BY MARK WINEKA
SALISBURY POST

Salisbury City Council has decided to reject both proposals it has received for purchase of the back portion of the old Flowers Bakery building and will open it up again to bids from all parties.

A council committee of Bill Burgin and Pete Kennedy reported that, to be fair, bids from Spins Development and the law firm of Pethel, Doran and Shelby would have to be rejected, with hopes that they would resubmit new offers.

When the committee looked at the bids, there was a question as to whether both real and personal property should be counted as part of the project’s overall potential investment. The city was looking for real property investment only, though bidders had included some personal property in their estimates.

The property includes the one-story loading dock section and the concrete area at the rear of the city-owned Flowers Bakery. Council will accept new bids until April 9.

Spins Development, represented by architect Karen Alexander, originally bid $32,637, with promises of $595,000 in new investment.

The law firm later made an upset bid of $35,373 and projected an investment of $589,775 in the property. Charlotte consultant Robin Davis had recommended that council accept the Spins Development bid, even though it was lower.

Alexander’s plans for putting retail uses in the building, plus the development of an adjacent parking court, would generate more diverse activity than the law firm’s plans for offices, Davis had said.

In other city business, council has passed an ordinance that establishes a special use permit to allow an industrial structure’s expansion closer to a residential district.

Council would have to approve the special permits on a case-by-case basis. The ordinance was drawn up in response to Power Curbers’ plans to expand an industrial storage building on Bringle Ferry Road closer to Gordon Beck’s residential property.

A special-use permit for expanding an industrial building toward a residential district now can be approved if the following conditions are met:

- The side yard setback has to be at least 3 feet.

- Any part of the building less than 10 feet from the property line cannot be higher than 20 feet.

- An opaque fence at least 8 feet high must be built at the property line to separate the industrial property from the residential district.

- Certain landscaping has to include at least two species of trees that, at maturity, will be at least 3 feet above the top of the structure. The trees also cannot be more than 8 feet apart.

Beck had opposed the special use permit, saying he did not want the Power Curbers building any closer to his property.

A council committee of Kennedy and Mayor Pro Tem Paul Woodson recommended that a special use permit be issued to the company. Woodson said the landscaping, the fence and the distance of Beck’s house from the retaining wall already in place combine to make Power Curbers’ request ‘‘something I could live with.’’

Woodson said the landscaping and fence may actually improve Beck’s situation by blocking his view of the industrial site.

Council also has approved a first draft of the 1999-2000 budget for Community Development Block Grant and HOME funds for housing rehabilitation, home ownership assistance programs, neighborhood projects and public service agencies.

The $711,500 total budget includes $413,000 for housing acquisition, code enforcement, housing rehabilitation, a community center for the Park Avenue neighborhood and public service funding. That represents the Community Development Block Grant.

In addition, the city will have $121,000 in HOME funds from the federal government for housing rehabilitation and down-payment assistance. The city also will receive roughly $150,000 in program income.

Of the money allowed to go to public service agencies, neighborhood manager John Brooks has proposed $27,500 for Rowan Helping Ministries, $20,000 for Salisbury Youth Corps, $16,500 for Family Crisis Council, $6,000 for Rowan Youth Services, $5,000 for Allen Health Care Ministries and $3,000 for Community Youth Garden.