Lyerly Council OKs Ordinance

By JIMMY ESPY
Staff Writer
Lyerly Town Council voted unanimously on Tuesday to approve a new property development ordinance.
Among the requirements:
* The regulations establish a minimum lot size of ½ acre.
* Residential lots are limited to a single principal structure.
* A minimum lot frontage of 50 feet is required.
* All manufactured housing will have to have a minimum width of 16 feet.
* Travel trailers shall not be used as a principal structure.
* Travel trailers shall not be occupied as a dwelling for more than 14 days and cannot be connected in any way to public utilities.
Council member Shirley Davis asked if the new ordinances addressed the use of storage buildings as residences. Mayor Jim Ferguson said while storage buildings were not specifically mentioned, they would be covered by the general rules.
Ferguson said property owners who don’t abide by the new regulations can have their water turned off.
The council retains the right to grant variances to regulations that “will not be contrary to the public interest.” Property openers applying for a variance will have to submit their request in writing to the town clerk. The application will “need to include property plats, structural plans, or other related material.”

GRANT
Mayor Ferguson told council the town’s application for a $380,000 grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission is still being examined by the ARC.
The grant money is to be used to pay for repairs to the town’s wastewater treatment facilities.
“We had hoped to be well into this project by now,” Ferguson said. “But the ARC is still looking at our application. Their engineers have it.”

FIRE ENGINE
The town will advertise its old fire engine for one more month on Govdeals.com. The most recent ad has generated a top offer of $2,777 for the vehicle. Councilman Phil Brooks suggested advertising for an additional month.