Aldermen change city ordinance to allow Cella Ford upgrade – New Bern Sun Journal

Eddie Fitzgerald EFitzgeraldNBSJ

New Bern aldermen approved a second request to change the city Land Use Ordinance on Tuesday evening to allow a local car dealership to use material that was not allowed in the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard/U.S. 17 corridor.

The Board of Aldermen met in special session at City Hall and held a public hearing to consider allowing corrugated deep-ribbed panels and removing a prohibition on metallic finishes allowed on buildings along the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard/U.S. 17 corridor. The vote was unanimous.

Only one citizen asked a question about the type of material that will now be allowed in the corridor.

In February, the Board of Adjustment denied Cella Fords request for a variance to upgrade its dealership building from a stone-type finish to ACM, an aluminum composite material, which also was not allowed in the corridor.

Jeff Ruggieri, director of Development Services, said in April the Board of Aldermen agreed to support Cella Fords request and on April 4, the Planning and Zoning Board unanimously approved adding ACM to the list of permitted sheathing materials along the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr./U.S. 17 corridor.

When the request came back before aldermen May 9 for final approval, the city ordinance was amended to allow ACM in the MLK/U.S. 17 corridor.

Also at the boards May 9 meeting Cella Ford requested an amendment to add corrugated deep-ribbed material, which, like ACM, was not allowed in the MLK/U.S. 17 corridor, to the city ordinance.

The New Bern Planning & Zoning Board was asked to hold a special meeting May 16 to consider Cella Fords new request. That board opposed recommending to the Board of Aldermen the change to the city ordinance by vote of 6-3, Ruggieri said.

Raymond Layton, chairman of the planning board, said during his boards meeting he was concerned with the request.

What I dont want to do is open up the door for pre-engineered metal buildings along Highway 17/ MLK Boulevard corridor because I think that is what we are trying to prevent, he said.

Some of the other comments made by planning board members May 16 were that it was a knee-jerk reaction to one proposal, was in opposition of what the Land Use Ordinance tried to protect, and was a recipe for one building and could not be done for every building, Ruggieri said.

Ruggieri told the Board of Alderman if the ordinance was changed to allow the cheaper deep-ribbed corrugated material it could lower property values significantly. An acre of land along the MLK corridor is valued at $743,000. A building on the property with deep-ribbed corrugated metal could drop the the value to $322,879, he said.

Alderman Jeffrey Odham thanked Stephen Cella for his patience while trying to upgrade the 40-year-old Cella Ford building.

He said he respected Ford and did not think the company would come up with a design that was cheap. He also there may be some truth in the planning boards characterization of it as a knee-jerk response, but unfortunately it was an issue the Board of Aldermen had to deal with.

Odham said he did not think Cella Ford would devalue his property with the proposed upgrade nor his neighbors property.

According to a study Development Services did for the board, the pros of the corrugated metal include its less expensive than brick, concrete or fiber cement; its comparable in cost to vinyl siding and with lower installation costs, its resistant to fire, weather, rot and insects; has minimal maintenance costs, is recyclable; and does not absorb moisture.

However, corrugated metal as a building material also can decrease property values in a commercial corridor, which leads to decreased ad valorem taxes, the study shows.

The current property value of land along MLK from Glenburnie Road to the U.S.70 overpass is $114 million. If the property was redeveloped with traditional stone or brick commercial buildings, it would have a value of $131 million. If it was redeveloped with corrugated buildings, the property value would fall to $59 million, the study shows.

The amended ordinance now specifically allows deep-ribbed aluminum panels with exposed fasteners. The exterior finish of the panels has to be laminated or baked-on enamel paint prepared to the wall to manufacturer's standards. And the panels shall not exceed 35 percent of the primary building facade, excluding windows and doors.

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Aldermen change city ordinance to allow Cella Ford upgrade - New Bern Sun Journal