Questionable development projects in downtown Carrboro are going to need a lengthier review.
Members of the town’s Board of Aldermen decided Tuesday they will now get a look at building designs before they’re allowed.
The town already required developers whose plans didn’t meet design standards to present to the town’s Appearance Commission, planning administrator Patricia McGuire explained at the public hearing.
The design standards include shade requirements and prohibitions on exterior metal siding and other materials.
But now, developers must also make a presentation to the aldermen, who have the final say.
The new requirement will apply to developments with special-use and conditional-use permits — projects that tend to be bigger and more architecturally complex.
The revision was prompted by the 300 East Main St. project, an expansive commercial center in the works for downtown Carrboro.
Alderman Dan Coleman said the project needed more review.
“The design of the building is one of the things that gets the most public attention,” he said. “That’s why we felt, on projects of a certain scale, that we need to have the ability to respond to concerns raised by citizens.”
The aldermen went against the recommendation of the Appearance Commission, which unanimously rejected the proposal at a meeting Thursday.
Loren Brandford, the only member of the commission present at the hearing, said the amendment complicated the review process.
“Such duplicate presentations are not a good use of the applicant’s or the Board of Aldermen’s time,” he said.
Brandford said the change will not affect how the commission looks at development applications.
“It just means that everyone else has to do a little more work,” he said in an interview after the meeting. “If they want to vote themselves more work, that’s fine.”
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