The Tyrone

Town Council sided with the Tyrone Planning Commission Thursday night

in deciding to not allow special exceptions to zoning ordinances.

Thursday night's

meeting featured two applicants seeking text amendments or special exceptions

to current zoning ordinances. Joel Ogletree wanted to move the Doris Russell

School of Dance to a building that had Office/Industrial zoning, while

another applicant wanted to have a climate-controlled storage facility

in M-1 zoning. Currently, climate controlled storage facilities are only

allowed under M-2 zoning. That applicant did not attend the meeting and

the council denied the request quickly.

"If the

applicant doesn't feel this matter is important enough for him to be here,

I recommend denial," said Councilman Paul Letourneau. David Nebergall

represented the Planning Commission at the meeting and expressed the commission's

concern for setting a precedent. Town Manager Barry Amos agreed, stating

that a special exception would weaken the zoning ordinance.

Ogletree's

request was looked upon more favorably by the council, but they did not

want to establish what could be a dangerous precedent. Currently, dance

schools are only allowed in commercial zoning and Ogletree wanted to move

the school to his East Village complex, which houses offices for doctors

and dentists. There are no other dance schools in Tyrone, and Ogletree

stated that it should be looked upon as more of a recreational endeavor

than a commercial one. The students are all girls ages 3-18 and the classes

typically don't start until 4 p.m., just as the business day is winding

down.

In Amos' comments

to council, he stated that the Planning Commission is currently discussing

the table of uses for the current zoning ordinances, meaning that this

issue may work itself out and dance schools may find themselves under

a different zoning category. Ogletree gave a passionate plea for the dance

school, but the council suggested he withdraw his request so that should

the new uses not resolve this matter, he would be able to come before

the council again with this request.