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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 19811006 G59 2, 3. MINUTES OCTOBER 6, 1981 5 PUBLIC HEARING 6. 7. The Orange County Board of Commissioners met in a special joint session $„ with the Orange County Planning Board on Tuesday, October 6, 1981, at 7:30 P.M. 9. in the Superior Courtroom, Orange County Courthouse, Hillsborough, North 10. Carolina. 3.11 Commissioners present: Commissioner Anne Barnes, Chair, and Commissioners 12.. Norman Gustaveson, Norman Walker, Richard Whitted and Don Willhoit. 2.3. Planning Board Members present: Pat Crawford, Chair, and Bob Greer, :L4. Claudine Harris, Logan Irvin, Nancy Laszlo, Hazel Lunsford (who arrived at 15- 3:00 P.M.), Steve Kizer, David Shanklin and John Wilson. :.6. Planning Board Members absent: Tom Bacon, Art Cleary and Alice Gordon. 17. Commissioner Barnes called the meeting to order and stated the purpose, 18, i.e., a public hearing on a Class A, Special Use Permit Request from American 19. Stone Company and to receive citizens', comments on the.extension of zoning 2U. into Cheeks Township and to receive citizens' comments on the technical and 21.. substantive. changes under consideration to the Zoning Ordinance.. 22. Agenda Item 1: Class A Special Use Permit Public Hearing American Stone Company 2.3, Commissioner Barnes welcomed all those present to the meeting and read- 24- the agenda to the audience. - She said the purpose of this portion of the 25. public hearing is a Special Use Permit request from American Stone Company. 26. Co-m,issioner•Barnes said this was a different format in that all persons who 27. wished to offer evidence had to be either sworn or affirmed. She thereupon 2$. administered the oath to those who wished to speak. 29. Mr. Cannity of Planning Staff, spoke for the Planning Department, saying 30• that the American Stone Company is located on Highway 54 W at the intersection. 31. of that road with SR 1154. Mr. Cannity said there were 18 acres presently 32. under consideration for the Special Use Permit with an additional 118 acres 33- for consideration later. 34. Mr. Cannity continued: Under Article 8.2 Section B, General Standards, 35. says certain things must be met and that American Stone Company Met Articles 36. 4,5,6. Under Section 8.8.2 those who oppose the Special. Use Permit must give 37. "competent evidence" as to why the permit shouldn't be granted. He said 38- Planning Staff had received no negative response thus far to the request. 39- Is0• se Bb U. _Z 21 36 lro Mr. Cannity said the only condition for a Class A Special Use Permit, jo as authorized in Article 8 of the Zoning Ordinance, American Stone Company u, had not met was the paying of the $180.0O.fee set. by the Board of Commissioners at a recent meeting; otherwise, American Stone Company had fulfilled all 3•_ requirements. Mr. Cannity enumerated the requirements of the Zoning Ordinance for a Special Use Permit with American Stone Company's responses. Commissioner Barnes thanked Mr. Cannity for his presentation. She asked -•� the applicant, American.tStone Company, to make its presentation. Mr. Paxton '• Badham represented American Stone Company; his remarks follow in an abbrev- 1 • iated version. American Stone Company has never had a public hearing before -•-Z�• and this is a new experience for them. They have hired a court recorder so ~_ that they would know what occurred and perhaps aid them in another County at a future date. Mr. Badham introduced a letter into evidence from Phillip R. Berger & Associates, Inc. (A copy of that letter is on permanent 1j. file in the office of the Clerk to the Board and a copy is included on page (p� % of these minutes.) American Stone Company first learned of the proposed Zoning Ordinance in 1979, and were disappointed there was no grandfather clause permitting operation of those non-conforming uses already in existence. Mr. Badham noted the discrepancy between what they had been told for the past two years and aY• what had happened during the last- two months (he did not elaborate). Mr. ]• Badham said American Stone Company had begun operation in 1969 at the old site �• across SR 1154 and operated there until 1978, with no complaints from the citizens. In 1977 American Stone Company began operation at the new site 2 G. (described by Mr. Cannity on the previous page),- He said there had been no 29. complaints from citizens about operations on the new site. He listed various �J4 State and Federal Regulations and Bureaus which oversee American Stone Company's operation (two examples are the North Carolina Mining Act and North Carolina • Department of Labor). Mr. Badham said American Stone Company has an enormous 6 "desire to grow with tomorrow." American Stone Company made its old sits '- available to OWASA for a resevoir and supplies dirt for the Morgan Creek Plant, free of charge. :6• Mr. Badham outlined those factors which must be met for a quarrying site: 37 Quality stone to rneet•Federal and State requirements; sizable tract of land; � • a willing lessor; market for the stone; water and electric supplies; land must 39 be zoned for this use. Mr. Badham said American Stone Company has a substantial 40- t)U1. 3 2. v 4* investment and employs 22 persons, pays Orange County taxes, and supplies a 5. lot of stone for local operations thereby cutting construction costs. 6. Mr. Badham said the remainder of his remarks, citing. individual, Articles 7. and American Stone's response regarding compliance had been amply covered by 8 Mr. Cannity and if there was no objection he would not cover ground already 9. competently covered by Planning Staff. Commissioner Barnes said if American ,O. Stone Company was in agreement with Planning Staff's presentation of those 11° Articles and Sections there was no need.to duplicate the presentation. Mr. 12. Badham responded that they were in agreement. 13- Mr. Badham said this concluded American Stone Company's presentation :LL. and he or others of his staff were available for questions. Dr. Logan Irvin, Planning Board member, began a statement but the County Attorney said that was. testimony and unadmissable in the Special use Permit 17°. Public Hearing. Dr. Irvin changed his statement to a question asking Mr. b. Badham to clarify the language in paragraph 2c in its rehabilitation plan. y° Mr. Badham--that depends on what use is to be made of the land after 20° American Stone Company is finished. American Stone Company is under a 21. -.. $25,000 bond to the North Carolina Mining Commission to insure compliance with the reclamation plan and has also submitted a very "detailed reclamation 23° plan" to the North Carolina Mining Commission. 24- Dr. Irvin--asked if, for example, the excavation site was converted into 254 a.lake to be used by OWASA , but was not used by OWASA, did American Stone 26. Company plan to erect a fence to prevent children from drowning? 27° Mr. Badham said American Stone Company has no plans for that and that it 26. isn't required. 29. Dr. Irvin asked Mr. Badham to clarify the berm type. 30. Mr. Badham said it would be built to a maxim,4n of 40 feet. 31. Dr. Irvin asked Mr. Badham what they planned to do with it, seed it? 32. Mr. Badham said it would be seeded. 33. Dr. Irvin said those were all his questions. 34 - Mr. Bob Greer asked a question regarding the cessation of mining act- 35. ivities; that is, what is the legal definition of the end of mining operations. 36. Mr. Badham said it would be a practical matter, one of feasibility; they 37. couldn't leave the heavy equipment on the land if it wasn't being substantially 38° used. 39. 4c). 66 3• 4. Mr. Badham offered a letter from Mr. Ron Secrist, Interim Town Manager 5- of Chapel Hill, as evidence (For a copy of this letter see page 6° 4his Book). 1° Commissioner Barnes opened the floor to comments from the public regarding the Special Use Permit request from American Stone Company. (All persons who spoke were sworn.) Mr. R. Walker, employee with the Department of Transportation, said American Stone Company rovided a great savings to the people of North Carolina because it was located so near this area and provided good quality stone. Mr. J. Craven, an employee of American Stone Company and a neighbor of that 14- company: said he had no complaints about the Company and his home was only � C 200 yards from the old site. 'Lo° Mr. E. Billingsley, Director of OWASA: said the Company was providing the .L7° overburden from its site to OWASA free and .thereby saving money for those duo citizens who received water from OWASA. He said in his opinion, it was a good. operation. Mr. E. Neville, said he bought the first load of stone American Stone had produced. He was in favor of the Special Use Permit. -�° Mr. Robbins, of Miller Parts in Durham, said he appreciated American Stone's 3° business and he is in favor of granting the Special Use Permit. 2i° Ms. A. Durham, she and laer husband own the land which American Stone leases ?° and depend entirely on the proceeds of that lease formtheir income. She is 60 in favor of granting the Special Use Permit to American Stone Company. 2'(. Ms. Harris, her husband hauls for American Stone Company„hopes that-the 2V• Company will be granted the Permit. An employee of Redi-Mix Concrete in Hillsborough, spoke in favor of the 30. granting of the permit, saying the close location to his plant keeps costs down. .3 ° Mr. J. Eubanks, an employee of Harris (Ms. Harris spoke earlier) said 32° the location of American Stone enabled people using the stone to keep costs dowry. 3° He is in favor of granting the Special Use Permit to Ameican Stone Company. -4' Commissioner Barnes asked if there were any further questions and said if not she would adjourn this meeting. After her statement, Mr. Carey, who owns a small tract of land adjacent to American Stone Company asked to speak, not being present at the beginning of the meeting. Commissioner Barnes swore Mr., Carey in. 39. 40. 60 1. z'• 5 2. 3. Mr. Carey: He said he purchased his land in 1961` and planned 4• to build a home for-himself (he does not live in this area). He wanted to know 5- the effects such a business might have on the value of his •land and safety of 6. 7• those areas adjacent to the site. 8 Mr. P. Badham said he could not answer all the questions, but with regard to safety, he said American Stone Company's operations were within the limits of 9. 10. the law. 11. Mr. Carey asked about the condition the site would be in when American Stone 12. left. 13- Mr. Badham said Mr. Carey could check with OWASA on the •prevtous site; he 14- felt that they had left the site in an attractive condition. He said Mr. Carey 15. could visit the old site to see the condition of the land. 16. Commissioner Barnes asked if there were others who wished to be heard on 17. the Class A Special Use Permit for American Stone. There were no others. 1$� Commissioner Whitted.moved to adjourn the public hearing on the Class'A 19. Special Use Permit request from American Stone Company until October 26, 1981, 20. at 7:30 p.m. in the Commissioners' Room, to receive the recommendation from the 21. Orange County Planning Board; Commissioner Willhoit seconded the motion. 22. Vote: Ayes, 5; noes, 0. The public hearing was adjourned until the date, 23. time, place and for the purpose specified in the motion by Commissioner Whitted. 24 Commissioner Barnes turned the floor over to Ms. Pat Crawford, Chair of 25- the Orange County Planning Board, for the remaining two public hearings. 26. Agenda Item. 2: Citizens'. Comments on Extension of Zoning Into Cheeks Township 27. Ms. Crawford turned the floor over to Mr. Polatty for brief introductory 28. remarks on the Zoning Ordinance, LUP and Zoning Atlas. During the course of 29. his comments, Mr. Polatty said the Zoning Ordinance was intended to protect 30. farm land from adverse development, that bona fideft farms are exempt from the 31- Zoning Ordinance and that the Water Resourses Task Force Report was not part 32. of the Zoning Ordinance and therefore was not at issue tonight. 33` Ms. Crawford asked the citizens to state their name and address and please 34• be brief because there appeared to be many who wished to speak. 35' Mr. Ben Lloyd--said he was representing the black citizens of Cheeks- 364 P.fland at their invitation. He said the Zoning Ordinance would close down 37. development of the I-85 Corridor. He is in favor of industrial development and 38° growth which will provide jobs for Orange County citizens. He said there were 39. 40. �. 664 6 758 2. 3- 4,% "iz,o00 people leaving Orange County daily...seeking employment." He also 5• said the "Cheeks Advisory Council has never agreed with any LUP that would b. close down development in the I-85 Corridor." ' orridor. He was also opposed to storm - water management and stream buffer requirements. 8' Mr. Charles Blake--(Cheeks Township) He is in favor of good zoning but ='° asks that the extension of the Zoning ordinance into Cheeks be delayed. gip• I•ir. Walter McDade--(Cheeks Township) is also in favor of delaying zoning `-` into Cheeks. ' Mr. Roy McAdoo--(Cheeks Township) He is in agreement with the previous = speakers regarding zoning Cheeks; he also wants sewer lines extended there. Mr. William Farrow—(Cheeks Township). Said he didn't know of this meeting until today. He asked if it was true that if 60% of your house burned down you couldn't replace it unless you have an acre of land? =7• Mr. Cannity of the Planning Staff responded saying, that if he under- stood the question, Mr. Farrow was asking about a non-conforming structure and that if 75% of the structure was destroyed you could still replace it on ''.v. the same lot providing setback requirements were met;. that if setback require- ments could not be met., appeal was available to the Board of Adjustment. 22. Mr. Richard Dan—(Cheeks Township) Also asserted that he hadn't known 23- of this hearing until yesterday. He was opposed to zoning Cheeks Township, • saying you should be able to do anything with the land you owned. 25- Mr. Lee Settle--(Mebane, but a landowner in Cheeks) Said the County was 26. increasing regulations at the time the Federal Government was decreasing them; 27. he asked the Board not to zone Cheeks Township for at least twenty-five more 's• years. He said the intent of the Zoning Ordinance, as stated in the Ordinance, `=9° when applied to Cheeks Township was ridiculous. 30' Mr. Lindsey Efland--(Cheeks Township)He said. he didn't remember the 31, Cheeks Advisory Council approving the LUP which had the Eno River Watershed or proposed Cane Creek Resevoir on it. He said he felt the fundamental issue was "whether or not the Water Resources Task Force Report was going to be incor- porated into the LUP." He said this report does not consider economic impli- cations; he feels that a task force to consider the economic issues should be �J. appointed. He asked the Water Resources Task force Report not be included in 37° the Land Use Plan. 38- Mr. Carson Thomas--(Cheeks Township) He is also opposed to zoning Cheeks. 39. Mr. Carl Walters--(Border of Cheeks 5 Cedar Grove)said that there 40- 66 2. 3• 4• had been many changes in the past twenty—five years. He felt there was a need 5° for some sort of planning. He said we could incur more of a tax burden later 6. to correct a mistake than to try to plan now. =.'` 7" Ms. Catherine Kirkpatrick (Raleigh)--(Landowner in Cheeks) She asked that $" the Cheeks residents have the privilege of deciding Cheeks' future and stated — 9" her solidarity with those who preceded_. her and opposed extension of zoning 10. into Cheeks. 11° Mr. Ricky Allen--Implored the Board to permit Efland—Cheeks to remain free. 12. Mr. Walter McMillan--(Homeowner in Efland Estates) He said that a sewage 3, system was badly needed in that area and expressed his support of those persons a4. from Cheeks Township who had spoken in opposition to zoning for Cheeks. 15° Mr. Sim Efland--(Cheeks Township) He said he was in favor of industrial' zb° growth in his area. He said industry had been lost because Cheeks could not 17° provide sewage and water and that they had received no help in getting facilities. 15. • - - - He asked that Cheeks not be zoned and expressed opposition to the section of the Zoning Ordinance setting up membership on the Orange County Planning Board, 20. saying those chosen will not be residents of Orange County's planning 21` jurisdiction. 22. Mr. Ben Lloyd (dairy farmer from Cheeks)--spoke again and presented the. 23. Board with a petition signed by residents of Cheeks who apposed the extensive. 24. of zoning into Cheeks. He asked that this petition be part of the formal recor?; 25. accordingly, this petition is on permanent file in the Office of the Clerk to t°ae 25. Board and a copy is included on pages }S4'�(3 of the Minute Book for the 27. Board of Commissioners. 28. Ms. Crawford declared this portion of the public hearing over and said 29. the Orange County Planning Board would be considering comments heard tonight 30- at its meeting on October 19, 1981 and make its recommendations to the. County 31` Commissioners. Ms. Crawford adjourned the public4hearing for a short break. 32. Agenda Item 3: Citizens' Comments on Proposed Technical and Substantiative Changes in the Zoning Ordinance 33° and Special Use Permit Requirements for Planned Developments 3!a-. Ms. Crawford called the meeting to order after a short recess; all 35• members of both Boards were present (or returned shortly). 36, 37• Mr. John Kincaid, District Manager for Duke Power Company, presented proposed changes requested by that company in the zoning ordinance with regard' 3�e 39. �p• 20 666 3° r: 4. to transmission lines. (A copy of Mr. Kincaid's proposals are on pages of this Book.) 6. Mr. .john Kizer asked Mr. Kincaid what the procedures were for securing ?' rights-of-way and -how it was decided a certain route was more desirable than another. Mr. Marion Cook, Manager of Transmission Engineering Division of Duke Power, responded. Mr. Cook said Duke Power looked at need, source, aerial photos,,then they determine the route, survey it and defend it. Mr. David Shanklin asked if it was possible to have the transmission lines underground. Mr. Cook said it was extremely expensive to do that. There was some discussion of the voltage carried by various size poles. Mr. Cannity of the Planning Staff responded to the presentation by Duke Power Company, noting where the Planning Staff agreed with Duke Power Company j" and where it disagreed (a copy of Planning Staff's responses is on pages 45l$ Lug of this Book). tn� Mr. Cannity noted the technical changes to the Ordinance proposed by tJo planning Staff (See pages SIBA l4 of this Book). Mr. Polatty noted the substantive change .proposed for the Zoning Ordinance, i Q that is, the Special Use Permit required for Planned Developments .in addition 23` to the rezoning that would be required. Mr. Polatty said all uses within the 24- Planned Development (ex. a restaurant) would also require a Special Use Permit. J" In response to a question from Ms. Crawford with regard to a shopping center 26. planned development, Mr. Polatty said all stores within the shopping center ° planned development would fall under the Special Use Permit issued for the � . shopping center. Mr. Polatty noted that residences were permitted with a O small shopping area in some Planned Developments, it depended on the intenci_ty of the development. 31' There were no further comments; Ms. Crawford said the Planning Board would 32- meet for a short session following this hearing and turned the meeting over to ''° Commissioner Barnes. Commissioner Barnes referred the comments and proposals heard or presented tonight to the Planning Board for its recommendations. With no objections, '6° Commissioner Barnes declared the meeting adjourned. 1 7 Anne Barnes, Chair 30- r��a Paulette Pridgen--Pond, Clerk 40.