Minutes 01/09/1973 - Laserfiche WebLink

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January 9, 1973 any necessary easements for drainage. Eventually this action might lead to closure of the little paper stub street, 10th Avenue, which the ~ffice of Planning deem desirable. Motion of Mr. Smith and seconded by Mr. Johnson, the matter to be referred to the City Attorney for proper handling~ was adopted Unanimously. 73-18 The following letter from Director of Planning was read: "At its regular monthly meeting on 2 January 1973, the City Planning Commission acted upnn the following matter: S"7511 Street closure petition S-73-1, for Paige and Roy Taylor by ~ttorney L. Lee Morris to close all of 7th Street which lies west of Tyre Neck Road. This is a paper street found on an old plat of'the Churchland Land Company. It lies adjacent to the Chesapeake City boundary in a land fill area along Sterling Creek. The Planning Commission unanimously resolved to recommend closure of this paper street if in fact it exists, which Attorney Morris describes as being 60 feet in width, 400 feet in length and lying between Tyre Neck Road on the east and corporate limits on the west." Motion of Mr. Holley and seconded by Mr. Johnson, to be referred to the City Attorney, was adopted unanimously. 73-19 - The following letter from E.'F. Pool, President, Cradock Property Owners' Assn.~ was read: 'On December 28, 1972, the Board of Directors for the Cradock Property Owners' Associ- ation met and voted to write a letter to you concerning the followng problem areas: 1. Taxes It is recommended that a property tax system similar to the one in Chesapeake be adppted by Portsmouth. We advocate total or partial exemptions with frozen tax rates and assessments for widows, dis- abled persons, and senior citizens iwth limited incomes. This would help ease their burdens and is preferrable to the deferral of taxes. The upkeep of property is essential and desirable. Cradock Pr6perty Owners advocate some type of program encouraging home improvement. The Minimum Housing Code is a step in the right direction, however, the curren proper~y tax system is a deterrent to home improvement. If a person installs some type of protective exterior covering, such as aluminum sidling, in lieu of painting, it is considered an ~mprove- ment~by the tax assessor and the property is reappraised, resulting i~Oa $~g01DD'~ax.inerease Fer annum. The opinion of Cradock Property Owners is that aluminum siding is not an improvement, but a preserva- tive, as is paint. In some part of the state there is no reassess- merit following the installation of aluminum siding. We request that the Council take action to eliminate this type of increase by de- fining what is classified as an improvement. Letter have been for- warded to the Legislators in Richmond requesting their help. 2. Major Improvements a. Curb and guttering on Decatur Street along side James Hurst School was promised over two years ago by the Council, but so far the work has not been accomplished. The School Board voted to defray part of the cost at that time. We would like to know why the City Manager did not follow through. School children have to walk through water and mud to get to and from school during rainy weather. b. Curb and guttering on Harris Road was also promised by the Council. This was promised to be completed in correlation with the completion of the new sanctuary of Cradock Baptist Church last February. c. The streets in Cradock are a disgrace for a city the size of Ports- mouth. They were not built for the heavy buses and trucks that use them every day. The majority have high crowns in the middle and need to be leveled. Others are not wide enough for two cars to pass safely. We request remedial action from the City Council. 3. Vandalism Vandalism and burglary are becoming commonplace in our area. We feel action must be taken at once to protect private and city property." ~oti6n.~f~i Hel%ey ~nd~seconded by Mr. Johnson, to be referred to the and he take each portion and refer to proper person; the City Manager make a at next meeting, was adopted by unanimous vote. City Manager report Back The follow~g~ letter from Rev. Emory B. Byrum was read: "I am writing to you to request that street work in the vicinity of the church on Harris Road, be completed as ~s reasonable. We have a four-hundred-t~ousand-dollar investment in our newest addition and have been unable to use the main weekday office entrance on Harris Road because of the failure of the city to install curbing. We cannot install a sidewalk to the street because it