Fayetteville City Council Jan. 17 approved a small increase in garbage pickup rates at the request of city contractor Waste Management.

Council members also sent a request from Summit Point Dry Cleaners to treat dry cleaning on-site back to city staff and fire officials for further review. Finally at the meeting, the council heard the first reading of an amendment to the loading zone ordinance.

The council adopted a resolution that will increase sanitation rates by 50 cents for current customers and 42 cents for seniors. The increase was approved on the basis of a request by city contractor Waste Management relating to the Consumer Price Index which reflected a 3 percent increase for services in the Southeast region.

The increase translates into a base charge of $12.35 over the current $11.85 and a charge for seniors of $10.50 over the current $10.08.

The council also heard an appeal from a recent decision by the Planning and Zoning Commission to deny a request by Summit Point Dry Cleaners to amend the ordinance that would allow dry cleaning on-site in Planned Community Districts and other appropriate areas where the ordinance currently allows only for pickup and drop-off service.

The council sent the issue to city staff for further review, instructing them to consult with the fire department on questions involving the proposed chemicals, the flash points for those chemicals and other issues that might be applicable to the matter. Once completed, the issue will return to the council for consideration.

Currently in the ordinance, pickup and drop-off services are allowable in areas zoned C-1, though dry cleaning plant operations using dry cleaning chemicals is only permitted in districts zoned M-1 (Light Manufacturing).

If approved, the request would have affected other dry cleaning plants throughout the city, current and future, said Planning and Zoning Director Eldridge Gunn.

“Clearly a distinction was made in the ordinance to address environmental effects from the chemicals used in dry (cleaning) plant operations and possible noise concerns,” Gunn said in a Jan. 7 memo. “Research was provided by the applicant that the modern dry cleaning process has lessened and/or eliminated those concerns today. However, the Planning and Zoning Commission did not agree that a change should be made in the ordinance. The commission was uncomfortable with the lack of definitive research and the outcomes of existing research surrounding chemical issues and the inability to ensure effective compliance monitoring mechanisms on the city, state and federal levels.”

Making Concordia Properties’ case for amending the ordinance, Summit Point Dry Cleaners’ Kent Rose produced a variety of documents and manufacturer’s information on the new chemicals proposed for use.

The chemical long used as a primary agent in dry cleaning, the toxic solvent perc (perchloroethylene), is slated to be phased out nationwide by 2020. The idea, said Rose, was to switch to DF-2000, a synthetic hydrocarbon produced by Exxon Mobil or a silicon-based solution that would be used in a new type cleaning unit. The unit, said Rose, is computer-controlled and completely self-contained in a closed system for greater safety.

The new cleaning units minimize human operations error and self-regulates fluids, solvents, internal atmosphere and temperatures and has an internal fire suppression system, Rose said.

Also at the meeting, the council heard the first reading of a proposed amendment to the loading zone ordinance. Several residents in recent months had expressed concern over being cited for fines related to what they said was an appropriate use of the loading zone at Lowe’s and felt that the ordinance had been interpreted unfairly.

Police Chief Steve Heaton said the police department had spoken with several citizens who have received citations for parking in loading zones. One of the issues of concern is that the signs posted at the businesses do not reflect the same verbiage as defined in the ordinance, he said.

“The current ordinance outlines that the signs must say ‘loading only’ or ‘passenger loading only. The signs at the businesses indicate ‘loading zone only’ and ‘no parking,’” Heaton said. “Another issue has been over the term ‘expeditiously loading’ in the (loading zone ordinance). ‘Expeditiously loading’ means the act of loading. After consulting with the city attorney, the proposed changes were made to strengthen our ordinance.”

Heaton subsequently recommended that the usage of the terms “loading only” and “passenger loading only” be replaced with “having a sign erected giving notice that parking is for loading only.”

Specified in the ordinance section referencing loading zones and standing time, Heaton recommended removal of the sentence, “In no case shall the stop for loading and unloading of materials exceed 30 minutes, or for loading and unloading of passengers exceed five minutes.”

Remaining in the section was the requirement that no person should stop, stand or park a vehicle for any purpose other than for the expeditious unloading and delivery or pickup and loading of passengers or materials in a loading zone.

Heaton also recommended that language be added to include the chief or “his/her designee” be added to the section noting compliance of the ordinance.

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