have a vested interest and are also concerned for the future of this historic neighborhood and how things evolve. Ultimately, we decided to non-renew the lease last year with Freeze Automotive. It was our intention to make a substantial investment in the renovation and redevelopment of this particular building in order to attract a tenant that will hopefully be viewed as a positive addition for the neighborhood and hopefully may even be a business that our neighbors will patronize. However, we all know that parking continues to be a challenge in this area and my ability to attract a viable tenant hinges on securing this approval request for my variants. My options in filling the vacancy will severely be limited otherwise if I'm unable to offer any off-street parking through a prospective tenant. It is our desire to evolve with the neighborhood and rather than keeping, I should say, the current use which is the Automotive Garage. So in the spirit of transparency and collaboration, we reached out to the Cotton Town Neighborhood Association and also took time to reach out to the two property owners that are adjacent to our property and it's my belief that they share my desire to improve this property. To ensure that we are following proper zoning and building requirements in the planning process, we partnered with the local architect firm, Architrave, you know, to plan for the discussed renovations. So at this time, I would like to introduce Justin Washburn who will be able to answer any specific planning and zoning questions that you may have. Thank you again for your time. Thank you, Karen. We are requesting a variance to the buffer yard required by section 17-417, which requires a 15-foot landscape area between the commercial property and the residential property. The building was built in 1964 as an Automotive Garage and Intel recently was occupied by Frees Automotive. The Automotive Garage used the existing paved area behind the building for vehicle and park storage and the right of way along Jefferson Street for customer parking. The existing buffer is a six foot tall chain link fence and wood fence at the edge of the property line and provides limited protection to the rear property owner and no landscaping. The building measures 40 feet by 80 feet deep and is set approximately eight feet from the Jefferson Street property line and 44 and a half feet from the rear property line. The only usable area on this site for parking is that 44 and a half feet by 50 foot area behind the building. To utilize this area for parking, the city staff is requiring a 25 foot two-way aisle and standard parking depth of 18 feet. We have worked with the city staff on the proposed plan allowing for a one and a half foot buffer yard. Additionally, we're proposing to remove a small addition on the back of the building to allow for this proposal to work. To mitigate for the reduced buffer yard, we're proposing a closed wood fence eight feet tall with the finished side facing the neighboring property. In addition, we will work with the city staff to find the best vegetation to plant in the remaining one and a half foot area. We believe that this is the best solution to balance the need for off-street parking with the requirement of a buffer yard. Because of the dimensions fixed by the city code and the existing conditions, any expansion of the buffer would require that all parking be removed from the site. Even a small amount of off-street parking is essential to the practical redevelopment of the site. We want to provide the best solution to enhance the character of the neighborhood. And we feel that the new eight foot tall closed wood fence and one and a half foot planting area will be a substantial improvement over the existing conditions. With this variance, we believe the owner will be able to attract tenants that the neighbors will find far more desirable than the previous auto repair shop while lessening the demand for on-street parking in the neighborhood. Thank you for considering our application. Kara and I would be glad to answer any questions you have. Question for Mr. Washburn. The one and a half foot buffer proposed, are you able to put any sort of plantings in that area? We've spoken through Rachel to Scott Holder and as of right now, he hasn't recommended anything. He basically said ground cover would be the best solution. So we're still looking for what the possibilities are as far as landscape in that area. Okay, just curious. For the applicant, Ms. Michelle, what sort of business do you envision hopefully occupying the space one day? What are you thinking about? You know, we don't have anybody perspective now, but I mean, ideally, based on what we're kind of seeing right now with the success of Warmouth and into coffee, I really like to see either office space or potentially retail. I mean, I think it would be a great spot for like a wine bar or a restaurant. But as you can see, it's really hard for me to really directly answer that question. But I think that it would definitely be a step up from the automotive garage, but I see it kind of as something that perhaps is a neighborhood light commercial type picture. But as you can see on our proposed design, I mean, we did put some outdoor seating, you know, for the front where the red railings are. So I mean, really it could be anywhere from a bistro to I mean, even retail. But the whole idea is I'd like to place a tenant in there that would be added benefit for the neighbors of, you know, Cotton Town quite frankly and continue to build on, you know, what's already there now. Well, I agree with you. I think it's certainly an attractive looking rendering that you have here. This proposed renovation looks like a real plus, really looks good. I'm not sure if you'd be able to do any sort of a restaurant use. I don't know if you'd have the parking for that. You may, but I'm not sure five spaces may prohibit that. Probably some sort of a retail office space, something like that. Well, normally we ask the applicants to run through the six criteria here that are in your application for the variance. But I think both your presentation and your architects did a good thorough job of answering those. So I think it would be redundant to ask you to run through those. So we'll just, I'd like to just note for the record that the applicant's responses are in the application and they look thorough to me. They did a good job with that. I don't have any other questions at this time like to turn it over to the other members of the board and see if they have any questions for you or your architect. Looks good. Go ahead. Sorry. It looks good to me. I mean, and it looks, it certainly, it's going to be, it looks like a distinct improvement over what's there now. And I don't see any other way to do anything useful there besides what you're doing, it seems. Thank you. Yeah, in another world, we might not require parking from anybody, but since we do and you need it, I understand all of that. And this is Columbia. So yeah, I mean, I wish you could keep a night, you could put a nice beautiful buffer, but it's certainly an improvement over what's there now. Thank you. So, and I was just going to speak on the record about, I had mentioned it in the case summary, but just to put it on the record as well. The initial plans submitted and the application did mention a three foot buffer. Once I had the chance after submitted to sit down and fully review the site plan, that's where we noticed that the drive aisles needed to shift. So that's what did to the one and a half foot buffer. So they were kind enough to update their plan and send a new one. So that's what's in the slideshow. But I did speak with Scott Holder, who's the landscape planner. And he did state that usually the minimum planting area for most items that would go in a normal buffer is at least five feet. So that's why, as Justin mentioned, Scott said it would be mostly ground cover that would fit in that narrow of an area and thrive as to plantings. So you're saying that you could, there's no way you could have put trees even in three feet. Well, you would have needed five. So reducing it to one and a half is no additional problem. I would suggest you could potentially train vines to go up the fence if that was appealing or a spaly or something. But yes, I see what you're saying. Yeah, per Scott, the minimum would be five feet for the majority of. Sure, yeah. Okay, any other questions from any members of the board? No, I have any questions, Jim. I don't need to, I agree, it looks good. All right, well, this time, Rachel, let's look and see if we have any input from the public. Any callers or emails, please. Okay, so, and I did send you all the statement from Ms. Marinelli. Also, I spoke with the president of Cotton Town just to ensure that he has seen the updated plans. And he says that he said that the neighborhood has not changed their view that was in the submitted letter. So with that, I don't have any extra letters or anything. So I'll turn it over to Erica to see if we have anybody on the line. Rachel? Yes. We have one caller. I'll connect right now. Good afternoon, this is Julie Seale. Can y'all hear me? Yes. Very good, I had reached out to Ms. Yip a couple of weeks ago. First of all, I just wanna say thank you to her for improving this property. I've lived across Jefferson and have been impacted by the garage for years. So I really appreciate her taking the time to upgrade this, the plans look fantastic. I also talked to her about the fence, which is imperative, kind of block light pollution and from the cars and all coming and going. And she was amenable to that. I think it's part of the plans. And the only other thing I'll mention is we talked about the fence on the east side between the back of the building and the nearest residents behind it. And it's actually got an L shape to it. And I just called the police yesterday because we have homeless people that cut through the back of that building to get up close behind the houses. And I just wanted to mention that to Ms. Yip while I had this opportunity to tell her, I don't know if they intend to extend the fence and the L shape, that little tiny portion in the back, which is next to the back of Cottontown CrossFit. If you'll see where the cars are parked behind the building closest to the residents behind it. But it's an L shape to it back there. And I would just like, you know, if it's possible to have a tight picket fence on in that L shape, not all over the property just in that L shape. And I think Ms. Yip said it was part of the plans but I do wanna thank her for this. I'm on for it. I'm right, you see my garage on the bottom right hand side of the picture. And so these improvements that Cason has done on Sumter Street, I've had to go through this process too because they needed the same buffer variance. And I'm for it. I know the neighborhood has their own stance but I'm for it. But I did want to thank Ms. Yip for improving this property. It's been an impact to my property for years. So thank you. Thank you, Ms. Yip. Thank you. Okay. Well, thank you, Ms. Steele. Is there any other public input? I'm not seeing any new emails that have popped in. We'll see if Erica has any further calls. Rachel, we have no one else to speak. All right, thank you. Okay, very good. Well, we sort of, as often we do, we kind of blended in board discussion a little bit with the questions for the applicants. So don't know that we'll have much but is there any other board discussion amongst the members? Okay, well, I don't hear any. So at this time, we'd like to ask for a motion, please. I move that we make a motion to approve this variance request that the applicant is making subject to staff comments. Second. Okay, we have a motion and a second. All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Aye. Any opposed? Very good. Motion passes. Thank you very much, Ms. Steele. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, everybody. Great. It really does. The next matter is case 2020-0083, the variance for 1940 Blossom Street. It's a variance to the buffer transition yard for an outfit to an existing bank. It was one bank branch and it's changing to a new. So if the applicant is on the line, they're welcome to unmute themselves and give us a review of their application. Good afternoon. This is Scott Burris. Can you hear me okay? Yes. Okay. Thank you. I appreciate your time today. Basically, we're doing an outfit where we're with Weather's Contract and we were hired by the current owner Coastal Carolina National Bank and they purchased the building, I believe from TD Bank. And so we were in the process of applying for the building permit and in discussions with Scott Holder, he mentioned that I guess in his research, there had not been a zoning review of the buffer requirement. And if you can see, maybe in the photo that was attached, there's an alleyway that leads off of Saluda Avenue and it runs on the back of the building and there's some parking spaces at the back of the building and that also allows access to the drive through windows at the side of the building. And I believe again from talking with Scott Holder that because of the zoning requirements, there's supposed to be a buffers on there of I think it's 20 or 25 feet. And currently the parking or the curb and the lane that goes through there is basically right up against the property line for the adjacent property. So there's already an existing eight foot fence there which I think is possibly one of the requirements in the situation. So we're just asking for a variance from the buffer zone, mainly because this situation has been in place for many years and we aren't changing it in any way. So that's why we submitted the zoning variance request. Yeah, and just to clarify, because of the renovation value, that's what triggered the landscaping compliance and because it's a renovation, it's only partial compliance. So instead of 20 to 30 feet, the buffer base requirement is 15 feet. So within eight foot fence, normally that would reduce it by 25 feet. And so the request today is just to kind of leave it as is with the eight foot fence. Reading your application, Mr. Burris, so most of, let's see, you're not changing the footprint of the building at all, are you? That's correct. Well, the customer of the bank would like to have a new entrance at the back, but it'll stick out a little bit into the existing parking area on the back of the building. And, but we're just shifting some of the parking spaces around to accommodate that. And then in part of the revision, we did want to add a parking space at the, and I think it's on the drawing there. It's a compact parking space. Let me keep my drawing here where I can see it properly. Yeah, so it'd be the first parking space that you come to as you drive down that alleyway. Okay, on your site plan here, all the plantings, are those existing or are those some of the additions? So all those are existing. In talking with Scott, we actually went out on site and the only impact that we had to the existing landscaping was one tree. I think it's, I'm trying to look here to see how it's labeled, but it's right there at that first parking space. So we'll take it out and put back a new tree to replace that, but all of the other plantings are existing. And we're not planning on changing any of that. Okay, the tree. I'm sorry, you're taking out one tree and replacing it with a, what kind of tree? What's the caliper? Okay, so we're taking out, I think it's a crate myrtle. Okay. And we're putting back based on Scott's input. It's a two inch willow oak. Willow oak. Okay. And that's showing on the drawing there, that second drawing. Yeah. I'm constrained by my small laptop screen. So, okay. All right. And again, that, we were just trying to follow what Scott had recommended, so. Okay. Yeah, it was most likely replacing with just another shade tree of some sort. Right. Actually a willow oak is gonna be more of a shade tree than a crate myrtle probably. So that's a benefit. Right. Yeah. I don't believe crate myrtles gets you any points towards your tree count and landscaping. Yeah. So. I got a question about the proposed site plans on the back and I'm just trying to understand it. Right. What kind of, this is for the applicant, what kind of structure is that on the back that you guys are at? A ramp, it looks like a ramp. So that you're talking about where we're adding that entrance. They basically, there's already an entrance there, but they wanted to make it more prominent cause they want, they would like most, they figure they won't have more than two to three, maybe four customers in the bank at a time. So they figure most of their clients will come in the back and so they wanted to make that a more prominent entrance. So they, we're doing kind of like a tower section, kind of axing the entrance there at the back. And we submitted some renderings for the building permit and it was reviewed and approved. So basically we're reworking that entrance. We did a little bit of a concrete pad there and we're shifting the handicap parking space to right in front or right beside the new entrance and they'll be hashed off areas right there in front of the, this new power area, I guess you'd say. So are those columns, I'm looking at the plan view are those columns on the corners of that ramp? That's correct. Well, that what's shown there is the sidewalk portion. We're not necessarily, we're not showing the ramp part. The ramp will stick out in front of that, it'll taper down that large 20 foot wide opening there that dimension there that, that will be the hashed off area. And we'll have that ramp leading up onto the, where it looks like new concrete. Fine. Okay. We're not changing the use in any meaningful way from what it was before and any of these design issues wouldn't that go up before DDRC, right? So that's five points overlay. So that would be DDRC. Depending on the level, it'll either be reviewed by design staff or they could trigger DDRC review. I don't know if just the entrance would but that is within a design area. And it already has gone through that. I think it was handled in-house. Okay. Yeah, I think it was, yeah. So our only question is, is it okay to keep it the same way it is now for the same use that it's been since this 1960s? Is that essentially? That's correct. Somehow along the ways, I don't know maybe with TD Bank it wasn't called or something because it just from what Scott said, you know that maybe should have been addressed sometime previously but regardless, that's why we're applying because it's been in place and we're not changing it in any significant manner. Well, it sure looks like the TD Bank was, I remember being in it back, you know when it was still a bank and the inside still had that 1960s bank, mid-century bank feel but the outside had been 80s-ified with the stuck-out. So obviously someone had updated it since the 1960s, but yeah. Okay. Okay, so does anyone on the board have any other questions for the applicant? All right, well, Rachel, let's see if we've got any public input regarding this matter, please. All right, I haven't seen any new emails come through. I did wanna note that Mr. Gignard did email me. He is stuck in waiting room purgatory. So I contacted PR to see if they can get him in here. So but Erica, just let us know if there's anybody on the line. Rachel, can you hear me? I can. Can you hear me? I can now, okay. Now there's nobody wishing to speak at this time. Thank you very much. Okay, is there any board discussion regarding this matter? Do you know it? Yeah. Yeah, it seems like a procedural thing. Yeah, agreed. All right, well, at this point, would you like to ask for a motion, please? Move to approve subject to staff comments. Second. Okay, we have a motion and a second. All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Aye. Any opposed? Okay, motion passes. Thank you very much. Thank you. All right, the next matter is case 2020-0084. This is a special exception at 4735 Fort Jackson Boulevard. A special exception to establish a residential care facility for an assisted living. If the applicant is on the line, they're welcome to unmute themselves and give the board a presentation of your application. Thank you, can you hear me? Yes. Great, great. All right, my name is Mark Hannon and I have my partner on the line, Sierra. She'll be coming through through audio. We're applying for a special exception to make Fort Jackson 4735 Fort Jackson Boulevard an assisted living facility. Next slide. This is our agenda. We're gonna go through some of our goals and then discuss the application and then open the board any questions that you may have about it. So what I wanted to do is to break down a little bit of the inspiration that we had and why we're choosing to do this. I spent many, many years in the military and at one point I became injured where I couldn't even run or walk. And those years I know about the military, the military's like a machine and apart breaks, they push that part to the side and replace it with the new part. And so if you just happen to be that broken part they got pushed to the side. Sometimes you may feel like that belongs or that you're in the way or something like that. What they did was they sent me to a place called the Wounded Warrior Transition Center and I would tell you that that place, I really felt like that I truly belong and that I wasn't actually in somebody's way. And so here we are. Not only will we provide long-term care and affordable, of course, for the elderly, but we're gonna create an environment of belonging of a place where you don't have to explain why you move so slow or that you're in the way of someone. That is our goal for this company. Next slide. Our facility will not impact the vehicular traffic or the safety of pedestrians in the area. We have our entryway, entry and exit to the facility on the Oxford Road side, not the busy Fort Jackson side. We're going to add a large parking lot on the west side of the property that will allow easy loading and unloading of residents, supply vehicles or ambulance. And we're actually at the end of an empty cul-de-sac with loads and no traffic. And so essentially the only people that are gonna be coming through there are people visiting family and friends of our residents. Next slide. So there will not be an increase of noise or litter or an instruction to the air or light. Our staff, the other conducting daily police calls are cleaning up around the area several times daily to maintain our ground. And our business is paramount to have a cleanliness to the virtue. And not to mention DHEC can just show up at any time to do an inspection on our facility and also future residents may show up as well. So we want to keep the place very clean. Our assisted living facility will not have an adverse effect on the aesthetic character of the neighborhood. And we will not change the external structure of the property. The only thing we're adding on the outside is a vinyl fence, privacy fence and lots of greenery to improve the area. Next slide, please. There are very few smaller facilities in this area, especially compared to West Columbia. And after doing a lot of research, we found that many communities rejected assisted living facilities because they had drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers. And I assure you, we will not have residents that have those types of rehabilitation needs. For safety reasons, we will have security by installing cameras around the outside of the building and we'll have caregivers and administrators keeping a watchful eye. We had the opportunity to speak to a gentleman by the name of Thomas. He is the owner of the only neighboring property we have called the Fort Jackson apartment. And he was very supportive of our plans. And even though we don't have an HOA in this area, we sent out emails to two different HOAs that were close in the vicinity. But I would say more importantly, I believe with the overwhelming support that we received from 15 different residents that in the actual complex, and those residents that actually have a direct line of sight with our facility. Next slide, please. Currently, we meet the zoning intent of the ROG2 and we will meet the future zoning intent of office and institutional with our facility. Next slide. We will maintain a high state of cleanliness as I stated earlier, because it's much needed in this area. This is a small knit community area and local families can literally walk down the street and bring their loved ones to our place where this place actually means something to be a senior. I would suggest potentially that large facilities may not be able to provide that true one-on-one service. And so being to the public interest will provide potentially the reduction in anxiety for some or possibly a guilty feeling that a young couple may have who may be working a job, having to take care of their kids and then take care of the needs of their aging parents. Next slide. In conclusion, our facility fits both the present and future zoning intent. We believe that we serve the public interest. We will maintain or increase the safety of the area while minimizing the impact to the area. We will provide a, you are part of us, type of environment for the community to bring the aging parents. We humbly request that you grant the special exception for 4735 for Jack and Boulevard. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Hannon. Thank you for that very thorough presentation. I think you did a really good job of running through the criteria that we're asked to vote on matters like this for. So thank you. That was more thorough than most. I do have a couple of basic questions wanted to start with. Tell us a little bit of just a sort of 30-second view here. Who is Shang Investment Group and where are you from and have you done other facilities like this and your role in this project, et cetera? Give us a brief outline of Shang investment. Absolutely. So the Shang investment, the name came from the Shangri-La and the Shangri-La is a hotel in the, well, they're all over the world, but it's more specifically in the Philippines. And the way that they treat the people, every person, I tell you, when I stayed there, I stayed on the combats that they sent me to a nice place, they, every person there, every worker there treated every guest, including myself, after the second day of being there, everyone that knew your name and you felt very special. And so I wanted to capture that in my company. And so I do rehabs on buildings, houses we create, take small houses, make them bigger. So that's our experience that we've done in several builds, have not done the assisted living facility, but I run Airbnb's, we do construction, I do general contracting, and we're very familiar with working with the city, we love working with the city. And so that's the breakdown of who Shangri-La invests in part. And the facility itself, we felt that this would be the best place because it's away from right side by side. So sometimes that creates problems and sometimes people don't say anything, so it's a big problem. So we chose this place. I am, as I said, I was in the military, I was stationed in Fort Jackson for a long time. So I bought a house here, I've lived here, and I'm back and forth between here and other places, but I travel and that's where we're 30 seconds. But we have great experience with the building side and also taking care of people. So would Shangri-La investments, would you continue to own this facility or are you just doing this rehab and going to sell it or turn it over to an owner? I'm a little bit confused about your exact role in this project. Oh, that's a great question. So Shangri-La investment, we're on the build side and so what we do is we don't hold onto any properties like that, we build them and then we sell them. But on this situation, we are also the ones who are going to be running the facility. And I would tell you that I have a special interest in this because I have a sister who is in that very situation to have a couple of stroke and so I'm very interested in running the facility to provide a place for her to come to as well as the veteran who have done so much. We are definitely holding onto this and managing this property. We will hire the best of the best administrators and caregivers to take care of it. Okay, and one last question for me and then I'll let some others have a chance but would you be comfortable in any possible approval of the special exception if we asked you to agree to construct a fence. I know you mentioned a vinyl fence but to construct a fence as zoning and code would allow. Would you be comfortable with that as a requirement for a possible approval? Absolutely. And if you go to the slide that shows the sketch, I believe that we've already in our design hit exactly what you're referring to. On the western side, the left side of the screen there, there's a fence right there and that fence is the property barrier and that serves several purposes. I think that's what you're alluding to. For example, if a ambulance would pull into our facility we wouldn't create in kind of like challenges for our neighbors. And also we looked down the before Jackson Boulevard side that would be one of our great concerns because that's a dirty road. So we're gonna put a fence up or some kind of barrier. The fence is gonna be 100% but there will be fences 100% on the west side but you see how you see the greenery that will be bushes and tall objects. And it's also on the eastern side we're gonna build a garden area for the residents. So yes, I'll be happy to put that as part of our package. Very good. Yeah, and there's gonna be some landscaping that's involved as well. So the fence would most likely be part of the buffer requirement too. Sure. Any questions from any other members of the board? Just looks like you're gonna be adding, I mean, currently there's not a parking lot there right now, is there Mark? No, it's not. I mean, as far as how many senior living folks like in the size building I think it's more than 3,000 square feet, is that correct? It's 3,000 square feet, that is correct. And we're doing, that's what we haven't seen with any additional plans to the board because we're gonna go through with DHEC and they're gonna walk us through and say this is exactly what you can do in this size of the facility and that will be based on how many parking spaces we can provide and the number of residents that we're gonna put in there based on the square footage and it's not just bedrooms, we found out living space, that is open space, that is space for the caregivers have to have their own room. Once he has the approval, they blast off on it and we will submit that package to the zoning. Rachel, this might be this question for you and this might be my ignorance. Is this similar? We have a lot more daycare facilities that come in front of us than in single living. I can't remember a single living one. Do they have to, I guess they gotta also get DHEC approval too to get their license. This one's a little bit different than daycare. Daycares usually go through SS. This, the way our code is situated right now, assisted living care facilities fall under just the umbrella of residential care facilities. So it, DHEC comes into play. I mean, they do have to have proper licensing. But it's not, it's not worded in our code like daycare, that code section though. So I also just wanna state, I mean, the number of parking spots that they're able to put on the site, that's gonna limit how many, just from a zoning perspective, the zoning parking requirement, I mean, that's gonna limit how many individuals they're able to have in that building as well as building and fire code as well. Yeah, and I see here in staff comments, you've got residential care facilities shall comply with all state and local license. Yes. Rachel, I guess, or everybody else, I think. I mean, I'm just sort of trying to run through my head. I know it's an extremely highly regulated on a number of different ways and it's only in front of us in terms of, because that's what the zoning code requires. The plan, this would not be subject to any kind of planning commission approval or would it? It's not large enough to trigger site plan review. So when it's outside of any kind of design district, so it won't trigger that. It'll just any interior renovation, business licensing, that's when it would get the normal permitting review for building fire and landscaping code, any updates that are necessary. So just to say what our role is, is to say what is the impact, standing at the property line, looking in, what is the impact of this on the surrounding area? And it would seem to me that it's arguably slightly more than a Masonic Lodge, but maybe not. Because I know that I lived across from the old woman's club and you think, oh, it's just the little old ladies, but the little old ladies would rent it out. And I imagine the Masonic Lodge probably may have been a venue for parties. Who knows? I don't know what they do there. But an idiot, it seems to me that a, what is this called? It's just a little old folks home, but I'm trying to think of a nice way to put it, but an old folks home or for disabled people is gonna be a pretty low impact. And it's so small on top of it, we're not talking about still hopes here either. So we're talking very small impact, it would seem to me. And it does seem as if it's providing from a social perspective, a very valuable service to retirement home, I guess, would be the old timey word for it. Okay, well, I believe that we wrap up our questions for the applicant unless you have a question. No, I'm good, I think it's a straight forward. All right, well, Rachel, do we have any public input regarding this matter? There is one email, let me see if it's about this case. Nope, it's from the next one. I don't see any emails, so I will turn it to Erica to see if we have anybody on the line for this specific case. Rachel, we don't have anybody wishing to speak. All right, thank you. Thank you very much. Well, at this time then, we will move into board discussion. The only thing that I see here of really even worth talking about, in my opinion would be the fence situation that I asked the applicant about and he was agreeable to us making that writing, putting that into any sort of possible approval and he's got it on his plan here. The reason I bring that up is because Fort Jackson Boulevard is so heavily traveled and because it is at the intersection of another road, although very lightly traveled Oxford Road, a slight concern of mine would be that one of the residents would somehow wander out into the roadway and we could have a problem there. So really would like to see any motion here include some sort of a vague requirement that the applicant would indeed fence this property or buffer or something in a manner such that it would ensure that wouldn't happen, but yet also comply with code. Other than that, I really don't see any possible issues here. Yeah, I don't really see any. Okay, well, with that being said, I don't think we're gonna have any more discussion. I would like to make a motion that we approve the special exception to establish residential care facility here with the requirement that the applicant agrees to install some sort of a fencing buffer, landscape buffer that satisfies city code by zoning, landscaping and with the intent of keeping the residents out of the roadways. Second. We have a motion and a second. All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion passes. Thank you guys very much. Appreciate it. Yep. The last item on the regular agenda is case 2020-0085. This is a special exception at 2322 Notch Road. It's a special exception to establish a multifamily residential use within a general commercial district. I believe the applicant is on the line. She is welcome to unmute herself and give her presentation to the board. Who are you? Oh, this is a real hi. Hi, good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for this opportunity. Yes, so I am going to make this brief. I don't have a formal presentation like everyone, but the property at 2322 Notch Road has been vacant for several years and I was currently used as a motel and now has been vacant. We are not looking to change the structure of the building. And I'm sorry, my name is Sabrina St. John and I'm the president of Eagle Eye Development Group. We're not looking to change the structure of the building. We are looking to provide private housing for displaced veterans. In 2019, the city of Columbia had 462 homeless veterans. So that is what this property would be used for. And as you can see, it has a private parking lot. We are looking to exceed the security by having fencing and cameras for security of the residents. Each room has been completely renovated. There was someone a couple of years ago who was trying to use it for partnership with the local hospital. So each room has been completely renovated and up to code. Each room has a private bathroom and a microwave. So this would provide individuals with housing. It's already, I went inside, they already have. The beds are made and everything was just as it was when the person renovated. Because of the parking lot, it doesn't seem like it would increase any high traffic volume. And as you can see here, private parking and it does have two rooms that are handicapped accessible. We are just looking to provide housing. My background is in case management services. I do have properties in South to South Carolina, where my foundation has been for all the years that I've been alive. So that's pretty much it. We, like I said, there's no structure we're not looking to add to the building. We're not looking to change the structure of the building in any way. We're looking to actually to provide landscaping in the area and improve it in the ways that needs to be improved to make it a more welcoming home for individuals. OK, well, thank you, Ms. St. John. Thank you for coming in front of us today. Let's get a little more detail on the actual use itself and the day-to-day operations. And you say multi-family residential use. What does that really mean? I'm asking a lot of these questions just to sort of get it on the record what you're trying to do. But how about give us a few more details? Well, that's what I was told that he would have to be zoned as a multi-family dwelling because people would live there. That would be their permanent housing for whatever amount of time they decided to stay there. There will be, each individual will get a lease. We will have an apartment manager on site there to ensure the ongoing safety of the place. But because individuals will have a residential lease, that's why it would have to be considered a multi-dwelling place and not like a residential care facility or anything like that. We will not be providing care there. These individuals will be independent to live on their own. How many units or? There are 21 units there. 21 units. And each, like I said, each unit has a private bathroom. It has a refrigerator. The unit that would be used for the apartment manager, that is a full two-bedroom apartment. Would the apartment manager live there? Yes. Yes. OK. Do we have any questions from any other members of the board? Yeah, I do. I know a little, you know, there's some history on this property. Yes, I've been told. In 2017, it used to be the best way in. Yes. And it shut down due to a lot of not legal things. All the police and it's the same owner who owns it. So my question, these leases you have in place, what are the length of the leases that these tenants would be given? Well, I'm sorry if you said what are the length of the leases? Yeah, what are the length of the leases? Well, our goal would be to do like a year to year lease. But that would also depend on the individual. But that would be our goal to have them say, because we want to be able to provide permanent housing. We do not want this to be a place where people are coming and going and increase the crime rate for what I know that it was, which is why we're having an apartment manager on site as well as secured gate and really make it into a home and not a place where there's increased crime activity. I have been in contact with the previous owners. I've been in contact on several occasions with the realtor. And I've been in contact with the company who did the renovations. And I was given extensive history on the facility. In fact, I went to visit it the week of Christmas. And there was some unwelcoming guests there. And I actually went to visit some of the businesses in the community, the U-Haul business, the barbershop across the street, and the tire shop where local residents visit. And they were all excited and welcome the opportunity to have an establishment, because it just being there as a sore eye is actually inviting unwelcome guests to be nice. Yeah. This, Rachel, this is kind of a question for you. I'm just concerned about it going back to somewhat what it was, I mean, this variant, this special exception for multiple families, it would not allow for a motel to go back there. That would be, I mean, a completely different business license, a completely different use. So I mean, if it all of a sudden stopped operating in multi-family, that would be multiple violations. We're not looking to operate it as a motel at all, because of what it has brought to the community. So we're definitely not looking to operate it as any place that people would come to say a few hours or a day or so and then leave. That's not the purpose of it. That's not our intended purpose of the building. I mean, obviously, I wish it weren't next to a liquor store, but I mean. I actually have been in contact. I've tried to reach out to the individual of the liquor store to offer them a buyout. But I can't seem to contact them. And even when I was down there a week and a half ago, the store was closed. And it was a little concerning, because it was on a Saturday afternoon. And for a liquor store to be closed on a Saturday afternoon, it raised some eyebrows. So I don't know if they're still operating. But I have been in contact with them to offer a buyout for it, because I'm not. Down through the liquor license, right? I'm sorry? You'd be able to track them down through the liquor license. That's an option, yes. But I, you know, I was. That'd be great. I mean, that was the thing that just gave me pause, but I'm not sure that's within the purview of our zoning. I mean, your use seems like an improvement over a motel or a basic site. And it seems to me that there's a real need for affordable housing in that area. It is on a public good public transit line too, right? Yes, the hospital is close. There's a church down the block that has like a food pantry. So, you know, there's there's a lot in the area. And like I said, I agree with you that that liquor store was that was the first thing that caught my eye. But as I said, I haven't been able to contact anyone. And like I said, they haven't been open. But I will look into, you know, if approved, I wouldn't look into researching through the liquor license. Sure. Well, that sounds pretty good. Are there any other questions from any members of the board? All right, don't hear any Rachel. Do we have any public comment? Yes, so I received an email from a Mr. Dean Kemp. He lives on Victory Street. I am the owner of all the houses on Hugh Street. That is the street that is directly beside 2322 Notch Road. I want to strongly protest this exception. I have owned these nine homes for around 20 years. I've worked hard to make this street a nice and quiet place to live. When the hotel was open, the residents on Hugh Street had nothing but trouble with trespassing and trash accumulating in the yards from the hotel. I'm afraid that with multiple residents jammed into this small space, the issues that were experienced prior from the hotel will be even worse. The property would be better used as commercial or office space. He then states that he just wants to remind that there's a liquor store directly in front of the property and also that the hotel also had an on-site manager. That is the only email I see. I will turn it over to Erica. One of the business owners did express mistake. Hang on a second, Ms. St. John. You'll get your opportunity. Okay, I'm sorry. Not yet. And Rachel, we don't have anybody on the phone for comments. Okay. Thank you, Erica. Okay, Ms. John, just we have to kind of keep it procedurally correct. So I'm not going to cut you off. But now you do have an opportunity for a bottle. So if you'd like to rebut, please go ahead. I wanted to express that. One of the businesses that I visited, they did express Mr. Hemp's, Mr. Dean's disapproval for any business that was trying to open here. I don't see it because it won't be as a motel, it won't be used as a place where people will be coming and going. This will be their home. And not a motel where there will be illegal activity. And actually that's something that would be in the lease. And that is why our plan is to get security cameras so that if anything is like that, they will be in violation of their lease and will be immediately evicted from the place. That's a reasonable response. Well, at this point then we'll move into board discussion. Thank you for your presentation, Ms. St. John. Board members, what do you think? There's a light-year difference between a motel and small apartments. You know, I don't know how much in that population that's going to be wanting to buy us, wanting to be renting a small thing. You may end up having to do months and months, but you're still way ahead of where you would be with a motel. And I think there's a real need, there's a desperate need for affordable housing. And it seems to me like this is going to meet that need in a place where people who need it can use it and have jobs. I don't see this becoming, you know, Mr. Hughes wants office and retail and so on. Up and down two notch there's an awful lot of vacancies. I wonder if this might not even ultimately become housing perhaps for Benedict's or something like that. I mean, Benedict or Allen's or whatever, but I mean, I certainly think that this is a reasonable use for that location and that sounds like she's done an awful lot to try to make it better. And I just don't see any real grounds to object. I agree, it looks like a great improvement. Oh, and just to put on the record, this is a change of use from what it was before. So, I mean, landscaping, parking, building code. There's some playback on somebody's. That's mine, I'm in the office, sorry. So, I mean, all of those development requirements are going to be triggered. So that might change the number of units depending on building code. Parking's going to have to be adjusted. So, I mean, there's some things that, even though outfits not planned for the building, some code requirements are going to be triggered as well. This from the change of use. So, what are the landscaping potential landscaping issues and who handles that, not us? Not you, unless it has to come back to you all for any kind of variance. So, because if there was substantial renovations being done, this would trigger planning commission. But as it's an existing building, I'm not sure that it would. Right, well, I just simply add that I agree with all of you as well. I mean, what, certainly an improvement. And I agree with Captain, what is there to object to here? So, at this time, I guess that'll conclude our board discussion. I'd like to ask for a motion. Move to approve subject to staff requirements. Staff comments rather, staff comments. Second. All right, we have a motion and a second. All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Aye. Any opposed? Aye. Okay. Believe that would be three to one. So, I believe the motion passes. Thank you, Ms. St. John. Looks good. Appreciate the improvement to our area. Thank you very much. Thank you. Have a nice day. Good luck with it. Thank you. All right, and there's no other business. Okay, do we have a motion to adjourn? Motion and second. All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Any opposed? All right. Thank you, everyone. All right, see y'all in February. Have a good night.