Coose Bay Investments goes back before Planning Commission
Posted on Thursday, November 20, 2008
AVOCA— Avoca resident Ami Spivey saw a need to make land in her neighborhood of Whispering Pines more appealing to potential buyers. In an economy as weak as the one the U. S. currently finds itself in and with the state of the housing market, who could blame her for getting creative ?
The Benton County Planning Board, that’s who. When Spivey went to the planning board in September, she had already started making improvements to a lot she owned in an effort to turn it into a place for residents of the subdivision to gather in. Spivey had installed a couple of gazebos and a volleyball court for her neighbors and their guests to enjoy, not knowing that she needed to gain approval from the planning board before starting the project they classify as a “ largescale development. ”
During her initial meeting with the board, Spivey was educated to the need to go before the board before beginning any kind of work and she was given a list of stipulations she would need to meet before the board would entertain approving the project.
During her first public hearing on the project, Spivey found opposition from her neighbors, the Lewises and the Gearharts, who voiced their concerns about the noise and lighting the community center project would bring to the area.
With these concerns in mind, the planning board sent Spivey and her plans for a community center back to the board’s TAC committee for further review, along with a laundry list of things she should take under advisement, including installation of public restrooms, a sound barrier and a way to keep the noise down.
To appease the board, Spivey began work to establish a POA for Whispering Woods to help regulate the community center. She gathered estimates for a no-water compost toilet for the site, she met with audiologists who told her the best ways to reduce noise produced by the community center and she began jumping through all of the hoops put in place by the board.
She developed a plan to make sure noise and lights from the proposed community center would not become a problem. That plan includes using three live oaks, 38 Bradford holly plants and 11 loblolly pines with a minimum four inch diameter and installing a rail fence to make the project more friendly to her neighbors.
Spivey even created a limited liability corporation, Coose Bay Investments, LLC, to ensure that the community center would be regulated.
Spivey once again faced the county planning board in a public hearing Wednesday night where she hoped for approval for her project.
“ My client, in good faith has done everything this board has asked her to do. She has made the 24 additions and changes to the property requested by this board, ” Bill Watkins, Spivey’s attorney said.
“ This area is just an amenity for Whispering Woods. The Gearharts and the Lewises will also have the opportunity to use it if they choose to do so, ” Watkins said.
“ We have already apologized to staff and to you for failing to recognize the regulations but we should not be here tonight trying to figure out how to further punish her, ” Watkins said.
With that, the fate of Spivey’s small community center project was subjected again to a vote.
This time, things were a little different, the project passed the committee with a vote of 5-2 with Mark Curtis and Heath Ward voting against the project.
“ We feel good that it was approved. We feel like we have done everything the board has asked and we tried to the right thing by our neighbors, ” Spivey said.
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