The Danbury Town Council voted unanimously on Wednesday, January 28, to rezone a creek bed in downtown Danbury from B3 (business) to R2 (residential). Council member Carolyn Manuel made the motion, fellow council member Mike Barsness seconded it, and with virtually no discussion, the motion was passed.

The decision was surprising to some, due to the fact that it went against the Danbury Planning and Zoning Board’s recommendation. That board voted unanimously on January 13 against the rezoning. The new chairperson of the Planning and Zoning Board, Wendi Uselton, was present at the January 28th council meeting to present her board’s recommendation NOT to rezone the creek bed to R2.

Those who addressed the board during the Public Comments portion of the January monthly meeting were also against the change in zoning.

One of the speakers was Olivia Shelton who read a letter written by her husband who was sick and could not attend the meeting. Steve Shelton, a current Stokes County School Board member and former Danbury Town Council member, wrote to oppose the rezoning. His letter stated that the rezoning request appeared to have come from the town, not the property owner. He also questioned why the property would be rezoned for residential when it was too small to build upon and possibly didn’t even have sewer availability. “This concerns me and troubles me,” he noted.

Shelton concluded with the reminder that the planning board had voted unanimously to deny rezoning and said that he hoped the council would do the same.

Another person troubled by the decision to rezone is Rebecca Sullivan, whose property at 1000 Main Street adjoins the creek bed. She told the board they were “not open to the needs of the town.” Since December 2007, Sullivan has been attempting to have her Main Street property rezoned to B3 to match the surrounding property. Until the controversial rezoning of the creek bed on Wednesday, all of the property around her 1.6-acre lot and home was zoned for business.

Sullivan states that her original rezoning request was denied by letter in February 2008 with no public hearing or consultation with the planning board. She adds that, due to her complaint of unfair handling, she was allowed to present her case at the April 21 council meeting. Her request was denied by a unanimous vote.

Since then, Sullivan says she has had a businessman interested in purchasing her property for the purpose of bringing a new business to Danbury. According to Sullivan, the potential buyer spoke at a July 2008 council meeting, encouraging the council to adopt the B3 zoning at 1000 Main Street. The subsequent rezoning of the creek bed to residential takes away part of Sullivan’s argument for the rezoning of her property; no longer is it totally surrounded by B3 property.

Mayor Charleville and Danbury Town Attorney Mike Bruce were unable to comment on the reasons for rezoning the creek bed, due to the fact that Sullivan is threatening litigation in the case of her rezoning request.

Another big issue at the Wednesday meeting concerned a county employee who has been parking his personal truck on the street in the old courthouse circle. Richard Tharpe, the property owner at 601 North Main Street, Danbury, addressed the board during Public Comments to complain about the truck. Due to the partial blocking of the road by this vehicle, other vehicles, including buses, are forced to go around the truck, which takes them into Tharpe’s yard. He claims to have a rut now that is eight inches deep. He is troubled by the eroding soil that he says threatens to wash out his retaining wall.

The council discussed Tharpe’s issue later in the meeting. Manuel suggested that Town Manager Byron Ellis write a letter to the owner of the truck, stating there would be no parking in the road of the courthouse circle. She added that a sign could be put up as well; offenders could be issued a ticket. Manuel commented that there had been a no parking sign there at one time, but it is now gone.

Mayor Jane Priddy Charleville requested that the town check to see if they need a public hearing and/or an ordinance to make the area a no parking zone. Meanwhile, she said, they could call the county employee’s department and ask that no one park in the street. She agreed that tickets should be issued if the person continues to block the road.

In other business, the council voted to add an amphitheatre as a permitted use in public parks. This is in preparation for the proposed amphitheatre that the Stokes County Arts Council hopes to build in Danbury. The council also voted to approve funding to repair the stairs to the town park. The $250 will be taken from the parks and beautification portion of the budget.

The next Danbury Town Council meeting will be held on Wednesday, February 25 at 7 p.m. at the Danbury Public Library.