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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 19890914..,.~,, Approved: 10_2-89 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COM."1ISSIONEiS ' - ~ JOINT' PLANNING ~~ _ ,~ _ AREA MEETIlvG ~-• _ -. 5EI'TEMBER 14 , 1989 The Orange County Board of Commissioners, t}ie Chapel 1}ill Town L'ouncil, t}~e Carrboro Board of Aldermen, and the Urange County Planning Board met in joint session on Thursday, September 14, 1989 at 7:30 p. m. in tl~e Carrboro Elementary Sc}~ool, Carrboro, NC for the purpose of hearing public comments on items in tt-e Joint Planning Area. COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Acting Chair Stephen lialkiotis, and Commissioners John Iiartwell and Shirley Marshall. CO?~tMISSI0NER5 AHSEP;T: Mosey Carey, Jr., and Don Willhoit. CHAPEL HILL TOWN COUNCIL MEM}3ERS I'ftESENT: Mayor Pro Tem David I'asquini, and Council r Members David Godschalk, Joe Hertzenberg, Nancy Preston, and Julie Ar-dreser~. CARRBORO BOARD OF ALDERMEN PRESENT: Mayor Eleanor hinnaird, and Aldermen Billiard Caldwell, Frances Shetley, and Randy Aarshall. ''. ORANGE COUNTY PLANNING BDAItD MEMBERS PRESENT: Chairman Barry Jacobs, and Elizabeth ' Eidenier, Carol Cantrell, Steve Yuhasz, Clinton Burklin, Peggy Abrams and Jean Ilamilton. ~:': ,.: . STAFF PRESENT: County Manager Jahn Link, Planning Director Marvin Collins, County Attorney Geoffrey Gledhill; County Engineer Paul Thomas, and Acting Clerk Kathy Baker. A. BOARD COMMENTS - None B. AiIDIENCE COMMENTS Acting Chairman Stephen IIalkiotis announced that all citizens who desired to speak would have an opportunity at the appropriate ti~se when the item appears on the agenda. C. PUBLIC CHARGE Acting Chairman Halkiotis read the public charge. NOTE: ~kcting Chairman Halkiatis presided over the meeting. All items were advertised in accordance with the procedure as outlined in the Orange County Zoning Ordinance. The background information for all items is in the permanent agenda file in the Clerk's Office. Stated below each item will be a brief summary of the presentation with the comments in more detail. D. PUBLIC HEARING 1. DRANGE COU1v'TX ZONING ATLAS a. Z-10-89 Cazwell Development, Inc. The presentation was made by Chapel Hill Planning Director Ralph Walden. He reminded the Boards that a Public Hearing was held on this item last Spring to entertain a request for changes to the Joint Area Land Use Plan. This item is being readdressed here because it is now a rezoning request. Fi4lden located the parcel on t}~e map and mentioned that this request came from Cazwell Development, Inc. The property is -A .f 7 primarily in Durham County with only 1 1/2 acres in Orange County. This 1 1/2 acres is in the Rural Buffer and it has been argued that it is more appropriately a Transitional Area. Chapel Hill regilested that Orange County roal.e that change ar-d all three Boards " ...-.~-.~ voted to so do. At the present time it is in Lhe Transition Area. He stated that a tWO"._ part proposal was expected. First, the Land Use Plan would be changed. Second, a rezoning request would be brought before the Chapel Hill Board since it is in Chapel Hill's Transition Area. Chapel Hill would then bring it to the Joint Planning Area " Public Hearing. The next step in this process will be for each Aoard to consider this" request. The request submitted is far this property to be rezoned R1-A zoning district which requires a minimum lot size of 25,000 square feet. This is consistent with tl,e Joint Area Land Use Plan and will do na damage to tl~e concept of the Rural. Buffer. Tl~e Planning Staff and Planning Board recommends approval of this request. THE HEARING WAS OPEN FOR CITIZEN COMMENTS. hf~or Eleanor l;innaird asked if this property was zoned Rural Buffer at the time that it was purchased. Commissioner Marshall indicated that it was, however, Ms. Zinn, President of Cazwell Development, was not aware that this portion of the property was ].orated in Orange County. -~_ ~. Kinnaird asked i:f there were other similar parcels in the Rural Buffer. r Walden stated that this is a very unique situation. His staff has .researched the Rural Buffer area and they did not find otlrcr parcels encroaching into t}ae Rural Huffer. A motion was made by Commissiarrer Hartwell, seconded by Commissioner Marshall, to refer this matter to the Chapel Hill Town Council for a decision, and to the Orange County Planning Board for a recommendation, to come back to the Board na sooner than November 6th. VDTE: UNANIMOUS 2. JDINT PLANNING AGREEMENT a. Article 4 - Water & Sewer Extensions The presentation was made by Orange County Planning Director Marvin Collins for the purpose of receiving citizen comment on a proposed amendment to the Orange County-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Joint Planning Agreement. The proposed amendment to the Agreement was precipitated by the plans of the Orange County Board of Education to construct an eleIDentary school at the northeast corner of New Hope Church Road and ?. C. Highway 86. The Mite of the scl-ool will not be in the Rural Buffer. However, the school will best be served by public water and sewer, and parts of the lines will need to be extended through the Rural Buffer. Plans are to extend a l2-inch water line from the Hillsborough system, and a three-inch force main for sewer. Both.lines would be extended south along N.C. Highway 86. All parties to the Joint Planning Agreement have been operating with the understanding that public water and sewer extensions could not be made into the Rural Buffer. In response to questions regarding the extension of utilities to the proposed school, the County Attorney concluded that there are no prohibitions against such extensions in either the Joint Planning Agreement or the Joint Planning Area Land Use flan. On July 2$, 1989, the Managers and Planning Directors for Orange County, Chapel Hill, and Carrboro met to discuss the situation. It was concluded that an amendment to the Joint Planning Agreement was needed to clarify the intentions of tlxe three jurisdictions in regard to public water and sewer extensions into the Rural Buffer. The proposed amendment would add a new Article, specifically Article ~} -Water and Sewer Extensions. Under the provisions of the new Article, the extension of public water and sewer lines through the Rural Buffer portion of the Joint Planning Area would be permitted, provided the extensions were necessary to serve an essential public facility, such as a school, ar to remedy a public health emergency not otherwise correctable, such as a failing septic tank or failing package treatment plant. In either case, the facility or site to be served could not be located in the Rural Buffer end no connections to the lines would be permitted within t~h~.~tural Buffer. TY,e r - ~extensian of public water and sewer lines into or through the Rural Buffer for other - - purposes would be prohibited. If this amendment is approved, t}ie Water and Sewer Policy, Goal 3, Section 3, would also need to be amended in order to be consistent with the Joint Planning Agreement. THE PUBLIC HEARING WAS OPEN FOR CONAtENTS. Dan Lunsford, Superintendent for the Orange County School System, stated that the needs for the new school were two fold, ore being water service and t}~e other being disposal of sewage. The school is not in the Rural Buffer. T}~e Board of Education Site Selection Committee operated from a set of specific criteria and }iad ongoing dialogue with the county staff. Some of t},c criteria were (1) appropriate acreage, (2) location in a growth area, (3) good traffic access, (9) allow for redistricting of the elementary district lines, ar-d (5) water and sewer service readily available. The Schaal Board chose this site based an these criteria. Water and sewer is an important element of this criteria. The cost of on-site water and sewer is obviously less than the cost of running water and sewer linesfrom Hillsborough. 1}owever, in the long run an on-site° system is not the preferred solution. In 1987 the Board of Commissioners was informed of this choice of sites and approved the site with the idea t}~at water and sewer would be provided if the appropriate conditions were available. An analysis. of Fire Flow Requirements, using both the I.S.O. and the Illinois Institute of Technology Methodologies for Fire Flow Calculators, has indicated that the minimum Fire Flow Requirement at the site is 1000 gallons per minutes with a Residual Pressure of 20 pounds per square .inch. The minimum line size meeting the minimum required flaw and Residual Pressure is 12 inches. The Board of Education submitted to Hillsborough a ~. _ ' request to provide water and sewer. They agreed to do this under the stipulations o ~~ the Orange County Water and Sewer Policy. The long term success rate for on-site systems is not good and the citizens will be best served by a municipal system. In response to a question concerning site selection in the face of the low density of the chosen site Lunsford responded that tracking future growth was done with the help of the Planning Department. They have a map which indicates that within a three mile radius to the east are large pockets of population and those areas are zoned for that kind of growth. The traffic flow is important as well. They did not want to have all of the schools clustered in Hillsborough proper. At the present time there are students who are required to travel for over an hour and one-half, one way, to reac}i their school. This site would allow that travel time to be reduced for a large number of children. Councilwoman Andresen asked for clarification regarding the Joint Planning Agreement's position on this in regard to this request. Walden stated that the Joint Planning Agreement does not prohibit this request. Approving this request would make it clear that what is necessary for the school is acceptable to all of the Boards. It will also clarify what limitations will be imposed on these water and sewer lines. David Godschalk questioned why Hillsborough had been chosen to run these lines rather than O4iASA. Commissioner Marshall indicated that Everette Billingsly agreed that OA'ASA could run these lines. However, from an engineering standpoint it was more feasible far Hillsborough to do so. Commissioner Hartwell mentioned that the future needs of Chapel Hill/Carrboro must _ ___ .. ~ ~ be considered also as they may very well need a new school in the future. Lunsford mentioned that the district lines for Chapel'-X11/Carrboro extend far beyond the city limits. The process of locating the site and building the school had = - been deliberate and they believe t},ey have chosen a good site. The landowners agreed to sell this land. Not condemning land was a high priority of the site selection committee. A good relations}-ip has been est~.blished with the community. In fact, the - name of the school will be New }}ope. Orange County Board of Education Chair Kay Singer stated that t},e Board of Education made every effort to keep staff ar,d the Board of Commissioners informed during the site selection process, as well as soliciting t},eir input into the process. The demographics indicated that this was the best site for the school. Grady Brown was built to hold 650 students and at t}ae present time },olds $$1. There is a critical need for this school. Unfortunately, the problem of water and sewer has t},e project behind sc},edule. Municipal water and sewer is important in order to avoid a repeat of the situation at Efland Cheeks. Also, the issue of fire protection is best handled by municipal water and sewer. She also mentioned that an on-site facility would eliminate a portion oT the property for other necessary uses by the school. The design far the school will fit in beautifully~wi~.h the area. Also, in response to a previous question regarding tt,e schools locat-ior- s},e indicated that this was not t},e first choice of sites but the first choice was owned by Duke and they declined to sell t-he land. The Orange County Board of Education feels that by far the best solution at this sc}~ool is for municipal water and sewer lines to be run. The risks to the health and safety of the students and employees needs to be considered when this decision is made. Commissioner Halkiotis indicated that fire is a real threat at all schools. He requested information concerning the number of fire hydrants and Lunsford indicated that there were four. He questioned whether 12" lines to four hydrants were sufficient to ;,~. protect the school. --~~ County Engineer Paul Thames indicated that a 12" line would furnish a flow in excess of the minimum requirement which is 1000 gallons per minute. This line would probably furnish a minimum ,1075 gallons per minute at a higher Residual Pressure. He pointed out that when calculating requirements for fire fighting an assumption is made that only a portion of the building will be burning at any one location. That would require only one or two of the hydrants to be used. It would not be possible to get 1000 gallons per minute from each hydrant if all four hydrants were used at the same time. In answer to a question from Mayor Kinnaird about tap-ons, County Manager John Link stated that his understanding is that Hillsborough will abide with Orange County's zoning requirement of one tap-on per one acre lot with na tap-ons in the Rural Buffer. Lunsford stated that this agreement was reached during an official Town Board meeting. Full consensus was given on this. The Rural Suffer would be only a push-through to the site. There is a water line almost to the Rural Buffer which services residents at this time. Carmen Prioli of the Staneycreek Neighborhood Association read a prepared statement in support of .this Amendment. A copy of this statement is incorporated herein by reference and may be found on page of these minutes. The original is in the permanent agenda file in the Clerk's office. Janis Burklin read a written statement in support of this Amendment. A copy of this statement is incorporated herein by reference and may be found on page of ._~ .~ ._. these minutes. The original statement is in the permanent agenda file in the Clerk's office. - ti A motion was made by Commissioner Marshall, seconded by Commissioner Hartwell, to` '~ refer this matter to both the Chapel Hill and Carrboro Governing Boards for a decision ar,d to the Orange County Planning Board far a recommendation to come hack to the Board . of Commissioners no sooner tt,an November 6. - VOTE: UNANIMOUS E. PRESENTATION 1. TJCOG REGIONAL LAND USE GUIDELINES The presentation was made by Ray Green for the purpose of presenting the Land Use Guidelines to the Governing Boards. He stated that the charge to one of the eight "teams" formed as part of the World Class Region program was to develop land use priorities. This was to include a consensus land use plan for the region based on the land use plans that have been adapted by the counties and municipalities. The team worked for a year to prepare guidelines. The first year of the World Class Region program ended on December 1, 1D88~.at which time each of the eight teams made, an audio- visual report to the region. Since then, the~guidelines`have been further refined, rind recorded in a report. Tl,e Triangle J Council of Governments has reviewed this report and commends it to its members. It is presented as information which the Council believes will be useful to local governments in their land use planning efforts. This report is incorporated-herein by reference and may be found in the permanent agenda file in the Clerk's office. David Godschalk indicated that this is a very important thing for the local Governing Boards to get involved with. This area is already ahead of the game with Joint Planning already in place. Being a part of a regional data base would very much help everyone. With no further items for consideration, the Joint Planning Hearing was adjourned. Stephen Halkiotis, Acting Chairman Kathy Baker, Acting Clerk "~' l~ ,~.):':/ STONEYCREEK NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION PaeslDEr~t Josef Woodman 3820 Stoneycreek Rood Chapel HIII, NC 27514 732-9668 VICE-PRESIDENT/TREASURER~ CdEe Warner "'-_~ 3809 Stoneycreek Road Chapel Hm. NC 27514 732-5456 SECRETARY Roy Roth r 4019 Stoneycreek Road Chapel HIII, NC 27514 9b7-3475 14 September 89 Moses Carey, Chairman Orange County Board of Commissioners 106 East Margaret Lane Hillsborough NC 27278 Dear Commissioners: Due to a conflicting neighborhood meeting, many of the residents of Stoneycreek are- not able to attend this evening's public hearing. In their absence, they ask that the following statement be read: We are pleased to learn that the towns of Hillsborough, Carrboro and Chapel Hill appear to be near an agreement to provide water and sewer to the new Elementary School, which will eliminate the risk of water or septic failure, and no doubt allow a number of officials and parents to breathe a little easier over the coming months and years. We applaud the action on the part of the Chapel Hill/Carrboro/Orange County Joint Planning Group to clarify the restrictions to water and sewer extension found in the Joint Land Use Plan. We nonetheless remain deeply concerned about the potential impact that unbridled water and sewer lines might create in the surrounding area with regard to commercial and residential development. Water and sewer are keys to growth, and residents of Stoneycreek remain steadfastly opposed to the type of uncontrolled development that might lead to an unsatisfactory merging of the communities of Chapel Hill, Durham and Hillsborough. We are particularly concerned about undesirable development along State Road 86 beyond the designated rural buffer and outside the boundaries of Hillsborough's 10--year transition zone. Properly enforced, the Orange County rural buffer would prevent such unrestrained growth, and we see na reason to oppose a plan that would allow water and sewer to run through its boundaries, so long as good faith is demonstrated, and the spirit of the rural buffer is upheld. Therefore, we propose that sewer lines constructed outside the 10-year transition zone, including land that lies between the transition zone and the rural buffer zone, be large enough to serve the school, but no larger. Restricting the sewer line to a size required only by the school would fulfill the requirements of the - - :•-1 r Orange County Commissioners 14 September 1989 Page 2 - ~~~..~ w Joint Land Use Plan, as outlined in the Orange County Water and Sewer Policy. Further, these restrictions would act as an important line of demarcation between growth and rural character, in addition tv strengthening the intent of the Orange County Land Use Plan. Most important, such a plan would serve the school and the community in a way that, we believe, would satisfy the greatest number of interests. Although the rural character of North Orange County is largely protected by zonirig~and other restrictions, experience shows us that time can be a big agent of change, and that structural barriers are often the best assurance that policies such as the _ Land Use Plan are preserved for generations. We hope that you will seriously consider this proposal. r~ S ' rely,' y, Jo of Woodman and `~ M m~ers of the Stoneycreek N ighborhood Association cc: orange County Planning Board -~ ~ 3 ~0. t- ~ ; . ~ ~~ e.~ C~rv` ~ ~ t~ J ~`~ ~.~ .~v~ M - s 5 r o n Q. ~ s ~~ G. J `- n 0. ~ ~ 1 ~- ~ T ~ e- C- m ~`~ ~ 1"v1 ~ r~-~' `}Z~ ~11.~`- .-~., . ,.~ f P ~.. -}-tee. (~ ~ ~- ~~ C~ ~~~ .~ ~ b ~-+- ~./ G .~, -~ ' v ~' v ~ -~- ~ ~ S J f I ~~~.e e ~ ~ r~ c.. c. e_ S `~